The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-03-04
ARIZONA'S DISASTER.
Details of the Terrible Flood on
the HasSayanpa.

Prescott, Ariz, Via. Prescott Junction,
Feb. 26.-The failure OF a messenger to
arrive yesterday with further particulars OF
the great disaster on the Hasssyampa had
q tendency to engender a feeling of hope
in the hearts of many that the news was
exaggerated, and that the horrible cstas-
trophe was not as bad as at first briefly re-
ported. Such hopes were, however, dis
PEELED last night ABOUT o'cl OK when j. j..
Williams. the well known mining superin-
tcndent, accompanied by his brother. Ben
Williams, OF Bisbee. and Prof. james
DJuglsss, the mining expert and capital.
list, arrived frem CoOpe. Basin and related
the brief story told them by two prospect
ors direct from the Walnut Grove dam.
Not only was all hope dispelled, but their
story went to show IN At the half had not
been told and that the awful disaster was
even gre alter than had ever been dreamed
o.. The two prospeciOrs were found short
ly before midnight.
NEWS BY COURIER.
Ii was not until after the arrival OF the
shose named gentlemen after dark last
night that any definite news was learned
of The big storage dam, strong hope still
Existing that il had not been washed ont.
T.. III. BeggS, the Stage agent, VIM .e~L
Sheriff O'NeiIl aud Dr. Miller To the scene
of the disaster, returned aud reported that
: o..o,,,.r .-:.h frII pa-.:--i---y -. Lu
shMefff1f O'Neill, was due. 1t was l1:45
o'clock D. M however. before the messrn-
ger arrived, giving list of the lost as far
AS known, and partisl list Ct the sur
yivors. Sheriff O'Neill writes as follows:
Towards Ranch, Monday, Feb. "a
The scene of desolation along the HAssay-
anna. below the site of the dam, beggar:
description. A tornado could not have
made such complete wreck. For miles
the waters, turned free by the breaking oil
the dams, have filled The bed oil the creek
with dead bodies, enormous bowiders
trees, cacti and every other kiLd of Debris
Thiriy eight are already known to have
been devoured.
THE SURVIVORS.
Among the survivors are Miss Mary
Hanlon, niece of H. :. Van BURN, presi
dent of the Walnut Groye Water Storage
comIauy; James RedingtoD, hydraulic en-
gineer Paul Lansing, boorkeaper; Robert
B. Rox, merchant, sud all his assistants (;
Edmued Silsbee, III. S. Van Bur"u Aud
daughter, with Lieut. A. o. Brodie, super
iptendenl, were in Phoenix, having left toI
there on Tuesday preceding Besides these
here mentioned, some twelve or fifteen
miners, who wsre placer mining between
the lower and upper dams, with pumbe
of ranchers, along the stream, are missing,
and when all the casualties are ascer-
tanned the entire loss will probably be
bs,ween fifty and sixty lives. The bodies
thus far discovered number about a
dozen, many Of witch were found twenty or
| thirty miles below the place where the
| flood overlook them. All the remains are
more or less mutilated, while in ssveral
cases only fragments have been recovered.
many bodies doubtless have been buried
| In the sand, others torn to pieces, and 9TH
ers carried far south. Those who saw the
snS ssE hi ws sfms5 aS g IN en- .i%ss
parently crushed down instead OF sweeping
away everything before 1t. Immense
powders weighing tons we're tn'owi
around as a child might toss ball. Enor'
nous trees were broken la two sections Of
torn into shreds. Iron bands were broker
and twisted out of shape, and an ordinsr
lfat.iron was picked up and carried nv
miles, and then imbedded in the canyon
80 feet above the present level OF tn
stream.
FORCE OF THE FLOOD.
A large safe belonging to Robt. b. Row
containing in the neighborhood OF ZOO
was swep, away and no trace haa, after I'll
most diIIgent search, been found OF
Whatever the water struck went down
/, none were wounded, all were drowned. IL
food struck the lower dam at l'5O q. \
: Five minutes later the headquarters, h'
miles below, were swept away.
early on The evening OF the 2lst
courier was sent from the upper 10 u
: lower dam to warn the residents at Il
{ latter point that the former structure vs.
in danger of breaking. but owing TO Il
storm and darkness the messenger, WI
: Akard, could not keep ahead OF the hJo
and lost his life in trying to cross q
q Hassayampa within view OF the camp
Y hsd tried TO save"
Later-Charles Thompson, courl
lust in from below Wickenburg, above
lower dam, reports that nine bodies ha
been discovered at Wickenburg and thu
above, in addition to those already d
covered. The old historic Brill rant
with all the other ranches along the riv'
has been entirely swept away.