The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-10-05

its victims had all been claimed, was
lifted by dawn, II revealed ghastly
scene Of death and devastation. Austin
itself, Saturday busy mill town OF
5000 persons. many Of whom were en-
Joytng the fine autumn afternoon as q
Saturday half holiday, is only ghost
of town today. Torn to pieces by
water and eaten by fire, the wet and
charred remains OF it's buildings be-
lieved to hold the remains of 300 Oh
more persons, were strewn along the
valley edge, piled In rows where the
main street OF the business section was
swept in scattered masses far down the
ravine.
Spectators, many of whom barely es-
capped being victims of the disaster
and hundreds of persons from sur
rounding towns looked down from the
steep hillsides on Austin and Costello
through veil of fog this morning to
see the wreckage here OF some 400
houses, a score OF business blocks, three
churches. and several large lumber millS
and three miles farther down the rivei
at Costello the ruins OF more than 50
buildings. III
The Stricken District. l8
The scene of the obliteration.of Aus
tin covers an area three eight ~ eof p
mile wide. and one and three Alaatekl
miles long. This comprised tie ~ e
ness section and the valley roeideiice
portion and was bounded ,byh Main,
Ruckaber and Therm streetszaxIa Co.'S
tello avenue. crossed by Lessor thor
oughfares. Nearly mile above btood
the mammoth concrete dam the Bay
long. 81 feet high and 80 feet thick
at the bottom. taperipGS to a thickness
of three feet at the to-
Back Of this had Ian q reservoir of
water mile and hlf long and an
average of IS feet .dSep. Directly in
front Of the dam sto1 the plant of the
Bayless company, with four main
buildings. Stacked high near by was
1000 cords OF 6o-incA wood and slabs
immense timber stoc Iptaliing in the
Austin valley $4,000, ~ fset OF hard :
wood and 25.o0O.oo0 Of hi block. This
was five-year supply. practically the
valued at $4,000. ooo,J
A mill stream, eeman run. flowed
through the &pXlH ITO Sinnemahoning
creek. ::eadf he Susquehanna
river. IhSS n4fp proper was smart
littls r,ace Ifortable frame houses
and more 8 tantial business build
from side Hide across the rayine.
The prineiiI business buildings In
cluded the brick structure occupied
&c ntly by tte Austin bank and the
postoffice. The department store of A.
r. Buck. W Goodyear hotel and the
Commercial house and numerous gem
eral stores.
Houses Telescoped.
Five minuts after the dam burst this
stage had RH swept of it's setting.
Along theS4 lis were thrown tele-
scoped hoHs3SS.2At either end of Main
street brick 4bu flings acted as buffers
as the 25-foot YAH (of water rushed
downward, agRdSbt Hhich it's mass of
debris, almost IN aEh wood. steel
and brick were mixture of the
contents OF stor4 homes and of
varied length timbd md sticks.
The wreckage az IN dam had been
as complete as Ii wt sndden.f Two
immense sections FROM IL top to bot :
tom, $50 feet wide. w rs thrown out
bodily like the imme be gates of a
canal lock. The outward setting was
more than so feet. ar on either side
the remaining structuI began gradual
ly to crumble aw&&t Repairs last
spring had consisted. ii patch of ce-
ment IA feet square;Xpue OF the sew
cred connections ye6ferdly began at
that patch. F At
The cause q the eakfpg is mat
ter which the 4istrid attorney of Pot
ter county VIII fnve igate. The Bay
less dam was examiIed by experts more
than yearAago en- recommendation
We're made .lpoking 10 its safety. The
district attofHey had secured the names
Of some Of nc exp1rts who submitted
tho report and wiiE summon them to
teitfy Eat Jan singdest TO begin this
y. Many cAls,r.n Dead.
ri One OF the pathetic features, accord
{ & to DR.. THOMAS sStypes, chief of the
|kt3ta dispe4sary, vas the practical abb
IHence Of 9Adldren among the survivors
Nc fhSfight that when the wreckage
pas been cleagRayaway and the bodies
Of the victins recovered--although
many have been entirely destroyed-it
would be found that large proportion
6were those OF children.
A primary election was in progress in
the town hall at the time the flood
broke. A hatless man dashing by yelled
to the crowd soout the booth something
about ".he dam bursting and the cleo
ton Ia spectors and voters dashed out
and to,k 10 the hills, leaving their ball
lots unmarked. Some escaped, but
many were 100 late and were whirled
into the 1sbris. which. formed dam OF
Itself Just oelow Main street.
Two Dead in Costello.
- COSTELLO, IA, OCT. %.---Wn nile the town
OF Costello was almost destroyed by the
flood, Its death list Is only two. The
victims are Edward w. Earle and Mrs
Hodges.
That the fatalities were not proper
tionately as large as those in Austin II
due to successful warning given OF
the impending disaster. Edward Young
workman in the Standard lumber mill
In Austin, and whose home is in Co.'S
tello. heard the roar of the flood while
II was still a half mile away and his
first thought when he first saw the wall
OF water was his wife and little ones
three miles away. Coatless and hatless
he then. jumped on his bicycle and
raced for Costello. He shouted q warn
ing as he passed isolated houses whose
occupants fed to the hilltops. Two
minutes In the van OF the food he
dashed into Costello shrieking his mes
sage and Costello. almost to a man
fed.
Young gained his home shouted tc
his wife, and between them they car
ried their children to safety.
About 30 buildings were destroyed
here. The PRINCIPAL hotel was twisted
about and wrecked the, railroad station
swept away and much Of the towr
damaged seriously.N ZIP
ficers and $50 soldiers. d.
- 4.