, 1890-02-26
The worst Fears Confirmed.

fHESCOTT, ATE. req. Zo.-lno worst
fears Of the Walnut Grove disaster are
more than realized. although particulars
come in slow and meagre. Two Of the
proprietors arrived late last night from
the upper dam. They state that they
camped about the dam on Friday night.
About l o'clock Saturday morning the
dam broke, the water running down the
narrow steep canyon in . solid body
eighty feet high. One man was rescued
from the top OF a tree They state that
not even a remnant of the dam exists.
The immense body of water one and a
half miles square and sixty feet deep was
emptied in one hour. They had talked
with many from the smaller dam, fifteen
miles below. who said that up to Satur-
day evening twenty five bodies had been
recovered, but could give no additional
names. The survivors were in the great
est destitution, having neither provisions
nor clothing. Coarse grain sacks were
being used in lieu of clothing. The camp
Of workmen engaged in building a hume
feared that all are lost. No news has
vet been received here from Wickensburg
or from settlements below the dam. More
detailed particulars are looked for now
every moment.
PRESCOTT, Arix, Feb. ga mes
senger bringing further details of the
Walnut Grove dam disaster arrived thus
morning. Sheriff O'Neill. who went to
the scene Of the disaster, writes: THE
scene OF devastation along the Hasa
vamps, below the sites of the dams, is
complete. For miles the waters turned
free BY the breaking of the dams have
filed the bed OF the creek with bodies and
with enormous boulders. trees and every
other kind Of debris. The following is a
partial list of the drowned: Hannah Mo
Carthy. Joe Reynolds, miner; George
Ebbetts, laborer: Alex McMillin. coach
man for Van Buren,; K. G.. Wheeler,
laborer; one Mexican, name unknown;
| G. L. Cook, laborer, N. L. White, la
borer; ]. N. Silsbee, Charles King. black
smith; Patrick Shay, lAborer; Patrick
Dairy. laborer; Charles Bracken, Ia.
borer; William Flanagan, laborer; Fred
erick Palmer, laborer; L. D. HAYNES. la
borer. and child; George Undell, laborer,
and eight Cinnamon. Besides these
mentioned some twelve or fifteen miners,
who were placer mining between the up
per and lower dams. with a number Of
ranchers along the stream. are missing.
and when all is ascertained the-entire loss
will probably be between fifty and sixty
lives.
A number of bodies have been re-
covered, many were found twenty and
thirty mica from the places where the
food overlook them. All the remains
were more or less mutilated, while in
several cases only fragments have been re.
covered. Many bodies have been buried
in tha aand otharn haua hAon fovn m
pieces and others are far south. The
| impetus Of the stream Of water when
turned loose can hardly be appreciated
without going over the ground covered
by il. Those who saw it say it came
down in . wall ninety or 100 feet high and
apparently crushed down instead Of
sweeping away everything before it.
The great body of water one and a half
miles square and sixty feet deep was
emptied in an hour. Immense bouldcrs
weighing a ton were thrown around and
enormous trees broken in two or torn into
shreds. Iron bars were broken and
twisted out of shape and ordinary fat
iron was > picked up and carried five
miles and then embedded in the walls of
the canyon eighty feet above the present
level Of the stream. A large safe contain
ing $1,000 was swept away and no trace
has been found Of it. The flood struck
the lower dam at l:50 a. m and five
minutes later the headquarters. FIVE miles
below, we're swept away. Several persons
were at both points watching. but not.
w~ithstanding this the number OF drowned
at the first point was oyer thirty and
those who escaped did so with only what
they had on their backs, many with only
their night clothes on.