Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-04-09
DELUGE BRINGS DEATH
Havoc Rides the Flood That
Sweeps Down the Colo:
rado River in Texas.
AUsTINIs THE HEAVIEST SUFFERER

More Than . Score Are Drowned by the
Rush of Waters When a Costly Dam
Gives Way and Sweeps Everything to
Ruin in Its Path-Works That Cost Aus
tin $I.75O,Ooo Are Razed in an HO"---
Damages in Other Parts of the State Es-
timated at 81, 100000.
Dallas, April 9.-Reports from
southern and southwestern Texas
been lost in the floods. These in
clude the Austin casualties. The
heaviest loss of life is in the Colorado
Valley south of Austin and Bastirop.
Austin. Tex. April 9.-The following
is an estimate of the havoc done 10y
foods in this section Saturday: Lives
lost, 2G; loss of Colorado river dam and
power house. 81, 900; loss i'll other
sections of the state, $3,000.000.
Fully 10000 people gathered at the
dam and power house station yester-
day TO witness the ruins of the plant.
The waters of the Colorado river were
still plunging and foaming around the
wreck, eating away the big pile of
granite which once formed the dam as
though ii was nothing more than chalk
rock. So fierce was the current that
great boulderS were carried half mile
from the dam, being rolled over and
over by the turbulent tide. The power
house, which succumbed to the terrific
wash of the water at 2 O'Clock yester-
day morning. lies a mass of wreckage
on the edge of the river. all the valua-
BILE machinery either having been
thrown into the river or badly dam
aged by the falling timbers of the pow
er house.
Situation I'm the City Is Serious.
The wreck of the plant Is complete.
The situation in the city Is most seri-
Gus. The wTeckage OF the plant means
that it will take several weeks to secure
even a temporary water and light sys-
tenn, if it can be made possible even
then. In the meantime the city
will be in n bad sanitary condition. All
the hotels. private residences, stores
and the like are without water. and
there is no fire protection. Churches
were unable to hold services last night
for want of light, and all public meet
inGS We're abandoned. The daily news
papers are handicapped in their publi-
cations, being deprived of their electric
power. The river is now falling.
Whole Country Under Water.
Reports from the neighboring coun-
try are to the effect that everything is
WdltT- III W county.
north of here, railroad bridges and
trackage have been laid waste and all
trains have stopped running. Hundreds
of head of cattle have been drowned
and miles of fencing torn down and
washed away. In Bastrop county and
in the southern portion OF this coun-
~ similar conditions prevail. every
thing being under water and much loss
OF property is reported.
Loss OF Life Confined to Austin.
The country tributary to the Colora-
do river all the way down it's course iS
being inundated. and while it is be-
lieved the worst is over the loss as es-
timated will exceed some $1,000, 900,
counting Austin as the largest loser
Fortunately the list of drowned. &C.
cording to reports up to this writing
Is limited TO those reported Saturday
night. as IT seems the only drownings
reported were here when the dam
broke and caught the victims un-
awareS.