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Officials: Stragglers' resistance waningBut not all New Orleanians willing to obey evacuation order
 Sgt. Cindy Lefore of the Oregon National Guard tries to talk a resident into leaving. RELATED
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSNEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- It's dark. It's shirt-soaking hot. And the only word to describe the heavy odor is "indescribable." Still, they refuse to leave. Even the sight of human corpses tied to banisters to stop their drifting have failed to drive off straggling New Orleanians. But police are coming, and they're armed with the mayor's order to forcibly remove anyone who refuses to leave the flooded cesspool of a city. (See video of holdout warning authorities -- 2:14) Officials doubt it will come to that. Finally, they said, most holdouts are ready to give in. "Some are finally saying, 'I've had enough,'" Michael Keegan of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told The Associated Press. "They're getting dehydrated. They are running out of food. There are human remains in different houses. The smells mess with your psyche." Karen Johnson prefers to stay so she can take care of her parents, who are disabled. She walks around waving a white flag so that no one mistakes her for a looter. But she will not stand her water-laden ground when authorities arrive, she said. "When they come with M16s to the house pointing, with their hands on the trigger, I'm not crazy," Johnson said. "I will go." Johnson needn't worry about police firepower. Police Chief Eddie Compass said his officers are "going to do this with sensitivity." "We're going to use the minimal amount of force," he said. And Compass said his department will not use all the tools -- jail time and $500 fines -- the law allows. "We're not doing that," he said. "We're trying to get people to safety. We're not putting people in jail or fining anybody. We're trying to get them to a safe place." The toxic condition of the floodwaters in the city, and the chemicals that will be used to clean the area, he told CNN, would make staying "tantamount to, really, suicide." Compass said he wouldn't know how many stragglers remain until searches are complete, but a Louisiana National Guard officer said Wednesday authorities estimated between 10,000 and 15,000 residents remained. Officers may encounter Grady Hardy, who says he'll stay until someone comes to his house and demands otherwise. "I cannot resist armed force," he said. "I will verbally protest." Neighbors James Favrot and Bob McClesky said they won't need an armed invitation to vacate the submerged streets. They don't want their families in the city anymore. Favrot had been staying with friends several hundred miles away but came back to check on his million-dollar house before eventually leaving for good. McClesky is surprised that his home is largely intact. He tells Favrot that he's got some water damage near the front door, but "no windows blown out," he observes. "I mean it's just amazing." But he's still going to leave. Compass told CNN that his officers are focusing first on those like McClesky -- folks who want to get out. "Once we're sure we've checked every grid and made sure in every area of the city that people are evacuated, we'll change our focus," he said. "We'll explain to the people that the toxic waste that's in the water can be deadly. The cleanup effort cannot be started until they leave, because the chemicals they have to use to clean up will be deadly." "Once we look at the people face-to-face and start explaining these things," Compass said, "I think we won't have any problems." But there could be problems if they try to remove Austin O'Dwyer, who says he will not leave his home. He's been holed-up for 10 days without help, doesn't want any and isn't scared of lethal germs. "Why do they think that I am more susceptible to disease than the soldiers that are coming to evict us?" he asked. "If they come to my property and they attempt to evict me from my independent state ... there will be gunfire," O'Dwyer said. "There will be gunfire, so let them be warned." CNN's Jeff Koinange contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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