Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-06-23

An Oil City letter to the New York Sun
gives the following graphic description Of
the horrible catastrophe by Aood and fire.
at that place and Ttusville:
Although two days have uassed no exact
and coherent account OF what occurred has
yet appeared.
The people will tell you that they were
standing on the bridge over Oil creek that
they were watching its waters rising and
grooming and Kissing in their endeavor TO
push through the narrow space between the
steep hills; that all at once these waters
spread out to whirl around the cottages of
the laborlug men in that low lying district.
Then some will say that flash shot from
the locomotive on the bridge; that the thin
white mist hanging low over the water
b urst into blaze, and that roar like the
discharge of a hundred cannon pushed up
ag ainst tho sky. y huge cloud of smoke
came, and then everything was on fire and
that there were terrible cries and tramp
linEs aud prayers and curses
Others will tell it differently, but all
agree that the valley was changed in a
twinkling from waste Of roaring water to
sheet of fro, laden with odors and shrieks
| as though hell had yawred.
1t will be remembers that the rain had
| been falling all of Saturday afternoon, and
| that with the night the downpour drove
every living thing within doors. Then Oh
creek rose aud overspread tho low lying
district of Ttusvile. Now the Spartans-
burg dam was a low, weakly built obstruc-
| ton across the pawn of the Oil creek seven
miles above Titusvllo where the hills closed
together to form basin behind. This dam
made broad shallow pool in tho basin,
| but could scarcely shut in enough water to
release mighty wave at its bursting.
1t is pretty we'll established that at about
10 O'Clock on Saturday evening there was
a cloudburst half mile above the dam.
This with the increased volume of water
pouring in from the bullying streams that
empty into the basin, caused the water to
fight furiously for an exit from the basin.
The dam was swept away, but that was
only an incident. AS this water descend
ed it found relief by spreading over
the level on which Titusvie is built.
| There was no huge wave at Oil City.
The Iago of tho waters wrecked nearly
half the town. Those who were IN places OF
safety, or had dragged themselves beyond
the reach of the waters, then heard two
mighty explosions and saw the water burst
into flame, and surround helpless human
beings, wrapping them in fire, whirling
clouds OF naptha-laden smoke about them,
rolling over them, TO let their wrlthlnl
bodies come again to the surface to smite
with feeble hands the waves of fire. Lader
with these horrors the flood reached the ga:
and electric light plants and put out tn
, fires, leaving the town in absolute darkness
except where the flames flashed on the sur
face of the water or whired about tn
I burning houses.
The testimony is that the whole surfac
of the valley, after the benzlno tanks hat
discharged their contents, was overlaid wit
, thick white mist not more than three fee
J high. 1t is probable that tho soggy, water
} soaked air would not permit the gas fror
the belzine to rise, but held it in IA mass
packed as though enclosed by the iron wal
of tanks, and whom the long, white, slowl
( rising fumes from this mist touched q he
surface, bed of Goals for instance, theI
1 was au explosion that shook tho valley an
4 stopped nearly every clock in the town.
n 1t has been shown clearly that none
4 the fiery water from Titusville reached o
t | City. The benzine and oil discharged frol
o the Titusyile tanks burned Itself out neS
Titusville. The fire at Oil City, althoue
,. of exactly the same character and arisr