The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1889-06-13
THE BREAK IN THE DAM.
An Engineers Story of the Terrible Floe

An Engineers Story of the Terrible Flood
Mr.. Fred r. Giles. the special correspond
ent of the Chicago Daily Neaos at the scene
OF the calamity, telegraphs that journal as
follows
assembled the valley to insnect the conntrv
and Investigate the of the disaster. The
rich Pittsburgers who maintained the ill-starred
lake nave been prompt to deny the cause. They
can nationally DO so more. The proof Of the
1act is evident. 1t is ighJeen miles to the lake
by the devious course of the valley down which
club house and cottages of the South Fork Club,
but The transformation worked by the food is
even more striking there than anywhere else
The house formerly stood by the shores of g.
beautiful lake. Now the cottages are on O. bluff
ABOVE Wide rav1ne, seventy-fve feet deep, at
the bottom of which rolls muddy stream The
picturesque beauty of the place WAS extracted
when the water rushed out at the gap in the
great embankment
When one examines the breach in the dam the
feeling is one of great surprise. There is none
OF the Iaceratlon of the edges that one would
expect from a rending force, but, on the contra
ry, the aperture has q symmetry that suggests
art rather than accident. The middia of the
dam has been scooped out for about two-thiryls
OF ITS height. The lower portion of this IS again
cut out, and this latter excavation extends to
the bottom of the dam, making an opening that
affords ample space for the stream now running
through it.
The dam embankment of earth faced on
both sides with loose stone in the stvle called
by engineers "riprapping" 1t is still intact for
about three hundred feet on each side of the
gap. On the east end close to the shore the dam
is grooved by wier over seventy-five feet wide
and about ten feet deep, which was the outlet by
which the stream below was fed from the lake
On the west end of the dam is now g. sluiceWay
about twenty feet wide and three feet deep.
This was hastily dug to relieve the pressure on
the dam, but failed to save it.
1t SO happened that at the time of the flood
there was a 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:
"On Thursday night the dam wes in perfect
condition and the water was not within seven
feet of the top. At that stage the lake is nearly
| three miles long. 1t rained very hard Thurs
day night. When I got up Friday morning I
could see there was a flood, for the water was,
| over the drive in front of the clubhouse and
| the 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 were boiling full of water
! South Fork and Muddy Run, which emptied
| into the lake, fetching down trees logs,
! and cut timber from saw-miu that was up in
| the woods in that direction. A pillow was run
along the top of the dam and earth was thrown
in the face of the dam to strengthen it, At the
same time q channel was dug on the west end to
make sluiceway there. There about
three feet of shale rock through which 1t was
! possible to cut, but then struck bedrock that
! it was impossible to get into without blu sting.
! when we got the channel opened the water
soon secured down to the bedrock, and a stream
| twenty feet wide and three deep rushed out on
| that end of the dam, while the river was letting
| out an enormous quantity on the other end
/ Notwithstanding these outlets the water kept,
rising at the rate of about ton inches an hour.
By IL 80 had made up my mind that it was
impossible to save the dam, and getting on my
horse, ga1loped down the road to South Folk
to warn the people of their danger. The tele-
graph tower is q mile from the town. and I
sent two men there TO have messages sent to
Johnstown and other points below. I heard
that the lady operator tainted when sll, had
sent off the news, and had to be CARED off.
The break took place at 5 O'Clock, It was
about two feet wide at frsS ana shallow but
grew wider with increasing rapidity, and the
lake went roaring down the valley; that three
miles of water was drained out in forty five
minutes. The downfall of those 100000 tons
was simply irresistible Stones from the dam
AND powders in the river bed were carried for
miles. 1t was terrible sight to see that
lanche of water go down that valley already
chOked with floods