Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-06-21
THE BREAK IN THE DAM.

An Engineers Story of the Terrible Flood.
Mr.. Fred il. Giles. the special correspond
ent of the Chicago Daily Ners at the scene
of the calamity. telcgraphs that journal as
follows:
I assembled the valley to inspect the country
and investigate the cause of the disaster. The
rich Pittsburgers who maintained the ill-starred
lake have been prompt to deny the cause. They
nationally do more. The proof of the
fact is evident. 1t is eighteen miles to the lake
by the devious course of the valley down which
the torrent descended. No harm was done to tho
club house and cottages OF the South Fork Club,
but the transformation worked by the flood is
even more striking there than anywhere else.
The house formerly stood by the shores of q
beautiful lake. Now the cottages are on a bluff
above wide ravine, seventy-tiye feet deep. at
the bottom OF which rolls Il muddy stream. The
picturesque beauty OF the place WAS extracted
when the water rushed out at the gap in the
great enbankment.
feeling is one OF great surprise. There is none
OF the liberation OF the edges that would
| expect from rending force but, on the CONTRA
ry. the aperture has u syl,nletry tha5 suggests
arr rather than accident. The middle OF the
dam has been scooped out for about two-thirds
of it's height. The lower portion OF this ia nglin
| cut OUT and this latter excavation extends to
the bottom of the dam, making all opening that
| affords ample space for the stream now running
through it.
The dam e1nbankneno Of earth faced Oh
both sides with loose stone in the style called
by engineers "ripfapping." 1t is still intact for
about three hundred feet on each side OF thu
gap. On the east end close to the shore the dam
is grooved by Ter seventy-fva feet wide
and about ten feet deep, which vas the outlet by
which the stream below was fed from the lake.
| On the west end of the dam is now sluiceway
about twenty feet wide and three feet deep.
| This was hastily dug 10 relieve the pressure on
| the DAM but failed to save it.
| 1t SO happened that at the time OF the flood
there was u civil engineer present in charge OF
the construction of q sewer and water works on
the club grounds This gentleman, Mr.. John G.
Parke, Jr., saw the catastrophe from first to
| last Here is his account of it:
90, s.1n,, min Int tha ia rfant
condition and the water was not within seven
feet of the top. At that stage the lake is nearly
three miles Sng g rane led raH SaTa
| could see there was u flood. for the water was
! over the drive in front Of the clubhouse, and
tho level of the water in the lake had risen
| until it was only four feet below the top of the
dam rode up to the head OF the lake, and
saw that the woods We're boiling full OF water;
| South Fork and Muddy Run, which emptied
into the lake, We're fetching down trees logs,
and cut timber from saw-mill that was up in
| the woods in that direction. A plow was run
along the top of the Gam and earth vas thrown
in the face OF the dam to strengthen it. At the
same tine channel was dug on the west end to
make sluiceway there. There was about
three feet of shale rock through which it was
possible to cut but then we struck beprock that
it was impossible to gst INTO without 4 blasat
soon secured down to the bedrock and a stream
twenty feet vide and three deep rushed out on
that end OF the DAM while the river WIS r end
| withstnrdi,s these outlets the water kept
risinu ut the II, 70 Of about ten inches au hour.
BY 1ls0 had made up my mind that 1t was wa,
im,nssjbIe to save the dam, and, getting on my
horse palloped down the road to South FORK
to to- warn wa the people Of their danger The tele
graph tower is mills from the sown so ano to
5ehs tow and other points below heard ard
y opsrs .nS ha pt sa b when enr shs na
SELF aT, a. brns1, took place at o'clock: 1t was
about two feet vide at first and shallow put t!,t
wider Tn asTn tns T TaR:y aa eos
lake Went Wa1ar wss drained out forty
minutes downfall Of hoss tro the t aaan
simply n tha liver bed s
AMI 1t was terrible sight to sec that avn
i Inl"he al water GO down that valley already
chokol It'll floods.