Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 77, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 March 1913 — A. U. CLOUD REPORTS CONDITIONS AT PERU [ARTICLE]

A. U. CLOUD REPORTS CONDITIONS AT PERU

Property and Death Loss Exaggerated But Otherwise Conditions Were Very Bad. A. U. Cloud returned home Sunday afternoon from Peru, to which city he had gone as soon as he could get a train but after learning that the floods had wrought havoc there. He left here Tuesday evening, went to Monon, remained there over night, went north on the Michigan City branch ' the following morning and thence to Plymouth and from there to Peru, arriving in Peru Thursday. By that time the water was receding and many families who had been flooded out of their homes were moving back. Mr.. Cloud states that while the death and property loss was greatly exaggerated that otherwise it was almost impossible to over-state the frightful conditions that existed. The water ran in a swift current through many streets frdm 7 to 10 feet deep And Itßequiredl the. most active work on th£ part ofthe boat crews to rescue the people from the flooded homes. His own parents and his wife’s mother were flooded from their homes, being taker? in boats from the porches at the second stories of their houses. The water raised so "rapidly that it was impossible for people to move their furniture to the upstairs rooms and consequently there was a great loss of home furnishings, while several stores were flooded and suffered extensive loss. He stated that his own parents had been damaged to the extent of SSOO. Mr. Cloud stated that a block from the home of his parents there was a ’ considerable elevation and it was to this place that the’ refugees from the flooded sections were taken. Over a thousand people spent three nights in one block, and 210 people spent the same nights in one large building. Among the refugees were some with measles and mumps and a considerable spread of these diseases is expected, but he states that the report from there that smallpox was' widespread is not so. There was only one case of that disease that he learned of and it was properly Isolated from the other people. The water that flowed through the streets and entered the houses was very muddy and when the water receded he states that there would be from a half inch to two inches of muddy sediment left on the floors. Fine rugs and carpets were thus almost ruined. He says that Logansport suffered almost as much as Peru. At the latter city there were no houses actually floated 'away and not to exceed a dozen swept partly from their foundations. The number of deaths, as nearly as he could learn at Peru, was only tour. . \