The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-05-26

break bad taken place; glance showed him
that it could hardly fail in few minutes to
give way entirely; streams OF water as large
as mans arm were forcing their way
through, new ones appearing every moment,
the wall was constantly crumbling away,
and it's utter downfall was evidently only a
question of minutes. Cheney rushed
up TO his house and told his father
he was going to the village to warn the PEG
pie; together they hurried to the barn, few
rods below. and, while Cheney was throwing
bride upon his horse, his father cut him a
stick. Leaping upon his horses back. and
plying vigorously the Lash, he rode at top
most speed down the road that skirtcd the
streams bank to Williamsburg covering the
three miles. he thinks, in Is minutes. It was
then about 1880 o'clock. Driving to the
house OF Mr.. Spellman, who had general
charge OF the reservoir, he summoned that
gentleman from the 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 look ed all
rignt Tor the summer. IL is not strange,
therefore, that Spellman could not at first
credit the statement, thought the man a
| little "scairs," and to his startling commun-
ication replied. "Noi it can't be possible"
But Cheney quickly told him about the
4 streams
water rushing through and soon convinced
him that the danger was most imminent.
The hrst duty was to warn the people further
down the stream; Cheney's horse was ex-
hausted. and Spellmsn directed him to go to
the livery stable, where again precious mo-
ments were lost in convincing
TIE INcREDULoUs PROPRIETOR
that the messengers story could be true.
Finally horse was made ready, and fresh
man got off to notify the jewellers further
down the stream. OF course, the onslaught
of the water was terrible and grand beyond
description; one can only give its results as
depicting best its appalling accountant
ments. To 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 a 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 the heaviest
smoke, while even as far away as the hill
there was an odor like that emitted by stag
| nant pools The wave Is generally de-
scribed as 20 feet high, though in one spot its
spray washed the branches of a tree 40
feet from the ground. 1t would be interest
ing to follow the front of the flood as it
thrust itself upon different eyes along the
Williamsburg valley; but, taking a repre-
sentative view of the village as given by the
Rev. John Z. Gleason, we must pass the de-
tails OF its progress. Few, by the way, were
efficiently calm to receive distinct inn
pressions, and the almost unvarying sum-
ming up of the matter is, ''It was so sudden 20
MIR. Gleason got up from his breakfast
table to see the Adams Touring mill sailing
before his window, while his neighbor' s
houses in the valley below were taken up by
the water like chips, to crumble as salt the
trees were blown down like grass, huge
powders were tossed about by the resistless
current, while the waves would savagely
play awhile with the barns and shops to
grind them to chips and splinters.