Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-06-04
Incidents of the Massachusetts Flood.
THE WARNING.


utes, he 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 throwing bride upon his
horse his father cut him stick. Leap.
ing upon his horses back and applying
vigorously his, lash he rode at topmost
speed down the road that skirtcd the
streams back to Williamsburg, covering
the three miles, he thinks, in fifteen min
utes. 1t was then about halt.past seven
O'Clock. Driving to the house of Mr. Spell
man, who had general charge of the reser-
voir, he summoned that gentleman from his
breakfast table to startle him with THE
reservoir is going" Spellman could not
at first credit the statement. He thought
the man little scared" and TO his
startling announcement replied, No, it
can't be possible" But Cheney quickly
told him about the giving way of the
earth, and the streams of water rushing
through, and soon convinced him that the
danger was most imminent The first
duty was to warn the people further down
the stream. Cheney'S horse was exhaust.
ed, and Spellman directed him to 90 to
the livery-stable, where again precious
moments were lost in convincing the in.
credulous people that the messengers
story could be true.
Another hero OF the occasion is Collins
Graves Il milkman, who was at the liv.
ery-stable when Cheney was trying to
get some one to spread the news below.
"lf the dam is breaking" said Graves,
after listening to Cheeney's iragmentary
story, 1.-THE folks must know it," And,
lashing his fleet horse into run, he
dashed away toward Haydenville, shout
ing, 1.-THE reservoir is right here. Rum
It's all you can do"
1t was now a quarter of eight O'Clock,
and meanwhile Becher and Cheney had
rung the bell of theCongregational Church
to further warn the village folk
On went horse and driver, spreading
the alarm, Graves shouting all the way
He made directly for the manufacturing
establishments, for" said he, the peo-
pie could hear it, but the roar of the fac
tories would drown any warning for the
operatives"
At Skinnerville the messenger was
five minutes ahead of the coming
torrent, but at Haydenville they had
but two minutes to spread the
alarm. There the famous ride, which
will be sung in story and told to the
credit of Collins Graves around the fire
sides of Williamsburg forever, as the sal
walton of many hundred lives, ended at
the hotel.
Horse and rider were both exhausted,
and here another herald took up the It'd
ings. Graves could hear the thunder of
the coming flood, but not fully appreciat-
ing its extent he turned to go back to
Williamsburg. AT the "dugwayn the
disaster which he had predicted burst
upon his sight, and he had just time TO
turn off on "A bank near Capt. Kingsley's
when it crashed past him. Indeed, he
was not twenty seconds too soon, and as
it was he had almost despared of reach
ing place of safety, and had even
thought of abandoning his tired stecd to
its fate.
Graves is Williamsburg boy, and has
a pleasant home on the hill, out of all
danger of floods.
A REMARKABLE ESCAPE.
The story of the marvellous escape of
young Dunning at Leeds is so interesting
that it is worth giving in detail. When
the alarm was given he was at work in
the spool.room of the Nonotuck silk
works, and, rushing out Of the mill, his
first thought, of course, was for his family.
He found that his father, wife and three
children had all left the house. He shout
ed to them to run for their lives, at the
same time pointing TO them what direc-
ton to take His wife and children
obeyed him and were saved; but his
father, an old man of seventy-eight,
thinking that something might be got out
Of the house before the flood reached it,
went back. In dashed the son after him,
begging him 10 leave the doomed build
ing. While raising one Of the windows
the floor gave way beneath their feet, and
his father disappeared from his sight.
The young man had just time TO chamber
out of the window, and as the house tipped
over crawled up its side to the root just AS
the building broke up, leaving him but
fragment TO cling to for his life, and on
he went sailing down that awful flood in
full sight of wife and children, who as they
looked on IN terror and agony, expected
mOmentarily to see him sink beneath the
surging mass In few seconds his trall
raft was crushed like an eggshell, but his
presence of mind never deserted him. He
jumped for another and when that was
gone for yet another. He was Fastening
down with the current at terrific speed,
and intent on the fearful task he had in
manu-, never once JDoughI ol thc udHls W
ward which he was Fastening. The first
one is reached in the awful crash and jam
He is hurled seemingly twenty feet in the
air, to come down and be submerged for
the lrst time far beneath the waves. As
he came to the surface again and clasped
another piece of driftwood lie realized
with an intensity unimaginable by those
whose lives have never been imperilcd
. "a, auI htoher dam Vyag Int
short distance below, and that he had alb
solutely no hope for life unless he es.
capped from the food before that point
1.l,. tLn stnllnn