The Colorado statesman., 1913-03-29

LAY tOu, OLlO, MdTCn zO.-1ne crest
was reached about midnight. The wa
ter is falling half an inch an hour.
Chicago, March 27.-Daybreak upon
the desolation wrought by floods
throughout Ohio and Indiana opened
with a slight hope that the estimates
of the loss of life of the night before
might be somewhat reduced when
dawn revealed more fully the situa-
tion of the stricken cities.
The first ray of comfort from Day
ton came with reports of refugees ar
irving at Xenia that the death list,
which had been estimated as high as
5000 drowned, would range from 500
to 1000. A silimar reductionin the num-
ber of victims was reported by the re-
ports from Peru to South Bend, Ind,
the earlier figures of from 200 to 500
drowned dwindling to GO, although
report from Warsaw, Ind, still esti-
mates that $50 persons had lost their
lives.
In contrast to the slight hope held out
of a possible reduced death list in the
cities named, the possibility that 9TH
er places not yet mentioned as hav-
ing been visited by disaster had suf
fered, was indicated in early reports.
Williamsburg, town of 1000, twelve
miles below Dayton, was reported to
have been washed away, but no news
as to the casualties among the inhab
itants had been received.
Large business blocks in the CEN
tral part of the city were undermined
and threaten to fall. Scores of per-
sons perished when the Leonard build
ing opposite the city hall collapsed.
Dayton has been placed under mar
tial law, and three companies of the Ma
tional Guard are preserving order.
Relief is being rushed to Dayton
from all sides.
Cincinnati, Ohio, March 26-Teu
thousand persons lost their lives; g.
900 in Dayton, Ohio, 1000 in Hamilton,
Ohio; 500 in Peru, Ind; $50 in Piqua,
Ohio, 10 in Delaware, Ohio, with prop
erty loss of scores of millions of dol
lars, in unprecedented floods that
swept four states yesterday.
1t was the most horrible disaster
that ever has visited the Miami val
ley. It is impossible at this time to
more than estimate the number of
lives which were snuffed out, but it is
conservatively placed at 10000.
1t was known that the levees at
Piqua had given way and that a num-
ber of lives had been lost there. 1t
was hoped that this break would re-
lieve the pressure somewhat.
The great power plant reservoir
north of Dayton was full to overflow
ing and was carefully watched. Sud
denly, with hardly a moments warn
ing, the big dam cracked under the
enormous pressure, then with a smash
which could be heard for miles went
out and the millions of gallons of wa
ter in a white crested wave ten feet
high, swept like very demon of de-
struction down the doomed valley, car
rying horses, cattle and hundreds of
human beings on its foaming crest.
There was not time for the people of
the lower part of Dayton to escape.
Hundreds of them were caught in the
swirl1ng waters Whlch nad soon turned
tn estreets into rushing, murderous,
corpse-laden rivers.
For four days a steady pour of rain
had soaked the land and swollen the
rivers bank high. The lower parts of
the cities were flooded, and while it
was known there was danger, it was
not regarded as imminent.
The giant wave swept past Dayton.
licking up the small cities and towns
on the banks of the Miami river as
though they were matchwood, on to
Hamilton, where the same scenes were
enacted as at Dayton, except on a
smaller scale.