The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-10-02
AUSTIN DEATH LIST
MAY Be LESS
THAN zoo
Early Estimates Placed Casual
ties as High as 800
PROPERTY LOSS sS,OOO,OOO
Town SO Nearly Destroyed by Break
ing Of Dam That There May
Be No Rebuilding

Austin, Pa, Oct. 2.-Estimates Of
the loss of life in the food which
overwhelmed the town of Austin, Pa,
Saturday happily diminished yester-
day when an army of volunteers work
ed It's way into the mass Of wreckage.
In the opinion Of many on the ground
the number of deaths will not reach
$50, while the less hopeful place the
fatalities at 800 The property loss
will exceed 100000 and 1t is the
general opinion that the town Will
never be rebuilt. Two at least of the
large plants will not be reconstructed,
and a majority of the business men OF
the place have been financially ruined.
It was on Saturday afternoon while
the men OF Austin were at work that
the big Bayless dam a mile and half
north of the town broke and 500 ,OOO,-
900 gallons of water rushed in wall
10 feet high and overwhelmed the
place. Every structure in the path Of
the food was wrecked Great damage
was also done to the villages OF Cos
/ tello and Wharton, which were in the
path OF the flood Early estimates OF
the deaths placed them as high as 800.
The food did not spend its force un-
til il had raced more than 10 miles
from the reservoir. So sudden was
the breaking of the dam that practlc-
ally no warning was given to the peo-
pie of Austin. Austin is situated in
/ Potter county. Pa, which is one OF
the two counties near the New YORK
border The county is about in the
middle of that part Of the border be-
tween the two states which runs in
straight line east and west Austin
is approximately 80 miles from Oleon,
n. Y, and 60 miles from Elmira, N. Y
State officials in charge of the sit
uation, after a hasty canvass OF the
population yesterday expressed the be-
| lief that not more than $50 are dead
in the wreckage. But 16 bodies had
been recovered at late hour last
night. Chief of Police d. f. Baker,
however, believes that fully 300 are
dead or missing. The 500 men who
had toiled all day In heavy rain
storm abandoned their task with the
coming OF darkness. Although they
had moved mighty heaps of debris,
fought fire and worked on without
food to remove bodies OF the dead,
less than a score had been found.
a battalion of state police then sur
rounded the town and no person with
out a pass was permitted to enter. Re
ports from Costello and points farther
down the Sinnemahoning grew more
encouraging as the day advanced. AT
Costello, while there was a heavy n
nancial loss, IL was said that not more
than three persons were dead. Be
yond that point no fatalities had been
reported. The survivors will not sur
fer from hunger or lack Of care as
the supplies and medical assistance
rushed to the scene seem ample to
care for them. E. +. Bicknell, nation
al director of the National Red Cross
also arrived yesterday at Austin with
$4,000 in cash for immediate aid to
the food victims. OF the eight injur-
ed in the hospitals none Is fatally
hurt.
At the hospital yesterday, there
we're but eight injured and the dead
bodies recovered during the day num-
bered but 10.
The state constabulary arrived yes
terday afternoon and took charge OF
the situation which seemed too ap-
palling for the local committee which
had worked all night. Immediately
orders were issued to the railroads to
convey no more sightseers to Austin
and sentinels were placed on the chief
roadways with instructions TO pass
none but workmen.
The immediate scene of obliteration
covers an area three-eighths OF mile
wide and Ia miles long. This COM
prised the business section and the
valley residence portion. Nearly a
mile above stood the mammoth con.
crete dam of the Bayless paper and
pulp company, 600 feet long, 81 feet
high and 80 feet thick at the bottom,
Itapering to thickness OF three feet
at the top. Back of this dam Satur-
day lay a reservoir of water " miles
long with an average depth OF 80 teet'
Directly in front of the dam stood the
plant of the Bayless company with
four main buildings. Stacked high
nearby was 100000 cords of 5O-inch
wood and slabs, and also portion OIL
the company's immense timber stock
totalling in the Austin valley l6,OVO,-
900 feet of hard wood and 25,OOO,VVV
of hemlock. This was a five-year sup,
ply, practically the last large cut OF
the region, valued at $4,000, OOO
The greatest damage was done by
the piles of cut lumber swept before
the flood. This acted as a great bat
tering ram which swept buildings
from their foundations and unquestion
ably caused the death of scores VINO
otherwise might have escaped AFTER
surviving the first rush of the water
Inquiry into the cause of the collapse
of the dam will be begun at once, ac-
cording to officials in charge OF the
work of rescue. That there had been
constant danger of the catastrophe due
to the instability of the structure I'M
der great water pressure, was known
to many residents of the town and q
thorough investigation is demanded
by many of the survivors.
The wreckage Of the dam was as ut
ter az Il was so sudden. Two i'm
mense sections from top to bottom,
$50 feet wide, were hurled out bodily
as II they had been the gates OF an
immense canal lock. The outward
swing was more than DO feet ana on
49, h.