The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1901-06-14
TALES OF PLUCK
and ADVENTURE.
Heroic Ride Of Collin. Graves.


w yHEN Charles Reade wrote
w S", gss.- J2s5:s5l 5;i91s: i ,ns, 1a vl9I: Il:
story said that while the
description OF the breaking Of the
dam and the ride Of the man who with
the roaring food in his wake gave
warning 10 the valley dwellers. was a
masterful bit Of description. me incl
dent was TOO improbable even for a
work Of fiction. Reade always was a
fighter and he fought as well as he
wrote. He had a lively time with his
critics off and on for some years. and
then there came the awful deluge at
Williamsburg. Mass. \ score Of the
scenes in the flood chapter OF Put
Yourself in His Place" were enacted
with an awful reality in the water.
whelmed New England valley. The
disaster was so much greater than that
depicted by Reade and attended by so
much more Of the tragic that Charles
Reade's critics went into hiding
In the gray Of a September morning,
1874, Collins Graves, a New England
farmers boy, started with gun on his
shoulder for wOodcOck thlcket. He
passed by the dam which held in check
the waters Of the reservoir belonging
10 manufacturing concern. He saw
that the water was beginning to trickle
over the top Of the earthwOrk and that
the water was rising so rapidly that
the ordinary sideways did not carry
IL away as they should. He reasoned
exactly as did the hero OF Reade's tale.
He knew that the dam must 60 and he
knew also some Of the horror which
would follow its breaking. Graves
warned the people near at hand, and
then mounting a powerful horse he
dashed down the valley 10 rouse the
inhabitants. He had gone at top speed
less than a quarter Of n mile when the
dam broke. From that .time on the
flood followed him. with death on the
first Of its kissing waves" He gained
on the waters. though at every door he
stopped and shrieked "A warning. Men,
women and children rushed forth and
sought safety on the shelving hills.
Graves kept on. Like the people in the
English story, many who heard the
cry Of the messenger at dawn laughed
and said It's an old story, the dam
has been breaking for years" and then
turned back 10 bed The sleep of 1i6
OF these knowing ones was long one.
They went to their deaths in the seeth-
ing waters.
Graves reached the little village Of
Haydenville with its single street. He
screamed his message 10 the few who
slecpy-eyed stood at their gates. They
realized its import and reused the
sleepers Graves's horse had never
faltered i'm his gait from the moment
of his mounting. 1t fell dead before
the Haydcnville street was passed,
crushing its riders leg. Another horse
was at hand. Onto it the messenger
climbed and sped on, with the roar Of
the water in his ears. on, on, on, he
went, and the miles passed swiftly un-
der the stride of his steed. Behind him
the valley was IA roaring torrent while
on the hills on either side, looking
down on the destruction of their
homes. were those whom he had saved.
Others all unconscious were ahead,
and the race went on.
And this is the cry he filings to the wind.
To the hills for your hvesl The Hood
is behind
The last warning was given. the val
ley widened, and opening beyond were
far reaching meadows, unpeOpled.
There the pent-up waters would dis
perse and lose their crushing force.
Graves turned his horse aside and rode
mp the hillside 10 safety, while the
flood tore by behind. He li'r~ saved a
thousand lives, so the people said but
when they came to nm 10 thank him
Collins Graves's reason had gone un-
der the awful strain. Time and rest.
the healers, restored him. He refused
reward. but 1t came to him afterward
in the tribute of the poet John Boyle
O'Reilly. who wrote the pulse-quick-
ening verses of The Ride of Collins
Graves" - Edward Il. Clark. in the
Cnicago Record. Herald.