The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1911-10-06
HUNDREDS DROWN
WHEN dam BURSTS
TOWN LOCATED in VALLEY :,
TWEEN TWO HIGH HILLS
MERCY OF FLOOD.
Great Wall Of Water Which s,,,...
Everything In Front of ii al
lowed BY Fire Which Roasted
Victims Pinned underneatb
Wreckage.

Sst NSolly IUU men, wa
men and children, more than a four,h
Of the total population, were drownsa
and countless numbers were irinr..
when the mammoth dam Of M.
Bayless Pulp and Paper companv
burst with roar SURPRISING thai !,
Niagara and poured it's more Az
half a million gallons of water dow
upon this town late Saturday aftsy
noon.
Located in valley between tzo
high hills that extend east and west
for miles, Austin was at the mercy I,
the food, which swept nearly all II
the buildings away, piling them m
at the mouth of a narrow gully east
of town.
There, as elsewhere in Austin, fire.
quickly added its terror, roastiup
alive the victims who remained in M
debris.
In the valley below Austin are the
villages of Costello and Wharton
After laying the larger towns II
ruins the flood swept on to them
Caught in the NAV of the rushina
waters they, too, succumbed, but
warned by a modern Paul Revere
who dashed ahead of the food over
rocky roads in motor car, the in
habitants had time to escape.
/ Blame for the disaster is being
1 ,,1o nod tho nnuIaoa DpI,
Paper company, which owned the
dam. The dam, stretching from nil
to hill. and imprisoning Freeman
run just before it reaches Sinnima
honing creek, was $50 feet long and
SO feet high. 1t was completed Cd
4 Thanksgiving day, 1909. In exactly
two months it began to leak and the
inhabitants of Austin, fearing such
flood as swept away the town Sat
urday, fed to the hills. Repairs
were made to the dam at that time
but defects in tn construction which
made possible the disaster were not
remedied.
The first alarm of the dam break
ing was given by Bell telephone
lineman who saw the advance Of the
; water from the top of a pole He
; tore open a long distance wire and
; notified Galeton with his test set
and then fed to the hills, barely es
Gaping with his life.
Nearly all the men were at work
at work and the women and chill
dren were at home alone They had
heard the warning sent out by the
telephone girl, at least some Of the
people say the fire bell rang, and
they thought it was a fire.
Some of them dashed to the busE
ness section and were caught IN inc
water. Those not drowned were
crushed in the crumbling buildings
] and others were caught in the flames
I Little children playing in yards az
I home were caught up by the water
i and tossed about on the flood Ike
i. playthings. Cattle and horses were
g swept off and even the SIDEWAYS
e were torn up. And over and aDO's
/ it all were the shrieks OF the nun
dreds of people who could not %
8 cape. i.
S It is estimated that of the 90
8 houses in the village 500 have pee y
y swept away. Nearly all were desn.
r ings.
) Property loss will exceed s6OooOo0,
S and it is the general opinion lna'
t the town never will be rebuilt w
II of the large plants will no. pc ~
q structed and a majority OF the Ol',
Y ness men of the place nave pe'u
n ruined financially. !. me
a The cause of the break u ~ ~
a mill dam is a matter which the Is
4, trict attorney of the county W.. ~.
! vestigate. The Bayless dam gae rs ~
= amined by experts more than M
! ago. and recommendation were J. y
= looking to it's safety, The uisu u *
torney has secured the names - ora
le perts who submitted the repois H
N win summon them to testis =
rs inquest to begin this week .ut n
Il The town of Austin was pul' Il,
3 the Sinnimahoaning valley y i,
4 last census the enumerators s 49, &
: population as $50. More .n norm
: per cent Of these were nali I'm 1
U A fair percentage had been ala Il N
20 the settlement by the worn =
Id par,ass PUN and Paper mill,