The record-union., 1895-04-29
AWFUL DISASTER IN FRANCE.
A Dixie Gives Way, Causing Great De.
structIon and Loss OF LIZ

AWFUL DISASTER IN FRANCE.
A Dixie Gives Way, Causing Great De-
| struction and Loss of Life.
EPINAL France, April 2S.--The Bouzey
dixie of the Epinal District of the Vosges
| burst at O'Clock yesterday morning. A
| great rush of waters and much loss of life
| followed. The reservoir was situated
close to the village OF Bouzey, and was
| connected with the Eastern Canal. The
breach made by the water is over 100
| meters broad. The villages which have
suffered most are Bouzey, Bouzant, Les
Forges. Budegney and Domevres. In a
single commune-that of Uxegeney,
seven kilometers from the scene of the
disaster proper-twenty-three persons
were drowned. At Nomexy eight bodies
! have been recovered. Wherever the
water flowed it destroyed everything in
Its path. The village of Bouzey, with its
| entire pisciculture establishment, has
| disappeared, the number of lives lost be-
ing unknown. The loss is estimated at
| 5000 600.
The list of the fatalities increases every
hour. One hundred and fifteen deaths
| have already been reported, but only
fifty bodies have been recovered. II is
believed that the death list will pe greatly
in excess of the figures above given when
all the districts are heard from. 1t is
supposed that many of the dead were
swept into isolated places, where it will
be long time before the bodies are
| found
The whole region over which thou
sands OF tons of water swept in a resist
less Hood IS strewn with every sort of
wreckage, and the whole country pre-
sents a most desolate appearances. In
nIapaS ri
clean out of the ground, and the losses
| thus incurred will be very heavy. Six
| DrigadeS of gendarmes have arrived, and
they have been detailed to act as guards.
Every attempt is being made to reorgan-
IZe the district, but this is rendered diff
cult by the waters. The Aviere, small
stream, is now in some places mile and
pa half wide. The railroad III the vicinity
OF the Darniulles Station was torn up,
railroad ties swept away and the en-
bankments destroyed. Nearly every
bridge on the line of the food was either
swept away or SO badly damaged that
they will have TO be- rebuilt.
The distress among the dWellers in the
valley Is very great, and in many cases
they appear to be mentally benulnb bed by
the calamity that has fallen on them. The
Government is fully awake to the disas-
Ter, and is doing everything possible to
relieve their SufterlngS. The Ministers of
Public Works and Interior are now on
their way here to assume charge of the
relief work. Three thousand francs have
already been received for relief purposes.
and the Ministers viii bring 90 900 more
from the funds of their departments and
1000 contributed by President Faure.
Mime. Heine has sent q, coo francs, which
will be applied to relieving the sufferers.
The Pretect of the department has WIS.,
tied all the districts affected by the dis
He has OrUaOiZa6 the aDl,,lpyvau on
the public roads, and, aided by the mill
tary, Will as soon as possible restore COM
munlcation. These employees and the
soldiers Will also search for the dead and
Immediately bury all the dead animals
they may find.
The municipal authorities are working
ceaselessly in distributing relief and
seeking to bring order out of the chaos
prevailing. over $4,000 persons from the
nearby towns and the surrounding
country visited the scene of the disaster
to-day.
At 4 P. NJ. the burial of fifteen of the
victims took place at Domvere. one OF
the villages that suffered the worst from
the inundation. Two thousand persons
attended the funeral services, which were
held while the graves were being dug.
There were many heartrending scenes
while the bodies were consigned to the
earth.
WITNESSED THE DISASTER.
LONDON, April 25.-A dispatch to the
DUjiy NeJCS from Paris says: The catas-
trophe occurred d few minutes before
haIt-paSt o'clock in the morning. A
stonecutter who had just commenced
work short distance from the reservoir
saw the front OF the wall sixty feet high
and from 100 to 80 yards long come down
almost instantly. The water poured
down the valley, forming a bore about
sixteen feet high. The flood reached
Momsey at7:55 having travelled eighteen
miles in less than an hour and three
quarters. The Prefect of Nosgas esti-
mates the number OF victims al III. The
loss Of life is probably underestimated. as
no news has yet been received from the
parish Of trizen, through which the tor
rent passed.
The sound of the bursting dam was
heard several miles away. The great
rush of water lasted about fifteen min
utes when 100000 cubic meters OF water
had passed through the break.
at BouZey itself but one house re-
mains standing on the hill about the
reservoir, which is now quite empty, and
looks an immense black hole in the
landscape. The remains OF the broken
wall are lying about for a distance OF 500
yard below the opening. A small pine
woods which stood beneath the reservoir
has completely disappeared, with the ex-
cepton OF two trees, between the branches
OF which quantity of wreckage remains
The great reservoir was an exceedingly
curious structure. 1t was composed OF
three arms, which stretched out like a
ian between wooded hills.