The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-03
Instead Of One Thousand Lives Lost
at Austin, One Hundred is
Nearer the Correct
Figure.
EIGHTY-FIVE MISSING
Organized Relief and Systematic
Search for the Dead Has
Been Started by
tho City.

AUSTIN, Pa, Oct. 3.-The last es-
innate indicates that the persons who
went down under the flood on Satur- |
day was not more than 100. Yesterday
two census enumerators went through
the town and they could find just
eighty-five persons who were not ac-
counted for State Health Commits
sioner Dixon based his estimate upon
the visits Of these officials through
the houses of eighty-four families.
In addition to the missing ones,
though 1t is certain that there We're
strangers in town. The hotels, and
there were three of them, always had
drummers as guests. Saturday was
market day and the sides of Main
street were lined with wagons. How
many of these outsiders are under the
| tangled heap that marks the site OF
Main street could not be told.
The town had different look to-
day from its gray depression Of yes
/ terday, The sun shone upon the bro
| ken and torn remnants and cheered
the workers upon the debris.
4 Something like organization came
out of the energetic but confused ef-
4 forts of Sunday. A steam log roller
grappled at the high pile of splinter
ed boards heaped In front of the Bank
of Austin. Tho nurses who have es-
tablished free commissary for the
destitute women and the constabulary
had the odd Fellows hall full of a
& variety of supplies. More than 1000
8 persons were fed across the counters
J by the nurses.
; In the lodge rooms sat Mr.. Dixon
: with his many assistants, planning
and revising the campaign of caring
for the homeless and preventing an
Z outbreak of disease A house across
l from the authorities headquarters has
? been made into morgue, and all day
: DR.. r. II. Simmons has been there
9 receiving the bodies and checking of
/ their Identification as they come in.
e Justice of the Peace M. N. johnson
! has sat there to take the sworn state
S ments of relatives and to sign the bur
/? ial certificates.
Y The funerals of the victims of th'
Il dam were begun today.
e learned today that twice with
e in the past two weeks, would-b
J. iokers sounded the fire whistles an,
aroused the town by declaring tn
+ dam had broken When the warnin
5, came Saturday, many thought it wa
e a repetition Of the Joke.
e. Starting with the break of dawn, III
d tie groups of people followed tn
l. bodies across the town to the GENE
e teries Volunteer pail bearers carrie
# the plain wooden coffins and Otter
4 times the funeral parties had to scul
r ry from the falling debris as the in
n ported rescuers worked diligently !
d search of other victims
If Survivors are saved one grief, mos
e of the victims drowned. Late las
night, womans head severed at tn
II chin, was brought to the morgu'
IN Shortly after the body of child wit
1t the entire back of the head gone, wa
Of found but other bodies were onl
al slightly bruised
ut With the larger cities sending force
is of workers, the work of clearing ava
&. the debris progressed faster than ye
er terday The survivors will not perm
in the debris to be fired until it is ce
,h tain that all bodies have been reno
If ed.
In It developed today that scores
to lives might have been saved had 1t nj
er been thought that the first alarm
bit the approaching flood was joke.
of Twice within the past ten DAY
on would-be jokers had blown the ~
whistles" said James B. Robinson
tailor, today. when the WHIST
sounded Saturday, many thought
was another joke and did not a1'ein
~ to flee until the water was up'