The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-04-10
Power House Costing ST.
100000 Destroyed.
RAlN-SWOLEN RIVER RAGING
a Camping Out Party of 80 People Be
low the Great Dam of the Colorado
River Above Austin Disappear.
Wreck on the Internatlon-
AL and Great Northern.
nv The Associated Prcss.)

[By The Associated Prcss.)
Austin. Texas, April This citN
is tonight in pitch darkness with d
,aoino river one mile wide and sWoll-
en- far beyond its natural banks, roar
ing and surging through all the ION
er portions of the town, having spread
obstruction and death in its wake. In
addition to the vast loss to property
interests it is calculated that betWcel
30 and 40 lives have been sacrlflceJ
and the reports coming in from tfe
tributary country tonight do not tend
10 improve matters. The flood is net
unlike the disastrous JOhnstown 1locd
some wears ago. in that a raging rlVef,
already swollen far beyond It's captS
IL. bore too heavily upon an immense
dam spanning the river here, breaking
II and letting loose a reservoir OF WI
ter 80 miles long. half a mile vide
and sixty feet deep, to aid IN earning
destruction down the valleys OF the
Colorado River.
The great dam in the Colorado RlF-
er gave way at noon today from the
enormous pressure OF water ami de
bris and with a roar and crash swept
the valleys below the city, WreckioS
the immense light and power piant
and drowning eight workmen. rot
lowing is a list of the now dead. IN
Guiding those killed in the po"'f
house:
Frank Pincet. Frank Kinney. Wal
ter Flower. Walter Johnson, Alfred
Johnson. Frank Fitzgerald. Waiter
Rlossman, Joseph Newman, Dick Nor
lis. (colored). John Proes, CHARLES
Burchard.
Six negroes.
Last Wednesday night it began to
rain very hard at this place, the storm
extending north of here along the
watersheds OF the Colorado River. n
precipitation continued until this
morning. the downfall aggrcgating
six inches. All this vast quantity d
water along the watersheds OF ihe
Colorado River rapidly svelled the
current until at 8 o'clock this morn
ing the river which had been rising
steadily since last evening, was Il
raging torrent. having risen fort feet
within ten hours.
After daylight his morning i be
came evident that the situation was
serious. The river began to rise so
rapidly hat it was evident that the
immense dam and all the poWer
houses and contents, costing ore and
one half million dollars. were in IN
minent danger. To add to the terror
of the situation. small frame houses,
trees and debris of every description
in varying quantities began descend
ing the river and piling up against
the upper face Of the dam. This
weight was augmented every moment
until by 10 o'clock there was Il mass
OF debris lodged against the dam
which threatened the safety Of the
structure. In addition, millions Of
gallons of water. muddy from IT'S long
journey. was whirling aud piungIng
TO the sixty foot fall and it wa eVi-
lent that no wall could withstand
the immense pressure.
The crisis came shortly after II
o'clock when suddenly with a report
like the roar of the ocean the great
wedge, 25 feet high, five hundred feet
wide and about eight feet thick. roll
ed out OF the center section of the
dam, down the face of the sixty foot
depth into the river below. This left
a yawning gap in the very middle of
the dam through which the debris and
water fiercely poured while the flood
already raging, vas threatening ev-
erything in its path, this sudden
breaking of the dam, but serving to
ittu 10 the l1oIIOf Oh lnt cdIdSLTODIlt
The released water poured into the
power house, catching eight employees
at york there, drowning all of them
instantly. The breaking Of the dam
caused wild excitement in the city.
The telegraph companies at once wiz
ed to places below here to look out
for the great wave and inner were
dispatched on horses to notify those
living in the valleys below the city.
The telegraphic messages served as a
timely warming to many but the rush
ing waters outstripped the horsemen
and many houses were picked up and
swept away before the occupants
could get together their valuables.
Within a short time all the valleys
to the south and west of Austin were
filled to overlooking with water and
the Southern part of the city tributa-
~ 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
were saved by bOatmen. \ crOwd Of
white people numbering about 80 liv-
ing gust below the dam in tents We're
seen about their hahitations Just be-
fore the dam broke and have not been
accounted for since. 1t is generally
believed that all of them were swept
away.
One man attempting to cross the
roadway leading to the bridge across
the river just as the big wave rolled
down. was caught and he and his
horse and buggy went down with tne
torrent and were heard of no more.
4 family of six negroes living in the
valley south of the city are known to
have been drowned. 1t is estimated
that more than 100 houses have been
destroyed and loss to proper
ty will be great. A ease in
point is the light and power
plant costing one and n half million