Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-05-20

L. he scenes REMIND one I0fclD1y Oi Tie
story told by Charles Reade in his :" Put
Yourself in His Place. of the breaking of
| the Ouseley dam and the destruction of
the manufacturing village of Hillsboro.
| Even Ransome's ride from the scene of the
break, through the districts in its course,
has been outdone by the courageous watch
man who rode his horse to death, and
then mounted another and pursued his
course warning the thunder-stricken in
| habitants of their fearful peril
| Many persons at Haydenville and Will
| liamsburg have been made insane by the
fearful excitement which prevails, and
| from the loss of friends. In many cases
every member of a family, save one or
two, is drowned.
| When the wafer began to subside in
Florence meadows, Il large number of
bodies We're discovered and conveyed to
| William Warmers carpenter shop for iden-
| LITIGATION. The scene here was heart-rend-
ing On the floor, in irregular order, Law
eighteen corpses of all ages, from the child
two years old to the woman of seventy
Near the door, with a fearful cash in the
forehead, was Ralph Isham, the book keep
Ell of the Critchlow button MILL Over in
the corner was the widow Fitzgerald, while
all around We're blackened corpses with
their clothes half torn eff, and in some
instances terribly mangled
! Those who had survived rushed frantic
ally to the scene in search of friends OF
relatives, and too many had the misfortune
of finding some loved one among the
CHASTITY groups of corpses laid out in all
directions. Outside there was the same
amount of distress, and no pen can de-
scribe the heart burnings and the deep an
guish which was expressed on every coun-
tenance. Hundreds of weeping men, wo-
men and children were to be seen going
frantically up and down the wake of the
flood, seeking for the remains of missing
relatives and friends. Several bodies and
fragments of bodies were picked up in
| Northampton. nine miles below the break,
and most of them We're so much disfigurcd
rs to be almost entirely beyond recognition
Even the cOuntenances Of those who were
not torn and mangled presented most
horrible and hideous appearance, intlicat-
ing Il fearful and desperate struggle for life.
Scenes and incidents connected with the
terrible disaster are told to every inquirer,
and many of them will pass into history as
a portion of the legendary lore of the L.
fated neighborhood.
Mr.. G. Brady, clerk in Leeds, was
caught up and carried down the stream in
the presence of his agonizing friends He
was thrown with fearful velocity over
Hooks dam, ,and babe good-by to his
friends Just before reaching the cataract
He was afterwards found alive and insane
in the Florence meadows but he has since
recovered. Mr.. Langley gave his family
up for lost, as he saw them 90 into the
house at the time of the alarm, but he af-
| i, Il 1
story of the l., twenty rods down stream.
Had they remained in the front part all
would have been lost. II. d. James
wooden mill is standing, but all around is
swept clean, Only two houses are left
standing at Skinnersville. The Hayden
vile Manufacturing COmpany's cotton mill
stands.
| When the alarm came to the atfrighted
citizens, some were paralyzed with fear
and unable in consequence to effect their
escape. Many women tainted in the streets
and were borne away by the relentless
current. So sudden was the inundation
that many lost their presence of mind and
rushed wildly from points of safety into
very death itself Others who remained
to save loved and dear ones were them
selves lost Eight cases of insanity have
| been reported from among those who were
either rescued from the torrent or who
! lost some near relatives in the flood. They
were committed to the asylum here, and
some of them have so far recovered COM
posture as to be almost entirely out of dan
ger.
Probably the most impressive scene
connected with the terrible calamity wa
the warning given to the residents of the
ill-fateh valley and the manner of its COM
munication. 1t is stated that the watch
man, when he found that the dam had
actually given way, mounted II horse,
rode with the utmost possible speed to
Williamsburg, shouting to every one to
flee for their lives, us the torrent would
soon be upon them. His horse was so
urged beyond his strength that he dropped
dead in the streets of Williamsburg Pro-
curing another horse, he dashed on to
Skinnersville, little village next in the
path of the flood, spreading dismay in
every direction. 1t is fearful ride, with
the torrent roaring behind him-a race
not for his own life, but for the lives of
others. and almost as worthy to be i'm
mortalized in verse us Sheridan's ride to
| Winchester, or, more similar still, the his
torical ride of Paul Revere. Tearing down
( to the little village, he shouted the tidings
to William Skinner, proprietor of the silk
mills who instantly gave the alarm by
ringing the bell of his factory as for a fire.
His operatives, rushing out, were told to
run for their lives to the hills which sur
rounded the village They had scarcely
time to do 50 before the flood had swept
away the silk factory. The inhabitants
could not at first realize the amount of the
danger, and in the hesitancy they were
swallowed up by the roaring torrent and
whirled away to the plains below, where
their bodies were afterwards discovered,
deeply immersed in the mud or mixed up
with the floating wrecks. DR.. johnson,
seeing the danger which threatened the
town, gave the alarm, and his wife fortl-
nately escaped, but in his efforts to save
the remainder Of his family, he lost his
| life. together with his three children in
/ sight of the agonized wife and mother
In many instances whole families were
swept away with not one left to tell the
tale of their desperate struggle for life.
Fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters
were rapidly hurried into eternity, perish
| ing side by side, and making frantic efforts
to render mutual assistance. One man
was carried down the stream in company
with his wife, and after leaving the out
skirts of the town they were separated,
and their bodies were found subsequently
half a mile apart In one of the tene-
ment houses there were ten inmates,
women and children, and all were lost.
! The house was taken down in the current
and dashed to pieces, and the inmates were
never seen until their bodies We're recover
ed. late in the evening. The head and
upper portion of a young girls body were
found in Williamsburg, Saturday after
noon, and an hour later the limbs were
found in Haydenville, mile and half
! below.
The mediums have already succeeded
in calling Charles Summers spirit out of
the depths, and that millennial sheet,
1.-The Kingdom of Heaven" had a long