Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1874-05-29
Parallel Disasters.

era' other buildings, roofing up trees and
spreading destruction all along its course.
There were five families occupying the
houses, and but one family escaped in
safety, out of the twenty-seven members
Of the remaining four families only nine
were saved, eighteen being drowned.
About the same time of the year, ten
years later, very large reservoir in the
eastern part If Ashburnham, Mass,
swollen by heavy rain on the preceding
day, burst itsbounds, and the water rush.
ed with terrific power through the Gen.
tire and Blackburn villages, destroying
an immense amount of property, but
without loss of life. Its force was ex-
pended considerably after passing Rock
vile in Fitchburg, though much damsge
was done to roads and bridges in thatt
town also. The loss to Ashburnham
was so extensive as to elicit aid from
other places, but in the sequel the new
impetus given to business there was such
that in less than year the loss was
counted gain. In each of these in
stances the reservoirs were used for stor-
age purposes by manufacturing establish
ments below, and the dams were washed
from the top instead of the bottom, as at
Williamsburg.
Perhaps the nearest approach in this
country to the Williamsburg disaster, in
amount Of damage done and number of
lives lost, was the bursting of its banks
by a mountain torrent upon Cherry
Creek, Denver, Colorado, in 1864, by
which fifty houses were destroyed and
thirty persons drowned.
A disaster dwarfng that at Williams
burg and even that at Sheffield, England,
which Reade describes, was the break
of the reservoir Estrecho de Rientes near
Lorca, Spain, in 1902. Six hundred and
eight persons were drowned on that oc-
casion and s37,OO0,0OO of property de-
stroyed.
From Thompson's Gazetteer of Ver-
mont " we copy the following account of
the running off of pond on the 9Th of
June, 1910:
Long Pond was situated partly in
Glover and partly in Greensborough.
This pond was one and one half miles
long, and about half mile wide, and
discharged its waters to the south, form
ing one of the head branches of the La
moille river. On the date mentioned
about 90 persons went to thepond for the
purpose of opening an outlet to the north
into Barton river, that the mills on that
stream might receive an additional sup
ply of water.
A small channel was excavated and
water commenced running in northerly
direction. 1t happened that the north
ern barrier of the pond consisted entire
ly of quicksand, excepting an encrusting
of clay next the water. The sand was
Immediately removed by the current and
large channel formed. The basin
formed by the encrusting of clay was in
capable of sustaining the incumbent
mass of waters, and it broke. The
whole pond Immediately took norther-
ly course, and in fifteen minutes from
this time its bed was left entirely bare.
1t was discharged so suddenly that the
country below was instantly inundated.
The deluge advanced like wall of wa
tiers, sixty or seventy feet in height, and
twenty rods in width, levelling the for
ests aud hills and filling up the valleys,
AMI sweeping off mills, houses, barns,
fences, cattle, horses and sheep as it
passed, for the distance of more than ten
miles, and barely giving the inhabitants
sufficient notice of its approach to escape
with their lives into the mountains. A
rock supposed to weigh more than 100
tons was removed half mile from its
bed. The waters removed 30 rapidly
as to reach Memphremagog lake, dis
tance 27 miles, in about six hours from
the time they left the pond. Nothing
now remains of the pond but its bed,
part of which is cultivated and part
overgrown with bushes and wild grass,
with small brook running through it,
which is now the head branch of Barton
river. The channel through which the
waters escaped is 127 feet in depth and
several rods in width. A pond, some
distance below, was at first entirely filed
with sand, which has since settled down,
and it is now about one half its former
dimensions. Marks of the ravages are
still to be seen through nearly the whole
course of Barton river.
A catastrophe strikingly similar in its
causes, circumstances and results occurr-
ed near Sheffield, Eng, little more
than ten years ago March IL, 1860
when the dam of great reservoir at
Brad6eld gave way under the pressure