The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-08
81 NOD SPREADS DESTRUCTION
rvrvUNDOUs LOSS OF LIFE AND
PROPERTY IN TEXAS.


plant Destroyed Leaving Austin in
DorLness-FIOOd Caused by Unusu-
olIv Heavy Rains.
,rsan Tex April This city tonight
4. in hitch darkness with a raging river
oDo mile wide and swollen far beyond its
rsural banks, roaring and surging
,brough all the lower portions of the
town. having spread destruction and
death in its wake.
In addition to the vast loss of property
interests. it is calculated that between
thirty and forty lives have been sacrificed
and The reports coming in from the trib-
mary country tonight do not tend to i'm
prove matters!
The flood is not unlike the disastrous
lobnstown flood some years ago, in that
raging river, already swollen far be-
vond its capacity, bore too heavily upon an
immense dam spanning the river here,
breaking and letting loose a reservoir of
wafer thirty miles long, half mile wide
and sixty feet deep, to aid in carrying de-
struction down the valleys of the Colorado
river.
The great dam in the Colorado river
gave way at noon to-day from the enor-
nous pressure of water and debris and
with roar and crash swept the valleys
below the city, wreaking the immense light
and power plant and drowning eight
workmeu. Following is a list Of The
known dead including those drowned in
the power house:
Frank Pincet, Frank Kinney, Walter
Flower Walter Johnson, Alfred johnson,
Frank Fitzgerald, Walter Blossom, Jo-
seph Newman, Dick Morris '(colored),J John
Proes, Charles Burchard and six negroes.
BEGINNING of the Flood.
Last Wednesday night ii began to rain
vely hard at this place, 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 quanhE of water along
the water sheds of the Colorado river
RAPIDLY sweled Lhe current until at 8
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 1t
was evident that the immense dam and
all the power house and contents, costing
one and one-half mill on dollars, were in
imminent DANGER
To add to the terror of the situation
small frame houses, trees and debris of
every description in varying quantities
began descending the river and piing
UP against the upper way of the dam.
This weight was augmented every mo-
ment until by n o'clock there was mass
Of debris lodged against the dam which
threatened the safety of the structure.
In addition, millions of gallons OF wa
ter, muddy from its long journey was
whirling and plunging to the sixty-foot
fan and it was evident that no wall
could Withstand the immense pressure.
Flood struck Power House.
This crisis came shortly after II o'clock,
When suddenly, with report like the roar
OF the ocean, the great wedge, twenty-five
leet high, 500 feet wide and about eight
feet thick, rolled OUT of the center 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 hercely pour
cd, While the food, already raging, was
threatening everything in its path, this
sudden breaking of the dam but serving
10 add 10 the horror of the catastrophe.
The released water poured into the pow
mere, drowning all of them instantly. The
breaking of the dam caused wild excite
ment in The City. The telegraph compan-
ies at once wired to places below here TO
looH out for the great wave, and runners
were dispatched on horses to notify those
ASus IN the valleys below the city
Inc telegraphic messages served as
uAey warning to many, but the rushing
NolerS outstriPped the hOrsemen and
many houses were picked up and swept
u"Hy before the occupants could get to-
scther their valuables.
N"hlh short time all the valleys to
,le south and west of Austin were filed
y" oNefIlownS with water, and the south.
a par' Of tho city tributary to the river,
S inundated. Large crowds collected
'"e river banks, and several persons
were swept into the river when the dam
''NNe' out oil We're saved by boatmen.
Great Loss of Life.
"A crowd of white people numbering
eoout thirty, living Just below the dam
h,.. G"ls We're seen at their habitations
ISar o'lore the dam broke, and have not
hl'" accounted for since. 1t is generally
a"tFed that all of chem were swept
me one man, attempting to cross the road
'eaalng 20 the bridge across the river,
Jus as the big wave rolled down, was
boa., bl down with the torrent and were
"VaFa OF no more
,..1 N IAmiy of six negroes living in the
hey south of the city are known to
me- me- ueen drowned. II is estimated that
an5 oie tnan 100 houses have been destroyed
~. Che loss to property will be great.
81 .oo ltht ana power plant alone cost
ola He breaking OF the dam engulfed the
MA va. or c2m9any's plant below The city
w,t ~ is tonight lying fifteen feet under
wL "hi'e the city is in darkness and
no o''S from points below here are to
n.ei that the flood has been most
b,s t'uS and the breaking OF the dam
ar, u.eaSioned many tn usands Of dol
rb "Orth Of loss to property.
da, uitice Of the river throughout the
fra-.I'' 1'' oeen dotted by small houses or
mai. Us of houses and drowned ami
Whit "luhg with trees and debris, all OF
tbc Dear testimony to the ravages OF
ns'-,loa IN the mountainous region above
losses to the Railroad.
to,, "'ditlon 10 the losses here. the In
ana t'"al end Great Northern Railroad
rl.J '' Austin and Northwestern Rail-
Grai "''n entering this city, have suf-