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North Topeka and the Two Kansas Citys the Greatest Sufferers Famine and Pestilence Threatened Thrilling Description of Rescue Work at North Topeka. LATEST ESTIMATE OF THE FLOOD DAMAGE. Kansas City, i Lives lost in city and suburbs, probably .. 100 ! Homeles 20,000 i Property loss (estlmat- j mi) $10,000,000 Topeka. Cases .of sickness due to flood '0 ' Lives lost 40 : Property loss 1,000,000 ' Des Moines. ' Cases of sickness du to flood Dwellings submerged.. 2,000 Number of homeless.. 6,000 Property loss 1,500,000 Twenty-flve hundred square miles if the most fertile valleys of Kansas ind Missouri, Including populous cities, covered with flood waters ranging from one to forty feet In depth, a con tinuous sea, whose eddying and fast rushing surface was strewn with hu man corpses, the caracassea of thou lands of cattle and horses and the ruins of demolished houses or great BRIDGE LEADING FROM store buildings, has been the situation curing the paBt week. Above the surface, here and there In Isolated spot In tho country, but thickly In the cities and towns, white flags Improvised out of bed-clothing floated from second-story windows, mute signals of distress warning res cuers that people within were In dan ger of death by drowning or starva tion. BAST BOTTOMS, KANSAS CITY, TRIC ' Sickness added Its terrors to the suffering of the homeless refugees from the flood districts. In Topeka an epidemic of measles and scarlet fever is rife. Thieves were busy there and at Kansas City. Undaunted by the gwlft waters which officials braved with trepidation to rescue human life, the thieves floated about In boats, plundering deserted homes and busi ness houses. The patrolmen were or dered to shoot on sight any persous seen to be stealing. For two nights the city was In ab solute darkness. The flood prevented the operation of either gas or electric planU. The water-works, too, were shut down and the whole city at the mercy of any flre that may break out. The people of Missouri and Kansas were not alone In their suffering. The Missouri river as well as the Kansas and all its tributaries was In flood from its source. Iowa and Nebraska were deluged over wide areas. The great danger at Kansas City, now that the water has subsided, is a typhoid epidemic caused by the lack of city water for flushing. Tents are erected in City Hall park and on streets in the heart of town over sew ers and manholes. Laundries shut down The financial damage Is about as great now as It Is likely to become. There has been to suffering In Kansas City beyond that sustained by the people driven from their homes. Ex eellent work was done by the local re lief committees and those In control of this work are confident that the city will be able to care for its own without calling upon the state. When the flood was at Its height the muddy, desolate expansion of the Missouri's surplus water, known as the "east bottoms," furnished a contlnu moving picture of diillcult rescues, .. pviM-n were ta' a from Ut-u branches, teraon poles, box-cars and roofs. What ap pealed to some of the police as an al most ludicrous state of affairs was that In many Instances the rescuers had fairly to drag people Into the boats. Like horses huddled In a blaz ing stable, they seemed to fear to leave their homes, although the latter In most cases appeared unequal to the task of standing long against the flood. At Argentine, Kan., where the Santa Fe yards and buildings and two-thirds of the dwelling houses are under wa ter and 4,500 people homeless, a num ber of houses were washed away. There Is considerable sickness, par ticularly among the people who were forced to flee from Armourdale, and the hospitals are heavily taxed. MANY DEAD AT TOPEKA. Forty Lives Known to Have Been Lost in Flood and Fire. Forty people are known to have lost their lives In the flood and flames at Topeka. Probably a third of these are unidentified, and reports of other bodies being found are coming in. The mortuary list may reach fifty. The Kansas river bad fallen four teen inches from the highest point NORTH TOPEKA TO MAIN CITY. reached. Reports from up-river are to the effect that the stream at all the point of greatest danger Is receding, Experts declare It Is row reasonably certain that the stage of extreme peril Is past. The property loss will be $1,000,000 at least. This Includes damage of about $500,000 In the residence section of North Topeka, losses by the rail road comuanles of $200,000, and by MO., LOOKING PARK. TOWARD ELEG- the Topeka Street Railway Company of $75,000. Besides these losses vari ous manufacturing plants have been seriously damaged. It Is impossible aa yet to figure out the total damage on account of the Inundation of the land. It is also feared that not a few struc tures will give way under the pressure of the water. UNION DEPOT FROM FOOT If this proves the case the losses will grow from day to day. The list of the known dead follows: Henry Jondan, colored; Ward, old soldier; Garrett, 5-year-old son of Fireman G. II. Garrett; Forest Kutz, teacher, Mrs. Forest Kutz, Louise Sea haven, Story, Infant of George M. Story; John L. Adams; Mrs. Ida Mont gomery, probably dead; unknown fam ily of seven; unknown woman and child; four people seen to fall from trees by watchers at Sardou bridge; Mrs. Jackson, a widow, caught in her heme; Henry Ludington of Oakland; John L. Adams; Mrs. Id, Montgomery; seven bodies reported floating In the water on the second floor of a house in North Topeka. CF One of the most distressing features of the situation now is the possibility that there will be a spread of contagi ous diseases. People of all classes are huddled together In houses not large enough for them, and on all sides they are surrounded by water. Doctors and medical relief cannot reach sufferers to any great extent THE FOOT OF MAIN A case of diphtheria was reported from the woolen mill fn North Topeka, where there are a large number of children In addition to the adults. There is also a case or two of scarlet fever among the refugees on the north side. Hundreds of cases of measles are prevalent among the children, and on account of the exposed condition of the patients will result fatally in many cases. The physicians of the city, under the direction of the city health board, are making heroic efforts to chock the threatened calamity. BRAVE FIGHT TO SAVE LIVES. Eyewitness Tells of Deeds of Hero Ism at North Topeka. The scones at North Topeka when the flood was at its height and the flames were threatening the destruc- EAST BOTTOM SCENE, tlon of all lives and property, are thus described by an eyewitness: The day was one of unceasing labor and of constant display of bravery and unselfishness by hundreds and thou sands of citizens in all walks of life. The first thought was to reach the people who were In most Imminent peril. It was known that scores had been perched in out-of-the-way places for from thirty hours to three days with out food. The stories of those saved from such plight only colored the pic ture of the human beings still making their final fight against death. The early hours were given over to the efforts of parties in rowboats to aid the .beleaguered.'.'. These endeav- TWELFTH STREET VIADUCT, RESCUING HOUSEHOLD GOODS I itJU, ors were persistent, and many people were Baved. Women and children were always given the preference, and there were many pitiful Incidents of aged or worn-out men, who had been clinging to trees or hanging on to roofs for many hours, meeting with stern re fusal from rescuers. STREET, KANSAS CITY, MO. The condition of most of the sur vivors was terrible. The strongest were reduced to utter weakness. The will power, the love of the father or the mother for the offspring In nota ble cases alone accounts for the sur vival of so many. No food for two days, and in some cases for three, hedged in between the branches of trees or in small rooms or lofts in factories, houses and barns, no sound save that of the roar ing flood, no hopeful view, but only the flashing of flre brands and a look Into the murky, swirling water all these circumstances intensified a thousand times combined to whiten hair In a night and to drive to dis traction the coolest heads. The ardor of the workers was not abated by a cold drizzling rain. Citi zens of every calling, the rich and the poor, donned oil skins and worked KANSAS CITY, MO. for hours la water up to their arm pits. An epitome of those few hours In Topeka Is found In the stories of the victims and their rescuers. The lat ter tell of the unutterable woe of the refugees, of the heartrenderlng cries for help, and, at times, of the plunge to a watery grave of people who gave up hope of relief when it was just at hand. The former, the people saved, are telling of the unexampled bravery of their rescuers. Testimony of remark able deeds and of terrible Incidents are not wanting. In some isolated instances men showed the white feather. In nearly very case, however, by their actions they showed the material of which true American manhood Is made. Women and children were given the precedence in the work of rescue. E. L. Cowdry and his brother are among those who escapod from the flood. When asked for a story of his experience the former said: "Oh, it was terrible; I can't describe it. It seems as if I have lived In a horrible nightmare for the last two days. "Early on Thursday we saw that the water would be high, but with the UBual persistence of people who dls like to leave their own homes, put oft departure as long as possible. It came near being our undoing. Friday the whole of North Topeka, it seemed, overflowed within an hour. The water came creeping up faster than the peo cle could get out. We were forced to NEAR HANNIBAL BRIDGE. leave In such a hurry that we could not even take a blanket "I am satisfied that our house was destroyed, as it was in the direct path of the flre. AH I have In the world is the clothing that I am now wearing. Hundreds of others are in as bad a condition as we are." There are innumerable instances of distress. Hundreds who were rich are now poor and the poor people are In distress. Many lost absolutely every thing. The savings of years wert swept away by water. Now they have only the titles to the water-covered land, which can never again be oc cupied with any degree of safety or certainty of title. W. N. Keppard and wife, two aged people, were saved. They were so numb that they could not feel, and had to be knocked down Into the water be fore the men could reach them. They were standing close together in the attic of a house, and so severe had been their experience that their minds gave way under the strain. They cannot recover. VIEW OF EAST BOTTOMS, KANS POI Notwithstanding their precarious condition many of the sufferers held religious services In the buldlngs whore they were Imprisoned. It was a touching sight, the rescuers say, to see people of all walks of life bowed down in prayer together. Must Have Been Hot Stuff. A New York surgeon cut a patient open, iuserted a sliver swallowing ar rangement and gave him a drink of whisky all in tr.enty minutes. The next day that surgeon's office was be sieged with men who had twenty min utes to spare and wanted to be simi larly treated. To Reform English Tramps. The various boards of guardians in Lincolnshire, England, are considering a scheme for converting tramps Into respetable and Industrious citizens. The main idea is the establishment of tramp settlements In the neighborhood of several of the towns. Adds Life to Telegraph Poles. The coment foundations of tele graph poles are called cement butts. There is now a company engaged in their exclusive manufacture. The butts are said to make the nosts last three times as long, and in the men- time the liability from firs and storms , Is greatly reduced. HEIM BREWERY, EAST BOT Where Two Denominations Meet The Church of the Holy Ghost at Heidelberg is the only one in the world in which both Protestant and Roman Catholic services are held at the same time. A petition wall in the center separates the two congre gations. SCENE NEAR ARMOUR'S. i'iiA i ,",j,f Jp LOOKING DOWN UNION AVENUJ0, KANSAS CITY, MO. AS CITY, MO., FROM SCARRITT NT. Christening the Cruisers. Miss White, when she broke a bot tie of champagne over the bow of the new cruiser, was careful not to use the word "christen," but the Bos toncse are already criticising her for having said: "I name thee 'West Vir ginia'; may God bless you." They condemn versatility in pronouns. Per haps the day will come when ships will be named by the painters. Then there will be less trouble. Cincinnati Enquirer. Why Big Fee Was Paid. Lord Alvauley about sixty years ago bad a duel with a political opponent, but nobody was hurt. His lordship was so pleased at returning without injury that he paid his hackney coach man with a liberality that surprised the latter and on the man remarking that it was more than his due for driving him that distance Lord AV vanley replied: "It is not for carry Ing me there, but for bringing m back." Hendricks' Widow Gives Library. Vice President Thomas A. Hen drlcks of Indiana was a graduate of ; Hanover college, at Madison, In that ' state, and his widow has given $25,- 000 for the erection of a l&rary In hi memory there. TOMS, KANSAS CITY, MO. SIGNALING FOR HELP. Storing Coat Under Water. Certain kinds of coat deteriorat rapidly In the open air and Lord Charles Beresford has expressed the belief that the total loss may reach B0 per cent. Store under water is th remedy of an English experimenter, who. noting the fine quality of coal dredged from a harbor, has kept Mon mouthshire steam coal under sea water two months with a loss of leas than 1 per cent of beatloE oowar. i