Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-05-28
TIE MASSACHUSETTS, CALAMITY.

persons by drowning besides destroying vast
amount of valuable property. From later &C.
counts, it seems that the loss of life was greater
than at first supposed; and it is thought if the
bursting of the reservoir had taken place at
an earlier hour, when the people we're at home
or in bed, thousands instead Of hundreds,
would have persisted. Fortunately, the ca
lamity did not occur until after day light, and
near the breakfast hour of most of the people
living in the track of the huge volume Of water,
which swept every thing before it. Such
havoc is terrible to think of; and more espe-
cially is it matter of regret when the fact is
established that it is the result of criminal
carelessness on the part of the contractors
who constructed the dam. The disaster is
withouta parallel in this country, and but few
similar cases have occurred in Europe On
March 1lth, 1864, an inundaton occurred by
the breaking of a reservoir dam near Sheffield,
England, by which 250 lives were lost, and
twelve miles of country we're laid waste. This
reservoir contained 100000 cubic feet of
water and covered 76 acres of ground
The Springfield Republican gives the fol-
lowing account of the first discovery of the
disaster and subsequent scenes and events:
A little below the reservoir, on the western
bank, but out of range of the flood, stands Il
small dismal looking dwelling in which lives
the gate-keeper. This is George Cheney,
man of about thirty-6ve, apparently an honest
and well-meaning individual, Of little educa-
ton and no more than ordinary intelligence.
He has held the place nearly three years, his
duty being to attend to the opening and shut
ting Of the gates, keep close watch on the con-
dition of the reservoir and report to his en-
ployers anything which seemed to demand at
tention. 1t has been his practice upon rising
dition of affairs. He went out as usual Sat-
urday morning, about six O'Clock. Every
thing looked all right; the reservoir was full,
as it had been for several days, water was
flowing out the waste-way on the west side
past his house-the gateway having been
closed fortnight was no sign of the
impending catastrophe, and Cheney returned
to his house the family, including his wife,
several children and his father sat down to
breakfast. They were just finishing the meal
when great noise was heard, and the old
man, who was standing at one Of the eastern
windows, exclaimed, "For God sake, George,
look here p About forty feet in length of
the reservoir on the east side, just beyond the
gate, was shooting downstream. Cheney
seems to have realized the situation and the
emergency at once. With single eye to the
discharge Of his duty, and almost, as one would
infer from hearing him tell the story, without
stopping to consider the danger involved, he
rushed down to the gate and let on the water
full head in the hope that this might possibly
afford relief and avert the threatening danger
This done, he paused moment to investigate
the condition of the wall where the break had
taken place; glance showed him that it could
hardly fail in q few minutes to give way en-
tirely streams of water as large as mans
arm were forcing their way through, new ones
appearing every moment, the wall was con-
stantly crumbling away, and its utter down
fall was evidently only question of minutes
Cheney rushed up to his house and told his
father he was going to the village to warn the
people, together they hurried to the barn,
few rods below, and, while Cheney was throw
inga bride on his horse, his father cut him
stick. Leaping on his horses back, and ply
ing vigorously his lash, he rode at topmost
speed down the road that skirted the streams
bank to Williamsburg, covering the three
miles, he thinks, in fifteen minutes 1t was
then about halfpast 7 o'clock. Driving to
the house of Mr.. Spellman, who had general
charge Of the reservoir, he summoned that
gentleman from his breakfast table to startle
him with, The reservoir is going" 1t was
but the night before that Cheney had been
talking with him about the reservoir, and
both had agreed that everything looked all
right for the summer 1t is not strange,
therefore, that Spellman could not at first
credit the statement, thought the man little
"scairt," and to his startling communication
replied "No! it can't be possible" But Che
ney quickly told him about the giving way of
earth and the streams of water rushing
through, and soon convinced him that the dan
ger was most imminent. The first duty was to
warn the people further down the stream ;
Cheney horse was exhausted, and Spellman
directed him to go to the livery stable, where
again moments were lost in convincing the in
creduous proprietor that the messengers sto-
ry could be true Finally, horse was made
ready, and a fresh man got off to notify the
dwellers further down the stream.
Ofcourse, the onslaught of the water was
terrible and grand beyond description; one
can only give its results as depicting best its
appalling Accomplishments. 10 one the thick
coming mass of water seemed like the heaviest
ocean waves to another the sound was like
the tearing of shingles from many buildings,
while third heard it as the heavy sullen
thunder which succeeds the summer storm.
1t was preceded and surrounded by dense
spray or fog, dark and thick as the heavi-
est smoke, while even as far away as the hill
there was an odor like that emitted by stag
nant pools The wave is generally described
as twenty feet high, though in one spot its
spray washed the branches of tree forty feet
from the ground. 1t would be interesting to
follow the front Of the flood as it thrust itself
upon different eyes along the Williamsburg
Valley; but, taking representative view from
the village as given by Rev. John F. Gleason
we must pass to the details of its progress.
Few, by the way, were sufficiently calm to re-
ceive distinct impressions and the almost un-
varying summing up of the matter is "it was
50 sudden"
1t lis claimed that tile detention of Cheney
by Spellman, caused the loss of many lives,
and so strong was popular indignation reused
against him that he escaped lynching only by
secreting himself. One hundred and forty
five is the total number known to have been
lost, and the bodies of one hundred and ten
have been recovered. The loss to property is
estimated at not less than 100000, mostly