The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1874-05-21


June to the 6ut Of October. 4 reiac.
ton ofpriees can only he accomplished
by icngthculng the season,
TEkHIHLE DisAsrEH-FEAHFU Loss
or LIFE.
I Tho most terrible disasterin the an
aals Of Massachusetts occurred IN
Hanpsbire county ca Saturday The
n.a nrg reservoir, covering over
one huuap4 acres gave way early 10
the forenoon, prccipitatirg tie vast
mass Of waters il contained three miles
down a steep and BARROW valley into
the thriving manufacturing village Of
Williamsburg, aud thence further down
the valley through the villages of
HaydenviIle. Leeds an3 Florence into
Northampton meadows, where the
stream emptics into the Connecticut
river. The huge torrent dashiug into
Williamsburg with resistless power,
swept away 10 a moment the manuiac-
turing establishments aud dwellings,
causing au enc lops destruction Of
property and terrible loss Of human
life. H. lower villages suffered only
/, 5s awful.
The latest figures Of the loss Of life
make the total IA, divided as 70 lows:
Williamsburg, co. Leeds AZ Hay
denyillo, 35 These figures only rep.
resent the persons whose loss is posi-
lively known, though the bodies Of all
are notyet recovered. Bodies are CON
stantly being found, aud in some cases
those Of persons not supposed to be
lost, so that it seems perfectly safe to
say that he<otal loss Of life will OK.
coed $50, if iadccd it does not more
nearly approach 200. 1t is utterly in-
possible, as yet, to give detailed es.
innate Of the losses Aside from build
ings destro, ed and damaged, bridges
have been carried away, roads ruined
and hundreds of acres of meadow land
rendered almost valueless. The total
loss must far exceed one million dollars
and will probably come nearer two mil
lions,
Mill river is a tributary to the Con-
necticut river and empties into the lat.
ter at Northampton In the village of
Williamsburg Mill river divides into
two brances, one OF which has lis rise
in Goshen and the other at about the
edge Of Conway. The two large res
ervoirs are situated on the Goshen
branch aud one on tho Conway branch,
containing a total area of not less than
athousand acres, with an average depth
Of not less than six feet. The reservoir
dams were all substantially constructed
The manufacturing capital invested
along the river aud affected by this dis
aster, placing it at low estimate, must
be FIVE million dollars, and the popuIa-
ton affected thereby is about five
thousand. WILLIAMSBURG mannf.~'-- -
cotton, silk, hollow ware, buttoLs and
brass work 1t has two post Offices,
one being at Haydenyile. The pop
ulatiou numbers about . 500 The nun
Der Of dwellings, houses in both villages
was 425.
1t appears that serious doubts as to
the safety Of the reservoir had been en-
terlained ever since it was built. nine
years ago, though less for the last year
or two than in its early history. The
gate keeper has several times express
ed fears to his employers, calling spec
ial attention once to the point where
the break occurred, but examiners
always reported everything safe. The
direct cause Of the disaster, aside from
the general weakness, must remain the
subject Depreciation. The gate keeper
detected no sign Of danger when he
examined the situation at carly dawn,
and what the last straw was that broke
the great back of the reservoir can
never be definitely known perhaps.
As satisfactory a theory, as any, is the
one advanced, by a man familiar with
the case, that frosts had started the
earth 50 that the water found numerous
little courses through it which finally
carried of the first mass Of earth Sat
urday morning, and at once preeipi
tated the catastrophe. The gate keeper
has at various times feared a break
from the fact thyt a stream Of water
flowed constantly through the bottom
Of the gateway, while there were also
a number of small streams, some Of
them quite minute, along the bottom
on either side Of the center
II some nan had been present when
the water first made the breach in the
wall il would seem that the loss Of life
might have been prevented. The his.
tory Of our own state presents a paral.
lol case Runaway pond in Glover
bsrst its barriers and cut a channel
sixty feet in depth. letting a vast vol
umc Of water into the valley below
sweeping everything before it. Some