The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1900-04-12
Great Dam of the C0lOra-.
do River Swept Away.
THIRTY PEOPLE DROWNED
Heavy Damage to Property Aleag the.
Big River In Other Sectioas-Dis
asters Caused by Raias.

Texas, was in darkness with 8 raging
river one mile wide and swollen Tar.
beyond it's natural banks, roaring and
surging all through the lower portion
of the town, having spread desructionl
and death in its wake. ~
In addition to the vast loss OF prop
erty interests, it is calculated that be-'
tween thirty and forty lives have been;
sacrificed, and the repo1ts coming IN
from the tributary country do not
tend to improve matters.
The flood was not unlike the disas%.
trous Johnstown food some years ag0
in that raging river. already swollen
far beyond it's capacity, bore too hear
ily upon an immense dam spanning
the riser at Austin, breaking the same
and letting loose e reservoir Of wsteEs
thirty miles long, half q mile wide and
sixty feet deep, to aid in carrying deS
struction down the valleys Of the Col;
orado river.
The great dana in the Colorado Fiy6s
gave way at noon to the enormous
pressure Of water and debris and nth
q roar and crash swept the valleys betS
low the city, wrecking the immsu1e
light and power plant and drowning
eight workmen..
Three days before it began raining
very hard at Austin. the storm exfends
ing north along the watersheds cf the
Colorado river. The precipitation con-
tinued until Saturday morning ard ~
Q Ausle the downfall ayeraged eix:
inches within an hour. ALL this vnst
quantity of water along the watershed9
of the Colorado river rapidly swesled|
the current until at o'clock the fiyof,
which had been rising steadily. was;A'
raging torrent.
The crisis cans sho-tly alter 41
O'Clock when snddenly, with repos4
like the roar Of the ocean, gres
wedge, twenty-five feet high, 800 fest
wide and about eight feet thick. rolled
out Of the center section of the dan1
down the face Of the sixty-foot depth
into the river below.
This left yawning gap in the very
middle of the dam, which through The
debris and water fiercely poured. While
the food, already raging, was Threatens
ing everything in its path, this sudden
breaking Of the dam but served TO add
to the catastrophe. The released vs.
ter poured into the power house. catch
ing eight employees at work, drownip
all of them instantly. 81
It is estimated that more than 3Q8|
houses hare been destroyed and fks
loss to property will be great, in6ss
pendent of the light and power plsn
costing 81, 100000. The breaking a
the dam engulfed the old water COM
pany's plant below the city and y III
now lying fifteen feet under wsteE
while the city is in darkness and With
out water. S;sss: g
Reports from points below Anstlus
are to the effect that the food has beens
most disastrous, and the breaking ot;
the dam has occasioned many thousand
of dollars worth of loss to propetty
According to reports received it is be-
lieved that at least thirty lives were
lost sss
LATER ADvIcEs.
Sunday fully $4,000 people gather
cred at the dam and power house 20
witness the ruins of the plant whicx
cost the city one and three-qBarter
millions of dollars q few years ae0.
The waters of the Colorado river were
still plunging and foaming around the
wreck, eating away the big paie ot
granite which once formed the dam
as though it was nothing more than
chalk rock.
Reports from the neighboring courr
try were to the effect that every thing
was under water. In Williamson
county, north of Austin, railroad
bridges and trackage have been laid
waste and all trains stopped running
The country tributary to the Colo
rado river all the way down its course
is being inundated, and while Il e be-
lieved that the worst'is over. the lose
as estimated so far will exceed some
So, 900, 900, counting Austin as the
largest loser. 800
Fortunately the list Of drowned 81
limited to those reported in the Asso-
ciated Press dispatch Of Saturday, g
il seems the only drownings reported
were at Austin when the dam broke
and caught the victims unawares.
Reports from several sections ct
central and south Texas are to the et-S
feet that large acreage is under va
ter and much damage has been attend-
ant upon property and live stock.