Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1897-07-17
BURSTING RESERVOIRS
Cause : Harvest Of Death in Two
New York Towns.
EIGHT LIVES PROBABLY LOST.
Five Bodies Recovered and Three
Others Missing-One of the Victims
Was Rescued From the .Johnstown
Flood, and Married Her Rescner.

TWO large reservoirs in the Fishkil
mountains which supplied water to tn,
towns of Matteawan and Fishkii
burst their walls at O'Clock yester
day morning, and the water that wa.
released swept through the Duches:
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 mighty tor
rent. The names of those whose bodies
have been recovered, as officially given
out by Coroner H. B. Bevier, of Mat
teawan, are:
Mrs. John Conroy, aged SO, wife of the
engineer in Timoney's brick yard. Her
body was badly bruised by contact
with trees and wreckage, and was COW
cred with mud
Mrs. Mary Ferry, aged IS years, a
widow. Her body was in the worst
condition of all the victims, being COW
cred with mud and bruises
William Ferry, aged 9 years, son OF
Mrs. Ferry. The body was in good con-
dition, except for bruises about the
head.
John Surka, Hungarian, aged IS.
Phflameua Deluka, an Italian girl, 6
years old. The body was unmutilated.
The missing are: John Conroy, aged
years. son of Engineer Conroy;
Julia Conroy. aged years, a daughter
of Engineer Conroy; an unknown Hun
orc ..in nh, i
was drowned.
There were two floods. The first was
not disastrous, but alarmed the inhabi-
tants, most of whom left their houses.
A short time later the second dam
burst, pouring the flood down the
mountain, carrying with it a great
mass of debris, parts of buildings etc.
This struck the buildings in the rear
of Timoney's brick yard. One was a
boarding house, conducted by Patrick
Murphy. This building contained five
families A short distance from the
Murphy boarding house was a building
occupied by about 25 laborers, mostly
Slavs, with few Italians. From these
two buildings the victims were taken.
The body of Mrs. Mary Ferry was re-
covered yesterday afternoon, dug from
mud and debris 10 feet deep. Thirty
five men worked all day in the ruins.
Mrs. Conroy, one of the lost, before
her marriage lived at Johnstown, Pa,
where the great flood occurred several
years ago. She was rescued there by
John Conroy, who afterwards married
her.
There are three of the Timoney brick
yards. Two of them are badly dam
aged. The north one, managed by
Frank Timoney, Jr., is total loss.
The flood swept directly over the val
ley, carrying away everything but the
sheds. The brickmaking plant, wag-
ons, carts, etc, were swept across the
railroad track into the river.
AT the northern yard were go arches
of green" brick, $4,000 in each arch.
The water softened these, and let the
whole down in a mass of clay. A r.
arch kiln was burning. The flood put
out the fire and partially ruined the
brick.
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 a Gull
vert into the river.
The three buildings in which the Ia
borers had quarters were totally
wrecked. There is hardly a piece of
wood two feet long anywhere. 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 Murphy's
boarding house. 1t is supposed to be
the one that knocked the house off its
foundation. Frank McGmnis, 15-
year-old boy, a machine tender in
Timoney'S wards, was on the piazza
of Murphy's house. He says the house
broke in two. The flood carried the
first half, with him clinging to it, down
towards Hammond & Freeman's yards,
which adtoin Timoneys He went
under several times, but managed to
swim, and was at length pulled out in
an unconscious condition by Charles
White, fellow workman. He had not
a stitch of clothing on when rescued.
His body was badly bruised, and he
has a great cut on the face from the
right eye across the mouth to the chin.
When he recovered consciousness, half
crazed, he started for the water again,
but was held back.
The Montreal express train arrived
at the scene about three minutes after
the accident, and was tagged through
the efforts of M. H. Reilly.
John T. Lundy, of Matteawan. one of
Timoney's employees, rescued Patrick
Murphy and four little boys. He wad-
ed out to a building and carried them
one by one to a place of safety. This
was directly after the first wave. They
had no more than got to the bank be-
fore the house was swept away.
AS soon as the excitement attendant
upon the awful catastrophe had sub
sided the thoughts and conversation
of the hundreds of people who had
gathered at the scene and of the resi-
dents of the twin villages of Fishkill
Landing and Matteawan turned to the
question of responsibility for the dis
aster
Morgan H. Hoyt, a member of the
coroners jury, said: Il believe that
the Fishkil and Matteawan Water
company will be held for criminal neg
ligence. One of the dams at least has
been VIGOROUSLY unsound ever since it
was built, ten years ago, and has been
leaking all the time. The dam was
one half feet above the water and three
and half below, and built of cobble-
stones. People have been predicting it's
collapse ever since l have lived here"
Similar expressions could be heard
all around the village.