Tombstone epitaph. (Tombstone, Ariz.) 1887-current, 1917-07-22


point and himself directed their work.
Now 1t takes time for water to rise
I'VE feet. even In q cloudburst or a
succession Of them. The rain constant
iy seemed to increase as the wind
drove 1t on. Vandeventer knew that
the dam was doomed. that the sluice
and the half-hnished spillway COM
bsned could discharge only a small part
Of the flow. but he knew that he would
have two hours at least to work be-
fore the water could pass the crest.
undermine. and batter down the pail
side and begin to trickle oyer. Just
as soon as II did roll over the top.
unless they could stop 1t. the whole
thing was gone. For those two hours
the supermen labored unremittingly in
the jOwnpour with persistent and he
role courage that should have been re-
corded In song and story but which
was not. 1t was remembered after
a while by none save a few. To the
many 1t was only ''all In the days
work 7"
The undersluice in the side Of the
dam which would later serve as head
gate for the canal had been intended
TO pass the smaller floods which might
occur during the construction and had
been open since the rain began. 1t
carried of a great volume OF water,
but hopelessly little in comparison with
the flood. Foot by foot In the torren.
tial downpour the water rose. At half
after eight 1t reached the level Of the
splllway and commenced to rush
through in ever-increasing volume. but
the flow into the reservoir was far
greater than the spillway's capacity.
Still the sight Of the rushing water
encouraged the men. Every one Of
them felt that IL the palisade held the
discharge would be increased enough
to stop the rise. but at present the eff
feet was small. By nine o'clock It was
within foot Of the top. They began
to measure its rise by inches. Although
the dam had been carefully kept level
as II was built, the trample Of horses
and men, the present digging and pail
sading and revetting had caused little
depressions. Now the water rose to
the level Here and there II bepon tn
trickIe overr
The rain coming down from the
mountain tops was as cold as ice, yet
the men were in a fever Of excitement
They had got their second wind. They
were too enthused. too desperate. to
feel their WEAKNESS. They had not
worked before as they did then. It
was the last possible nervous outburst
with most of them, They could keep
II up q little longer-tin they dropped
dead, As the mad thoroughbred falls
In his stride ON the track. pushed be-
yond his power of endurance, as even
the common carthorse can be made to
go until he drops. SO these men. white,
haggard, nervous, drawn-faced. sweat
mingling with the rain on their sodden
bodies, would go till they broke. They
had not quite reached that point yet.
There were some five hundred heavy
cement bags which had been filed with
sand and piled ND on the roadway at
convenient points. As a forlorn hope,
as a Inst try. yandeyenter called all
the d;ggers and dItchers, and hewers
and drivers. and babe them tackle the
sandbags. The timber wall that rose
to four or five feet was now packed to
a height of three with an UNEQUAL wall
Of earth.
The vavea wore hep,nning To roll
against the ramnart although their
force as vet was broken bv the brush
wood. yandeventer iumped IN on the
palisade near the center There were
some large logs there whore he couId
stand and whence he couId get as
clear a view of the whole ton of the
dam as was possible through the driy.
ing rain.
.srborsr sbortoa IN. sno,,ssr mint.
inc 20 . ,oa t,tcs,a-,, .aorsd 20 him
ne hiood t.t,no ~, h,deou. hue
from, Tho red Glow =, The honts-wbero
the woto, h.d Sound . Ion snot ana
wa. wosh,n. ac-oss tha Ton and
trctI,n, th-o,sh thn now waI, and
down on the other side Even as he
pointed, the trickIe became a stream
and the stream bade fair TO be a flood.
Men ran and dropped sandbaes over
in front OF the palisade. right where
the leak had occurred. Other men
heaped nm the earth behind the wall
seeking 70 smotber n and sion r. The
wafer cbected tbero tbev wera forced