The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-03-16

granite, the central section an,
all that was left of the demolishe,
dam, while along the canyon BET
stretched a narrow plain of sill
deposit, split by a trickle of water
the remains of the flood.
Bodies Found in Lee
Scattered throughout this waste
what was left of sides, floors and
roofs of homes and tangled mass
es of trees from wrecked orchards
protruded here and there. In the
lee of many of these were found
bodies of men, woman and chill.
dren who had lived on the des-
troyed farms and had worked in
the demolished power line camps.
Below the canyon and along the
course of the Santa Clara river
down which the flood had poured,
the passage of the torrent was
marked by its scars on towns,
hamlets and single homes enroute.
Santa Paula, Fillmore and Piru
suffered the most severely. The
total number of houses damaged
in Santa Paula alone was estim-
ated at 200.
City Is Blamed
Rehabilitation movements start
ed Wednesday at a number of cen
tiers. The largest of these devel-
oped at Santa Paula, where it a
decided that the first step of inn
portance must be the determining
of responsibility for the disaster.
c. C. league, president of the
Southern California Fruit Grow
ers exchange, chairman of the
meeting, and DR.. w. w. Mott,
former state senator, declared
they voiced the sentiments of the
surviving residents of the Santa
Clara valley when they placed
responsibility on the shoulders of
Los Angeles city, which built the
dam for it's water system over
the protests OF valley nnaDltanCS
Seepage Noticed
One auto driver, according to
he Investigators. stated that
while driving up the canyon road
with his wife and family he saw
IN unusual quantity of muddy
water coursing through the ordin-
lrily dry stream bed.
WEAK FOUNDATION
LOS ANGELES, March 15.-In-
uests over the long rows of dead
n the st. Francs dam disaster
we're held at two towns in the
tricken Santa Clara river valley
Thursday while the now wasted
tretches were combed for addi-
ional bodies. {
Death from the flood, with no
tempt to fix responsibility were E
he verdicts. Meanwhile Califor-
las state engineer, Edward
Tyatt, Jr., pointed out what he
eclared to have been founda-
weaknesses in the big but
through the ruptured ends
f which billions of gallons of
poured in a death dealing
eluge last Tuesday morning.
Cause and Responsibility
While a committee of prominent
representing every section of
county, where damage in
lie flood was the greatest began
S work attempting to determine
esponsibility, other investiga-
ons got under way.
A promise from the interior de-
artment at Washington that FL
God Mead, director of the Unit
| States reclamation service and
ternationally known engineer,
ould head a committee of inves-
was received by the
of commerce. The com
members would be appoint
by the American Society of Z
vii Engineers.
A group of geogologists was at
scene of the collapsed dam
~ednesday examining the earth
rmation. Mulholland at first
iced the belief that a major
nth movement" probably had
used the buttress to give way.
The question of Los Angeles
US liability to residents of the
LEY for damages was touched
cautiously by Jess H. Stephens,
y attorney, Thursday. He de-
lred that the situation would be
in a fair ann if, after COM
tie Investigation, it appeared !,
the city was liable for dam
es. :