New-York tribune., 1911-10-02

in the disaster, Is SO bad that unless his
mood changes his life is likely to pay
the forfeit. The Commercial Hotel,
where Lawler worked, was at Main
street and Railroad avenue. the angle at
which the mass Of wreckage began to
pile up When the warning came Law
Ter ran into the street and turned south
toward his home where his wife and
two young children We're. Dashing into
the house he grabbed his baby boy, while
his wife started out, carrying their two
year-od girl. In the street again. Law
Ter saw that he could not hope 10 gain
the protecting hillside. short two nun
dred yards away. but dragging his wife
along. he gamely tried II. The tearing
wave struck them, and the onlookers
saw the whole family carried off their
feet
They were carried away on its crest
for a quarter Of a mile to the other side
or the valley. So terrible was the force
tat drove them that they were thrown
up on the other side beyond the reach of
the steady flood which followed and the
first rescue parties found them uncon-
scious on the grass. half covered with
debris.
LAWYERS unconscious arms still clutched
his baby boy, and TO the wondering sur
prise Of the rescuers both were alive and
responded to treatment, but his wife and
the little girl were dead. In the hospital
he kept inquiring for his loved ones, and
even though the nurses and doctors tried
to keep the sad news from him. Lawler
suspected it and tonight IS inconsola-
BILE
The first alarm came from a porter Of
q roadhouse situated on the upper hill
side near the dam. Harry Davis, the
porter. telephoned to Lena Bnckey at
the village central, that the dam had
broken.
Run for your lives: the dams gone!
Give warning" was Davis's message,
and for a moment the girl would not be-
lieve him
First Thought Il Was 4 Joke.
Quit your kiddin.' was her first an
swer. but Daviss tone. more than his
words drove home the warning, and she
telephoned 90 the Standard Kindling
Wood Company. whose whistle gives the
village signal for fire and other troubles.
Her message was misunderstood by the
engineer there, with the result that he
gave series Of short blasts on his fac
tory whistle. signifying fire. Townsfolls
say that any trouble at the dam should
be signalled by one long continued blast
of the whistle.
At any rate. the survivors accounts
showed that the town in general ac-
ccpted the signal as being on account
OF fire, and instead of starting
stampede for the safety Of the hillsides,
the warning merely brought out the
folks who were mildly curious to see
where the fire was The shouting of
others, together with the terrible roar
Of the approaching wave, furnished the
first warning Of the real disaster that
was impending. and by that time many
were caught helplessly far from the
Worse than that as il appeared after
ward. the mistaken signal resulted in
the destruction of the towns only fire.
fighting apparatus a hose cart and reel,
for the fremen dashed around the cor
ner of Main street and south into Rail-
road avenue, thinking that the fire was
In the residence section in the western
valley As they rounded the corner
they saw the mistake. for the wall of
water was even then bearing down on
them less than block away They
abandoned horses and apparatus and
scurried in a wild scramble for the hill
side All of them escaped.
Natural Gas Added to Dancer.
This village gets its lighting and
cooking power from natural gas. and
when the wrecking wave passed over
the town, ripping everything IN its
course. the gas was pouring from hun
1reds Of broken pipes. Clocks in the
Urcckagc showed the exact time of the
disaster as 2,2N J.. m, and in less than
an hour after that the water began 10
recede swiftly. Along it's trail of de-
struction a small scourgc Of fires start
cd from the leakage of natural gas
broke out. and in one or two instances
burned steadily for hours. Those fires
lighted up the disaster last night with
an uncanny glow. but. so far as dam
aging property was concerned, their ef-
10 nas Ia At h.. 1