The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1897-07-24
4 LITTLE YOUNGSTOWN.
Collapse of Two Large Reservoirs
in the FishkiIlS.
Large Number of Persons Drowned and
Several Missing-Some of the Bodies
Dug from Beneath Many Feet of
Mud and Debris-Heroic Rescues.

PoUGHKEEPsIE, n. Y, July 15.-The
two large reservoirs in the Fishklll
mountains, which supplied water TO
the towns of Matteawan and Fishklll,
burst their walls at two o'clock yester-
day 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 IN
where beneath the pile of 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 Coroner Ii. b. Bevier, of Matteawan,
are:
Mrs, John Conroy, aged 46, wife of
the engineer in Timony's brick yard;
her body was badly bruised by contact
with trees and wreckage and was COW
cred with mud.
Mrs. John Ferry, aged 80 years, a
widow; her body was in the worst
condition of all the victims, being
covered with mud and bruises.
William Ferry, aged nine years, so1
of Mrs. Ferry; the body was in good
condition except for bruises about the
head.
John S. Ruka, a Hungarian, IS years
old.
Philamena de Leukka, an Italian
girl, six years old; the body was I'M
mutilated.
The missing are:
John Conroy, aged two years, a son
of Engineer COnroy.
Julia Conroy, aged six years, adaugh-
ter of Engineer Conroy,
An unknown hungarian.
There were two reservoirs in the
mountains. the lower one-half a mile
distant from the other. The upper
dam ave way, letting the volume of
water into the lower reservoir. This
also burst, and the water rushed down
through a ravine. Van Buren, and
Timony's brick yard, on the Hudson,
Just below Duchess Junction, are a
mile distant from the site of the lower
reservoir. Without warning the flood
reached them through the ravine and
made terrible havoc. Buildings were
torn in pieces and their occupants car
ried away in the raging flood. The
waterwOrks system was operated by a
private company and supplied the viii
.2ages at Matteawan and FiShkill-on-
the-Hudson.
The Montreal express train arrived
ut the scene about three minutes altar
the accident, and was tagged, through
the efforts of NJ. II. Riley, an employee
of Timony's. He a~pprehended danger
and went down to the track. soon
afterward he heard a tremendous
oar in the mountain, and the crash
of the buildings swept away. A
freight train had just passed
that portion of the track and stopped
below, having struck a rock that had
rolled down the mountain. Riley hur-
-ied down the track and told the flag
man that the roadbed was covered by
the flood and he had better flag the eX-
press, which he did. Riley fingered
around until the flood had partially
subsidized. Then he saw something
white in the rubbish and, reaching
down, pulled out the body of a little
Italian gIrl.
John L. Lundy, n of Timony's en-
ployes, rescued Patrick Murphy and
four little boys. He waded out to a
building and carried them, m by one,
TO a place of safety. This was directly
after the first wave. They had no
more than got to the bank when the
house was swept away
Murphy lost about 81, 0p0in cash that
had been given him by laborers for
safe keeping.
Timony's yard had a capacity of "a
900, 900 brick a year, and employed 200
men.
About LOCO yards above Murphy's
boarding house, directly in the center
of the ~ravine, was a small settlement
of Arabs, 30 or 40 men, occupying half
1 dozen huts. There is not a settle
.ment now, but, as far as known, no
Arabs lost their lives.
On each side of the railroad track
are great piles of rubbish, tree trunks,
EOChSJ plSCCS VI AOuScS, Ill SOTIS Vi
household goods and clothing.
One rock, weighing ten tons at least,
Hes on the site of Murphy's boarding
house.
The I'VE was about fifteen feet
high. 1t is shown by traces along its
passage, when it reached a point
about 700 feet above the buildings,
it had spread out until it was about
200 feet wide and 10 feet deep, moving
with resistless force. 1t tore out by
the roots trees that were from one to
two feet in diameter.
Engineer John Conroy, who lost his
wife and two children, states that they
were lot in the building when the
flood came. They were on a knoll on
the edge of the flood He told his wife
so stay there with the children until
Ehe went back to the building, but she
attempted to find a place of greater
apparent safety, and, in crossing to
another house, the food swept her and
the children to their death.