The Oskaloosa herald., 1911-10-05
BIG DAM BURSTS
2 TOWNS RAzED
Austin and Costello Pa. Swel t Ava,
Without Any Warning.
LIKE THE YOUNGSTOWN FLOOD
Many Residences Are Destroyed by
Flames and Occupants Burned to
Death - Rushing Waters Cut
People OF From Escape.

replaced chaos in the search for bod
les of the several hundred victims
killed Saturday when the Bayliss
paper min dam broke, wiping out
most of this village
Stunned by the disaster, survivors
made little effort yesterday to recover
the bodies or care for the homeless
until state authorities took charge
Sunday afternoon.
The number of dead today is esti-
mated at from 100 to 200.
F. n. Hamlin, superintendent of the
paper mills, is in critical condition
in the hospital as the result of ner-
vous prostration. Thirty-six bodies
have been recovered so far today.
These were housed in temporary
morgues, school houses, ware houses
and residences. Most of the victims
are women and children and have
been identified.
Austin, Pa, Oct. 1.-Two hundred or
more Of the $500 residents of this
town were drowned and untold num-
bers were manned when the great dam
of the Bayliss Pulp and Paper com
pany, holding back more than $780,
600, 900 gallons of water, went out.
Eighteen bodies have been taken
from the wreckage and Is of these
identified.
500 Houses Are Swept Away.
1t is estimated that of the 675 houses
in the village 500 have been swept
away. Nearly all were dwellings and
is is fair TO presume that at least one
person was in each Of them. This
would bring the total to 500 persons
lost.
AS matter of fact no one can esti-
mate with accuracy the loss of life.
Whole families were destroyed. The
hysterical place it as high as a thou
sand; the conservative say 300. The
undertaken has ordered $50 caskets.
Until the debris is cleared away, un-
til the last pile of burning refuse has
been examined and the charred bones
of those who died by fire as well as
those who met death by drowning
have been counted and the number of
reported missing tabulated, the num-
Der of dead will not be known.
Disaster Comes Without Warning.
The most stupendous disaster of it's
kind since the JOhnstown food, the
catastrophe descended upon the in
habitants of the town almost without
WARMING Tho hlon dom Vhinh raI1cOI
1t had been built two years at the
head OF the valley, formed by Freeman
Run, in which Austin lies. The basin,
with its wall $50 feet long and 40 feet
high, had never been filled until re-.
cent rains brought the water in it to
the brim. Many persons from Austin
and the surrounding country visited it
to view the unusual sight of the basin
filled
AS the crowd viewed, there came
sudden report. A hole appeared in the
wall near the top of the east end. The
next moment water trickled through
In another moment the hole was 20
feet wide. There was another report
and the structure crumbled.
Engineer Gives Alarm.
Screaming q futile warning, with the
town and its unsuspecting population
a mile and half away, all fed for the
hills. Harry Davis, locomotive en-
gineer, rushed to a house on the hill
For Gods sake warn the town. the
dam has burst" he shouted to Mar
garet Decker, stenographer for the
Bayliss Pulp and Paper company as
she sat in the office of the mills. But
Margaret Decker laughed after the
manner of a young woman that thinks
she is being made the butt of a prac
teal joke.
Warn the town the dam has burst,
came the cry again. Once more the
girl laughed and as no further words
came over the wire she hung up the
receiver. But she told a clerk. In al
a mile away and its whistle a second
later gave brief blast of warning Al
most before its echoes had ceased
reVerberate between the hills of tn
Alleghenies, the torrent from a CO.
lapsed dam, 500, 900, 900 gallons of wa
ter. was swirling through the tow,
carrying all before it.
Gas Mains Burst and Burn.
A dangerous situation developed In.
mediately. Austin is piped for natura
gas and the great force of the food
tore the mains from the streets. One
of them, the largest pipe in the tow'I
burst in the business section. \ mo
ment afterward the gas rushed out
and in a twinkling it had taken fire
There was no explosion. but the
flames leaped to a height of twenty
feet or more and, blown by stron
wind were communicated to the near.
est house. In ten minutes a dozen
other gas pipes had burst and were
pouring their deadly infiammable fluid
into the air.
The street became glowing fur
mace and there was no salvation for
those who CHANGED to be near. !
Before the water had passed on its
terrible course through the town a
dozen fires were burning In as many !
places, and the cries Of injured ANA