The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-10-05
RUIN SPREAD BY
l00SENED FLOOD
hurls Gathering Broadside OF
X Water against Austin.
BUILDINGS WIIHER BEFORE IT
ing and Hundreds of Bodies Are
Thought to Be Beneath Wreck
age Scattered for Miles.

Austin, Pa, Oct. 2.-Sweeping itself
a clean path for an even mile, pillar
Of water damned it's battering ram of
cordwood through the valley where
the Town of Austin lay on Saturday.
There it smashed broaczice
against the full length of he rincipal
street, gathering ~ g. :; u ent the
boards that y IKE before were
houses. ari >i;-ysd the splintered
frag: ITS against the more sIbstan
tial line OF brick stores.
Brick and steel gave way almost as
completely as had the less solid con
structicn. Put the wave was hinderod
long enough to pile up to the height
Ct three-story building tie mass OF
torn debris. Then tie flood tipped
ahead. swirling over the few small
buildings that lay below until il Came
10 railroad SHOPS where cars anG 10
<cmotiycs were fired onto their
sizes aid stripped Of ;heir wheels ard
roofs. and where TIE natural gas pipes
IN the engine ycc-cs were soraped off
Then came the fire that finished the
icb in the yards and in the Eearoy
shops After that the water kept CT
through the valley Until il had
Lroneht down all but four of TIE
houses in Costello. the village that lies
tasee miles below.
Estimates of tie loss of life lies &c.
tween go ard geo. Ennmoratcrs O.
the last census have begun the task Ct
going through the houses rpor the
billsides where the homeless cnee
have been taken. II is only by elm
fnation. the authorities believe. tn2;
anything like an accurate count car
be made The work of clearage has
begun. but it will be long task anC
even the census takers work cannot
he completed fer many days Only
sixty are positively known to be dead
brit scores are missing.
1t is a curious fact that the list o!
the injured is practically negligible
The state physicis rs and nurses. who
came supplied with bandages and
nedicii es. have found nothing TO do
They have turned their efforts to feed
ing ana clothing the population that
had every grocery store anu meat mar
ket Wired away. The break in the
dam that brushed OF the one business
stree. and crumpled up four churches
did not injure or main. 1t stamref
out life or left these men and women
untouched
The manner in which the speorle oil
Austin lost their lives is tvpified in the
case Of the family CT State Senator
Frank E. Baldwin His sister. Mrs
; Nj. c. Collins. had few seconCs more
warning then many. Her father ant
mother. Mr.. and Mrs John Baldwin
were in their ncme On Turner street
which lay bet1e the dam and thu
chief thorouehfare. Mrs. Collins
thought Immediately of the fact thai
her father was crippled ard that hel
Tother was very infrm and slrcst
Hind. She ran to their house, reused
them and started alcng the Sidewalk
that led to enc CT the cross streets r
TIE hill Their way was rGst the
Presbyterian chvrch and as they
PASSED this building the aprrcaeh.n'
column OF wafer reached themA mar
who stood uron one of the safe hill
sides saw the church tcpple and fal
uro1 the three as TIE laughter U-Tet
re- parents along TIE street There
is not the slightest donJt that Mrs
Collins could have saved herself Blu
II Il e.
As the quiet r.er: and women tam
T.td hours later over sthe fet rlair
where the water had rushed th;rt,
feet deep the qxesticn that came L
many MINDS wcs, where are TIE chill
drtn? Here and there was a boy wht
scrambled over tie wreckase CT a ei'
u hc stood silently looking Gu. bu
there was nothing like the curious 10
Of youngsters that tee authorities ex
pect az the place Of disaster. 81
these milling towns CT this state ar,
beautifully SUPPLIED with children. Tn.
Cnly answer seemed to be that whei
those hears are cleared away a grea
brought out. TIE great disaster &C
CURED on Saturday, and of cours,
school was not in session anG tie chill
cren were scattered over town.
The ean4 that split into eight pieces
j,.st as row of Gominoes viii tulg,
auart was not an old structure.
was placed telcw an antique woodel
Grub. a trife over two years aso. Blu
there have Leen nluTmrring aeafns
TIE heavy bulk of water that it re
strained, even IN spite of its newness
The women of the town ESPECIAL.