Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1911-10-04
GREAT LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY.
Big Dam at Austin, Pa, Brsaks and Floods
Several Towns In the VALLEY.


Excited reporters armed will
endless pencils Saturday sent ou
the story of the bursting of I
mammoth dam at Austsn, Pa.
which was summarized - fol-
lows:
Dam of the Bayless Pulp 4 pa
per Co. burst one mile and q hall
north of town.
400. SOC. 900 gallons of watsl
rushed down upon the town.
Between $50 and 1000 persons
were drowned, crushed or burned
to death
{ Hundreds of others are believ.
ed to have been swept away by
the great torrent.
Fire follows bursting of natural
gas mains.
| Scores of persons caught be
| meath debris and slowly cremat-
ed.
Over 1000 buildings wrecked.
Heavy rains of past two weeks
caused reservoir to fill for first
time since erected two years ago.
Food supply has been swept
away.
Physicians, nurses and supplies
being rushed from surrounding
towns over the mountains to
Austin.
Governor Tenor has ordered
State health and charity officials
to the scene, together with Ad.
jutsnt General Stewart and .
large force Of State police.
Austin has q population of g..
200.
Costello, town of $50 popula-
tlon, below Austin, also swept
away. 1wo-thirds of c;tissns
believed to have perished.
The facts in the case, which are
bad enough, do not justify much
of the above. We give them 40
near 80 possible below:
Coudeersport, Pa, Sept. 3d.
With q roar that could be heard
for miles the great dam of the
Baylsss Pulp & Paper Co., at
Austin, Pa, fourteen miles from
here, went ont at $3.50 O'Clock
this afternoon. Forty bodies had
been recovered from the runs
when darkness came this evening
and it is estimated that full four
hundred are unaccounted for and
are believed to be dead.
The dam, which was $50 feet
long and 40 feet high, Was 80 feet
thick at the base and held back
more than five hundred million
gallons of water. For the first
time since Its construction two
years ago the water was running
over the top today and many per-
IONS went out from Austin q mile
and half away to SEQ the unusual
sight.
They were Mortified whom .
section about twenty feet wide
gave way on the west side. A
great volume of water poured
through the hole and the alarm
was quickly sounded. People ran
for their lives to the hills near
by, but some were caught in the
food and whirled down the val.
Icy. A moment later another
break occurred, this time on the
east side. It Was much greater
than the first and permitted the
bulk of the watsr behind it to
rush in mighty vslums towards
the lowlands.
Harry Davis. q locomotive, en-
gineer of this place reached q
telephone and notified the opera
tor at the exchange. She called
O. many persons as possible. But
the time WAS short. The raging
flood tore down the little valley
carrying desth on its debris.oov-
cred crest. Hundreds of women
and children, the men were away
at work, were caught in their
homes and drowned or crushed
before they knew what had hap
pened. Houses went down before
the mighty crush OF water, and
gas pipes, bent and broken. re-
leased their dangerous fluid. Be-
fore the water had passed on it,
terrible course through the town
a dozen fires were burning in a.
many places aud the cries of in
jured and imprisoned persons
, joined IN the terrific thunder OF
the food.
| Much of the debris lodged
against the shops of the Buffalo &
Susquehsnns Railroad and there
the fire ragged feroest. Many men
we're caught here aud it is bsliev.
cd that few, if any, escaped with
their lives.
The course of the food was
through the business cantsr of
the little village. A majority of
the buildings were of wood and