The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1874-05-18

wards and left crushed together ana
buried. A man was picked up from
tree upon which he had ridden elk
miles on the torrent, cheering and
waving his coat. The poor fellows
mind was gone. No lees than eight
cases OF insanity followed among
those who have lost relatives and
friends by this terrible calamity. and
three were committed to an asylum IN
Northampton. Everything was ground
fine where the flood passed, tlmbers
were in toothpicks aud great stones
nearly became boulders; and here
and there a corpse or a piece OF
corpse. All the windings OF the valley
were filled with debris. A terrible pic
lure OF waste and death in the most
beautiful valley of Massachusetts. The
gracious work OF saving the dead from
this burial began at noon. At Skinner
Vile the first bodies were picked VI, dug
out OF the mnd or taken with difficulty
from the overloaded ruins. All through
the valley the work went on till night
and then men with lanterns seeking
their dead stood guard. At HAYDEN
Vile forty bodies were gathered by
night; at Leeds, forty-tive. There
had been in the AFTERNOON
gangs OF plunderers promptly turned 10
workers and by no stinted threats. Ihe
people were ready to brain them with the
fret stone. There were fewer dead at
Florence and Northampton, l4O in all,
aud many more are certainly buried
in the mud and rubbish that fill the
valley with black heaps from Williams-
burg TO Northampton. A man on horse
back gave warning in the upper part
OF the valley. but some wouldn't hear
and some turned TO their houses and
to the great factories for safety: A
man at Haydenville factory saved HE
lite by sticking to the factory, but he
WAS miraculous exception. tie ran
into the closet that stood against the
paeat chlmneyoi the factory, and when
the factory was crushed the chimney
stood and his closet stuck to 1t
| like a lantern against a wall, with him
waving his hands Tor help, but a man
and a girl who ran out at the roar OF
the waters and ran back Tor a haven OF
safety, went down under the building
Al Williamsburg factory aud twenty
seven houses were blotted out. At
HaydenvIle a factory, gas house, a
cotton mill, bank, and one hundred
dwellings. At Leeds button factory
and twenty-five houses. At skinner
Vile every house is gone, except DIR.
SINNERS own. Such houses az are
here set down as gone" are utterly
vanish ed and distributed in shreads, not
piece over six ieet long, over miles OF
country. The Licking Water river. as
they call it, has been a sea and ls now
trckliug stream lost in miles OF mud.
The lake, hemmed in by detective
masonry u among the Gasten hills, has
done its work terribly.
SPRINGFIELD, May l7.-The latest
figures OF the loss OF LIE by the break
ing OF the Williamsburg reservoir make
total OF IA, divided a. follows be-
tween the three places: williamsburg,
60; Leeds, 40; Haydendille, 30. These
figures only represent persons whose
loss i. positively known, though the
bodies OF all are not vet recovered
Bodies are constantly being found, and
in some cases those OF persons who
were not supposed to be lost, so that it
seems perfectly safe to say that the
total loss OF life will exceed $50, il, in
deed, it does more nearly approach 200.
The damage to the town OF Will
liamsburg by loss OF bridges, great
destruction OF roads, and the complete
ruin of the best meadow lands, Ia at
present incalculsble, but it is such as
to seriously cripple the town. Three
iron bridges were carried away in the
village OF Williamsburg; one wooden
and two iron bridges in the village OF
Leeds; and in the village OF Florence
one iron and two wooden bridges were
swept away.
1t is utterlyy impossible to yet give &
detailed estimate of the lossee. Aside
from the buildings destroyed and dam
aged, bridges have been carried away
roads ruined and hundreds OF acres o
meadow lands rendered almost value
less. The total loss must lar exceeC
81 O000O0 and will probably come neal
s2,OO0,00o.
1t appears that serious doubts as L
the safety OF the reservoir have been
entertained ever since it was built niRe
wears ago, though less for tue last twt
years than in its early history. Th'
gste,keeper has several times expressed
tears to his employers, calling specia
attention to the point where the break
occurred, but examiners always report
: ed everything safe. The direct cause
of the disaster, aside from the genera
weakness OF the dam, must remain {
subject OF speculation. Perhaps q
satisfactory a theory as any is the on
advanced by man familiar with tn
case, that frosts bad started early, 81
that water had found numerous LITTLE
; courses through it, which finally car
rled off the fret mass OF earth Ssturds.
morning, and at once precipliated INT
catastrophe.
The citizens OF Williamsburg held
town meeting on Saturday evening
and appointed q committee TO ralt
, subscriptions, look after the destitut
8 and arrange the search for the missing
Northampton aud the adjoining town
have been sending in supplies G
I food, clothing and money sine
the disas,er, and contribution
were taken up for the sufferers 10 th
I churches throurhout Western Massa
E chusetts, to-day. The collections i
t the churches in Springfield amouute
3 To ahnnt 60 lOl and the anhscri ntio