Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 133, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 June 1912 — FORMER HOOSIER FIGHTING MISSISSIPPI FLOOD. [ARTICLE]

FORMER HOOSIER FIGHTING MISSISSIPPI FLOOD.

Omar C. Rile die, a Former Jasper County Boy, In Midst of Mississippi Flood District Omar C. Ritchie, a native of Jasper county, and brother to Mrs. Kate R. Watson and Mrs. A. Baech, who a few years ago purchased a cotton plantation in Louisiana, facing the Mississippi river, has had a strenuous time this, spring with floods. MP. Richie wrote a graphic account of his experiences to a friend in Anderson, Ind., and the letter is copied in full in Sunday’s Indianapolis Star. He states that - the water began to rise rapidly about April Ist, but that he continued to plant corn and cotton, as no flood since 1882 had ever bothered that plantation. Water continued to raise and by the middle of the month levees began to break, which breaks were temporarily repaired by the surrounding plantation men and tenants. They thought they were reasonably safe from the floods hut on. April 20th back-waters of a nearby levee arrived and began going up one of Ritchie’s big outlet ditches. Mr. Ritchie in his letter tells -of how he and his 176 negro tenants and also the men of other plantations fought for five days and four nights with only seven hours’ sleep, to save their crop. They filled thousands of sacks with earth and built culverts and dams, but after the firth day little hope of saving the crops were entertained and after news came that all of his neighbors had given up the fight he ordered hlB men to quit. The next night all his place, with 500 acres of growing cotton and 350 "acres of fine corn, were covered witff from one to ten fe,et of water. He .moved all bis stock by steamboat to the hills, thirteen miles away. He states that the water is slowly falling and that as soon as tbe ridges of his land begin to show he will start replanting cotton and corn.