Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-26

particulars come in slowly and are still
meagre. Two prospectors arrived late last
night from the upper dam. They say that
they camped above the dam on Friday
night. At about o'clock on Saturday
morning the dam broke, the water rush.
ing down the narrow steep canon
in solid body so feet high.
One man was rescued from the top
of tree. They state that not even remnant
of the dam exists. The immense body ol
water, one and half miles square and 60
feet deep, was emptied In an hour, They
had talked with many from the smaller dam
Is miles below, who said that up to Satur-
day evening % bodies had been recovered,
but could give no additional names. The
survivors were in the greatest destitution,
having neither provisions nor clothing.
Coarse grain sacks were being used in lieu
of clothing.
The camp of workmen engaged in build
ing dume has not been heard from at all,
and it is feared that all are lost. No news
has yet been received here from WIcken-
berg or from the settlements below the dam.
FOND HOPES BLIGHTED.
The failure of the messenger to arrive
yesterday with further particulars of the
great disaster on the Hassaayapa river had
tendency to engender the feel
ing of hope in the hearts of many
that the loss was exaggerated. and that the
horrible catastrophe was not as bad as at
first briefly reported. Such hopes, however,
were dispelled last night about z o'clock
when j. j. Williams, Mining Superlntend-
ent accompanied by his brother, Ben Will
Jams, of Bisbee, and Prof James Douglas,
mining expert and capitalist, arrived
from Copper Basin. and related the brief
tstory told them by two prospectors direct
from Walnut Grove dam: Not only was
all the hope dispelled, but their story went
to show that half had not been told. A
short time after the arrival of Prot Douglas
and the Williamses, T. d. Beggs, stage
agent, who took Sheriff Otell 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.
It was midnight, however, before this mes
senger arrived giving list Of the lost as far
as is known and partial list of the sur7i-
vors. Sheriff O'Neil writes as follows:
A SCENE OF DEsoLATIoN.
"RoUARKs RANCH, MONDAY, February
24-The scene of desolation 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 break
ing of the dams. have filled the bed of the
creek with bodies and with enormous
boulders of trees and every other kind of
debris. The following 38 names are partial
list of the drowned:
Hannah Mccarthy, maid to Miss Hanlon
and Miss Vanburen; Joe Reynolds, miner;
George Ebbetts, laborer; N. E. Nickel, Ia
borer; Alex Mcmillan, coachman; E. g.
Wheeler, laborer; one Mexican, name uu-
known; G. L. Cook, laborer; N.
L. Cook, laborer; N. L. White,
laborer; John Silsbee, visitor;
Charles King, blacksmith; Patrick Shay,
laborer; Patrick Barry, laborer; Charles
Bracken, laborer; William Flanagan, Ia
borer; Frederick Palmer, laborer; Casper
Freester, laborer; John Browne, engineer:
Alex. Browne, engineer; B. Burtogie, la
borer; L. D. Haynes, laborer, and child;
George Rundell, laborer, and eight China
men.
Among the survivors are Miss Mary Hal
ton, niece of Mr.. Vanburen, President of
the Walnut Grove Water Storage Company;
James Redington, hydraulic engineer; Paul
Lansing, bookkeeper; Robert Browne, mer-
chant, and all his assistants; Edmund Sils-
bee, H. S. Vanburen and daughter. with
Lieutenant A. N. Brodie, superintendent,
were in the Phoenix, having left for there on
the Tuesday preceding.
Besides these here mentioned some II or
Is miners who were in the placer mines, be-
tween the upper and lower dam, with a
number of ranchers along the stream, are
missing, and when all the casualties are
ascertained the entire loss will probably be
between 30 and go lives.
A DOZEN BODIES RECOVERED
The bodies thus far discovered are about
dozen, many of which were found 20 or
80 miles from the place where the
food overlook them all. The remains
are more or less mutilated, while in several
cases only fragments have been recovered,
as the force of the flood was srrifc. 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 al Jpreciated with
out going over the ground covered by it.
Those who saw it say that it came down in
an almost perpendicular wa II 80 or 100 feet
high and apparently crushed down instead
of sweeping away eVerythin 6 before it.
Immense boulders weig hing tons were
thrown around as a child m light toss ball.
Enormous trees were broker 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 imbedded in the walls
Of the canon 30 feet above the present level
Of the stream. A large safe belonging to
Robert Brown, containing in the neighbor-
hood of 81, 900, was swept slway and no trace
has been found OF it. Whatever the water
struck went down.
The food struck the lower dam at 1:50
and five minutes later the headquarters five
miles below were swept away. Several per-
sons were at both points watching, but not
withstending this the number of men
drowned at the first point was over 80, and
those who did escape did 30 with only what
they had on their backs, nlany only in their
night clothes.
Early on the evening of the 21st 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 dark-
ness the messenger could not keep ahead Of
The food. and lost his life in trying to cross
he Hassayampa river within view of the |
survivors of the camp he had tried to save.
Charles Thompson, a &C urier, who arrived |
lere this afternoon from Glow WlckenburgS
md who lost his ranch above the lower dam.
'eports that nine bodies have been discov- |