River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1911-10-05


FASTENED to the center of the town,
only to be caught in the flood and
swept away.
The flood passed quickly, leaving
/ desolation in it's wake. Houses had
been crushed and tossed about like
toys, while hundreds of bodies had
been carried down on the crest of
the surging torrent.
With the passing of the water, those
| who had fed to the hills fastened to
return to their ruined homes in search
of relatives and friends. Here and
there bodies had been cast up along
the path of the torrent and 100 bodies
were recovered in a short time Some
of them had been so badly battered
by the tossing debris that they were
beyond recognition, while others had
been carried along with no apparent
injury.
Many were caught in burning build
ings, and it will be days before the
real extent OF the calamity will be
known. 1t is believed that no less than
$50 persons persisted and some esti-
mates are higher.
Fire Adds to Horror.
A dangerous situation developed i'm
mediately after the water had passed.
Austin is piped for natural gas, and
the great force of the flood tore the
mains from the streets, and the largest
pipe in town burst in the business
section. The gas gushed out and in a
twinkling had taken fire.
The flames leaped to a height of
twenty feet, and, blown by a strong
wind, were communicated to the near
est house. In ten minutes a dozen
other pipes had burst and were pour
ing their inflammable fluid into the air.
Men who had rushed forward in the
hope Of doing some good were over
come and fell, while others were
caught in the flames and incinerated.
The street became a glowing hell, and
there was no salvation for those who
CHANGED to be near. How many per-
ished there is not known, but one esti-
mate places it at score.
Austin had little fire protection at
best, and with no one left to man the
little apparatus the town possessed,
the progress of the flames was unin-
terrupted. Rapidly they swept along,
always fed by the continual supply
of gas from bursting mains, there was
no staying their progress. They licked
up what the water had left.
Down at the shops of the Buffalo
and Susquehanna railroad, history was
in the making. The buildings were
located below the business section on
the banks of Freeman Run, and were
more substantial than most of the
houses which had been swept away
by the flood. When the great mass
of crushed and broken timbers, rep
resenting houses but few minutes
before, came crashing down they
lodged against the shops. The impact
was so great that the walls were
crushed in, but the framework stood
and formed barrier against which
flotsam and jetsam of the food found
Judgement.
Men Caught at Machines.
Here also the gas pipes burst, and
as the shops were in operation, fire
quickly was communicated to the
heterogeneous mass. Men were caught
before they could leave their ma
chimes. Some of them were crushed
to death without warning, but 9th
ers less favored of fortune were pin
ned down and met most horrible
deaths in the flames.
! Nearby was the plant of the Stand
ard Lumber Company, which had on
hand a large stock of stove wood. 1t
was the fuel the flames most desired,
and when the pipes burst there and
the burning gas broke through the
building it was soon destroyed. Here,
too, debris had piled high, and here
luckless ones who had been swept
down stream met death.
For hours the machine shops and
the lumber plant burned, and the odor
of burning flesh was so strong as to
drive many persons from the scene.
How many died here never will be
known, but, counting the employees of
the plants and the persons in the
flood, it will not fall short of 200.
But worst of all were the cries of
the women and children. Most all
the men were at work and they were
at home alone. They had heard the
warning sent out by the telephone girl,
at least some of the people say the