The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-02-26
AR1zoNA's WATER HORROR.
Twenty-Five Bodies Recovered at the
Lower Dam Up TO Saturday Night.

Twenty-Five Bodies Recovered at the
Lower Dam Up TO Saturday Night.
PRESCOTT, ARL, Feb. 25-The worst
fears in regard to the Walnut Grove iisas-
ter are more than realized, although par
ticulars come in slowly aud are still meagre.
Two prospectors arrived late last night
from the upper dam. They say
that they camped about the dam Friday
night. At about l O'Clock Saturday.mora-
ing the dam broke. the water rushing down
the narrow steep canyon in solid body
eighty feet high. They state that not
even a remnant of the dam exists. The
immense body of water, one and a half
milesEquare and sixty feet deep, was emptied
in an hour.
TWENTY-FIVE BODIES RECOVERED.
They had talked with many from the
smaller dam fifteen miles below, who said
that up to Saturday evening twenty-five
bodies had been recovered, but they could
give no additional names. The survivors
were in greatest destitution, having neither
provisions nor clothing. Coarse grain sacks
were being used in lieu of clothing. The
camp of the workmen engaged in building
the hume has not been heard from at ali.
and it is feared that all are lost. No news
has yet been received here from Wicken-
burgh or from the settlements below the
dam.
THE DEsoLATIoN COMPLETE.
A messenger has brought this letter
from Sheriff O'Neill:
RoUARKs RANCH, Monday, Feb. M.-The DESC
lation along the Hassayampa river below the
sites of the dams. is complete. A
tornado could not have made
such complete wreck For miles
the waters turned free by the breaking of the
dams have filled the bed of the creek with
bodies aud with enormous boulders, trees, and
every other kind of debris.
The list of the thirty-eight names of the
drowned is given as partial list of the
casualties, and the letter proceeds:
Besides these mentioned some twelve or flf-
teen miners who were in the placer mine be-
tween the upper and lower dam, with a
number of ranchers along the stream
are missing, and when all the casualties are
between fifty and sixty lives. The bodies thus
far discovered are about dozen,
many of which were found twenty
or thirty miles from the place where the flood
less mutilated, while in several cases only frap.
ments have been recovered, as the force of the
flood was terrific. Many bodies have doubtless
been been buried in the sand and others
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 perpendicular wall 90 or r
100 feet high, and apparently crushed
down instead Of sweeping away everything
before it, Immense boulders weighing tons
were thrown around as a child might toss a
ball. Enormous trees were broken in two
or torn into shreds. Iron bars
were broken and twisted out of
shape, and an ordinary fiat iron was
picked up and carried five miles and then en-
bedded in the walls of the canyon 80 feet above
the present level of the stream. large safe
belonging to Robert Brown, containing in the
ne1ghborhood of $1,000, was swept away, and no
trace has been found of it. Whatever the water
struck went down. The flood struck the lower
dam at 1850 O'Clock, and five minutes later the
headquarters, five miles below were swent
away. Several persons were at both points
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, maybe
only in their night clothes. Early on the
evening OF Feb II a courier was sent from the
upper TO the lower dam to warn residents at ths
latter point that the former structure was in dan
ger breaking, but owing to the storm and dark
ness the messenger could not keep ahead of the
Hood, and lost his life in trying to cross the
river within view of the survivors of the camp
he had tried to save Charles Thompson. a
courier. who arrived here this after
noon from Wickenburgh, and who
lost his ranch above the lower dam.
reports that nine bodies have been discovered
at Wckenburgh and three above, In addition to
those already discovered. The old historic
Brill ranch, with all the other ranches along the
river have been entirely swept away