, 1900-04-12
A RUSH OF WATERS.
Breaking of n Dam at Austin, Texas,
Causes Loss of Life and Great Damage
to Property.

TO Properly
Austin, Tex, April S.-This city IN to.
night In pitch darkness, with II raging
river, one mile wide and swollen far be-
You'd its natural banks, roaring nnd
surging through all the lower portion
of the town, having spread destruction
and death in Its wake. In addition to
the vast loss to property interests, 1t Is
calculated that between thirty and for
ty lives have been sacrificed, and the
reports coming i'll from the tributary
country tonight do not lend to improve
matters. A train on the international
& Great Northern Dad was wrecked
to-day, but nobody was seriously In
jured.
Austin, Tex, April Tile flood is
not unlike the disastrous JohnstOwn
flood some years ago, in that n raging
river, already swollen far beyond its
capacity, pore too heavily upon an i'm
mense dam spanning the river here,
breaking II and letting n reservoir of
water, thirty miles long, half n mile
wide and sixty feet deep, 10 aid in car
rying destruction down the valleys of
the Colorado river.
The great dam in the Colorado river
gave way mt noon to-day from the nor
nous pressure of water and debris, and
NANh a. lohl nv 'ltSh pN'll Nv Nhl-
lcys below the city, wrccking the i'm
mense light and power plant and
drowning eight workmen.
The released water poured INTO the
power house, catching eight employees
at work there, drowning all of them
Instantly. The breaking of the dan
caused wild excitement In the city.
The telegraph companies at once
wired to places below here to look out
for the great wave II runners were
dispatched on horses to notify those
living In the valleys below the city. The
Geographic messages served as n time
ly warning TO many, but the rushing
waters Outstripped the horsemcn. and
many houses We're picked up and swept
away before the occupants could get
together their v%aluables.
Within n short time all the valleys to
the south aud west of Austin We're flood
ed To overlooking with water and the
southern portion of the city tributary
to the river was inundated. Large
crowds collected on the river banks
and several persons were swept into
the river when the dam broke, but all
We're saved by boatmen.
y crowd OF white people. numbering
about thirty, living just below the dam
In tents. We're seen Mt their habitation
Just before the dam broke and have not
been accounted for since. II is gen
orally believed that all of them were
swept away.
Austin, Tex, April S.-Thc increased
volume Of water which came down the
river last night undermined the power
house mt the dam at 1870 o'clock n. m,
and II fell into the river. carrying with
II S3OO,OOO worth Of machinery.
Fully 10000 people gathered ut the
dam and power house stationed north
of this city to witness the ruins of the
plant which cost the city one and three
quarters millions Of dollars u few years
ago. The waters of the Colorado river
wcr" still p%luuging nnd foaming around
the wreck, cnting away the big pile of
granite which once formed the dam, as
though II was nothing more than chalk
tock. So fierce was the current that
great powders were carried half n mile
rom the dam, being rolled over and
over 10y the turbulent tide.
Thc country tributary to the Colo
ado river, all the way down its course
p being Inundated, aud while II is be
Iicvod the worst is over. the loss as as.
'imatcd tonight Will exceed $1,000 900,
counting Austin MS the largest loser.
fortunately the list Of drowned, accord
ng 10 reports up to tonight, is limited
% those reported IN the Associated
Press dispatches last night, as IL seems
lie only drowniDgs reported were when