The Cairo bulletin., 1911-10-01
$50 LIVES LOST
WHEN DAM BREAKS
At AUSTIN PA.
Continued from Page One
ragged fiercest.
Only Few Escape,

it is believed that few, if any, es
capped with their lives.
The course of the flood wa
through the business center OF TIN
little village.
A majority of the buildings were
8of wood aud those which were no
wrecked BY the torrents waves were
soon in flames. So sudden was thu
onslaught of the water that man,
persons had no time to flee to thu
hills. but others received the alarm
and believing it was fire hastened tt
the center of the town, only to be
caught In the flood and swept away
The flood passed quickly leaving
desolation in its wake. Houses hao
been crushed and tossed about like
toys while hundreds of bodies lad
been carried down on the crest OF the
surging torrents.
Contained 500.0OO,0O0 Gallons.
The dam was of concrete. $50 feet
long and 40 feet wide, was 80 feet
thick at the base and held back more
than 500,O00.00O gallons of water,
For the first time since its con-
struction two years ago, the water
was running over the top today and
many persons went out from Austin,
mile and half away, to see the
unusual sight
They were Mortified when sec
ton about twenty feet wide gave
way on the west side. A great vol
ume Of water poured through the
hole and the alarm was quickly
sounded. People ran for their lives
to the hills near by but some were
caught In the flood and whirled
down the valley.
A moment later another break oc.
Cured, this time on the east side. II
was much greater and permitted the
bulk of the mass of water behind
to rush in mighty volume towards
the lowlands.
Recover Forty Bodies.
With the passage OF waters thos'
who had fled to the hills hastene'
to return to their ruined houses il
search of relatives and friends Her
and there bodies had been throw
up along the path of the current ant
about forty bodies were recovered II
short time.
Some OF them had been so badl.
battered by the tossing debris tina
they were buried unknown while
others had been carried along will
no apparent injury.
Many were caught in the burning
buildings and it Will be days befor,
the real extent will be known.
Dead May Reach 1000.
Austin, Pa. Sept Between
$50 and 1000 persons were drowned
crushed or burned to death, and un.
told numbers were MANNED here
when the great dam of the Bayliss
Pulp and paper Company, holding
back more than SOC. 100000 gallons
of water broke today. OF the forty
bodies recovered, many of them were
SO mangled that recognition is i'm
possible.
A relief train is on the way from
Coudersport, fourteen miles away.
The survivors are in frenzy. There
is no organization. The town is daz-
ed by the force of the calamity,
which came without moments
warning.
Hundreds of men, women anu
children are searching through the
ruins of the village for their families
and friends.
The only light is the glow of hun
dreds of houses which caught fire
from broken gas pipes almost before
the food had passed.
Chaos ragged for the moment, the
mighty wall of water poured through
the town and there will be no relief
till help comes from the surrounding
towns. Meanwhile many bodies lie
In the wake Of the food.
The basin behind the dam had
never been filled with water until
this week and today 1t was noted
that water was running over the tor
Of the structure.
What Eye Witness Saw.
"It was a wonderful sight" said
Harry Davis, a Buffalo locomotive
engineer, who was in the little knot
OF persons near the dam. There
was nothing to indicate that the
dam was about to give away ano
some one had Just remarked abou,
its strength when with sharp re.
port hole appeared In the west end
In moment water poured through
and " was Immediately seen that the
hole was getting larger. In a min.
ute y was twenty feet wide and ex.
tending almost the entire height Of
the dam. Then there was another
report and II seemed as If the whol,
structure was giving away.
With alarm ! fed to the neares,
high ground and persons scattered In