Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-07

|
| PATCH reporter who found him in the Office OF
the Monongahela Navigation Company: 81
have fairly clear recollection of the dam.
acted as clerk of the work. The site was moi
chosen for the reservoir until careful survey
of the country had been made by the best
engineers of the State. They chose the place
which the reservoir occupied till last Friday
because the limited extent of the watershed of
the feeders of the lake seemed to assure its
safety. Practically they asserted by their
choice their belief that it was impossible for
such catastrophe as has Just taken place to
occur.
Great Care Exercised.
THE building of the dam was conducted with
great care. The first thing done was to make
an embankment. Layer was laid upon layer of
clay, each layer being well puddled, that is
wetted and packed down SO as to be water
tight. Then the lower side of the dam which
slanted more than the upper side, was cased
with heavy rocks-many of them big enough to
require six horses to draw them. The stones
we're often as big as that" continued Mr..
Moorhead, pointing to very large desk or bu-
reau in the room, land they were laid one upon
another to the top of the dam. The inner side
of the dam was cased with a hand-laid wall.
This was of smaller stone, and was not in
tended for strength, but to keep the water
from crumbling and washing away the earth in
the dam. A sluice was cut through the rock
at the side of the lake q short distance
from from the the dam; I: was about S5
taken out in cutting the sluice was used in rip
rapping the outer side of the dam. The en-
gineers thought that weir able to carry
of five times as much water as it would ever
in human probability be called upon to do.
There were five pipes each feet in dame
ter, laid to a culvert at the base of the dam and
to It's center. These pipes were governed by
machinery from a tower at the top of the dam
They were provided with valves and they were
used to supply the canal when the water in the
latter was low. Two years after the compile
tion of the dam the lake was sold by the State
to the Pennsylvania Railroad The railroad
had no use for the lake and the dams machin-
cry was allowed to stand idle. The tower
burned shortly afterward, and the people liv-
ing near the dam stole the lead with which the
canal sluice pipes had been stopped up. Then
bn Sne %a.e. M got ineo she cuiveTt ana tnere was
member much"
IT,. n,,,5
uvr,. -
W Aon eA VIC , r@Ne man ~ oaaie AnSo 'ne nAius
~. 'uo -,' VI olup Sney saVe ou'
~ "oIA VI iepHiIins 'ne uSn W oon1laceor'
nomerel, "nen ne nAu nAeu up tne preach IN
: sne ~ usAn " oei 'Hin eAteht tnefe cAne some
heaVy rams ana tne new work was washed
away. The second time the contract was given
out better results were secured. The dam was
made as soIid as avar and 70 comneneoto for
the ciosi1g of The o,tIat thronrb tha r;oos nos
Cod Sn,,a nI@l.a 81
an Hzas snsra te ss. ' INC siue oh tne
ssYor AZ not fbinIe +he cios;rrr t .hoso ,,;,>o,
had anvthino ro 10 uith the das+rnct;o ~ ~
damY" 's ~ w "-'-- '-'' ~ ~''''D " 'Ae
ssNto ce-+.;r1r M. rho +or Co. ,adoa -
th a ,ro;r otfo-5ssa = c-roo.s VI e @ auoeu "
The ayeta i, th iete thaI th as nor
done see tbat gansrei ,isaonoat;oS rSG f
the size IF the Ivair syists a,a- orooI1. 49,,
hars of the cinh an S, :, s fIis- x Ell
wide II was made that size 60 that y ,i96t
beyond ali doubt be able to keen any rise in
cbaci- Tba H. 80 -. H,;It ,R,.s yy, Is go -
tbet id oa s. was nSs a. Dus WIFE tne idea
and tbroncb ali sorts of ,raatho +h -; - n ~
always able to keen the level of the water far
below the comm of the dam II mnsthaye heen
which made the lake risa ten inches an bon-
when n had beratofore never risan mnro %, tban,
one inch an honr . -o- ---O-O '-"A
C.,-I
1t was also learned from friends of Colonal
Tr,c,or +,o ,,-os;do.+ of +,,o 81 ~, ~
...I S,,s ~ -. '. VIC SUN fA = Nsn-
ing Clup' tnat tnat gentleman MADE heroic ef-
iorts to save the dam. When Colonel Unger |
iounu on rioay morning tnat tne water was
-, siEs :. sae a. - t nSu neneL iisen peioIe,
It.,,.,s IsI'e-a-s - - s. Ine
ofher ontfat They sncceadad nHu N " Itg an,
shallow ditch, but then encountered shale rock
which their picks could not penetrate They |
had no blasting mater1als.tso they W1dened the |
Outles "a msSn as poseipls- IL afpeare2 70 nave
ranidly nearing the edge of the dam 50 SYoloneI
ITnnper sentfor nlow and had If dr. vn ocross
me dam thns fhrowine nm a sma1I banS of
sartb toward the water He had 1on1 nn hefore %
mis- caused warnincs Of the imminen21 don1ar
If the DAMS hursti1p To he sent doxrn +ha 81
ev The water made short wori, of rhe ar froo1a
frinre of earth on ton of the dam Tho -aS+ ;s
All known. It ought to be remembered tbaf
when Colonel Unger tried SO hard to avert the
,atsstronSe he vas s,ering from ssyero ,,ai1
alton of tha heart-a com5iainr Fron, IS;PPh
~ felt I onoht IN do evarvtbiro cor,a o,,5
GENT At IL aIfhonch INV heart yras in rnninr o.
Fnrions "a te All tha time sofa Coion1I I4S5c -
The Views of sncb we'll .Fno,vn end a,3iIss,,t
engineer as Colonel r p Roherts conid not hnt
,e enli0hteninc At this crisis and nTsp NJ arC11
-enorter intervieved him vesterdov 1+ ;s |
act worth noting IN Connection with the men-
ion of Colonel Roberts that the yjadnct nvar
nc South Forlr hniif for the por+arra D ;1 S.en
" his father the late Colonei MiInor annar%sy
structure with span of so feet. that has been
onry in the country-was destroved Nv the
south Fork flood
~ N -
What colonel ROBERTS Thinks.
mo hydraulic engineer would be safe IN ver.
nrinq oninions in regard to tha cousa of a.
isos+ar .o +na Sorth Iro-,- -ose~s N.., y, Sne
Isso.ei ~ .ne oou'n roiA leserVoir witnout
.ersonai kno"ieoge OF irs condltion previous to
he accident-or positive information regard |
ng its dimensions. ulan of construction and
he means nrovidad for the eecono of -. g.
H.. |
nus wafer. anu IN oIoeI 60 nave an lntelli-
ent luea OF L1e enects Oh lts breaking, the
nElnee[ Mouiu want 70 know IIs area and
@ sOEage capacry, aiso s, Ine oralnage area OF the
eglon trlputary 70 II; etc, etc. NOW SO far as
nave Deen aDie 70 Iearn none OF tnese facts
ave peen st2Ieq ~ tnose VINO nave visited the
Iace, Ia, tnongn naSe no aouot they VIII De
ully oeVeiopeo In tne trlals Delore the Coro-
eI;
az nave never sIsl.eq tne pace, my opln-
Ins yuse no" Gan nave out nsue Vaiue, out
us MS muonj ! Ia q. ie1st' al pS sal1 IN general
,ay, VIZ: 1nat Ine ralnlan IN Ine region trlDu-
iry 70 t5e reservoir must nave peen entirely