Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-06-07
BREAKING OF THE DAM.
Il Civil Engineer Who Was Engaged t.
Look After 1t, Interviewed

Civil Engineer Who Was Engaged to-
Look After 1t, interviewed.
PirrsBuRG, May 6th.-An interview has
been printed in the Commercial with John
u. Porke, Jr., civil engineer, who was en-.
gagged on the grounds of the South Fork
cIuo: he says that the dam was in perfect
Gondluon Thursday night, the water not
oelnS WITHIN seven feet of the top. The
next morning, there having been a bard
ram on Thursday night, there was q flood
and the water had risen TO within fonr faet
OF the top of the dam. He rode n tho
head OF the lake and saw the woods were
ooliing Iull OF water. The South Fork and
MUDDY hun, which emptied into the lake
were ietchlhg down trees, logs. cut timber
anu SUM from the Sawmill that was up in
the woods in that direction. This was
about 7:50 O'Clock.
TRYING TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURE.
Thirty men were at once put tn v,orly q,
strengthen the dam and to dig q channel M
the west end OF the dam to make n sluice
way there. There We're about three feet of
shale rock through which il was possibIa
TO cut, but then we struck bedrock that il
was impossible to get into without blasting
when we got the channel opened the water
soon secured down to bedrock, and a
stream twenty feet wide and three deep
rushed out on that end of the dam, while
ihe Weir was letting out an enormous ouau-
uty on the other end. Notwlthstanding
IneSe outlets the water kept rising at the
rate OF about ten inches an hour.
THE WARNING OF THE PEOPLE.
-Four hours after the work was bpgun
forke concluded it was impossible to save
the dam 1t was then that he gaIloped
down the road to South Fork to warn the
people of the danger. All people of South
Fork had time to remove to tbe bigb
ground and take ali their goods. The only
person drowned at South Fork was in at
tempting to fish something from the flood.
Inc telegraph tower at South Fork is a
nile from town, and l sent two men there
10 nave messages sent to JOhnstown and
other points below. l heard that the lady
operator tainted when she had sent Off the
news and had to be carried of. Itwas inst
Il O'Clock when the telegraph messages
We're sent ont, so that the people of Johns
town had over three hours warning.
AS rode back to the dam | expected al
most every moment to meet the lake COM
ing down on me, but the dam was still in
tact, although the water had reached the
top.
A FLOOD POURING OVER IT'S Tor.
%AN ~ SAOSh WI. L VI ht walked over The
top OF the dam. At that time the water
was three inches deep on it and was gradu-
ally eating away the earth on the outer face.
AS the stream rolled down the outer face il
kept wearing down the edge of the EN-.
bankment, and | saw it was merely cues
ton OF time. | went up to the club house
and got dinner, and when | returned I saw
that great deal more of the outer edge of
the dam had crumbled away. At rough
guess | should say there were 10000 600
tons of water in that lake and the pressure
OF the mass of water was increased by
moods from two streams pouring into it.
But the dam would have stood could the
level of the lake been kept below the ton
of the dam. The friction of the water
pouring over the dam gradually wore it
away from the outer face until the top be-
came so thin that it gave way. The water
IN the dam did not go over.
THE FATAL HOUR.
The break took place at 3 o'clock. II
was about ten feet wide at first, and shall
low, but now that the flood had made a
gap 1t grew wider with increasing rapidity
and the lake went roaring down the val
ley. That three miles of water was drained
out in torty-tive minutes The downfall of
those millions of tons was simply irresist
lble. Stones from the dam and powders
in the river bed were carried miles. Trees
went down like you might cut mullin-
stalks with the swish of your cane. 1t was
terrible sight.