The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1891-11-23
GREAT WATER FAMINE.
All Manufacturing Places in Brooklyn
Shut Down.
BREACH IN THE MAIN CONDUIT.
A San d Bank Caves i'm and Buries -Four
Men-The Narrow Escape of John Bauer
washing of Clothes Not Permitted
Until the Breach is Repaired.

BROOKLYN, Nov 23.-At 1870 p. NJ. Sat
urday. while number of men were en-
gagged in laying a new conduit at the cor
ner of Pine street and Liberty avenue, the
caving of a sand-bank caused the old con-
duit TO burst, burying John Bauer, Hugh
Murphy, Michael Smith, Earnest Tullis,
and two Italians, who were only known by
their numbers, with earth. To add To
the horror a large gas pipe which ran
parallel with the conduit was broken, fill
ing the place with noXious gas The sud
den flow of water probably saved Bauer's
life The sand had completely buried him
under steam derrick. He came to the sur
face in the ditch below, and grasping the
planking on the side quickly scrambled
out with no great injury.
Hugh Murphy and the two Italians
were not so fortunate A great avalanche
of earth came down upon them and two
of them were completely entombed. The
other, an italian, was caught in the wreck
and partly buried in the sand. He was
held down by the timbers. 1t was inn
possible TO move him and finally another
cave-in buried him out of sight.
Meantime the alarm was sent TO the
engine no lse and the engines were
stopped. Earnest Tullis was the first 10
be dug out. He was unconscious, having
been overcome by gas Michael Smith
escaped with a lacerated scalp. AT 1
O'Clock, while the rescuing party was
busily at work, another cave-in occurred
rank Bezine. an Italian laborer, was
seen to sink out of sight, the sand cover
ing him up in an instant. This made the
fourth victim.
The broken conduit pipe is SO inches in
diameter and there was a strong pressure
on at the time of the accident The ditch
in which the pipe was being laid was 5
feet wide and the sides were braced up,
timbers driven alongside the excavation.
Under the weight of sand and water the
1ar oh Ea nj,
At 2:40 o'clock yesterday morning the
first body was recovered. IL was found
twenty-five feet below the surface, stand
ing in an upright position, both hands
firmly grasping a shovel. IL was identi-
fled as the body of Paulo Gundino, an
Italian.
When the condition of the brick conduit
haa been established, the question whether
Brooklyn is TO have "a water famine or not
will be known. Yesterday the flow of
water through the conduit was shut off as
a precautionary measure. Early in the
day a general alarm was sent out direct
ing the police to notify every householder
and manufactures to carefully save the
water.
At noon the main supplying the central
portion of the city was shut down. \
small supply was still had from cross
street pipes but the pressure in the dis
trict was so reduced as 10 cut the water
off from every floor above the first. At
present the visible supply is not over
50,000000 gallons. The bursting OF the
water main yesterday also broke the
gas mains that supplies Woodhaveu
one of the suburbs of Brooklyn, and last
night that town was in darkness, The
six churches in the place held services by
means of candles and oil lamps.
All Brooklyn factories are shut down
and no washing is allowed. The supply Of
water, with all in sight, will not last more
than one or two days.
BROOKLYN, y. Y, Nov. %. The burst
ing Of the conduit on Saturday night has
created complete water famine here.
The factories, refneries and schools are
closed where no private wells exists, and
5000 men are idle.
The police offer work TO all at digging
out the conduit at s3 day. There may
be slight relief this afternoon, but the
pressure will not he renewed until to-
morrow night. Few private houses have
any water, and the police have ordered
that no family washing shall be done.