The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-02
Total Doath List at Austin May Not
exceed Between 25o and
800 Lives
Lost.
SIXTY BODIES FOUND
Dam Was Known to be Dangerous for
Some Time and People Fled
For Safety
Once.

AUSTIN, Pa. Oct. 2.-The flood
that jammed battering ram OF cord
wood through the valley where the
town of Austin lay and swept for it.
self a clean path for an even mile, is
estimated today to have caused loss
Of between $50 and 800 lives. Some
estimates place the loss at $50.
Enumerators of the last census
have begun the task of going through
the houses upon the hillsides, where
the homeless ones have been taken. 1t
Is only by elimination the authorities
believe that anything like an accurate
count can be made.
The work of clearage has begun. but
1t will be long task and even the
census takers work can not be COM
pleted for many days Only sixty are
positively known to be dead, bur
scores are missing.
The property loss will exceed So
100000. and it is the general opinion
that the town will never be rebuilt.
Two. at least, of the large plants will
not be reconstructed, and majority of
the business men of the place have
been ruined financially.
Chief of police D. E. Baker, believes
that fully 800 men are dead or miss
ing. TIE 500 men who had toiled in
a heavy rainstorm abandoned their
task with the coming OF darkness. Al
though they had moved mighty heaps
OF debris, fought fire and worked on
without food seeking 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 pass was permitted to enter.
Reports from Costello and points
further down the sinnemahoning grew
more encouraging as the day ad-
vanced At Costello, while there was
heavy financial loss, it is said that
no more than three persons are dead.
Beyond that point no fatalities have
been reported.
The survivors will not suffer from
hunger or lack of medical aid. as the
ed to the scene seem ample.
E. F. Bicknell, national director of
the National Red Cross Society, has
arrived bringing with him $4,000
cash for the immediate aid to the
flood victims.
The dam, which split in eight pieces
Just as a row of dominoes will bulge
apart. was not an old structure. 1t
was placed below an antique wooden
CRIB little more than two years ago
But there have been murmurings
against the heavy bulk of water that
II restrained even in spite of its new
ness. The women of the town, espe
cially have worried about the day
When 1t might break The men were
disposed to laugh at these fears
Last spring there was an alarm wher
II was thought that the brink was
ready to give way. The water poured
over 1t so freely and with such VIC
lence that man galloped on horse
PACK down the valley crying the warn
ing that another rider once gave in c
Hood in that state. At that time the
people ran to the overhanging hills
put there was no need for their fears
Inc Hood did not come. But wher
tne alarm was over and the townspeo
PIE went out to look at the barrier
was found that the concrete had slip
ped down something like eighteei
ihches After that the notches wer,
cut IN the upper surface to lessen tn,
pressure by permitting larger vol
uine OF water to trickle over the edge
But when the state officials came t,
examine the broken fragments toda.
II was found that one of thes
hotcnes had been filled up completed.
with concrete and that work was il
progress on the other. Four feet o
new concrete was found in this ga
ana the forms were up for more
"ork mad been done upon it Saturday
ihe examination OF Farley Gannet,
engineer for the State Water Suppl
commission, showed that one chunl
VI concrete weighing perhaps to-
ana a half, had been projected dow
sueam for 100 feet. Another mucI
ioneer section lay sixty feet out Of tn
p'umb line of the dam
MI Gannett was not willing to sa
silat ne thought had caused tn
p,eak. lie will make close inspection
y the designs before he makes hi
report to the water supply commits
sioners