Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-10-22
WHEN DAMS BREAK LOOSE
Wrath of Resistless Waters, as
Pictured in Fiction,
ROMANCE MIXED WITH DISASTER
Charles Reade Describes the Ter
ribIe Consequences OF Dam
Giving Way Ia spite OF
Precautions,

with the admixture OF romance over
| looked. Charles Reade's description In
Put Yourself in HIS Place OF the burst
Ing OF the dam az Onsley reservoir, noar
tnlsborough, England. gives in fiction a
thrilling picture of the realities Of the
disaster at Austin, Pa. September 80
1911. and at Iohnstown, Pa, May 81 1889
The novelist describes the dam, It's great
width and strength, and the special pre-
cautions OF the constructor to enable
any undue pressure OF the water TO be
relieved without delay. Then came the
finding of crack in the dam, the open
ing Of the sluice pipes and the inspection,
all too late to avert the disaster which
| the giving away Of the dam brings on
the inhabitants OF the adjoining valley.
The most remarkable OF the escapes was
that Of Henry Little and Grace Coventry
/ two lovers who had been separted Grace
having married Frederick Coventry. Fol-
lowing IS a description of the scene;
what seemed mountain OF snow
came rolling. and burst on them with ter
rifle violence, whirling great trees and
/ fragments Of houses past with incredu-
lous velocity.
at the first blow, the house that stood
nearest 20 the flying lake was shattered
and went to pieces soon after; all the
houses qulvered as the water rushed
round them two stories high.
"IAttle never expected to live another
minute; yet in that awful moment his
! love stood firm. lie screamed to Grace
The houses must gol-the tree!-the treel
get to. the tree!
But Grace, so weak at times. was moN
than mortal strong at that dread hour
What! Live with him. she cried,
when / can die with your
She folded her arms, and her pale face
was radiant, no hope, no fear"
Now came a higher wave, and water
reached above the window sllls OF the
ballroom floor and swept away the lad
der; yet. driven forward like cannon
bullet, did not yet pour into the bed
rooms from the main stream; but by
degrees the furious Good broke, melted
and swept away the intervening houses,
land then hacked off the gable-end Of
| Grace's hous, as II Leviathan had Bit
ten a piece out. Through that aperture
the flood came straight in. leveled the
partitions at blow. rushed into the
upper rooms with fearful roar, and then,
rushing out again to rejoin the greater
body Of water, blew the front wall clean
away, and swept Grace out into the
raging current.
The mighty reflux, which, after a SHORT
struggle, overpowered the rush of water
from the windows, and carried Grace's
helpless body away from the tree, drove
her. of course, back toward the houses,
and she was whirled past Littles win
dow with fearful velocity, Just as he
was going 20 leap into the flood and
perish in an insane attempt to save her.
with a loud cry he seized her by the
long floating hair and tried to draw her
In at the window, but the mighty water
pulled her from him fiercely. and all but
dragged him In after her; he was only
saved by olutchng the side OF the wall
with his left hand; the flood was like
lsome rvast solid body drawing against
him, and terror began to seize on his
heart lie ground his teeth, he set his
knee against the horizontal projection
Of the window, and that freed his left
hand; he suddenly seized her arm with
it, and. clutching violently, ground his
teeth together, and, throwing himself
backward with a jerk. tore her out OF
the water by an effort almost super
human. Such was the force exerted by
the torrent on one side and the des-
perate lover on the other that not her
only, but her stockings, though gartered,
were torn off her in that fierce struggle,
'' a New Danger.
a new danger soon brought them both
to their senses; an elm tree wairllng
| a