The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-04-12
A Big DAM BREAKS.
Austin. Texas, Swept by a Raging
Flood.
SIMILAR TO JOHNST0WN HORROR.
Electric Light and Power Plant With
Operatives Go Down-Full Damage
Hard to Estimate,

Austin. Tex, Special-This city is in
pitch darkness with raging river one
mile wide and swollen far beyond its
natural banks roaring and surging
through all the lower portions Of the
| town, having spread destruction and
death in its wake. In addition to the
vast loss TO property interests, 1t is cal
culated that between 20 and 40 lives
have been sacrificed, and the reports
| coming in from the tributary country
| do not tend to improve matters. The
| food is not unlike the disastrous Pohn-
| stown flood, some years ago, in that a
raging river, already swollen far be-
yOnd its capacity, bore too heavily
upon an immense dam spanning the
river here, breaking it and letting loose
reservoir of water 80 miles long, half
mile wide and sixty feet deep, to all
in carrying destruction down the val
leys Of the Colorado river. The great
dam in the Colorado river gave way
from the enormous pressure Of water
and debris and with roar and crash
swept the valleys below the city, wreck
ing the immense light and power plant,
and drowning eight workmen. Follow
ing is list of the known dead, includ
ing those killed in the power house:
Frank Pincet, Frank Kinney, Walter
Flower, Walter Johnson, Alfred john
son, Frank Fitzgerald, Walter Bios
som, Joseph Newman, Dick Morris
(colored); John Proes, Chas. Burchard.
Six negroes.
Last Wednesday night 1t began TO
rain very hard at this place, the storm
extending north of here along the wat
er sheds of the Colorado river. The
precipitation continued until 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 the river,
which had been rising steadily was a
raging torrent, having risen 40 feet
within ten hours.
. After daylight it became evident tina:
| the situation was serious. The river
began to rise so rapidly that it wa:
\ evident that the immense dam and al
the power houses and contents, cost
ing 81 800 900, were in imminent dan
ger. To add to the terror of the situa
ton, small frame houses, trees ant
debris of every description in varyins
'' quantities began descending the rive
and piling up against the upper fac
of the dam.
1ulS Weight was aug liSutSu SSei
v moment until by 10 O'Clock there wa
a mass of debris lodged against tn
dam which threatened the safety Q
r the structure IN addition, millions C
gallons of water, muddled from it
long journey, was whirling and plung
ing to the sixty foot fall, and it wa
:, evident that no wall could withstan
, the immense pressure. The c-isis cam
| oh II ~ CrA
" ly with a report like the roar of tn
q ocean, the dam but served to add
If the horror of rolled out of the cent?
section of the dam down the face {
the so foot depth into the river belov
+ This left yawning gap in the ver
% middle of the dam through which tt
" debris and water fiercely poured whi
,r | the food, already raging, was threa
ct ening everything in its path. This SUI
. den breaking of the dam, but serve
~ 20 add to the horror of the catastr
III phe.
We The released water poured into Il
ne power house, catching eight employ
is at work there, drowning all of the
- instantly The breaking of the da
~ caused wild excitement in the cit
. The telegraph companies at on
oe wired to places below here to look o
ey for the great wave and runers we
.ic dispatched On horses to notify tho
of living in the valleys below the eli
&c The telegraphic messages served as
timely warning to many, but the rus
u ing waters outstripped the horsem
~ and many houses were picked up a
Ih: swept away before the occupants cot
-, -, get together their valuables.
III Within short time all the valle
~ to the south and west of Austin W.
lo filled to overf1owing with water a
~ the southern part Of the city tril
tary to the river was inundat
III Large crowds collected on the ri
VI banks and several persons We're sw
ses into the river when the dam bro
'us but all were saved by boatmen.
JIG crowd Of white people number
-, about 80, living just below the dam,
VIZ VIZ tents, were seen at their habitatit
Ia. lust before the dam broke and have
y: VI been ccounted for since. 1t is gen
" ~ ally believed that all of them W
49, swept away.