The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-05-21
A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION.

! GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION.
from seven O'Clock when the first symptoms
of the break were discovered by the watch
man in charge of the dam. These consist
ed of small leak, through the lower EN-.
bankmeut in the direction of W iliamsburg
| At first the watchmdn thought little or
nothing Of the circumstance, bat at length
the gap began TO widen, and he very pro-
! pery became alarmed, and hastened to
notify the inhabitants in the village below.
! He started on run for Williamsburg,
which was less than two miles distant, but
long before be had got there, the whole
embankment gave away, and the stream Of
terror, death and destruction, was there
ahead of him. He had to take refuge
upon neighboring hill to save his own
life, and thus became an agonized and help
less witness of the calamity which he had
done all in his humble power to avert.
The rush Of the waters and the fear and
CONSERVATION which ensued among tie
terrified citizens, was most heartrendlng
to witness. The flood came without the
slightest warning, save heavy rumbling,
not unlike thunder, or the sound of heavy
train pas,i ing ever covered railroad bridge
Almost in IA moment the torrents swept
successfully through the villages Of
Skiunersvlle, Wilhamsfurgh, Haydenville
and Leeds. The three frs. named hamlets
being bout three quarters of mile apart,
and the latter abou. two miles below Hay
dcnville. To chose who saw the terrible
volume approaching, it looked IN the dis
tance, as if a terrible fire was sweeping
across the country. The spray, or foam,
had the appearance ola heavy black smoke,
ana the deception was SO complete, that
in the village of IIaydenvlle, the fire bells
were ringing for fire, minutes before the
devastating flood struck the town.
Large brick and stone mills crumbled
like piles of sand, and small wooden dwell
ings were no more to the raging current
than SO many toy steamboats, would lie in
the surging waters of the Niagara river
The scene was most horrible and frightful,
and made even the strongest men 20 frantic
Nth fear Women tainted in the stores,
and were bore away by the rentless current.
So sudden the Inundation that many
| lost their presence of mind and rushed
wildly from the pOlLt of safety into tie
very jaws of death itself Others who
remained to save loved ones were them
selves lost.
The water has greatly rcceeled, and by
to morrow, 1t will nearly disappear alto
Gether. la fact, it was only abo ut twenty
minutes from the first inur datinn before
there was perccptibly, rapid fall, which
! has continued ever since. The bodies
recovered were horribly mangled, many of
them stripped of every particle ofcl"thins
/ Nearly all were identified by friends. The
scene of the disaster has been visited BIZ
! hundr Ids of people this afternoon.
SEARCHING FOR THE DEAD.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass, May lS.-The
search for the dead bodies has been going
! or all day in Mill River Valley, aud will
! be continued for several days and perhaps
/ even weeks. The meadows are SO deeply
covered with dcbris that it Is feared many
/ dead bodies have not been undiscovered.
! A number have been recovered to-day and
/ it Is now thought that yesterdays estimate
| of 200 lives lost may fall below the actual
| loss The extent of the disaster increases
rather than dminishes, and it is as vet
impossible to give full and reliable est.
mate of loss of life and property
TIE CONDITION or TIE RESERVOIR.
! New YORK, May lS.-A Northampton
dispatch on the Hampshire County (Mass.l
! disaster Saturday, says on the west branch
| lrrgeT by nea,ly one-halg than the burstcd
one at Ashfcld, to which it has always
( been reckoned inferior in strength 1t j.
/ owned by tie same nen whose fortunes
/ their own reservoir has Jn>t wrecked. The
people OF the valley seat up, on Saturday,
three meSsengere in quick succession to
/ get the gateway Of the Goshen reservoir
/ opened and left open TIL the dam could be
/ examined and streng gtheued if necessary.
/ The -ate-kecper refused to oIen it, and
finally SATURDAY night the agent of the
water company went up IN person, and
/ compelled him to le. off the water There
/ are TWO reservoirs one above the other, in
the same line, the low er and larger II year,
! old, and the other new. The people OF
! Mil RIVER Valley have promised to them.
selves thai 20 want of care shall make
possible such another overwhelming dis
aster.
| RELIEF COMING IN.