The Carbon County news., 1928-03-15
TWO RED LODGE
FAMILIES PERISH
IN DAM BREAK
Seventy-Five Foot Torrent
of Water Takes Heavy
Toll of Life

A pail of gloom was cast over thi
community Wednesday when tele
grams were received by relatives an,
friends stating that Mr.. and Mrs. c
J. Mathews and their four children
and also Mr.. and Mrs. W. w. Neilsol
and three children were drowned il
the terrible flood which occurred a
New Hall and Saugus, California
Tuesday night. Both the Mathews ant
Nelson families are former wei
known residents of this city and 6
large circle of friends regret to learf
of their untimely deaths.
C. ]. Mathews was Deputy Shes~;ff..
of Carbon county in 1921 and 1922
serving under Sheriff T. w. Smith
and later he was engaged in the res
taurant business here. His wife was
formerly Miss Amelia Barbiaux of
Bearcreek and their children were
born in this county. The Mathews were
married in March, 1921. Mr.. Mathews
was prominent member Of the
American Legion while here and since
moving to California has been en-
ployed by the Los Angeles Water
Works company, in charge of their
pump house at Saugus.
Mr.. and Mrs. W. W. Nelson and
family moved to California two years
ago last August, and Mr.. Nelson was
an employe Of the Water company,
living near or below the Inflated
structure. Mrs. Nelson is daughter
of Mrs. Antoine Mautino, and it was a
great shock to the mother and the
rest of the relatives when the first
telegram arrived yesterday morning
stating that the entire family had been
drowned.
Yesterday afternoon telegrams ar
rived stating that the bodies Of Mr..
Nelson and one son, Junior, had been
recovered. SO far nothing definite is
known as to what happened to Mrs.
Nelson and two Of the children, Ber-
tha and Frank.
Another telegram sent to Mrs. Aug
ust Deruelle, Of Bear Greek, mother Of
Mrs. Mathews, stated that the bodies
of Mrs. Mathews, and two children,
Carl, Jr., and Thelma, had been found,
but the body of the husband and the
two other boys had not been located.
Mrs. Deruelle and two children left on
the afternoon train for the coast.
The st. Francis dam was a beautiful
piece of engineering, and was a stor-
age dam for water for the city Of Los
Angeles. Considerable controversy has
oeen rife since its completion, as land
,wners in the beautiful San Francis
quito canyon have been wrought up
'ver its building. Threats have been
made at frequent intervals to blow
he dam up and it is very likely that
redence will be given this threat at
his time.
While an earthquake shock may
ave loosened the immense concrete
still reports seem to be that
here was no tremor or shock felt at
he time. Workmen we're stated to
ave been laboring near the dam on
londay, drilling holes for dynamite,
ut as to the truth, chat viii have to
ome later.
According to reports yesterday it
as stated that 274 people were
nown to be dead and something like
20 were missing in the terrible
saster.
By Radio
Orville Niers, who conducts the To- |
i radio station, states that news re- I
lived by him last night is to the eff
ct that 300 bodies have so far been \
covered, but that scores Of others
e believed to lie beneath the silt I
I'd debris in the area between the
IN and the sea, a distance Of about
% miles. Advices reaching him are T
at the names of about one hundred
the bodies recovered haye been 7
armed.
---
Ferdinand Koski, who has been at