Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1874-05-20
FACT AND FICTION.
From the Baltimore American. I

There is no fiction more strange aud awful
,h,u fact, and the most weird and wonderful
;magiuiogs Of the novelist not infrequently are
n,raelcd or surpassed by the actual occurren-
RS Of life. The mauy who have read Charles
Rcadc's description OF the breaking Of OuSeley
Dam, in his novel of Put Yourself 10 His
Pace have regarded it as a clever piece of
descriptive writing, having some foundation In
fact. but Indebted TO the noveliSt's brilliant
imagination for its terrible attractiveueSs But
the Mil River disaster so closely parallels it
in incdeut and horror aud devastation, that,
changing the names of localities, we might
take Rcadc' account and ''put it In the place"
ot some of the we'll written narratlons which
our own press are giving of the Massachusetts
,.l,mity. The mlikman Collins Graves had
r.rhaps never heard of Reade story when he
ia,hcd his horse to a run and'went shouting
dawn the valley, THE reservoir is right here.
Euu--it is all you can do;' but here is almost
the exact parallel 10 the Ouseley Dam recital
Of Rarsolnu' 5 ride to warn the villagers
lie thought it was better to give false
warning than withhold true one. He ran to
hi, horse, Jumped on him, and spurred away.
Ills horse was fast and powerful, and carried
him in three minutes back to Emdens farm.
The farmer had gone to bed. Raosome knock
Cd hun up, and told him he feared the dam
WAS uoing; then galloped on to Hatfield mill
Here he found the miller and his family all
gathered outside ready for a start; one work
man had ruu down FROM the reservoir. ''The
cmi,lukment is not safe. Ransome galoped
on, shouting as be went. The shout was taken
up ahead, and he heard voice crying u the
night: Its coming it's coming'
This weird cry which, perhaps, his owp gal
l,irg aud shouting had excited, seemed like
an independent warning, aud thrilled him to
tie .oue. He galloped through Hatfield, shout.
ing. save yourselves! Save yourselves !" and
>hrirkipg wildly. Looking back he saw the
hiI dotted with what he took for sheep at first,
but il was the folk 10 their night-clothes. He
g4loped on to Damfask, still shouting as he
went. \, the edge of the hamlet he found u
cottage with no light 10 it; he dismouuted aud
thuudcrcd at the door. Escape for you lives,
fer your llves!" A man called Hillsbro' Harry
opened the window. The embankmeot is 60
irg Fly for your lives n' Nay" said the man
c,oIIy, "Ousclcy Dam will burst noane this
this wcrk," aud turned to go to bed again.
Pre>cutly sharp explosion was heard up IN
the hills Ransome pulled up and said aloud,
"lt will be all right now, thank goodness! They
have blown up the weir" The words were
scarcely out of his mouth when they heard a
loud, sueu roar, speedily followed by a tre-
mcudous hiss, aud rumbllng thunder that
shock the very earth where he stood, two miles
dlstaut At that appalling sound, that kissing
thunder, the like Of which he had never heard
before Rausome spurrcd away at all his speed
and warucd the rest of the village with loud,
nartculate cries He could not wait to speak,
nor was it necessary, at the top of the hill
he turucd moment and looked up the valley.
Soor. he saw lofty white wall running down
on Hatfield mill. 1t struck the mill aud left
nothing visible but the roof surrounded by
white ioam Another moment and he
distinctly saw the mill swim yard or
two, then disappear and leave no trace,
and on came the white wall, kissing aud
laundering. Ransome uttered cry Of hor.
ror, and gailoped mady forward to save
what lives he might. Whenever he passed IA
house he shrieked his warning, but he never
drew rein. As he galIoped along his mind
worked He observed the valley widen in
places and he hoped the flying lake would
spread and so lose some of that tremendous
volume of force, before which he had seen Hat
field stone mill 20 down. With this hope he
gaicped on and reached Poma bridge, five
miles and half from the reservoir. Here, to
his dismay, he heard the Kissing thunder sound
as near to him as it was when he halted 90 the
hill above Damhask. AS he crossed the bridge
he caught sight of the flying lake once more
he had gone over more ground, but he had
gone nc further. lie saw the white wall strike
Donau's farm; there was light in one win
dow now He saw the farm house with its one
light swim bodily, then melt and disappear
with all the poor souls in it. He galloped on--
his hat flew off; be came under the coincrs'
house, and yelled warning "Thc food the
flood Fly Get on high ground for your
vcsr' At last it reached Littc's. What
seemed a mountain of snow came rolling, and
burst on them with terrific violence, whirling
great trees and fragments OF houses past with
Incredible velocity At the first blow the
house that stood nearest to the flying lake was
shattered, aud went TO pieces soon after; all the
houses quivcred as the water rushed round
them Two stories high y
And the progress of the great wave, as it
bore down the narrow valley, sweeping before
i, in r,sstless progress everything it eucoun-
tered, is quite as we'll described by q Tribune
correspondent as Rcade had before doue it..
We quote
Ia the little village below the operatives
had fairly begun their work for the day; the
mills were alive with busy workmeu; there were
the mouotonous wbirl Of wheels, the buzz of
spindle and loom, and all the multitudnous
sounds that 20 to make up the monotone of in.
du>lry in such hive of activity and energy.
In that busy little community of $500 souls
there wers few who were not up and abroad
at this hour of the morning. For none of them
was there any warning of the peril which, back
OF them on the hills, was sweeping down bear
luT min HpStrnotIOD and death Not untlI
the tremendous bore 80 feet high and of the
Mit Of the valley, throwing up spray like
smoke aud bearing great mass of timber,
earth, and stone in its teeth, was 10 sight aud
larry lowering over them did they apprehend
,Aer dagger L'okiog up at it then in the
horrible moment OF agony that was left them
tnrre was no escape. Toward the coming
Nod there was no possible outlet. Only death
ia n;nat that direction. Ga either side toward the
Trl''S-oh, ~ so far away-they looked in vain.
me h'll of waters hauked them, and hope on
either side was cut off. Down the valley there
", was 90 chance for the Aeetcd rider to outrun