The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-07-31
FLOOD CAUSES IMMENSE
 DAMAGE IN BRIDGEPORT
HEAYYFALLOFRAINFO
 BY BURSTING OF DAMS.


 and Carried Against Bridges Partly
 WreeEing the Latter-Barse Caught
 Under One Structure Breaks Gas
 DIain--sehOOner Striking the Same
 Bridge Carries Down Electric Wires
 Whose Flashes Ignite Gas and Cause
 Tremendous Explosion - Narrow
 Escape of Two FamiIies-TwO Men
 DrOwned-One Bridge COlIapses Car
 rying With 1t Ice-WagOn and Men.
 Bridgeport, July 30-Loss of life and immense damage to property followed the bursting of reservoirs north of this city as a result of the unprecedented fall of rain early to-day. The precipita- tion in the series of showers which struck across Connecticut early last night until 2 o'clock this morning reached total of seven inches in this section, a downfall which overtaxed the city sewers and caused the flooding of cellars of business buildings in down town streets. North of here in the towns of Easton and Trumbull the rainfall 5WcS SNeH uSdNlGI Cilu PO qulChlI uAu the water rise at the dam at Wards mill at Easton that the dam went out at 2 o'clock sending a great body of water down through the town of Trum- null to BunnelPs pond. In short time the dam at the Paper mill reser- voir broke and the body of water swept down into Berkshire ponds. There was no warning to the people who lived on the banks of what is usually small water course.
 The frame house occupied by John Lesco, wife and several children was picked up by the flood as it emptied it. self from Bunnelfs pond and hurled it round and round until it was left stranded a mile below on the east bank. The Lesco family was asleep at the time but when the house left it's foun- dations the parents aSeiied into the rarlor and placed the l.ildren on the bureau together with a .bg and several cats. with the hopes t''et if the struc- ture went to pieces asslt the bureau would carry the little ones safely to shore. At the same time 8 shanty on the bank of the water course occupied by Michael Moran was wrenched from it's underpinnings and carried down stream on the torrent. This structure crashed against Berkshire bridge and was reduced to kindling wood, and as Moran could not be found all day it is believed that his body is under the de- bris. The noise of the flood was so great that it attracted the attention of the police and fire departments in this city and a number of men were sent up to investigate. People who live in the vicinity also left their beds and by hearing the screams of Lesco and his family were enabled to save them all from drowning and injury. Another house that was carried away was occu- pied by George Saxco, his wife and two children and this family also was res- cued by the volunteers.
 In side of an hour the great body of water which, had been sweeping down from Easton had reached North Bridgeport, and was pouring down un- der Berkshire bridge. It caught the harbor craft which was moored just be- low the bridge unprepared for the great strain which came on the hawsers used to moor them along side the docks. The barge Clara owned by McCaffry S Sons of New York was torn away from a dock and carried against the East Washington avenue bridge. The terri fic crash was the first intimation that Captain Keneally and his family, who were on board, had of the danger to the barge. The captain thinking to save his family quickly tossed his boy upon the bridge and then started to get his little girl to do likewise with her. But in an instant the barge was whirled about and was driven under meath the bridge, it was drifting swift ly against the Congress street bridge. Mrs. Keneally and the other children stood on the deck and screamed so loudly that people on the shore rushed out of their houses to ascertain the cause.
 When the barge struck the Congress street bridge Captain Keneally was knocked overheard. The barge kept chafng against the bridge until it broke a large gas main on the west abutment. While the barge Clara had been going down stream the three- nasted schooner Hope Haynes from bdllSOIJ NIGS Actu USSH lUEn rom ner at Millers dock and was being driven down stream in the make of the Clara. She proved so unwieldy that she did not move quite as fast as the barge, which fact saved the latter | from being totally wrecked. As the | schooner brought up against the bridge she drove her jib boom through the l structural work on the bridge and tore l down the electric light wires
 The escape of the electric current | from the wires and the flashes as the | live ends touched the pavement set fire i to the gas which was escaping from | the. broken main. This brought an ex- 1 plosion which shook up the entire | and brought out the fire | company from a nearby department l house. The firemen not only put out l the fire which had communicated to | both the barge and the schooner Hope but took off Mrs. Keneally and her children. At the same time they heard cries for help on the water and several boats put out to the res- cue. Captain Keneally was found clinging to a spile under the dock of l the Miller Coal company. After being |
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