Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-03-06
TIE ARIZONA CALAMITY.

further Porticulaxy of the Disaster Caused
BY Bursting DANA Second Conemaugh
vaney-Over Thirty-eight Victims.
PREscoTr, Arix., Feb. 26.-The worst
fears in regard to the Walnut Grove
disaster are more than realized, al
though particulars come in slowly. Two
prospectors, who arrived yesterday
morning from the upper dam, say that
they camped above the dam Friday
night At about one o'clock Saturday
morning the dam broke and the water
rushed down the narrow canyon in q
solid body eighty feet high. One man
was rescued from the top of a tree. The
prospectors state that not even rem
nant of the dam exists The immense
body of water, one and half miles
square and sixty feet deep. was emptied
in an hour. They had talked with many
from the smaller dam, fifteen miles be-
low, who said up to Saturday evening
twenty-five bodies had been recovered,
but could give no additional names
The survivors were reported in the
greatest restitution, having neither pro-
visions nor clothing. Coarse grain sacks
were being used in lieu of clothing.
The camp of workmen engaged in
building fume has not been heard
from at all and it is feared that all are
lost No news has yet been received
from Wickenburg or from the settlement
below the dam.
Sheriff O'Neill writes as follows:
RoURAK's RANCH. Feb. 24.-The scene
of desolation along the Hassayampa
river below the sites of the dam is COM
plete. A tornado could not have made
such a complete wreck. For miles the
waters turned free by the breaking OF
the dams have filed the bed of the creek
with bodies and huge boulders. trees
and every thing in the way OF debris.
Here follows a list of thirty-eight
victims, together with about dozen
others supposed to have been lost.
The bodies thus far discovered are
about dozen, many of which were
found twenty or thirty miles from where
the flood overlook them. The remains
are more or less mutilated, while in sew
eral cases only fragments have been re-
covered, as the force of the flood was
terrific. Many bodies have doubtless
been buried in the sand and others torn
to pieces and carried far south.
The impetus of the stream of water
when turned loose can hardly be appre-
ciated without going over the ground
covered by it. Those who saw it say
that it came down in an almost perpen-
dicular wall ninety or 100 feet high and
apparently crushed down, instead of
sweeping away, every thing before it.
Immense boulders weighing tons were
thrown around as child might toss
ball. Enormous trees were broken in
two or torn into shreds. Iron bars were
broken and twisted out of shape and Or
binary fiat iron was picked up and car
ried five miles and then imbedded in
the walls of the canyon, eighty feet
above the present level of the stream.
A large safe belonging to Robert Brown,
containing in the neighborhood OF
81, 900, was swept away and no trace has
yet been found of it. Whatever the
water struck went down.
The flood struck the lower dam at 1:50
and five minutes later the headquarters
Several persons were at both point
watching, but Notwithstanding this the
number of men drowned at the first
point was over thirty, and those who
did escape did so with only what they
had on their backs, many only in their
night clothes.
Early on the evening of the 21st a
courier was sent from the upper to the
lower dam to warn the residents at the
latter point that the former structure
was in danger of breaking, but owing to
the storm and darkness the messenger
could not keep ahead of the flood and
lost his life in trying to cross the Has
sayhampa river within view of the survi.
vors of the camp he had tried to save.