Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-10-02

CAUS1lAY O0tu1 U0yS al IL
FRANK E. h
OBrien, who had been pastor of ST.
Augustine's Roman Catholic church at
Austin many years, and who are ia
rciliar with business conditions and
values, estimate the property damage
at about S6,000,000. The Bayless com
pany, which owned the dam, will lose
81 SOC, 900, according to Father O'Brien,
the Goodyear Lumber company $1,000,
600, the Buffalo and Susuuehanna rail-
road 100000 and the 800 houses de-
stroyed with their contents, it is said,
will total s1,00o,o00 more
Very Few Children Among Survivors.
One of the striking and rathetic
features of the day. according to DR..
Thomas H. A. Styles, chief of the state
dispensaries, was the practical absence
of children among the survivors 1t is
thought that when the wreckage has
been cleared away and the bodies of
the victims ecovered-a1though many
have been entirely destroyed-it would
be found that a large proportion were
those of children.
One Man Thought 1t Joke.
Boyd Lockhard, young business
man. had narrow escape. Mr.. Lock
hard said that when he heard the
alarm given he thought someone was
playing a practical joke, and he went
ir the street to watch the peoples ac-
tions. He looked in the direction of
the dam and saw the oncoming food
was but three blocks away.
Looked Like Wall of Wood.
'It looked like wall of wood, 25 feet
high he said. cat first glance I did
not see the water at all because the
wood at the pulp mill was carried be-
fore the water and became a sort of
Dattering ram that tore away the
buildings of the town. / ran towards
the hill and by the greatest effort got
above the level of the water while it
vas surging within ten feet of me. The
ground began to give way under me,
but I managed to Chamber q few feet
further up and took hold of a tree, to
which I chung"
No Wire Communication.
Throngs of people came to town
today from all points in the Sinnema-
Iening valley below Austin which had
learned the extent of the disaster to
seek friends and relatives. The rush
OF the water had carried away every
means of wire communication and i'm
peded travel of every kind.
Costello People Had Ample Warning.
J. c. Burchard. who lived within half
a mile of Costello said today: The
people of Costello received ample
warning from Austin that the dam
had broken, and although 40 or so
houses were demolished only three ia
talities occurred.
Baseball Fans Escaped
The humiliation of Austin happened
on beautiful autumn afternoon The
fine weather had attracted many of
the younger element to a ball game in
a nearby town and thus they escaped
the fate of their many friends and rel
atives. Women were about the streets
for their Saturday afternoon shopping
and these and the merchants who were
selling them goods were caught by the
onruSh of water.
Moving Picture Theaters Swept Away.
There were small crowds also, at
moving picture theaters which were
swept away. Women rocking babies at
home and preachers preparing their
Sunday sermons were flung into eter-
nifty before their startled senses could
even grasp their Overwhelming doom.
Seven Buried Under Wreckare.
The greatest loss of life by fire oc-
Cured at sharp turn Of the valley
just below Main street where the de-
bris was caught up and compressed
with terrific power with circling sweep
of the flood. The wreckage of the
busiest portion of the town was car
red to that point and it caught fire
from upset stoves andlamps. 1t is be-
lieved that scores of persons are buried
under from 10 to 20 feet of the wreck
age and the task of recovering them
Will necessarily be a difficult one.
Rescue Work in Rain.
In a drilling rain which changed
into a beating storm. hundreds of vol
today while many others, hystericai
from the fate that had overcome
friends and relations. viewed the mud
dy corpses fearful to know If any
among them We're loved ones. Fires
were still burning briskly in some por-
lions of the wreckage this afternoon.
although they had been under control
several hours.
Little Hospital Escapes.
The Buffalo and Susquehanna rail
read found a way into Austin over the
rails today by connecting with the
Heating Summit branch. A fortunate
incident was the escape of the little
hospital
RifIine a Dead Mans Pockets.
During the forenoon Chief Baker
discovered man and a woman remov-
+ ut to. attempt an arrest was useless
and the pair got away after some
rough handling by the crowd. In the
wreckage of three stores he found that
the cash registers had been broken
open and the contents stolen. One
man who was found with three watch
es was locked up in a freight ear.
Primary Election was Being Held.
A primary election was in progress
in the town hall at the time the flood
broke. A hatless man dashing by
yelled to the crowd about the booths
something about ''The dam bursting"
and the election inspectors and voters
dashed out and took to the hills. leav-
ing their ballots unmarked. Some es-
capped, but many We're too late and
were whirled into the debris which
formed dam just below Main street.
The jam at this point is at least IS feet
high and three or four blocks long. In
this mass the majority of the victims
are believed tonight to lie mangled and
burned. The halves of houses, tele-
phone poles huge sections of brick
walls, trees and timbers are inter
woven and locked tocether so impene-
ably that the reseuers have to fight
their way into the debris inch by inch.
Il