AT 4 O’CLOCK
THIS AFTERNOON
whiteriverhad
fallen feet
The Newark Journal.
A Man May Lose a Dollar or He May Lose a Millon, But None Has Lost so Much
the Man Who Loses His Courage
$ I Per Annum
Newark, Independence County, Arkansas, Thursday, August 26, 1915
Vol. 15, No. 21
*
Ail Crops on 75,000 Acres Richest
Land in County Complete Loss
Ruin and Desolation in Wake of Greatest
Flood in Entire History of the White River
Section—The Total Loss in Independence
County Alone Reaches Throe Million dollars
The worst flood in the his
tory of North Arkansas swept
down the White and Black
rivers last Friday and Satur
day.
It is impossible to correctly
estimate thQ damage done, as
the entire crops of every kind
along these streams for several
hundred miles were entirely
wiped out.
But the loss to crops and
other property along these
streams will probably reach
several million dollars.
The damage done in Inde
pendence county alone is con
servatively estimated at three
million dollars.
The damage to crops alone
in the vicinity of Newark, in
the noted Big Bottom and Oil
Trough valleys, will easily
reach a million and a half dol
ars.
This does not take into ac
count the damage done to the
farming lands by reason of
washing and cutting away the
soil by the water’s current, the
damage to buildings, fences,
levees and the loss of cattle
hogs and other stock. At this
time it is impossible to arrive
at anything like a fair estimate
of the loss resulting from these
sources, as much of the bot
tom country is still covered
with water.
A conservative estimate of
the total damage done by the
flood in this immediate section
of the country, including Oil
Trough, Big Bottom and along
the Black river, will reach two
million dollars. s
The damage done to crops
alone in this county means an
aggregate loss of one hundred
dollars per capita for each
man, woman and child in the
county.
This is a staggering blow to j
the county as a whole, and to
the people of the flooded dis- j
t riots who are directly affected, j
it is without question the great- j
est calamity in the history of
the county.
People who have lived in
this section for (10 and 70 years ]
say the rivers were two and a!
half to three feet higher than
they were ever known.
Uncle Rob Adams who has
lived in Rig Bottom and Oil1
Trough for 70 years says the]
water was at least 1 (/•> feet
higher than he ever saw it.His
residence in Oil Trough is lo-1
cateri on one of the highest
points in the entire valley.He
was always at least a foot
above the highest overflow un
til this time, when the water
i'.reached a depth of several in
i
dies in his yard and under lus
■ residence.
f The old Fausel residence
!
near Akron is another point
that has always been considered
above overflow, but on last
Sunday morning parties from
town ran a boat into the yard
and up to the front porch of
this building.
It is said that on last Sunday
morning there was not a foot
of dry land from Newark tothe
foothills south of White river,a
I distance of 12 or 15 miles, a
'condition that was never known
ito exist before in the entire
history of this section.
I Judge M. L. Arnold who
iWas born in Big Bottom and
has lived here continuously for
73 years, says he never saw an
overflow to equal it.
W. I). Magness, of the Mag
ness neighborhood, another old
citizen who has been a citizen
if this section for more than 65
years, says the stage of the
river was fully 1 1 •_> feet higher
than he ever saw it before.
Although the railroad track
both east and west of town ,
has in recent years been rais-;
ed at least two to three feet,
the tracks were inundated for
several miles. Except for a
short distance at the depot.the
track was under water to a !
depth of several inches from a
point near the section house
west of town for a distance
of about seven miles, or near
ly two miles east of the Black
river to the foothills of the
highlands in Jackson county.
At one point about a half mile
least of town the water reached
La depth of three feet over the
|railroad track.
The last train over the road
was the local going west at
noon Saturday. No regular ser
vice has yet been resumed and
it is not known when it-will he.
I It is said that a passenger
|train on the upper end of the
i'White River line was caught
in a landslide at a point near
|t.he Missouri line. s*nd the en
gine and tender were entirely
buried beneath the avalanche
of dirt and r ck.
A number of bridges and
trestles were entirely washed
away. Heavy landslides occur
red at many points along moun
tain-sides and in many places
the track is covered for miles
to a depth of several feet with
dirt and rock.
Through traffic cannot be*
resumed for at least 15 days
or three weeks, and railroad
men say it will cost at least a
million dollars to repair the
damage on the White River
road.
NO I.OSS OF LIFE
No deaths resulted from the (
floods in this section, but many
narrow escapes are reported.
People were rescued from1
housetops, floating logs and
standing trees into which they
had climbed to escape the fury
of the rapidly rising sea of wa
ter.
Many who had no means of
escape were marooned in then1
homes and in many instances i
when the rescuers reched them
with boats entire families in
cluding women and children
were standing in water waist
deep.
HEROIC RESCUE WORK
It is impossible for tongue,
or pen to tell of th° noble and
heroic v\ork performed by
those composing the rescue
parties that went out from
Newark.
Reports that enormous rises
in the rivers were coming, were 1
received by both telephone
and telegraph. Most people
thought, however, that the re
ports were exaggerated, and
very few seemed to have any
serious fears of a general ov
I erf low.
mit wnen the backwaters
jreached the stocklaw gate just
'south of town, and kept creep
ing closer and closer, excite
ment began to rise. By 10
o’clock the Newark Lumber
! Company’s new brick build
ing was entirely surrounded
land the waters kept coming
closer and closer. By this time
reports from Batesville and
Calico Rock had convinced
even the most skeptical that
all records would be broken.
Business of every kind was
abandoned. Every available
| carpenter and almost every
I man who could use a saw and
| hammer, were pressed into
service building boats.
About 15 boats were built
in a few hours and as soon as
one was finished a party of
rescuers , would take it and
leave for the flooded area.
Except for the swift current,
they had no trouble in reach
ing any point in boats, for the
entire valley was a vast sea of
surging waters. Broad and fer
tile fields that a few hours be
fore contained the most magnif
icent crops of growing corn,
cotton and alfalfa that were
ever produced in the history
of Independence county, were
now entirely covered, with here
and there just the tip ends of
the corn or cotton stalks show
ing above water.
Dr. Pascoe, Dr. Evans, Boss
Allen, Ben Cook, Bud Sisk, C.
BATESVILLE SUFFERS
FROM THE BIG FLOOD
Water Ran Over Bayou Bridge
and Many. Houses Flooded
to Depth of Eight Feet.
Reports from liatesville in
dicate that heavy damages
were done by the flood at
jthat place.
The water reached a depth
|of 24 to 30 inches in theYeat
1 man-Gray Grocer Company’s
| wholesale house and the corn
suffered a heavy loss hut the
iamount is not known.
' Water was 18 inches deep
in the Goodwin-Jean Produce
j Company's building, but their
loss is small.
The city light plant was put
j.out of commission and badly
damaged.
! The Padgett-Pool Lumber
i Co. suffered heavy losses, the
water reaching a depth of 4 !/a
I to 5 feet in their yard and of
fices.
1 he ice factory was seri
ously crippled and was fore
tad to suspend operations,
i The wholesale house of J.
R. Evans, located near the de
pot, was surorunded by water,
j Mr. Evans saved most of his
stock of groceries, but a por
tion of his feedstuff was dam
aged. j
Water reached a depth of!
several inches in the new pas- •
isenger depot, and the railroad
company’s lossincludingfreight
lost and property damaged at
that point is about $2,500.
The Mount Olive Stave Co.,
is perhaps the greatest loser j
at Batesville. Water reached aj
j depth of several feet at their
factory on the river front. An
enormous lot of timber and ma
terial was washed away and
the loss will reach several thou
sand dollars.
! Water got into almost every
house in the lower end of
|Batesville, near the depot.Wa-i
iter ran over the bayou bridge
at each end to a depth of sev
eral feet, and many residences
in West Batesville were flood
ed to a depth of four to eight
feet.
I
P. Vaughan, Lum Hunter and
Ben Arnold and any number
of others, did heroic work,both
in rescuing people and in sav
ing propertv from* destruction.
i
SHERIFF RUDDELL
COMES TO RESCUE
Splendid rescue work was<
done by Sheriff Lawrence Rud
• dell. Deputy Sheriff S. W.;
Clark, Robert Mosby and Hill
flays who secured a number
of boats at Batesville, loaded
them on flat cars and had an
,engine pull them down from)
, that place.
Sheriff Ruddell is well ac
quainted with the entire bot
toms and this knowledge serv
ed him well in this emergency.
He and his entire party did
heroic work. Arriving here
about 1 o’clock Saturday after
noon Sheriff Ruddell and his
party set to work like river
dogs and worked heroically all
night Saturday and all day
Sunday. They rescued and car
ried many people to places of
safety who might have perish
jed had it not been for their
[good work.
j -
BIG LOSSES AT
ALL OTHER POINTS
t There is probably not a town
along the White River from
the Missouri line down but
what has suffered to a greater
(Continued on last page)
TOUCHING INCIDENT
OF THE BIG FLOOD
Young Mother Die3 in Child
Birth Near Paroquet and is
Buried with Babe in Arms.
One of the saddest and most
touching incidents of the flood
was the death of Mrs. Ernest
Williams, which occurred at
her home at Paroquet last Sun
id? v.
During the heigth of the
excitement when the waters
of the flood were coming at
their worst, Mrs. Williams was
stricken with childbirth.
Unable to secure a physi
c'an, she was compelled to go
I through the ordeal without
medical attention. The ordeal
proved too great for her and
she succumbed, death result
ing in a few hours after her
baby was born.
The babe lived only' a few
hours and the death of moth
er and child resulted within a
short time of each other.
The remains of the young
mother, with the dead body
of her first born iti her arms,
were placed in the coffin and
brought to Newark on the first
work train that came this way
Monday.
The remains were buried
in the Blue Springs cemetery
Rev. L. B. Hankins conduct
ing the funeral services .
o
LOCAL SAWMILL MAN
SUFFERS HEAVY LOSS
Geo. L. Green Who Operates
Six Mills Along Black River
Loses About $4,000or $5,000
Geo. L. Green of this place,
who is one of the largest saw
mill operators of the Black riv
er section, lost about $3,500
worth of lumber, which was
washed away from his mills by
the high waters.
Mr. Green owns six mills,
all of which are located along
Black river. Some of them are
in this county and some of them
in Lawrence county.
About seven cars of lumber
were lost from his mills in this
county and about six cars from
the mills in Lawrence county, j
He reports the water 12 to j
1-1 deep at his nearest rrflll, j
which is located on Black riv
er about six miles northeast of
Newark.
In addition to his loss on!
lumber that was swept away
iby the flood,his machinery will
be badly damaged from stand
ing in the water so long. This,!
together with damage done to
buildings and sheds will make
his total loss at least $4,000 or
$5,000.
In spite of his heavy finan
cial losses, Mr. Green has not
lost his nerve, and says he will
begin operations with renewed
vigor and on a larger scale as
soon as the water recedes so
he can go to work.
He says he can give employ
ment to about 40 or 50 men as
soon as the water recedes suf
ficiently for them to resume
operations.
-o
RANDOLPH SUFFERS
Pocahontas, Aug. 23.—All
(reeks and rivers in this sec
tion are out of their banks.
Black, Current, and Eleven
Point rivers ail have overflow
ed and are doing great dam
age.
NEWARK
NEWPORT SUFFERS
GREATER THAN ALL
Entire Town Flooded to Depth
of 4 to 18 Feel And Two
Drown, Both Negroes.
Newport has suffered great
er loss than any town in this
section because of its low lo
cation.
The entire town being from
3 to 18 feet below the top of
the levees, the whole-town was
covered in water to that depth.
Water was 3 to 5 feet deep
in every business house in tow n
and in many places back in the
lower part of the residence
section the water was 15 feet
deep. Many of the smaller
residences were turned over
on their sides.
The first break occurred
when tlie water ran over the
Iron Mountain track just south
of the depot, and continued to
run over for a distance of IUh)
yards until the entire town was
flooded.
The situation at Newport
beggars description and is ab
solutely appalling.
Two deaths are reported,
both negroes one being an
old negro man and the other
a small negro child.
TEN LIVES LOST IN
FLOOD AT ST. LOUIS
Property loss is Heavy and
More Than Thousand Fami
lies are Homeless.
St. Louis, Mo., Aug. 21.—
The Mississippi river and other
streams in this territory are at
a high stage, and a section of
this city was flooded last night.
Ten person perished in the
floods here last night. Nine of
the victims were negroes.
This morning more than om
thousand families are homeles
and many of these have lost
all their possessions.
Many people residing in the
flooded districts have been res
cued and boats are saving what
property it is possible to reach
TWO ESCAPE DROWNING
Evening Shade, Aug. 20.—
Arthur and Russell Cochran,
jtwo merchants of Evening
Shade, narrowly escapeddeath
by drowning when attemptin'
to cross the swollen Mill creek
.with a team of mules and a
buggy yesterday. The team
and buggy was swept down
stream and the mules veiv
[drowned. The men were res
cued in a boat.
DAMAGE AROUND HARDY
Hoxie, Aug. 22.— Three
'thousand feet of track on tin
Frisco, between Hardy . i d
.Ravenden has been wa bed
lout and two miles of telegr ph
jpoles are down. All crops in
)the valley of Black and Spring
Rivers are ruined*and the los-.
of live stock is enormous and
fears are entertained of loss of
life.
j First class job printing at
iThe Journal office.