Evening star., 1928-03-14
Flood Sidelights

By tho Associated Press.
NEWHALL, Calf, March 14.-View-
ing the havoc caused by the st. Fran
els Dam break from the air. 1t looks
like a streak of No Mans Land. Sticks
thrust upright in the muck mark the
places where bodies Of the victims were
found buried in silt. The sticks make
them easily found.
Airplanes which scared over the
stricken area in great numbers aided
the searchers by dipping low to indi-
cate the positions of bodies. 1t Is easy
TO spot human beings from a conSid-
cradle height If their faces are up
turned.
The aerial view of the wrecked dam
is like a picture of broken toy. Both
right and left wings of the structure
were broken and swept away, the CEN
trail section remaining upright. Moth
ing remained in the wreckagc that re-
motely resembled a building. Railroad
tracks we're twisted like spaghetti.
c. E. Phillips, Los Angeles water and
power official, who superintended the
building of the big dam. expressed the
belief that only some external force.
such as an earthquake or dynamite
blast, could have caused the break. It
was pointed out that slight earth
quake was registered in the neighbor-
hood last Saturday night.
A girl who saved herself from the
flood by grasping a plank and sticking
to 1t until 1t deposited her in the quag-
mire at the waters edge, buried her
self In the mud after her clothing had
been torn from her body. When To-
Gated by reScuers she refused TO emerge
until a man gave her his shirt for
drapery.
Fate played cruelty with one rancher
who foresaw the danger and thought
he was out Of Its reach. He loaded his
three children into small automobile
and then stopped for moment to
warn a neighbor. When he turned
back to his Car 1t had been swept away,
human cargo and all.
A curious feature of the disaster was
the fact that less than so persons were
treated for injuries at the Newhall Red
Cross Hospital, none OF these was seri-
ously injured There's little that doc
tors and nurses can do: it's job for
the undcrtakers." nurses said. They
escaped~~or they died"
Newhalls appeal for aid Is not going
unheedcd. Trucks were arriving every
hour with food and clothing OF every
description The little hall that was
being used by the Red Cross as tenn
porary headquarters was crowded to
capacity. and no one who applied for
food or clothing went away empty
handed.
First word to reach the outer world
of the collapse of the dam was carried
. tn the sherif's substation at Newhall.
by II. f. Starbard. Edison Co.'S patrol
helper.
Shortly before o'clock yesterday
morning Starbard rushed into the
sherin's substation and told Deputies
Story and Doran that the big dam had
broken and the food waters we're rae
ing through the entire country around
them.
All facilities of the local telephone
company were enlisted to evacuate the
thousands OF residents in the path OF
the torrent.
Two trucks, deserted on the highway
were mute evidence of another of many
tragedies enacted In the disaster
Their drivers. caught III the midst
Of the torrent. were thought To have
Decn swept away III the sWlrunS waters,
That's Ramona's home" pointed the
driver Of car, which took two AS
soCiated Press correspondents up the
valley. in passing the ranch houses
made famous In the California romance.
The low. trec-shaded adobe buildings
were untouched by the torrent but
huge slice waS taken out OF the orange
orchard OF the ranch on which Ra-
mona's home stands and which sold,
only four years ago, FOR 100000,
Pete f4abarn 10. shouted to his par
entA to run when he heard the roar
ot the approaching water. lie was told
the noise was just the wind. The boy