The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-15
THE RESERVOIRS BREAK
THREE HOUSES IN THE FISHKILL
MOUNTAINS SWEPT AWAY.
Five Bodies Recovered from the
Debris of Wrecked Buildings and
Three Others Missing.

POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y, July H-The
two large reservoirs in the Fshkill noun
tans which supplied water to the towns of
Matteawan and Fishl1ill burst their walls
at 2 O'Clock this morning and the water
that was released swept through the
Duchess valley, causing ruin and death.
Five bodies have been taken from the
wreckage left in the wake of the flood, and
there are known to be two and probably
three more lying somewhere beneath the
piled-up debris, which is all that remains of
three houses that were swept away by the
torrent. The names of those whose bodies
have been recovered, as officially given out
by the coroner of Matteawan tonight, are:
MRS JOHN CONROY, aged thirty-six
wife of engineer in Timony brick yard ;;
body was BADLY bruised by contact with
trees and Wreckage and covered with mud.
MRS MARY FERRY, aged thirty-eight,
widow; body in worst condition of all the
victims, being covered with mud and
bruises.
WILLIAM FERRY, aged nine, son of
Mrs. Ferry; bruises about the head.
JOHN SRUKA, a Hungarian, twenty
eight years old.
PHILAMENA DELUKA, Italian girl six
years old.
The missing are:
JOHN. CoNROY, aged two, son of En-
JULIA CONROY, aged six, daughter of
Engineer Conroy
AN UNKNOWN HUNGARIAN, whose
brother declares that he was drowned.
The reservoir, the bursting of which
caused the havoc at Dutchess Junction this
morning is situated in the Fishkill noun
tains, about a mile east of the Duchess
junction. 1t collects the surface water
from the north side of South Beacon and
the south side of a neighboring mountain,
and is five hundred feet above tidewater.
Its overflow reaches the Hudson by means
of a small stream known as Tonawanda
creek. AT the west end of the ravne are
the devastated brick yards. The reservoir
is of oval shape, about five hundred feet
long and three hundred feet wide and thirty
or thirty-tive feet deep 1t is used as an
works system of Matteawan and Fishkill
Landing, from the main source of which it
is distant about four miles. The largest
reservoir of this system is a considerable
lake near North Beacon, which has mas
sive masonry and is intact. A second reser-
voir, situated much lower down the noun
tain, which was built to reduce the pressure
into the pipes, is also unbroken. These two
have direct connection with the Dutchess
Junction reservoir, though all three feed
The body of Mrs. Mary Ferry was recov-
cred this afternoon, dug from mud and de-
bris ten feet deep. Thirty-five men worked
the lost before her marriage lived at
Johnstown, Pa, where the great flood oc-
CURED several years ago. she was rescued
there by John Conroy, who afterwards mar
ried her. Most of the ruins have been
searched over and it is possible that some
bodies have been swept into the river.
The water still runs through the yard,
which is covered to a depth of several feet
with gravel mud, trunks of trees, parts of
wagons and like material finding its way
thence through cGlveit into the river. The
three buildings in which the labOrers had
quarters were totally wrecked. There is
hardly piece of wood two feet long any
where In the raVine there are great rocks
some of them weighing five to ten tons
each, rolled down the mountain by the tor
rent. One rock, weighing ten tons at least
lies on the site of Murphys boarding house.
Frank McGinnis, fifteen-year-old boy, a
machine tender at Timony's yard, was on
house broke in two. The flood carried the
first half. with him clinging to it, down to-
wards Hammond and Freemans yards
which adjoin Timonys. He went under
several times, but managed to swim and
was at length pulled out in an unconscious
condition by Charles White, a fellow work
man. He had not stitch of clothing on
when rescued.
The Montreal expresses train arrived at
the scene about three minutes after the ac-
cident and was tagged, through the efforts
of NJ. II. Reilly, an employe of Timony. A
freight train had just passed that portion
of the track and stopped below having
struck a rock that rolled down the noun
tain. John 7. Lundy of Matteawan rescued
Patrick Murphy and four little boys He
waded out to a building and carried them
one by one to place OF safety. This was
directly after the first wave They had no
more than got to the bank before the house
was swept away. Murphy lost about 81 900
in cash that had been given him by labor
ers for safe keeping. Timony's yard had a
capacity of "a 000.000 bricks a year and en-
plOyed two hundred men, About thou
sand yards above Murphys boarding house
directly i'm the center of the ravine was a
small settlement of Arabs. thirty or forty
in number, occupying half a dozen huts
There is not a vestige of settlement now
but so far as known no Arabs lost their
lives. The wave was about fifteen feet high
as shown by traces along its passage Engi-
neer John Conroy, who lost his wife and
two children, states that they were not in
the building when the flood came. They
We're on a knoll on the edge of the food He
told his wife to stay there with the children
until he went back TO the building. but she
attempted TO find place of greater appar-
ent safety and in crossing to another house
the flood swept her and the children to
their deaths.