The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1903-07-07
BIG DAN LET LOOSE.
Many Lives Lost and Much Prop
TI7s 2 erty Destroyed.

7* erty Destroyed.
Loss of Life Would Have Been Much
Greater Had Not tbs. Pleasure
Seekers Been Warned of the
Impending Danger.
~-- Greensburg, Pa, July Ga water
spout of immense proportions, striking
in the vicinity of Oakford park Sun
| day afternoon at o'clock, created
a flood that caused great loss Of life
land property 1t is known that AT
tleast 20 persons lost their lives, anu
irumors place the number of dead at
more than 100, but until a late hour
j.Sunday night only three or four bed
Eies have been. recovered, having been
washed to the banks of the little:
i-creek that runs parallel with the
ipark.
At o'clock rain began to fall III
|terrents in the vicinity of the park
fand spread over a territory covering
1probably ten miles hrs e,5ri ry7<>o
"A half-hour later the cloUdburst
occurred, and the umbrellas carried.
iby the crowds of people were crushed
4 like eggshells. The waters in the lake
Enorth of Oakford park began to
.tswell, and Manager James McGrath,
believing that there was danger OF
i final break in the great walls of the
adam, hurried among the crowd OF
oIeasure-seekers who had gathered
tunder the roofs of the eating stand2,
1'the merry-go-round, the theater, the
}sdancing pavilion and other, buildings
lin line of the water Should the banl1s
break and warned them to run to the
E-hills. s-T~ e. -t-AS I.
lon both sides Of the pleasure
1groundss there, are high hills, the park
ibeing situated in ravine about a
fourth Of mile wide and, mile
Hong. The people, protected from the
lrain, We're 10th to, leave the coy
Epiaces, and not until Mr.. McGratil
Land his assistant entered each build
Fling in turn and simply drove The
l5crowds out into thei7 rain did they
ETealize that the park managers werd
jim earnest, : for they knew after careful
tStudy of the dam that the awful food
tameant probably the breaking of the
EWall that held five acres of water 4
E,half-hour after the buildings had
Ebeen cleared of the people, the waters
amounted the wall of the dam, and
Within five minutes waters to the
E1epth of five feet was flowing over the
Eentire length of 400 feet of the wall.
THE park or ravine. Sudden with
Buildings, the 4 merry-go-round, the
Laughing gallery and other amusement
places weretwisted about and all but
the dancing pavilion and large lunch
Islands were knocked from their fouI1i
Edations. The rain continued to fail
in torrents and at o'clock 40 feet Of
1.-The wall of the dam to the east gave
lWay with crash. The food beat
down the ravine with a roar that was
heard for two miles. half mile
down at the junction of the Green's
burg and Jeanette and the park car
lines. the car barns are located. The
entrance gates to the park were lifted
and with the force of pile driver the
mammoth posts were hurled by the
waters against the barn. Beyond We're
located tae small waiting room and on
the track was standing a ear laden
with people on their way from Greens.
| burg to Jeanette.
The electric storm had rendered the
power south of here useless and the
motorman was unable to move the car
The flood struck the waiting room
containing probably a dozen people.
A number of them struggled to point
of safety but in the excitement that
followed it is not positive how many
were lost. The street car was caught
and swept into the creek and whirie'l
and tunbled about. A number of the
people in the car jumped off and there
are conflicting stories as to the num-
Der of persons who were carried with
the car. 80 @=
Irwin, Pa, July 6.-The sudden
rising of Brush creek Sunday even
ing, caused by a cloudburst and the
| breaking of the Oakford dam, caused
| damage near Irwin OF several hundred
| thousand dollars and probable loss OF
life. "a s5 ss---iai-.-.ah-- 3
L So sudden was the rise in the
stream that people living along tne
banks barely had time to run to the
hills Many houses and other bulid'
ings were swept away. The water is
still rising The freight depot at this
place was washed away from its foun-
daticns and carried down the stream,
taking with it the Irwin bridge, the
steel bridge on the Youghiogheny
branch, and the iron bridge to the
! freight yards Five loaded coal cars
on the bridges were swept down the
stream lnere is still a big volume
of water held back by debris At
Manor. and this may break at any
moment