Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-24
Price Four Cents.

the whole region shows the happy results of weu-d1rected zeal and energy. Beginning at | Northampton proper, which only received the nearly-spent force of the flood, we find the | loss, mostly of roads and bridges, more than | made good. The bridges-for thene was but | one left on the stream-are mostly of iron, | and of more substantial build than formerly; the riVer-Walls are stronger, and the bed of the river has been enlarged at various points GoIng to Florence we find still more deter 1 mined disposition to build so as to stand agalnst great emergencies every manufactur- ing enterprise has been enlarged and learn ing from bitter and expensive experience all build now in more substantial manner The meadow lands$o badly gutted and impover- ished are filled in, and, for aueht the eve can dlscern, are as rich and healthy as ever. At Leeds the change is remarkable. Where on that dreadful morning there was nothing but rock, and broken chimney was the only rel !c of the button shops, tenements and other
 buildings. now stand the large and we'll
 equ1ppedssMlll River Button Companys works
 of certainly double the capacity of the old
 mills. Lands have been made, trees planted.
 d1kes thrown up, neat chapel and a dozen
 houses, all presenting the appearance of con-
 fort and prosperity. The large boarding
 house and the new silk mill of the Nonotuck
 Silk Company combine to remove all stains of
 the deluge, while they are built with great
 strength and sohdity. Going further up the
 stream, through a bit of woods, we come to
 Haydenyilie, where at least half million dol
 lars have been invested in wiping out the
 marks of destruction. The Hayden Brass
 works are the largest in the country of the
 kind, and were never in more f1ourishinp
 condition than to-day, their large and finely
 arranged shop being well filled with its com
 plement of 300 men. The new owners of
 the cotton mill are building, and propose to
 turn out largely increased amount of finish
 ed goods. Stores and private residences have
 md dream that only four years ago the village lay in ruins Perhaps at no point on the path of the flood are there so many clear and en- phasized marks of untiring energy as here. In fact the recuperation, were 1t not darken- ed by the shadows of death, would be we'll nigh tomplete. As we approach Williams burg, and come nearer the Hateful dam, we find indications of slower growth. At Skin nerville, once the home of a fourishing silk industry, scarcely nothing remains to show the fact. A few timbers of the ruined dam and the remnants of the nearly obliterated foundations of the old mill are all there is
 MT. Skinner was induced to go to Holyoke and no one seems inclined to awaken the echoes of industry in this region. Though thousands of dollars and much time have been used up by Williamsburg in an endeav- or to erase the footprints of devastation many well known scars are still uncovered
 must come and go ere this section will be
 wholly healed. From the depot to the center the meadow land is still gutted and bare,
 while not a house has been rebuilt through this path, formerly lined with cosy homes 0 sad reminder of the woe of those dark days
 Strong river walls stand bare and ragged, awaiting the time when money shall be more plenty, that their ugliness may be covered by mother earth. Leaving the village proper, and going up that narrow ravine, a mile or more in length, now partially covered with grass and shrubbery, one cannot fail to call vividly to mind the fearful ride for life of Gate Keeper George Cheney on that dismal morning. How many lost their lives by not rushing to the heights at the frantic cries of the flying horsemen! Looking down from the high ground just above the emptied res- ervoir, the black and ghastly bottom, as we remember it almost menacing with it's sickly sediment, Is now covered with amat of green, with q tiny brook like silver cord cutting it in two. The broken walls and part of the gates, with here and there broken timber, is all we now can see. The Hampshire Res ervoir Company talk of sometime rebuilding the reservoir; should it be done the terrible past would be sure guaranty that money would not be spared in chaining the water efectually. The county commissioners very jealously watch over the twin reservoirs be- yond the hills, known as the Goshen reser- voirs, considerable work having been done upon them by their orders, and they are claimed by experts to be entirely safe. This rapid run up the river amply illustrates the fact that on this the sixth anniversary of Mill River disaster, the valley is in Q more prosperous condition than ever before.