Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-10-11


water made it's way through the bust.
ness section Of the town. and left only
four buildings standing.
Food Supply Soon Exhausted. /,
Until help comes. from the. outside.
little can be done to ascertain the loss
or ssuccor} the injured. Those so for.
tunate rs to live above the line 9of the
flood were called to help the survlv.
ers from the valley and the food sup.
ply soon exhausted. as every gro.
Gerry store with ethe exception OF one
small establishment, was swept away.
Many went without their evening
meal; and unless help comes they will
have no breakfast today.
Among the principal places de.
stroyed was. the plant Of the Emporium
Lumber Company, not a vestige of It
being left. A part Of the plant Of the
Bayless Pulp and Paper Company;
whose dam gave way, also disappear.
ed under the raging waters. and the
Commercial hotel and Davis house
went down before the rush. The
White house, another hotel, was burn.
ed,nand it is believed that q number
OF persons persisted with the building.
One Of the spots where the force
of the flood was felt most severely
was at the junction Of Freeman Run
with: another small stream in the mid.
die Of the business section. The pri.
msry election was in progress in the
building not far away and many men
were in the vicinity. They did not
heed the warning shout and. all OF
them are believed to have been car.
ried away. Not a trace of the build.
ing in which the election was being
held could be seen.
Man in Auto Gives Warning.
At Costello, which was practically
destroyed by the raging water, the
people were warned by young man
who sped through the valley in an au.
tomobile shouting to the people to
take to the hills. His course was over
a rock road through the narrow. val.
ley, but he maintained a lead over the
rushing water and arrived at the little
hamlet in time to spread the news be-
fore the food arrived.
The first alarm of the dam breaking
was given by a Bell telephone line.
man, who saw the advance of the wa
ter from the top Of a pole. He tore
open long distance wire and notified
Galeton with his test set and then fed
to the hills, barely escaping with his
life.
The dam that broke was about half
a mile above the town. It was 600
feet long and so feet high. It bacT ed
the water for more than a mile. 1he
dam was constructed of concrete ma
sorry. Only year ago it threatened
to give way, but the damage was re.
paired in time to prevent a catastro.
phe.
Heavy Rains Swell Stream.
Heavy rains in the hills that sur.
rounded the town, had been falling
for the "a hours. Violent freshets in
small brooks that feed the Sinnama-
honing caused sudden, swift rise of
that stream. The new masonry gave
way with a terrible roar as Z. great
volume of water rushed into TIM main
stream from it's little tributaries. The
thunder of the crash came so swiftly
that the people in the peaceful vii.
lage below, walled in by high hif]s, had
no warning of their impending loom.
The deluge hit with full forco Every
building Immediately in its tra%x' and
either carried them down or wrecked
them before their occupants were
aware of what had happened. In
scores of instances people were drova
ed in their homes w1nhuut RdvwinA
what had caused tho food.
A sudden stop has been put to all
traffic within a wide area Of the strick-
en- section. Railroads have discontin.
.ued their trains and help is being rush.
ed over water swollen roads III az.
tomobiles, wagons and other hur1iedly
contrived conveniences. Couderspo1t,
the nearest town of any size, has
started every able bodied man to the
assistance o. the village Scores Of
bodies have been rescued and are now
being hurried 70 Coudersport.
The dam wss completed in Novem.
Der, 1909, by the paper company at a
cost Of 100000. The company's plant,
of which the dam was part is esti.
mated to be worth $1,000, 900. s
The YOUNGSTOWN flood, which Is re.
called by the Austin, Pa, disaster, oc:
Cured on the afternoon Of May 81,
1889, and 2.142 lives were lost and
property was damaged to the extent