Putnam patriot., 1913-04-04
The Story of the Flood
Eye Witness in Dayton
Former Prtnam Boy Writes Mother

Former pEtnam Boy Writes Mother
 The following letter from William Brady, former Putnam boy, to his mother, Mrs. John Brady, Church street, is a graphic description of the struggle of members of the Officer 666 company, of which MT. Brady Is a member, who, with others who took refuge in hotel where the company was stopping, survived the trying times of Ohio's calamity. The dire straits of these refugees is at once ap- parent, but only they can know the hysical and mental suffering en- dured:
 DEAR MOTHER: Just few lines to let you know that l am we'll, thank God. I have passed through four days that l will never forget.
 We arrived here Springfield, O. last evening trom Dayton after having been penned up in hotel three days with torrents of water pouring down and twenty feet of water washing all before it, save big brick buildings, and even many of them were washed away.
 Stood upon the roof of the hotel and saw hundreds of horses swept by struggling for life and drown. Build ings blow up and take fire and hear cries for help from people and unable to go their assistance, for to cross the street in the flood meant certain death. Big strong horses struggled against the tremendous stream of water and were swept along with the awful tide like straws. The awful cry of the horses was sheart rending. Along with the rain came the bitter cold to add to our misery. People swept by clinging to pieces of wood crying for help. Many were drowned. Fire broke out all around us and the water reached the third story. Our water supply and lights were cut oil, and when darkness approached our horror and misery was extreme.
 All night long we watched and prayed and hoped. Dawn came and with it more misery, for we saw the desolation the night and darkness had wrought, for we were without heat, water, food or light. From the faucets we caught rain water, and l was elect ed Governor of the hotel and had full charge, and 1 made every man fill ev- cry pitcher and pail, for l appreciated what was before us. l knew that we couldn't drink the water flowing in the streets-muddy, filled with sew age and filth, and oil and gas. Many were unruly and 1 was forced to use drastic measures to enforce discipline.
 l had sixty men and fifteen women in the hotel. Many were colored and rough element who ran in from the street. The jail was near our hotel end the convicts, fifty-four, brokei through the roof of the jail, but there they stayed for they couldn't get away. q Everything imaginable tioated by our hotel. Furniture, pianos, automo- piles, houses, cases of champagne, all kinds of food stuff, but we were una ble to get any. Finally some of the men managed to catch barrel of whiskey that fioated against the hotel, and they got it in and carried 1t up to the top hoor-then hell broke loose. Men were going about with quarts threw away the water in stheir pitch CTS and filled them with whiskey-tha rest 1 will leave to your imagination.
 For three nights 1 never even had my shoes of. My room was the com missary and any food stuff-and for two days there was hardly any-that came over the roofs went to my room, and 1 fed the women first and the rest to the men. One day the women got one slice of bread and one sardine, the men less. That day 1 ate one spoonful of beans and one chocolate drop, five of us fared the same. My men, men from my company, real men, men that starved with me, watched me give away our share to even the colored people and never complained; stuck by, grabbed the two clubs we had when they threatened to mob me be- cause 1 gave the most to the women. But they were always by me.
 After three nights of horror and days of watching and hoping, at last the water went down low enough to let us out-our hotel was in about the lowest part-and we reported at the theatre. We all got together and train was taking people to this and other towns and our manager decided upon this town. As everything was torn up we had to walk three miles out of town to where the train waited. We were all exhausted and weakened, and we had to hurry. We got within one hundred yards of the train when one of our men dropped dead. 1 caught him as he fell and closed his eyes; heart failure, the doctor said, from exposure. We brought his body here and had ser vices over him at the undertaker's to- day, and his body will be placed in a receiving .vault until the trains are running to New York, his home. I could write for month. I will try and forget.
 have sent three wires to you, but they told me at the station that they could not tell me when the wires could be sent as most of the lines were down. have haunted the telegraph office all day for some news, but no one is getting any answers. l don't know where we will go from here, but I will wire you when we move We cannot get out, roads in awful condi- tion. Here we are safe. WILL.