Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-07-15
RESERVOIRS BURST.
Terrible Disaster Near Mat
teaWan in the PeekskiIIs.
Water Sweeps Everything Before Il in
Rush Down the Mountain.
Boarding House Carried Away Twenty Miss.
ins--Seven Bodies Found.

/ II
ami Mattewan with water, burst at
O'Clock this morning. The water rushed
:, down the mountain, following the old
bed of the Melzingah brook. Two
| bridges We're swept away.
! The great volume of water struck the
little settlement occupied by the la
borers of Frank Timoney's brickyard at
Duchess junction.
| There We're two Hoods; the first was
| not disastrous, but most of the inhab-
| ltants left their houses in Alarm
shof time later the second dam BURST.
pouring the flood down the mountain.
carrying with it great mass of debris.
parts of buildings, etc.
| This struck buildings in the rear OF
fimcney's brickyard. One was a.
| boarding house conducted by Patrick
| Murphy. This building contained five
families, Mr.. and Mrs. Con Murphy and
| 1--WE children; Mr.. and Mrs. Patrick
Murphy ana four boys; John Dontroy.
wife ana two children: an Italian FAM
| lily, man, wife and child, named
Doureys, and Mrs. Ann Ferry, a widow
and her young son. None of the Muir
phys were lost. The wife and two
children of John Conroy persisted An
Italian child died and Mrs. Ann Ferry
and her child. Willie, were lost
y short distance from Murpby'ss
boarding house was a building occupied
by about % laborors, mostly slaves.
with a few Italians. An Italian named
Zuica was killed, a Hungarian, name
unknown, is missing. His remains
were probably in the ruins with those
who perished
These have been found: Mrs Mary
Conroy, wife of the engineer OF Tim
oneys brickyard: John Zuica, Willie
Ferry and the Italian child. Zelina
Lourey. The remaining bodies have
not been found. Workmen are now
digging for them in debris which ex-
tends 1000 feet on the tracks of the
Hudson River Railroad
John Controy, engineer, whose arm
was broken, was dazed by his losses
and injuries and unable to say much
about the disaster. He directed in
quirers tn Henry McGurgan and
Michael Clark two brickyard hands.
who had been in one of the DESTROYED
buildings They and several others
We're in the structure when it started
from its foundations
Several men escaped by iumpine
form the windows as the building was
carried along by the flood. Clark re-
manned in the floating structure until
it struck one of the brickyard shanties.
which was moved from it's foundation
by the collision.
When the current had swept the
shanty near the shore he jumped on the
bank and escaped unframed
McGurSan in attempting to reach the
bank, fell under building which
passed over him. He chung to the roots
of trees which had been uncovered by
tho torrent, and climbed up the bank to
place of safety. His back was severe
ly injured.
Zuica and his brother Martin, who
left the buildings after the first big
water as they called it. came down.
returned to the building to save some
of their effects Martin Zuica heard
roaring of waters of the second flood.
called to his brother and started for
high ground. His brother, however.
disregarded the warming did not follow
and periShed
In the debris there are trees that had
been torn out by the roots, timbers and
roofs of houses, bedding. dead pigs,
swept away with their pens, etc.
In the side of the mountain is a great
fissure which had been scooped out by
the flood as it came down the bed of
the brook
The streams was from so to 200 feet
wide and had brought down with it
great boulders, trees, timber and other
wreckage.
Half mile up the mountain from the
scene of disaster, was cascade bridge.
The torrent swept the bridge away and
enlarged the gap To the width of rs
feet and cut huge waterways in the
earth and rocks.
y few rods above the cascade bridge
was the second bridge, also torn away.
Near the second bridge is an almost
perpendicular wall 30 feet high, made
by the flood.
Nothing was left of Murphy boarding
house, except Il portion of brick founda-
ton. The building itself was ground in
to fragments.
temporary trestle has been built in
the break of the New York Central
track and the Montreal express, south
bound, has just gone over. 1t will be
late this afternoon before trains can be
run on time