In the meantime , the Mississippi River has begun to flood dangerously , and people from the nearby town have been trying to burn down the shantytown , prompting the shanty-boaters to release their boats from their moorings . States dives into the river , swimming for Aunt Vergie 's boat . Captain Lilly follows with his steamboat , scanning the river with a searchlight . States finds Vergie and Towhead on their shantyboat and stays with them , boarding up the windows
the Mississippi River has begun to flood dangerously
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Heaven on Earth (1931 film)