Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 January 1907 — WABASH RIVER LEVEE BREAKS [ARTICLE]

WABASH RIVER LEVEE BREAKS

Country in the Vicinity of Terre Haute, Ind., Is Under Water for Miles. Terre Haute, Ind., Jan. 23. —The break in the Wabash river levee a mile south of this city, near the village of Taylorville, has widened from fifteen feet to several hundred feet and the surrounding country for miles is inundated. The river is still rising. There are 1,000 homeless people from the villages of Taylorville and West Terre Haute, and the majority of them are in a pitiable plight.' with neither food, clothing nor shelter from the weather. The break came so suddenly that but few were able to get their belongings to high ground. Hundreds of head of stock, poultry and other domestic animals have perished. As far as known no drownings of human beings have occurred. Cincinnati, 0., Jan. 23. —The river continued its slow recession during the night and at 8 o’clock in the morning had gone down to 64.55 feet, a drop of more than half a foot from the crest, which was. reached the previous morning. Guards were on watch all night along the river to give warning of any threatened damage to buildings, and there was no cessation in the work of relief. It will be several days before the river gets below the danger line and the possibility of property damage will not even then be over, a» the weakened condition of structures along the river front will make them particularly liable to collapse. Evansville, Ind., Jan. 23. now believed the worst of the flood in this locality "has passed. The river is rising slowly, but It is believed that the crest of the rise will be reached tonight or tomorrow morning. Reports received from Shawneetown, 111., state that fear about the levee has about abated.