The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-04-21
And Floods a Whole Valley In Its
Downward Course.
Nothing but Death and Destruction
In it's Wake.
The Bodies of Eleven Victims are
Already Recovered,
While others are Still Numbered
Among the Missing.
Citizens of Surrounding Towns Rem
dering Aid to the unfortunates.

Citizens of Surrounding Towns Rem
dering Aid to the unfortunates.
EAST LEE, Mass, April 20.-At o'clock this
morning the village of East Lee, in Berkshire
county. Massachusetts, was inundated and de
yastated by the breaking away of a dam at Mud
Pond reservoir This reservoir formed noun
tain lake about two and a half miles from the vii
lage. The village received its nrst news of the
accident when flood of water, varying in depth
from four to six feet came pouring down the
streets AS soon as possible people went up the
line of the flood towards the pond. They found
the ruin worse as they approached the starting
point of the torrent Fortunately the track is
along a sparseiy inhabited country, but what de-
structon there was to do in Wrecklng the three
Much stock besides property Is lost:
The explorers at the very first of the search
found the bodies of six persons, and search was
Immediately organized for others The scene was
one of the most terrible desolat1on and destruc-
tion, and the whole town OF Lee was in the widest
excitement At 8 O'Clock nine bodies had been
found and from the knowledge of people who
lived in the track of the flood parties were led to
believe that several more would be found. AT
noon eleven bodies had been recovered, and three
people were missing.
AS near as can be ascertaIned the Mud Pond
6a Sad ave wg sgns as Of psn r m The
parties responsible, or owning privilege OF its
water supply, had been notified, but nothing was
ones careesSneSs.
The channel quilted by the torrent is from 80 to
200 feet wide and while evidences of its terrific
power are plainest the pond is approached.
the most serious loss Of life and property occurred
three miles from the lake in East Lee village. The
water reaches stream in which manufactures
are built by brook through the woods and thinly
settled farm land, and there was not much of life
or any buildings to be lost until the village was
reached, Here it wrenched Edwin SturgiS' barn,
swept away bridge spanning the brook, which is
but small as it runs naturally from small pond,
and then rushed down the channel OF the stream
on which dwellings, and manufactures are 10
~ Victims of the Disaster.
Couch g. Oakley's millwright shops, John
Dowd's mandatory of paper machinery, and A.
Whites family consisted of himself and wife, 48
and 45 years old respectively, daughter Ida and
baby son. They were IN bed when hen the noSs o,s
crash of the building, and also sunk in the waters
Their bodies, except that of the baby have been
! Theodore King and wife and Mrs. Chas. King
rushed from their home to escape and were car
ried off by the flood and drowned. Had they stay
ed in the house they would have been saved, as
the house was not destroyed.
Duncan Doyd, 60 years old, is known to have
been drowned, but his remains have not yet been
found
Further down the stream John Mclaughlin,
machine shop suffered wreck, and still lower Har,
rlSOn tJdruelQS 'IOfeSb' dIlu dIiucI DcChOI duu
Sabin mills, making fine papers, were ruined. The
boilers and all the basement machinery were
taken out by the flood and, though weighing tons;
were carried like corkS. John Veran'S paper mill
was also Quilted in the basement. These disasters
throw great many hands out of employment and
literally paralyze all East Lee o nd1stples @ .,o
expense of roads and other costs that must fall on
the town will be $4,000 more.
Charles King, before reported dead, is badly in
iuPed, but physicians think he will recover.
The air is full of the recital OF incidents OF the
morning. One young lady, Miss SturgesS, whose
fathers residence overlooked the frightful rush of
the waters, describes the scene as simply appall-
ing, the very atmosphere seeming to be filled with
yng Rase Ggs aRa a IN
ate in being able to witness this without becoming
a part actor in the fearful scene. Her fathers M M
barns near by were taken in the stream, but the
house escaped uninjured.
At Night Fall
the entire population Of Lee seemed to be
gathered along the track of the flood, which in
half an hour this morning ruined this happy val
ley of its pretty homes and busy industries. The
chapel and two biers beside them await the find
ing of two who are still hidden in the chasm or
heaps of rubbish made Or swept together by the
torrent. Chairman Phelps OF the board OF select
men has been on the grounds all day assuring the
distressed of proper and abundant aid In their
eaty ~ aa g ing mssng aH ones 5e as
purpose he has totally failed, as men, even hired
at<he best pay, would not make steady search,
sights. Tonight a citizens meeting IS to be held
in the town hall to organize searching corps and
relief committees. 1t is expected that the miss
ing bodies will be found tomorrow and all will be
buried with one funeral Thursday afternoon.
The mud pond was originally small pond in
the middle Of s fs Eash n ee tee Wbeb IS
suburb of Lee, two miles from the centre OF the
town. Thirteen years age, John Dowd, Harrison
on the stream partly fed by this little pond, de-
cided to build a dam and make the pond storage
reservoir, all contributing to the expense p1,a,
of stone and earth, and wide enough on top for
driveway. The dam made the pond cover 90
acres of varying depth, but it held a vast amount
when it became compact and settled no further
attention was paid to it. The pond has Deen 1ull
of water this spring, and people living near have
had some fear for the strength of the dam, but
these fears were not regarded, as 1t was Thought
At half past five Mr. Goussett who lives near
the pond heard rush and roar of water and the
crash of trees and knew his fears were realized.
ShuItez, and then to John Baker Their. houses
are along the stream but on top OF the nils ana
above danger from the food Dwight Baker ana
Levi Shultez ran across lots heading the pouring
flood, Baker alarming the families in the track OF
the water. He describes the appearance OF It as
a wall of logs, trees dirt and rocks ten or fifteen
feet high, the solid material apparently being in
front like breastwork pushed on by floods. Its
first appearance in the village was at bridge 20
feet long spanning the stream. PlankS and logs
were gathered into advancing walls and 1t swept
clean Edwin SturgiS' marble shops with monu-
ments tools and everything on the premises, al. 1t
next poured into the dam of Dowd's grinding
shops, flooding buildings, undermining them and
plowing new channels around the dam Ihe
houses of Mrs. Isaac Gardiner and James Fletch-
er were next struck These families were arouS-
ed by Baker in time to gel. on night clothes and
All o t OF and U1 Ie
were wrecked and their ruins went on with the
tide. John Dowds mandatory and paper max
ing machinery was next destroyed and Arthur
Whites carriage shop next. This was three
story building, and in the third story lived fam
Iy. They were in bed but heard the noise and
old was the only survivor of the family. I'VE all
ran together in the Kitchen said he, "father
thought the building would stand. In moment
we heard the lower part crash, in another mo-
ment the building parted in the middle" The
food came in and all was lost .
and IL, were all killed. The bodies of all but one
Of the daughters were found from : quarter to a
crushed and limbs broken.
Simpson Dowd's house was turned arornd on its
foundation. but not destroyed. AS the flood came
The door slammed behind him and the hen coep
and Dowd went down. He has not been found.
Inc building occupied Dy Z; M Morgan as StoIe de
stroyed. Couch and Oakley's mill and .Wrights
shop were next utterly destroyed and the machin-
cry and the roof of the structare were mingled
Several rods below Foot's mill, which was de-
Stroyed, was
A Row of Tenements,
occupied by poor families. The tenement nearest
the stream was occupied by Theodore King, his
wife, son Charles and wife and grandchild two
years old The family rushed out when the flood
roared down upon them but We're too late to :es-
cape Theodore and wife and Mrs. Charles King
were swept off. Charles and the baby escaped.
The two women were killed.
John McLaughlin's machine shops were next on
the route and were utterly wreckad and the ma
chinery ruined. Loss $4,000.
Harrison Garfield's Forest millfor making fine
paper was next. 1t was completely undermined,
the machinery spoiled and $4,000 worth of
stock, finished and in process, ruined. This plant
was rendered useless, the grounds being washed
away, and the mill pond made useless, being filled
with rocks and mud. Here the torrent had terri
BILE force, being gathered into the valley not over
20 rods wide. John Verran'S fine paper mill next
suffered. The loss on stock, buildings and dam
is 100000 A new mill built by Decker s. Sabine
but owned by Harrison Garfield, was wrecked, in
volving loss of $4,000. Mr.. Garfield says $780,
600 was swept from his pocket by the flood. The
grounds about his residence were filled with drift,
and the family had to fly to high ground to escape.
All about this part of the course of the stream
houses were surrounded, and there were many
narrow escapes Here the valley broadens, and
the floods spread wide, losing force but the resi-
dences were moved on their foundations. The
lower stories were flooded and the furniture
wrecked.
On the line of the stream Six hridpes uara oar