New-York tribune., 1911-10-02

the force of the water pressure peilihu
it. but back Of this evident cause hes
the story Of the making and care OF the
concrete wall, and particularly the STORY
Of the recent changes in its construction.
ORIGINALLY the wall was built 10 q helsht
Of forty-nine feet. 1t stretched across
the valley for six hundred feet In a
straight line. Last April this wall slipped
eighteen inches. because it was not
strong enough to stand the pressure put
on it, Engineers then examined 1t ana
ordered that two chunks be cut out OF
the top. one Of these was at the west
ern edge Of the wall, the other a little
n the east Of the middle. With that
Ncft Of safety valve, the wall stood
! although the occasion Of It's slipping
brought on a pane in the town that has
been vividly remembered since.
Farley Gannett chief engineer for
the state Water Supply Commission
examined the broken structure to-day
and said that his observation, coupled
with what he had learned from an eX-
animation Of representatives. Of the
paper company. disclosed that recently
the chunk taken out last April from the
western edge Of the dam has been filed
up Last Saturday, he said, Workmeh
began to fill up the other chunk the
one near the middle of the dam
Mr.. Gannett's measurements showed
him that four feet Of new cement had
/ been lded within the last few days
This naturally increased the pressure
Of water on the concrete wall. with the
result that the thirty-foot chunk in the
centre gave away. With that outlet the
heavy rush of water easily broke an
other big hole. and through these two
caps the tidal wave of destruction
swept down on the defenceless town.
Eyewitness Tells Of Break.
John Newman. Of Coudersport, Penn"
was an eyewitness Of the disaster who
happened to he in a position to see the
( beginning of it. Standing with a friend
: ON the hillside near the front wall of
the dam Yesterday afternoon, Newman
noticed what he thought was too
rapid flow of water over the top of the
concrete wall.
Isn't il leaking a lot?' he asked his
friend. ana almost as the words left his
mouth the first section to give away
cracked With a loud report.
"My God. there she goes, said New
man. and almost before they could
move the wall of water, headed by the
battrring ram Of pulp wood, began to
strike the first Of the houses in its pain.
The suddenness of it was indescriba-
! hlc" said Newman to-day. Just while
we stood there. half paralyzed, that big
wave shot down the valley and began t"
cut down houses as # they were MADE oi
raper. saw houses ripped up, first one
side and then back to the other, before
they left their foundations, and then
they'd be swept along as easily as a
woman would sweep little dirt
Mr.. Gannett the engineer. heard New
mans story. and he added technical
detail which barred the weakest link
in this chain, whose breaking devastated
whole town.
at the poirt where the first break oc-
Cured" said Gannett. II found a per
| fcctly smooth surface. 1t was evidently
- roint which had marked the end OF one
DAVIS work and the beginning of another
OF the construction Of the dam. The
wcrkmen evidently did not rough the
concrete at this particular point and to
| give IL a grip to take the place of the
.roughing' they had stuck in four or five
non bars. These bars were still sticking
i'm the under stone. but they We're bent
and twisted in a way that showed plain
| ~ that the pressure behind had forced
the upper stone off With that one block
gone the wall crumpled I'm two places,
very much as string of dominos
breaks when forced from both ends"
Very Few Were Injured.
Practically speaking, there were no in
jured to be chroniclcd in this disaster.
Those who were fortunate and quick
enough escaped 10 the hillsides which
surround the town, ana those who did
rot wcre killed almost instantly. The
| North Pennsylvania Hospital. situated
on Goodyear Iiiil. at the western boun-
dary Of this village, sheltered in all only
half a dozen injured onfs. and none of
these Is expected to die.
Tom" Lawler bartender in the Com
mercal House, one OF the three hotels
Of the town which were all swept away.
is one Of the six patients in the hospital.
rs injuries are not serious. but his con-