Morning journal and courier., 1889-08-02
SEVERAL DAMS GIVE AWAY,


 MIDDLETowN, Aug. 1.-Several dams on the stream which Is the outlet of Besick lake in the western part of MiddleGeld have given way causing heavy damage. Besick lake, which covers an area of 150 acres, is con~ fined by a masonry dam 50 feet high across the gorge at It's outlet. It is the head of the stream and affords power for the Metropoli- tan Wringer company. About fifty rods down the stream is crossed by the highway, the approaches being built so that the chesm bridged is reduced to. fifteen feet. Just be- low the left bank is the wood work building of the wringer company with an Cell" built over the chasm supported in the center by posts One hundred feet below a smaller dam furnishes power for shops lower down and for fire purposes.
 From here the stream and highway lan through narrow gorge three hundred feet, curving to the right about three-quarters of mile to the Air Line railroad. About eight hundred feet below the Wringer com pany's mill was the dam of George ". Mill ler's bone grinding mill, and eight hundred feet farther down is Lees dam, where grist mill waa formerly located. This mill is gone. Passing down five hundred feet the dam at Commell's carriage factory is | reached. All the buildings below the and inside the curve, while the mill ponds are small, being each about five acres ! in extent. At ten o'clock this morning Mill- l CTS dam broke near the waste gate opposite ! the mill This carried away Lees dam, and ! the highway was flooded, Cornwell's dam giving way shortly after. About II o'clock | the lower dam of the Wringer company went, ! causing the floor to drop out and wresking quantities of kegs and other articles. The building settled, but the machinery was moved out and 1t did not fall.
 l The water rushing through the gorge un- dermined the foundation of the main build | ing 20 that it orumbled @ portion of the pill ing, but by means of braces 1t is hoped to company's logs to within $1O, ,00O. The water in the lake rose eight inches in one hour and the company has a large force watching the main dam. Should that go out the water l would cal. 7 everything with 1t to the Con- ! necticut river, distance ot eight miles. When the flood reached the railroad bank 1t left its channel and surrounded the house of Albert Miller, flooding everything. Several other buildings were in danger, put were saved. The stream then spread out over the flats, which probably saved the dams below.
 Highways have been badly cut by the rains and bridges weakened, but none are gone. The Air Line and Valley railroads are run
 ming trains slowly. On the Air Line road
 there was bad wa3hout at Cobalt station,
 another at Goldfish crossing, below heeds
 gap, and express trains were dispatched via
 Hartford. On the Valley railroad at Straits,
 five miles below here, a landslide covered the
 highway for fifty feet eight feet deep with
 debris. Telegraph and telephone poles were
 carried away and covered the highway, and
 the railroad bank WIS gullied. The high
 ways in Middletown and Haddam were cut
 up and irupassible. The amount of damage
 in this section will be very heavy. No livea
 wers lost.