The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1890-03-06
THE BURST DAM.
Further Particulars of the
Horrible Disaster Reports
d Loss Of Over Fifty.
Wall Of Water q Hundred
Feet High Rushed Down
the Valley.

Prescott, Ariz., Spccial.-Thc failure Of
the messenger to arrive yesterday with fur
Their particulars OF the great disaster on the
Ilassayampa river had tendency to en-
gender the feeling of hope IN the hearts of
many that the news was exaggerated and
that the horrible catastrophe was
not as bad as at first briefly report
ed. Such hopes, however, were dispelled
when }. J. Williams, mining superintend-
cnt accompanied by his brother, Ben
Williams Of Bisbcc and Prof. James
Douglas, mining cApcrt and capitalist, ar
rived lrcm Copper Basin and related the
briet.story told them by two prOspectors
direct from Walnut Grove dam. Not only
was all the hope dispellcd, but their
story went to show that half had not
been told. A short time after the arri-
val Of Prof. Douglas and the Mossrs. Will
Jams E. II. Bcggs, a stage agent who took
Sheriff O'NciIl and DR.. Miller to the scene
Of the disaster, returned and reported that
a messenger with full particulars had been
sent by Sheriff O'Neill. 1t was midnight,
however, before this messenger arrived,
giving list of the lost as far as known,
and a partial list oG the survivors. Sheriff
O'Neil writes as follows from Rouarks
ranch dated Monday:
THE WATERS AWFUL WORK.
The scene OF desOlatiOn along he Hassayampa
river below the sites OF the dams is complete.
A tornado could not havemade such complete
wreck For miles the waters turned free by the
breaking Of the dams have tiNed the bed OF
the creek with bodies and with enor-
other kind OF debris The following
thirty-signt names are partial list OF the
drownei: Hannah Mct'arty maid to Miss Han
lon and Miss Van buren, Joe Reynolds. miner;
Alexander Mcmillan, co9rhman for Mr. Van
Buren,; T.. &. Wheeler. lHb0rer; one Mexican,
name unknown; G.. L: Cook; laborer; n l..
Cook, lAborer n l.. White, laborer; John NiIs-
Patrick shay. iaborrr: Patrick Barry, labOrer;
Charles Brarken. Iaborer; William Flanagan, la
b0rer: FreCkerick Palmer, labOrer Casper
Freester, lahOrer; John Browne, engineer: Alex
Browne, engineer; 5. BurlOge, labOrer l.. d.
Haynes, labOrer, and child George Fuude!l, la
bor9r and eight Cinnamon. Among he survivors
are Miss Mary HanlOn niece OF II. :. Van
Buren, president OF the Walnust Grove Water
Storage company; James Reddtngton, hydraulic
Brown, merchant, and all his assistante: Ed
nund Silsbee, II. 8. Van Buren, and daughter
with Lieut. a. \. BrOdip, superintendent, were
in the Phoenix having lett for there on the
Tuesday preceding. Besides these here men
toned some twelve or fifteen miners who were in
the placer mines between the upper and lower
dam with q number of ranCherS along the
stream are missing and when all the casualties
are aScert aimed the entire loss will probably be
between fifty and sixty lives. The bodies thus
far discovered are about a dozen, many OF
which were found twenty and thirty miles from
the place where the flood overlook them all
The remains more or less mutlated,
while i'll several cases only fragments
have been recovered, as The force OF the food
WAS terrific. Many hOdi have doubtless been
buried in the sand and hers torn to pieces and
carried far south T. { impetus OF the stream
OF water when turned loose can hardly be appre-
riated without going over the ground covered by
it. Those who saw it say that it came down III
AN ALMOST PERPENDICULAR WALL
ninety or one hundred feet high, and apparently
crushed down instead OF sweeping everything
before it. Immense boulderS weighing tons were
fncs mo nous rtes nTt broken III i 1WU OK corn INTO
shreds Iron bars were broken and twisted
out Of shape, and ordinary fiat iron
miles and then embedded in the walls OF the
canyon eighty feet above the present level Of the
stream \ large safe belonging to Robert Brown,
containing III the nelgiIDOrnOOd OF $1,000. was
swept away and no traCS has been found OF It.
Whatever the water struck went down. The
GOoa strucll the lower dam at $50, and five
minutes later the headquarters, five miles
below were swept away. Several persons were
NJ both points watching, but notwithstanding
this the number Of men drowned at the first
point over thirty, and those who did
Escape did So with only what they had on
their backs, many only i'll their night clothes.
Earlier on the ! evening f.o,6 Of the 3lst
10 the lower dam to warn the residents at the
latter point that tie former structure vas in
danger OF breaking, but owing to the storm and
darkness the messenger could not keep ahead OF
the food, and lost his lie in trying to cross the
Hassayampa river within view Of the survivors
OF the camp be had tried to save
Charles Thompson, a courier who arrived
here this afternoon from below Wickenburg,
and who lost his ranch above the lower
dam, reports that nine bodies have been
discovered at Wickenburg, and three above,
in addition to those already discovered.
All the ranches along the river have been
entirely swept away.