The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-08

AUSTIN, Tex, April This city Is
tonight in pitch darkness, with a raging
river, one mile wide, and swollen far he
yond its natural banks roaring and surg
ing through all the lower portion of the
town, having spread destruction and
death in its wake. In addition . the vast
loss to property interests, it is calculated
that between thirty and forty lives have
been sacrificed, and the reports coming
In from the tributary country tonight do
not tend to improve matters.
The flood is not unlike the disastrous
Johnstown food some years ago in that
o raging river, already swollen far beyond
Its capacity, bore too heavily upon an i'm
mense dam spanning the river here,
breaking it, and letting loose a reservoir
Of water thirty miles long, half mile
wide and sixty feet deep, TO aid in carry
Ing destruction down the valleys of the
Colorado river.
The great dam in the Colorado river
gave way at noon today, from the enor-
nous pressure of water and Debris, and,
with a roar and crash, swept the valleys
below the city, wrecking the immense
light and power plant and drowning eight
workmen. Following is list of the known
dead, including those killed in the power
house:
FRANK RINCET.
FRANK KINNEY.
WALTER FLOWER.
WALTER JOHNSON.
ALFRED JOHNSON.
FRANK FITZGERALD.
WALTER BLOSSMAN.
JOSEPH NEWMAN.
DICK MORRIS (colored).
JOHN PROES.
CHARLES BURCHARD.
SIX NEGROES.
Last Wednesday night 1t began to rain
very hard at this race, the storm extend
ing north of here along the water sheds
of the Colorado river. The precipitation
continued until this morning, the down.
fall aggregating six inches All this vast
quantity of water along the water sheds
of the Colorado river rapidly swelled the
current until, at s o'clock this morning,
the river, which had been rising steadily
since last evening, was a raging torrent,
having risen forty feet within ten hours.
After daylight this morning it became
evident that the situation was serious.
The river began to rise so rapidly that it
was evident that the immense dam and
aA the power houses and contents, costing
over 81, SOC, 900, were in immense danger.
To add to the terror of the situation
every description, in varying quantities,
began descending the river, and piling up
against the upper face of the dam. This
weight was augmented every moment I'M
til by 10 o'clock there was mass of
debris leaning against the dam which
threatened the safety of the structure.
In addition millions of gallons of water,
muddy from its long journey, was whirl-
ing and plunging to the siXty-foot fail,
and it was evident that no wall could
withstand the immense pressure.
The crisis came shortly after il o'clock,
when, suddenly, with a report like the
roar of cannon, a great mass, sixty feet
high, 500 feet wide and eight feet thick,
rolled out of the center section into the
river below This left yawning gap in
the very middle of the dam, through
which the debris and water fiercely pour
ed while the flood already raging was
threatening everything in it's path, this
sudden bres king Of the dam but serving
to add to the horror of the catastrophe.
The released water poured into the pow
er house, catching eight employees at work
there, drowning all of them instantly.
CITY IN A PANIC.
The breaking of the dam caused wild
excitement in the city. The telegraph
companies at once wired to places below
here to look out for the great wave, and
runners were dispatched on horses to
notify those living in the valleys below
the city. The Geographic messages served
as a timely warning to many, but the
rushing 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 south
ern portion of the city, tributary to the
river, was inundated.
Large crowds collected on the river
banks, and several persons We're swept
into the river when the dam broke, but
all were saved by boatmen.
crowd Of white people, numbering
about thirty. living just below the dam
In tents, were seen at their habitations
lust before 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 road
way 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 the torrent and
were heard of no more.
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 the loss
% property VIII pc great In point of
Value, the light and power plant costing
81, 100000
The breaking Of the dam engulfed the
old water company's plant below the city.
and it is tonight lying fifteen feet under
water, while the city Is in darkness and
without water
Reports from points below here are ia
the effect that the flood has been most
disastrous, and the breaking of the dam
has occasioned many thousands of dol
lars worth of loss to property.
The surface of the river here through
out the day has been dotted by small
houses, or fragments of houses, and
drowned animals. along with trees and
debris, all of which bear testimony to
the ravages of the flood in the noun
famous region above Austin.
In addition to the losses here the In
ternational & Great Northern railway
and the Austin & Northwestern railway
both entering this city, have suffered Sc.
verely, the first named having a very
serious wreck by reason of the floods this
morning. The southbound cannon bal