davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-07

might be ready for attention, and find
out about the jury cases In plenty Of
time to let the first week Jurors know
whether or not their services are go
ing to be needed
Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-07
METHODIST.
Sperial 9otires.
Card of Thanks,

Gard of Thanks.
We, the children Of Mr.. w. N. Jack
son, deceased, take this method TO
thank our friends and neighbors for
the many kind acts shown us during
the illness and death of our father.
John, Belle and Sue Jackson.
Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-07
Judge AIdrieh at the orpha hanase.

Judge Robert Aldrich has kindly
consented to give a talk to the boys
and girls of the orphanage in their So
cial hall next Sunday afternoon, Feb
ruary IL, at p. m. All friends are
cordially invited to be present.
Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-07
AT THE CHURCHES.

BAPTIST.
There will be prayer meeting on
Wednesday evening at 7.30 o'clock.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN.
There will be prayer meeting on
Wednesday evening at 7.30 o'clock.
METHODIST.
There will be prayer meeting on
Thursday evening at 7.30 o'clock.
ASSO. REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN
There will be prayer meeting on
Wednesday afternoon at o'clock.
Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-07

M. Hayes In her nome at IdDOr, N. u,
Just across the Horny line, late yester-
day evening, was the fate Of Robt M
Floyd, a native Of this county, and a
student at the South Carolina Medical
college at Charleston. Three shots
took effect in the body and one in the
centre of the forehead. Only a few
minutes before his death, Mr.. Floyd
had driven up to the Hayes home and
had been invited in to spend the even
ing by the husband of the young wo-
man. Floyd went to the house ana
while Mr.. Hayes was ungearing the
horse, he heard four pistol shots. he
rushed in the house where he found
his friend lying dead and his wife
standing by. Her only answer to Mr.
Hayes's questioning was that Floyd
had insulted her and that she had kill
ed him. There Is no telephone connec-
ton between this place and Tabor but
several passengers on last nights train
brought news of the killing around
which a cloud of mystery appears to
hang. The killing Is the talk here to-
day as all the parties are we'll known
in this county and prominently con-
nected. Mr.. Floyd arrived in Tabor
Yesterday from Charleston, having
come home to spend Saturday and
Sunday with his parents near CALI
wants ferry. Parties living in Conway
were on the train with Mr.. Floyd when
he got off at Tabor. He stated to them
that he stopped there to look after his
farm during the day, that horse and
buggy would meet him either at Tabor
or at Loris, nearby town, and that
he was going to spend the night at Ia
bor and drive out to his home this
morning. Probably no further cause
other than the woman's statement will
ever be known, as Mrs. Hayes was
alone in the house when she did the
shooting. From a brother of the dead
man it was learned that Mr.. Floyd had
gone to the house, where he met his
death, for the purpose Of collecting for
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01

to the street and saw that it was
race for life. One woman in the
next house heard me crying, run for
your lives,' and followed after me.
''The water was not six feet behind
me when reached the hill, so near
behind me that was not sure OF safe,
ty until stumbled, painting, up the
steep bank. A horse from barn
half way UP to the dam was hurled
down past me as ! turned to look
around.
There was not another living soul
in sight.
Il could look down Turner street
the chief residence street, running the
length of the valley. Not house re-
NAMED upright. Then I heard the
crashing and jamming of the debris
hitting up at Main street, where the
big business blocks and hotels were
They, too, went down in heap. Bic
buildings were pushed half mile
down the valley before they piled VI
and went to pieces.
"The gas pipes were torn loose and
fire started. Many injured must have
burned to death. for rescue was out o.
the question"
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
) ~.>> 1890 >>>>>>>>>. ,
[Gate City Leased Wire Service. ]

lGate City Leased Wire Service.1
KEATING SUMMIT. Pa. Sept 80.
John L. Smith was the first surviv-
or from Austin to reach Heating Sum-
init, the nearest point of relief, IA
miles away, tonight.
1T was the Johnstown flood on a
smaller scale, but an exact reproduc-
.ion,' he gasped. THE dam. with a
40 foot head Of water, burst without
warning. 1t is half mile above the
nam section of Austin. The sheet Of
water started, solid wave nearly SO
ieet deep and one hundred feet wide,
irresistible down the narrow valley,
me hills hem the town in SO closely
5 ,nat the water could not spread or
lose its force
When 1t hit the residence section
.ne wave was about TOO feet wide and
70 feet deep in the center. It car.
RED everything before it, a tangled
mass.
! was working in my barn. A lit.
se girl living nearby shouted to me
mat the dam had burst. knew in
nash what 1t meant. Ever since
'ne trouble with the dams nearly two
years ago, We lived in fear. ran In
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01

In January, 1910 the concrete dam
across Freeman's Run at Austin, Pa,
erected at the Austin plant of the
Bayless Pulp and Paper Company, at
Binghamton, N, Y. was dynamited
when it was feared that heavy flood
was going to cause it to give way
and destroy the town.
A small section of the dam was
blown out, leaving the weight of the
water back of it, and saving the town
at that time.
The Bayless Company's paper mill
and large part of the town is located
near the creek and as the valley is
very narrow and the surrounding hills
very steep, rising for half mile be-
low the dam to height of 800 feet
there has always been apprehension
at Austin during seasons of flood.
Freeman's Run has watershed OF
approximately 35 square miles which
is quite mountainous
In the summer and fall in Freeman's
Run was not sufficient to operate the
pulp mill and twelve years ago dam
was built a mile above the mill tc
impound 25,OOO,oo0 gallons of water.
The construction work was done b.
c. J. Brinall and Company, Bingham
ton. N. Y. The dam was completed
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
.A>.~~e - -

Dec. /, 1909. When it was completed
there was one small vertical crack
about fifty feet to the right of the
spillway This crack extended from
the top to the ground level. 1t was
about one-sixteenth of an inch wide.
Within a month after the completion
of the dam, another crack appeared.
Neither of these was the result of wa
ter pressure, as no water had as yet
been let into the dam.
During the week of January IL.
1910, the weather grew warm, rain
fell, snow on the mountains melted,
and in three days the dam was com
pletely filled. The town of Austin
was greatly alarmed, fearing that the
dam might give way.
Engineering News, in its issue of
March II. 1910, said that appearances
clearly indicated the movement of the
dam down stream. A part of the
dam was constructed in freezing
weather
Engineering News reported on
March II, 1910, as follows:
Nothing has been done toward re-
! inforcing this dam. 1t is now being
| used and ct this writing carries a
depth of 35 feet of water and nc
further movement has been noticed
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Was Concrete Dam.
1000 Dead; 1000 Injured.
AUSTIN, Pa, Oct. l.-Q:'

AO - LIN L o., W.. l. l.. "
= a. NO. With the work of rescue 4
= now fairly under way and a gen. 4
= eral survey of the ruins having (
. been made, 1t is estimated here 4
. this morning that the total num-
= Der OF dead In and about Austin
. and Costello, the towns which
= bore the full brunt of the deluge,
= will be in the neighborhood of
. 1000. Accurate figures at this
= hour are out of the question as 1t
. is impossible to know how many
= bodies are buried in the debris
= and how many have been incin-
= Grated in the blazing ruins. The
. number of injured and prostrated
. through shock and exposure will
= approximate 1000 more.
= The fire which destroyed the
= few remaining houses In the
= town has practically burned 1t
= self out. Reports here do not
= indicate that there was any fire
= at Costello. The deluge appar-
. entity swept the town site so
. clean that there was nothing left
= to burn.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
. - 80 = 80 - . :

heavy rains did their work however,
and 1t is supposed early this evening
that it was this Increased pressure
on the wall that was responsible for
the break.
The disaster today, while not par
alleling the Johnstown flood in its
awful extent, recalls that calamity.
That disaster killed more than 1000
persons There, too, there had been
warning that the dam was weak. At
Johnstown, too, fire added to the hor-
ror, raging in spite of the fact that
water did not subside for several
days.
Hospital Was Spared.
The Austin hospital was soon filed
with injured, and bodies were piled
up In rows on the lawn outside. Re
lief trains from Heating Summit car.
ried food and clothing, doctors, nurses
and medicines into the destroyed town
and brought injured on their return
The hospital is situated on a high
hill and escaped the flood.
Among the first refugees to reach
Heating Summit was the chief drug
gist of Austin. He had seen his
mother caught in the falling walls OF
their home, beside the store, and
killed. He had barely escaped with
| his life
When the water swept past the
mountain of broken wood, of tumbiec
stone and brick and of warped wires
! at the intersection of Maine ano
| Turner streets. it was flooded twenty
/ feet deep and of still increasing mo
mentum.
The school house of Costello, like
the hospital at Austin, stands on s
hill. But 1t was destroyed, and tha
tells in a nutshell the damage tt
the town
! Not onepuarter OF Coste,lo's build
/ ings were so we'll situated The peo
pie of Costello heard the onrushins
waters in time to escaps.
Tells TerribIe Story.
PORT ALLEGHENY, Pa, Sept. 80
With fire and water still working
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
THE WEATHER.

WASHINGTON, Sept so.-Iowa:
Showers Sunday; Monday probably
fair.
Illinois: Showers sunaay; Monday
probably fair.
Missouri Showers Sunday, cooler
in western portion; Monday probably
fair.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Gate city Leased wire service.l

[Gate City Leased Wire Service.]
AUSTIN, Pa. Sept. 30
Possibly eight hundred per-
sons, most Of them women and
children, are dead tonight,
their bodies scattered through
the valley by the 200,000,OOO
gallons Of water that, dashing.
faster than a mile a minute and
foaming in a wall, fifty feet
high, swept down Freemans
Run this afternoon from the
broken dam Of the Bayless
Pulp mill and snnffed out this
little city. The deluge was fol
lowed by fire.
Austin is a wreck. The living
are hardly able to seek the
dead. Nearly every survivor
suffered a. broken limb or
strain or wound.
The flood swept through
Austin, crushing nearly every
one Of its 500 houses. There
was no warning. There came
a roar and then the shock of
the flood, the crash of timbers,
the screams of fear.
Floating Battering Rams.
On the crest of the wave
rode a thousand cords Of pulp
mill timber. This hit houses
and stores in it's way like q
succession Of battering rams
It riddled the flimsy frame
homes of the mill workers like
charges Of canister and left
great gaps in their sides. Il
struck into Inconsistencies
the terror stricken people seek.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
IKE A WILD BEAST WHICH BREAKS
IT'S BONDS AND DEvOURS ITS CAPTORS

Clothing store and Muschke's
furniture store, we're destroy
ed. The school house is a
wreck. The Commercial hotel,
Goodyear house and Pelham
house all went down.
The churches were left stand
ing.
Like Fish on Hooks.
The escape of more than two
score who survived the first
onslaught Of the flood was cut
off by long wire fence which
ran along the creek. When the
flood had passed rescuing par
ties found the bodies caught in
the wires and terribly torn.
Many bodies are being re
covered along the banks Of the
river, some being swept five
miles below the city.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01

few miles away. When the news
of the catastrophe reached them they
rushed from the ball grounds and,
pale faced and frantic, ran all the way
to the scene only to find their homes
and loved ones swept into oblivion.
Burning Human Flesh.
1t Is feared that most of the men
who were employed in the railroad
structure stood for time but went
! down before the mass of debris that
was hurled against it by the food.
Later an exploring party tried to
enter the ruins but were driven back
by the smell of burning human flesh
1t was the last straw. The rescuers
could not stand 1t after the horrors
through which they had been.
The wife of Dr.. Mansway and her
baby were among those lost. DR..
Mansway was at the Pennsylvania
hospital on hill when the food came
and he escaped. For long hours
through the night he sought vainly
for his loved ones, hysterical with
grief
Police Chief Baker was walking
down Main street to his home when
the alarm was given. He ran home
ward with full speed and was able to
rush his family to safety barely in
time
Il Was Election Day.
A primary election was in progress
at the time OF the disaster and II
the building where the votes were be
ing cast the campaigners were so in
tent upon their work that the warn
ing whistle was lost to them. Voters
and election records were swept ava!
without a trace being left.
J. A curious incident of the flood wa
the overwhelming OF freight trail
which was caught and carried dow
j, the valley as If it was built OF mater
5 wood. 1t was finally flung agains
the railroad shops, completing tn
. ruin Of the buildings and their doom
1 ed occupants.
q Red Cross TO the AID.
i. WASHINGTON, Sspt. .3o.-Ernet
3 P. Bicknell, national director OF tn
o Red Cross society, left Washingto
' at 1o:40 for Austin, Pa. He has 8
his command the entire emergenc
o fund of the society, amounting
t $4,000. AS soon as he Is able to e
l. innate the needs of the situation h
n will summon nurses, doctors, and pu
j. chase whatever supplies he may CO
0 slider necessary.
J, Flames Complete the Wreck.
s WELLSvILLE. N. Y, Sept. 30
d That section of Austin which was n
destroyed when the waters rush'
down the valley, is burning tonigf
the fire lighting up the ghastly scel
r Of wreckage.
e Costello, village Of 300, tv
1t miles north of Austin, Is report'
y wiped out.
e The latest estimate of the loss
,e life is from 600 to 600.
ly Appeal for Aid.
ID PITTSBURG, Pa. Sept. 30.-An
IN peal for aid has been sent to &c
Tener from the stricken inhabitan
IN of Austin. The appeal asks that foe
h clothing and tents be sent, as we'll
1T nurses. 1t Is said special train
lg ready to leave here for Austin. &c
ar Tener was at his home in Charler
1t. today where he voted, and is in Pit
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01

burg tonight, but he cannot be locat-
ed so that messages asking aid can
be given to him.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Fighting the Flames.

Rescuing parties are busy
fighting the flames tonight,
seeking to save the bodies,
buried there, from incinera-
tion. Many we're imprisoned in
houses washed onto high
ground by the flood, but soon
licked up within the fire zone.
State Senator f. A. Baldwin
narrowly escaped death in the
deluge. His father and his mo-
ther were drowned. Baldwin
fought gallantly against the
waters to save his aged par
ents, but without success.
Fire fighters from Couders-
port, Bradford and KeatiI g
Summit were rushed here to
fight the flames. The wreck Of
I the buildings left the gas
mains open and the flames
A spread rapidly. All of the
buildings not completely de
stroyed by the flood were
J, swept by the fire, which blazed
along the ruins, jumping from
gas pipe to gas pipe.
Clothing is being collected
at Coudersport and Emporium
for the hundreds now destitute
and homeless.
Wiped of Map.
AUSTIN, Pa, Sept s0.-Shortl,
after 2:3O p m. the big dam of the
Bayless Pulp mill, short distance
above this city, gave way. A deluge
swept down through the little town
practically wiping 1t from the mar
and resulting in fatalities which II
the delirous state Of the communit,
were estimated at an early hour to
night at somewhere between one ane
five hundred.
Fully five hundred dwellings were
wiped off their foundation by the
thousands of tons of water as it came
rolling through the town, and as soor
as the w>ter had passed, flames leap
!, ed up in the ruins and completed tn,
: work of destruction. The dam burs
with practically no warning and tn,
! victims, most of them trapped in thei
: own homes, were utterly helpless
!. The men of the community, employed
. for the most part in the pulp mills
were at work and by the time the,
, reached the scene, homes and fam
lilies had been wiped out Although
the dam broke at 2:30 o'clock, 1t wal
l two hours before news of the horro
reached the outside world, telephone
]. and telegraph lines being swept ava.
a in the general destruction. When tn,
J extent of the calamity became known
a relief parties set out from towns al
9 over this part of the state.
a Automobiles with equipment 10
}. emergency hospitals and doctors wer
g reached from Keating Summit, En-
9 porium and Coudersport, and the Bui
y falo and Susquehanna railroad rushe,
two special relief trains to the towr
d 1t was more than an hour before tn
Q real work Of rescue could begin, an
t by six o'clock, a score Of bodies ha
been recovered and carried out Of tn
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
To Stop Lootlns.

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 30-An un-
confirmed report says that Gov. Ten
er has ordered troops to Austin to at
once aid in the relief work and also
to stop any attempt at looting.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Relief is Sent.

BUFFALO, N. Y. Sept. 30.-A spe-
cial train carrying several physicians
aud officers of the Buffalo & Susque-
hanna railroad left here at 7:30
o'clock tonight over the Pennsylvania
railroad for the devastated section.
They will go direct to Keating Sum-
NIT, few miles outside of Austin,
Pa Relief trains from several other
nearby cities also left for Austin to-
night.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Bio Water Power Dam Gave Way and Flood
Wiped Little Town OFF the Map in
Twnkling Of an Eye
VICTIMS ARE TRAPPED IN THEIR HOMES
Following the Destruction Of the Water Flames Leaped up
From the Ruins and Completed the Work
Of Annihilation.

ing to swim the flood to safety.
The water passed the city in
a solid wall two miles in
length. The course from the
creek was down the valley Of
the Sinnemahoning river, along
whose banks there are hun
dreds of houses this evening
covered by the swollen river
or wrecked.
The town of Costello, three
miles south, but much smaller.
was also wrecked, but timely
word from Austin saved the
lives of most there.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Whistle, Only Warning.


Whistle, Only Warning.
The territory where the loss of life
was heaviest lay in the valley between
two fairly steep hills. There We're
about a thousand people In this sec
tion when the flood rushed down and
a great number of these, warned by
the fire whistle as the food tore down
upon the town, rushed up the hills
beyond the waters reach. Those who
did not hear or understand the warn
ing were trapped whore they stood
or killed in the collapse of their
| homes. The volume of water was full
ly 25 feet high as 1t swept over the
town and Its strength was great
enough to carry many of the houses
out into the valley below Austin.
After rushing through Austin, the
flood continued its work Of destruc-
ton, wiping nearly all of Costello, a
hamlet, out Of existence and drown
ing number OF people there and at
/ Wharton. 1t diminished in ferocity
/ as 1t got further down the valley and
because of the sparsely settled coun-
try through which it then passed, the
4 destruction grew less.
4 Was Concrete Dam.
4 Austin lies in the valley of Slime
mahoning Brook, famous as trout
stream. The dam was modern, Of
concrete and supposed to be one Of
the most substantial in this part o.
Pennsylvania until year ago, wher
Its bed was found to be weak. 1t wat
extensively repaired then and ne
further uneasiness was felt. Recen
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
AUSTIN DAM, BUILT OF CONCRETE
COMPLETED ONLY LAST YEAR

Was and When the Cracks Az
reared Enqn Called Attention to Its Unsafe
Condition.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Homeless and Stunned.

AUSTIN, Sept. 3O.-Destitute, with.
out home or food, many without suf.
ficient clothes and almost all be.
reaved, eight or nine hundred per
sons are wandering about the hills
around Austin tonight
The aftermath of the disaster is re
plete with most tragic incidents
About two hundred of the inhabitants
Of Austin, mostly men, had gone to a
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01

stricke : ,rritory. At that hour the
flame Ss5re still raging and the main
part = he town was doomed.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Churches Escaped.

The pulp mill half a mile
north Of Austin, felt the force
Of the flood. 1t was torn from
its foundations, with its great
piles Of logs, and doubled back
upon the city. The Goodyear
lumber yards had 100000
feet of lumber in storage. At
the outskirts of the city t.
was added to the great log
and water battering ram which
formed the apex of the flood.
The planning mill and the big
hotel and store buildings fell
before the hammering Of the
great logs. The Davis house
and the Goodyear house are
large brick structures, as are
the First National Bank build
ing and the telephone ex-
change. These crumpled.
The main stores, Nelson
Brothers, Higgins Brothers.
iSykes Clothing Store, Ballou
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Governor WIN investigate.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. Sept. so.-At
10:45 tonight, Gov. Tener ordered
the members of the state constabula-
tory at Pottsville to prepare to leave
at once for Austin. He also ordered
State Adjutant Stewart to ship at
once stores and tents. Gov Tener de-
clares that as soon as the suffering
has been relieved a full investigation
of the disaster will be made.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Report $50 Dead.

BUFFALO, Sept 3o.-A report re-
ceived here from Austin at $50 p.
m. says that out of population OF
$500, $50 dead bodies have been
counted up to 9.15 p. m.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01
Watched the Maeistrom.

AUSTIN, Sept 3U.--Many persons
were on the hills about the town
when the break occurred. They heard
the roar of the flood and in few
moments they were gazing into a
wilderness of destruction. Here and
there a few spectators who had not
been driven completely hysterical by
the terrible things Witnessed, were
able to tell something Of what they
| had seen.
A Mrs Elliott and her daughter
we're walking down the street when
the food burst They rushed into the
nearest house. A few moments later
| the house was lifted in the air. Mrs
Elliott was seen for moment stretch
ing out her arms to her daughter.
| Then they vanished.
| After the first avalanche had spent
itself, little girl was seen peering
down from a neighboring height into
the maelstrom.
my papa is down there" she said
wondering. Eyes and her mamma,
| too" muttered a woman.
But cannot find my way home,
| questioned the child.
'T will find you home said
man who was openly crying. He TOOK
the little one in his arms and turned
| away.
The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-01

The RIVer Styx.
"The scene tonight with the means
of the dying tossed about in the rush
ing waters and the glare of the burn
ing homes upon them is the nearest to
an earthly view of the inferno hope
shall ever get" concluded Resener.
THE entire town is gone and its peo-
pie with it,