Central Louisiana

Even as the residents of Arkansas and northern Louisana began to bring the flood under some measure of control, the crest moved southward to wreak havoc on central Louisana. Many newspapers and the state government declared the area along the Red River from East Point to Nachitoches the most dangerous in the state. The Red Cross at New Orleans reported that an estimated 45,000 people had been made homeless because of the flood.(23) The American Red Cross at Washington announced that it had undertaken its greatest flood relief efforts since 1927, and J. Fritz Thompson, relief director at headqaurters in Alexandria, reported that the flood had reduced more than 5,000 families to living in tents and refugee quarters throughout central Louisana.(32) A total of four major breaks ocurred between East Point and Natchitoches, three near Armistead and Gahagan and another at Grand Bayou. Together they flooded more than 150,000 acres(23) 1

On April 5, the Red River broke through the levee between the towns of Armistad and Gahagan sweeping over many acres of farmland and flooding both towns. Fortunately, most of the residents had received warning of the impending disaster and had already moved out. Eartly on the 6th, another break ocurred a few miles away near Harmon flooding that town as well.(24) Sherriff Ray Adrock of Red River Parish and many citizens crowded into the phone depot in Harmon to take shelter from the rising water. He called the Shrveport Times to report that he and about 75 others stood waist deep in water inside the depot and awaited rescue boats from the army or neighboring towns.(23)2

Red Cross workers, Louisiana state guardsmen, state policemen, and coast guardsmen maintained a massive relief center and refugee camp at Wemple. Rescue workers set out in boats and brought 1,300 stranded and homeless people into the camp from flooded areas to the east and south includinng Evelyn, Harmon, Armistead, and Gahagan. Volunteers threw up tents, set up outdoor feeding kitchens, and converted two churches into mass sleeping areas. Twenty volunteer canteen corps workers from the Caddo Parish Red Cross and 20-25 national guard volunteers went south to Wemple in cars and buses lent by Barksdale Field. The Louisiana Ordnanace plant supplied a water tank and truck to the relief effort, Barksdale Field donated 200 mess kits, and 30-50 citizens of Shreveport offfered to lend their boats for evacuation work.(n25) As Wemple became crowded with refugees, army transport from Camps Claiborne and Livingston began carrying tents and other equipment to Mansfield whre a secondary haven designed to house 400 refugees was set up. Private cars bore refugees from Wemple to the camp at Mansfield, and the Red Cross provided typhoid shots to all new arrivals.(25) 3

Despite the valiant efforts of volunteers and guardsmen, a shortage of boats prevented the rescue of many persons marooned in the areas surronding Wemple. One guardsmen said that having to refuse the requests of the stranded to bear them to safety was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Until more boats arrived or the floodwaters receded, they could only bring the trapped food and supplies.(25) 4

On April 7, a levee broke near Grand Bayou. Deputy Sherrif W. O. Huckabay of Mansfield reported floodwaters had covered the towns of Abington and Faggarts about 30 miles south of Shreveport and stranded 75 African Americans on plantations in that area.(25) At Evelyn, floodwaters from the Red River, Bayou Pierre,and the Grand Bayou break converged just a few miles east of the Wemple refugee camp. Workers from the camp rushed to bring supplies to he stranded carry those theycould to safty. One rescue party reported that a man refused to leave, instead choosing to lock his hogs in one room of his hose, his chickens in another, and his family in the livingroom to wait out the flood.(25) A navy crash boat operated by Lt. Fred Haag proved to be the only craft that could brave the Red River current to enter the flooded region arond East Point. He nearly single-handedly evacuated 400 people from that area.(s24)) Farther downstream at Clarence, three to eight feet of water covered the town, and all the residents evacuated except for a few who remained in the second stories of their homes.(25) The flooding of Clarence and and Powhatan left 800 residents homeless.(31) 5

In Natchitoches Parish, floodwaters claimed 96,000 acres, most of it in use as farmland or pasture.(24) Residents of Natchitoches versed in local history claimed that the flood was the worst in 96 years since the flood of 1849.(29) Four levee breaks downstream of Natchitoches sent backwaters surging into Cane River Lake, threatening to flood the heavily populated farmland between the Cane and Red Rivers which would force 500 families from thier homes.(29) The principal threat to Natchitoches lay about four miles to north on the upper Cane River Lake dam and the nearby Red River levees where a break would send 16 feet of water rushing down the Cane River into the town. Sherriff Earl Morris reported that a crew of men worked round the clock to repair weak spots.(28) Times writer Vernon K. Dowdy statmed that "a break here would be one of the most serius ocurrences along the entire length of the stream. An unleashed Red River would sweep up the the course of streams into the city."(32) Three miles south of Natchitoches at Cedar Grove, the river rose nearly to the top of the levee and 500 men worked nonstop to sandbag a three-mile stretch.(32)6

One of the most exhausting battles against the river took place near the town of Colfax. On April 8, a mainline levee broke at the Hargis Plantation about eight miles south of the town while1,500 workers comprised of mixed volunteers and soldiers battled to save the Fletcher and Fuller levees north of the town.(n27) From the air, Dowdy observed the "terrific job" as trucks, a dozen large boats, and hundreds of men worked to carry timber to shore up the levees.(32) Lonnie Harrell and Toots Nash, two African American men aiding the work, even lost their lives during the battle when their boat was overturned at Fletcher levee.(28) Engineers warned that the entire town would be submerged if the Fletcher levee gave way and also expressed serious doubts that they would be able to hold it(n27) Inside the town, residents made a run on stores for foodstuffs in preperation for the anticipated levee failure.(31) Despite dire predictions of failure, the courageous efforts of the workers north of Colfax did not prove vain, and they managed to avert catastrophe by holding the Fuller and Fletcher levees until the floodwaters receded.(35)7

The battle against the Red River continued near Alexandria. On the 13th, the Red River broke through in two places into a sparsely populated area near the town of Vick. Though the break affected 32 famlies, it also brought much needed relief to levees upstream stretched to their breaking point. W. C. Hudson of the Atachafalaya and Bayou Bouef levee board reported that the majority of families had already moved out of the area when the floodwaters struck.(35) Prompt action by workers at a levee near Pineville narrowly avoded a riverside foundation failure.(35) About 750 men worked near the old Alexandria-Pineville traffic bridge pumping water into Bayou Rapides to keep it from flowing down Alexandria's main street. The workforce at the Pineville bridge included many German prisoners of war from Camp Livingston. During the crisis, the camp dispatched a total of 2,000 German prisoners of war and 600 soldiers throghout the state to help fight the flood.(35) At Harris Ferry south of Alexandria, 400 volunteers employed bulldozers, two draglines, and a fleet of trucks to shore up a weak spot in the levee there, while army engineers joined the fray near Moncla in Avoyelles Parish to keep the Egg Bend levee from cracking.(35) 8

Areas south of Alexandria towards New Orleans largely escaped serious flooding thanks to numerous high embankments and the opening of numero spillways such as Morganza. Army engineers announced that the lower Mississippi Valley remained in good conditin and barring heavy and continous rainfall, the valley could expect to escape the worst of the flooding.(35)