Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-06-03
Parallel Disasters.

"dANA Ah1a(a 10Eh NHN1
lage, bearing away two houses and sever
al other buildings, roofing up trees aud
spreading destruction all along its course.
There. were FIVE families occupying the
houses, and but one family escaped III
safety, out of the twenty-seven members
of the remaining four families only nine
were saved, eighteen beng drowned.
About the same time Of the year. ten
years later, a very large reservoir in the
eastern part of Ashburuham, Mass,
swollen by a heavy rain on the preceding
day, burst its bonds, and the water rush
ed with terrific power through the Centre
and Blackburn villages destroying an i'm
mense amount of property, but without
loss of life. Its force was expended con-
siderably after passing Rockville in Fitch
burg, though much damage was done to
roads and bridges in that 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 a year
the loss was counted n gain. In each
of these instances the reservoirs
were used for storage purposes by manu-
featuring establishments below, and the
dams were washed from the top Instead of
the bottom, as at Williamsburg.
Perhaps the nealest 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 Greek,
Denver, Colorado, IN 1864. by which ff-
ty houses were destroyed aud thirty per-
sous drowned.
A disaster iwariug that at Williams
burg and wei that at Sheffield, England,
which Reade describes, was the breaking
of the reservoir Estrecho de Rientes near
Lorca, Spain, in 1902. Six HUNDRED and
eight persons were drowned on that Occa-
sion and s37. 600, 900 of Property destroy
ed.
From ''Thompson's Gazetteer Of Yer.
mont" We copy the following account of
the running off of a pond on the 9th Of
June, 1910:
Long Pond was situated partly in
Glover and partly in Grccnsborough.
This pond was one and one halfmilcs long,
and about half a mile wide, and diacharg-
ed its waters to the south, forming one Of
the head branches of the Lamoille river.
On the date mentioned about 60 persons
went to the pond for the purpose Of open
ing an outlet TO the north into Barton
river, that the mills on that stream might
receive an additional supply of water.
A small channel was e~xcava.cd and
water commenced running in a northcrly
direction. 1t happened that the northern
barrier Of the pond consisted entirely of
quicksaDd, excepting an e%ncrustlng OF
clay mex the water. The sand was i'm
mediately removed by the current and a
large channel formed. The basin formed
by the encrusting Of clay WAS incapable Of
sustaining the incumbent mass Of waters,
aud it broke. The whole poud imnedl-
ately took a northerly course, and in ff-
teen minutes from this time Its bed was
left entirely bare. 1t was discharged so
suddenly that the country below was in
inundated. The deluge advanced
like a sail Of waters, sixty or seventy feet
in height, and twenty rods in width,
dwelling the forests and hills and filling
up the valleys, and sweeping of 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 APP
proach to escape with their lives into the
mountains. A rock supposed to weigh
more than 100 ions was removed halfa
mile from its bed. The waters moved so
as to reach Memphremagog lake,
distance 81 miles, in about six hours from
time they left the pond. Nothing
now remains Of the pond but its bed, II
part of which is cultivated and a part over
with bushes and wild grass.
with a small brook running through it,
which is now the head branch Of Barton
river. The channel through while the
waters escaped is l27 feet in depth and
rods in width. A pond. some dis
lance below. was at first entirely filed
with sand, which has since settled down,
aud 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 strikiDgly similar in its
causes, circumstances and results occurr-
ed near Sheffield. Eng a little more than
ten years ago March IL, 1864 when
the dam of a great reservoir at Bad6eId
gave way under the pressure Of water
caused by the spring thaw and rains. In
the dead of night the food swept away
lis barrier and rushed down the valley
filled with factories, FORCES and the houses
of the operatives. "a polulous district"
said the London News, was almost oblit-
Grated from the face of the earth. Solid
and substantial buildings, workshops. rows
of houses, bridges, everything that oppos-
ed the course of the food yielded before
its over yhelmipg might as though they
were built of paper" Sheffield and the
country for twelve or fifteen miles around
were delugcd. the meadows were cover
ed with mud and strewed with debris and
the bodies ofthe dead. Two hundred and
fifty persons lost their lives, and the danl-
age was estimated at 1927 900.
The United States steamer Gettys.
burg. loaded with the entire equipment