The Washington herald., 1911-10-02

those of brick were toppled over.
| Down Main street il came with a roar
| that struck terror to the hearts of all in
| the town. Men clambered for places of
| safety. Those on the first floors of houses
| sought the upper floors only to be swept
| through windows by the thrush of wa
| ters.
There was no bridge masonry as at
Johnstown to hold the debris and make
| Of it a funeral pyre. There was some
railroad trestle. This went out with the
! flood.
| Not a house from the paper mill, a
| mile and a quarter away, to Goodyear
| and Davis hotels was left. Dwellings
| and business houses were carried with
| their contents toward and even to the
village of Costello.
Terrific Roar Is Heard.
There were few eyewitnesses who to-
| day could describe what had taken place
| Those who escaped know only that they
| heard the roar, the fire bell ring when
the engineer telephoned from the mill
and ran and escaped.
Those in the cottages saw the water
rush by them. heard the roar, heard the
| shrieks of the hundreds caught in the
angry flood, were helpless, and in a
few minutes saw the waters recede.
| Women in telling what they saw say
| they placed their hands over their eyes
! to shut out the horrible sight Others
say they fell on their knees in prayer to
thank God for their own deliverance and
to pray for the safety of those they be-
| lieved tosbe caught in the flood
! The great trees that shaded the main
| thoroughfare, some of them two feet in
diameter, were snapped off short and
| to-day are stumps. Some are cut off as
with an ak, so terrific was the force of
the buildings driving against them.
| Against the onrush of the waters those
| places with lower stories wrecked are
| Goodyear's Hotel and billiard room and
| a barber shop a jewelry store, Sykes
| Brothers clothing store, Nelson's gro
Gerry store, and an ice cream parlor.
Solid Block Remains.
| The buildings are of brick and are in
| solid block. The water washed through
them, but did not carry them from their
| foundations
Near by was a schoolhouse 1t was
deserted on Saturday. but the door was
open. A dozen women, maybe two dozen,
sought refuge in 1t. 1t was made of
brick and from its wreckage were taken
nine Of the eighteen bodies that are laid
out tonight awaiting burial
| The houses that were made into kim
! ding wood as they crashed against each
| other with the force of railroad trains
burst into flames five minutes after the
waters subsided. Stoves in which the
| fires were not eXtinguished by the flood
are believed 10 have set the flames.
There are several theories as TO how the
fires originated, all perhaps, correct, as
it started in a dozen places
Ten houses jammed together a quarter
of mile below the pile of brick build
ings that stood were ablaze with the
flames running twenty feet in the air
before many had recovered from the
first shock. Here and there over the
whole area. from the mill above the
town halfway to Costello, three miles
below the business center, there were
fires.
Town Soon Cut on.
The town was cut off from all COM
munication, save by railroad to Olean.
The first report was thousand dead.
The appeal for help that reached Olean
resulted in that city rushing a carload
Of supplies and several doctors and
nurses.
The night was one of chaos. The only
lights were those of the burning wreck
age: there was little food and little water
to drink.
This morning the first train into Austin
carried the State Constabulary who took
charge of affairs. Under their direction
lines were established and curiosity seek
ers to certain extent barred The State
board of health directed the opening Of
morgue, to which all bodies were
brought for Identification and the work
Of clearing away the wreckage was taken
up in a drizzling rain.
BY noon 1000 persons had reached the
valley, mostly in automobiles. from points
north and west. Those from the north
succeeded in getting into Austin those
who came in from the south were stopped
at Costello by the barricade of ruins.
There was no communication between the
two points save along the path of the
flood, which followed the water course
of Frcemans run. The Buffalo and Sus-
Quehanna railroad bridges were washed
away and three miles of track are gone.
Becomes Quagmire.
Tonight 1t is said that six bodies have
been found at Costello. Soon after noon
the driZzle become a downpour Rain
fell in sheets, and the site of Austin be-
came a quagmire. The thousand or so
automobiles are now mired on the roads:
some are ditched, others merely dis
abled or sunk hub deep in the mud to
stay there for the night 1t was like
the rout of an army.
Those who came on foot are strag-
Cling back home rain-soaked, with an
automobile that had given its last gasp
every few hundred yards
In Austin, that portion of the town be-
hind the horseshoe hill is caring for
those who are homeless. Box cars have
been rushed in for others to sleep in
The Odd Fellows Hall has been turned
into place where the hungry are being
fed.
A vacant house is temporary
morgue. Another vacant house has been
fitted up as a hospital
A company of militia has been thrown
into the town to aid the constabulary,
but the work of digging in the wreckage
mas ceased because Of the downpour.
Tomorrow an effort will be made to
fix the responsibility for the condition
of the dam.
ERRANn 0E MEprv FTpCT