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Show TRAIN TRIES TO OUTRUN A FLOOD Alton, 111., Aug. 20 The levee of Wood river at East Alton gave way tonight and sent flood waters rushing through the streets, tearing down barns and small homes and forcing tho occupants of larger dwellings to upper stories for safety. Appeals for motor boats and skiffs to rescue hundreds hun-dreds of marooned persons were sent to Mayor Beal of Alton. Four hundred employes of the Western West-ern Cartridge company and the Equitable Powder company narrowly escaped being caught by the wall of rushing water. The property Iosb of these two plants alone is estimated at more than $200,000. A Chicago & Alton train from Kansas Kan-sas City attempted to beat the rushing rush-ing waters, but was stalled just outside out-side of the city. At Cleveland, Cincinnati, Cin-cinnati, Chicago and St. Louis (Big Four) train also was caught between two streams of flood water and stalled. stall-ed. Efforts to remove the passengers by boat Immediately were began. The five hundred residents of Ben Bow city and Westwood river were warned of the oncoming flood by two men on horseback who preceded the water by a few minutes, rode through the city calling "run for your lives." Late tonight both Ben Bow city and Westwood river were deserted Their entire population sought refuge in the city of Wood river. All available river craft were used to rescue the marooned at East Alton. The passengers of tho stalled trains were compelled to spend the night in their coaches through the inability of the crew to obtain boats. 1 Jerseyvllle and Belleville near here were in darkness, the power plants, as well as other partB of these cities standing In from one to four feet of water. Morning newspapers In Belleville Belle-ville were gotten out by candle light and with hand-set type. Hits St. Louis Hard. Tho great storm that devastated the Texas gulf coast 'Monday and Tuesday and then swept northward, held St. Louis in ItB grasp, bringing with it the heaviest downpour in tho history of the city and causing a flood that drovo hundreds of city and suburban residents from their homes. At 5 o'clock last night 5.95 inches of rain had fallon. A high wind accompanied accompan-ied the rain. The flood in St Louis waB due in part to back water in tho storm sewers sew-ers in the western part of the city and in part to the tremendous riso in the Des Peres river, which went out of Its bankB in the western and south- crn part of tho city, flooded a part of tho populous suburbs of Maplewood and Glenwood, interrupted train service on three railroads. 00 |