Indiana State Sentinel, Volume 23, Number 43, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 May 1874 — Page 6

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THE ARKANSAS CONTEST. BT OBTHIUS C KSKV. . jt will be seen by the following verses that the prwm oontrot between the broeki and Baxter parties U not the flrt memorable conflict tnat äa occurred In Arkansas: " There was a man In Arkansaw : . ?! Aalet his passions r. -And not unreqaently picked out gome oilier varmint's eyes., . His name was Tuscaloosa 6am ' And often he would say : - There's not a ens In Arkansaw 1 can't whip any day-'. One day a ttrangrr.passln' by, Heard Sararaj talkln so, - - When down he scrabbled from hl hos. - v And off bis coat did go. - He sorter kinder shot one eye, And spit into his hand. And put his ugly head one side, Ana twitched his trousers band. "Mv boy," says he, "it's my belief, Wbomvir you may be. That X can make you screech and smell rtnleXüet agony." "I'm thar." says Tnscalooaa Sam, And chucked his coat away; I'm thar," says he, and then he up For to commence the play. . t He thundered on the stranger"! mug The straDner pounded be, And obi the way them critters fit . Ws singular to see! They clinched like two rampejlons bars, ' And each fell on bli sit ; They swore a stream of eU-lnca oaths, And fit, and fit, and fit. And Sam would try to wort away. And on bis pegs to sit, - TrTe stmnger r-nurf hjrr, baca. ; and so 1 hey fit, and fit, and fit. The stranger snapped at Sammy's nose. And shortened it a bit: And then they both wore awful hard. And fit, and fit, and fit! The mud It flew, the sky &rew dark. And ail thelitentnaltt; ... But still them critters rolled about. And fit, and fit, and fit ! ! First Sam on top, then t'ol her chap; When one would make a bit. The otb-r'd smell the grass, and so They fit, and fit, and öt! 11 The night came on, the stars shone out As bright m wlramen's wit; V . And still them fellers swore and gouged. And fit, and fit, and fltl The neighbors heard the roar they raade. And thought an earthquake 'd lü: Yet a. 1 tne while 'twas bun and As fit, and fit, and fit ! For miles around the noise ws heard Folks roa Id n t Kief pa bit, Because them two rantankerous clian UU fit, and fit, and fit :! But Just at eock-orow, suddenly, There came an awfal rausj. And me and iuv old man run out To ascertain the cause. The sun was risin' in the yeast. And Jit the bull concern. But not a Mx of either caap Was found at any turn. Yet, ia the region where they fit, " We found, to our nrrrl, - - Two quarts of buttons, two bis; knlve, Borne whiskers and fonr eyes! NEWS AND GOSSIP. Mr. Tennyson has written a tragedy, -with Mary Queen of Scots for its subject, and it is aoon to be performed at Drury Lane in Jjondoa. Tbe Southern Methodist papers give the statistics of the church South, as they will appear in tbe forthcoming volume of tbe general minutes. Tbe number of members is: White, 609,677; colored, 3,429; Indian, 4,779. Total, 076,(300, cr 22,411 more than last

year. The hanging of the negro Alfred, in Ken tucky the other day. for the murder of Dr Alfred,, was the first execution since the adoption of the new statute in that state, making it discretionary with tbe jur whether tbe punishment for such a crime shall be death or imprisonment for life. The first case under the new law against cruelty to animals in Missouri, has just been successfully prosecuted In St. Louis. The charge was Of willfully and cruelly depriving a horse of necessary austentrice. Tli6 decision says that "it Is not necessary to In- - dulge In laudation of the passage of the act, 4ts piopriety and absolute necessity commnüa itself to the better nature and judgment of ereiy one," - : The Reformed Episcopal cbilTcn lü Otlatf a, 1 "TJanada, Is reports to P growing very rapidly. Dr. Ö ailaghcr, who "has been acting as temporary rector, was tendered a t emion on the eve of bis departure, and wa presented with a gold-headed cane by b honor, Mayor Featherstone.in behalf of the church. Speeches favoring the reform cause were also made by Senator Sidal, tw lion, J. L. Johnson and others. A traveler writes that srtslhing remains of the American colony tfcat went to the Holy Xand. several yars ago, to reform the Turks and rebuild the Temple, but the site of their settlement. The German colony from Wurtemburg, which followed the American, was more practical and successful. They number sixty families, and have converted the waste land near Joppa into a Eirden, having hundreds of orange and mon trees. Celestial love, with the affections of good .and truth, and the perceptions . thence derived, and at tbe same time with the delights of these affections and the thoughts thence derived, may be compared to a tree -with beautiful branches, leaves and fruits; the life's love ia that tree; the branches, with the leaves, are the affections of good aud truth, with their perceptions; and the fruits are tbe delights of the affections with their thoughts. Swedenborg. And now a member of the Bouton Ulstori.'jcal Society is trying to prove that the Hadley (Mass,) massacre Is a myth. That instead of a terrible encounter with the Indians, in which William Gofle, one of the English regicides, appeared and gained a wiotorv for tbe whites, there was no alarm on the date mentioned, no Indians appeared and no battle took place nine months later with 1,000 disciplined troops, but no angel from heaven was seen nor any fugitive from - the wrath 01 tne .ugiisn uig. . , - Mr. Richard Grant White, has lately given to the literary world a catalogue ot one hundred of tbe greatest writers, living and dead. Beginning with Moses he ends with relsbraties of to-day. and tbe list is remark .vu fn nminaiftn as well as its fctranee JV w - - tis Mon - of cerln name. Under tbe v- rx RnorMsh he " olaces twenty Blx names, t beginning -with Chaucer and ending with George Eliot. He includes Fielding, but omit 8mollett; he includes Wordsworth, DIU omits oneuey , ue mwuuca ' rv, cif Mill hnt omits Macaulav. Ho one would know, however, from the list that Dickens or Thackeray, IV'scott, Irving .r.r-iiiivthnrnA ever lived. The Dame of JUchard Grant White Li also wanting. .'TlisB?. Drl Kohlerof the Sinai congre gation, of this city, still continues bis Suntiay m well as Saturday services, for the convenience of some of the members who are compelled to attend to their business Saturdays. The Sunday services are largely attended, and consist chiefly of religious ana

historical lectures. There Is a large congregation in Berlin, Germany, which holds Sunday services, and in tbe large cities of this country, where the competition of commerce is most active, tke movement toward Sundav services promixes to become qnite general. Nevertheless, the Rev. Dr. Sonnenschein, of St. Louis, aas lately entered a strong protest against this innovation upon the old religious customs of tbe Hebrews. Chicago Tribune. ' '. Elihu Burritt says In a late letter: I feel that I am played out as a lecturer, especially before American audiences.'.. Then I expect to go to England next summer to old friends on eo more, and to look after my books, new and old. I have just sent' to London my Sanskrit grammar and reaftng lessons, which will probably be put to press about the 1st of July, and I must be on hand to correct, etc. Then I am deeply ia my philological work. I Lave finished the Sanskrit, Hindostane and Fersian series, and am

about half through with tbe Turkish, in the end expecting the four languages to be issued in one large number, but in parts at first. Then I intend to take up the Semitic family, or Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac and Kthiopic, and do the same by them. Thus, you see, I am beginning a work which should occupy a long life, and I am in for evening hours. The bible contains 3,586,489 letters, 773,G03 words, $1,173 verses, 1,189 chapters, and A books. The word and occurs 46,277 times. The word Lord occurs 1,855 time. The word reverend occurs bat once,- which is lathe 7th verse of the ltttr-psalm. The middle ver?e is the 8th ver of 1 18ih psalm. The 21st verse of the 7u chapter of . Ezra contains all the letters-'in the alphabet except tue letter J. The finest chapter to read is the 20th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The 19th chapter Of the II Kings and 37th chapter of Isaiah are alike. The longest verse is the 9th verse of the 8th chapter of Esther.- The shortest verse is the 85th verse of the 1 Ith chapter of St. John. Tbe Sth, 15tb, 21st and 31st verses of the 107th aim are alike. Each verse of l.'ttlth psalm end alike. There are no words or names of more than six syllables. THE DECLINE OF OIL CITY. IN EPHEMERAL KEROSENE METROPOLIS CHANOES I J THE BASK OK OPERATION I If THB OIL KKiIOS THE SCSPBXSIOX FOR NINTY DATS. A correspondent of the Philadelphia rress, writing from Oil City, Penu., gives a strange chapter of changes in the oil business ofthat region : The condition, commercially, of no place ia the United States, probably, has changed so much as this city within a year. Last sBcimer I furnished the Pref9 with a series ot letters on the oil country and its valuable and extensive productions of pet t-roleim, which was copied far aud wide. A hat time Oil City and the contiguous cities tnd towns were in a prosperous condit'on. The production of oil was great, money was plesty, speculation ran high, business was zocd. and every body was -happy.- Xow tbre is a change. Production has run down j wells which formerly "spouted" or "pumped" from 2X) to 1,000 barrels per day do not at present run but from 10. to 50 barrels, and then have to be "pumped" hard day" and night. Money Is scarce, business is at a Uwebb, and the population has decreased. An old resident said this morning to the Press correspondent, Oil City, has seen its palmiest df ys, the move is to the "front" ne meaning the new field in Butler county and before long the city will be a thiag of the past. While this is bad, tbe state of things in once flourishing adjacent towns is far worse. Petroleum Center, which at one time literally was the center of petroleum, has been lost entirely in the grand movement to Butler county, the people having gone eo lar even as to take their houses with them. Much ''crude oil" remains at some of the cities, in bulk, but tbe same is difficult to dispose of at paying prices. At this place alone there are between four and five hundred thousand barrels tanked, some of which was bought when oil was paying from three to four dollars per barrel but heavy production brought down tbe price, and it was kept until good figures could be got for it. It is difficult to say when that time will arrive. At the present day it is hard to get two dollars per barrel and IT DOES 20T PAT even to accept this price, the producers preferring to hold on till brighter days. To jiake the market improve, the Oil Producers Association has decided to "shutdown" on the drilling, of new wells, so that tr tni. plus stock ol oil at the sea-boa; Bni pro auction cau both be decreased. Already 127 out of the 230 neif "openings" in Butler county have stopped. A number in this immediate sect inn have followed suit, and suspension cf operations will become general to-mofrow, May 1. The "shut down" will continue for a period of 00 days. It is the impression among the prominent producers that the present government prices of between $1 and $2 50 per barrel, will be raised to 3 20 and f 4 in 60 days, the eonsumption of petroleum In the cities lowering the production in tbe oil fields very rapidly. The stoppage will throw out of employment between 1,500 to 2,000 men, who will not sutler, however, as the operators have guaranteed to pay them half wages. Some individual producers assert that the "pool" have suspended propuction for the purpose of forcing speculative prices; but this is erroneous, as a careful survey ot tbe market here and Interviews with the leading operators have fully proved. Much excitement is manifested by all parties interested in the various departments of the trade in all sections, and some of tbe more excitable ones express the opinion that by the stoppage tbe interest will be ruined in the cities. Such a thing is positively absurb, as TEEBK IS ENOUGH Oil, tanked here alone to supply the greater portion of refiners in the United States. There is more than twice as much at St. Petersburg, Petrolia, Kaln's City ane Millerstown, the entire amount reaching nearly 1,500,000 barrels. The oil men have from 14,000,000 to $5,000,000 locked up In the "tanked" petrcleum, and so long as this re mains unsold there will be a scarcety of money and ruinous depression of business The "shut down" for ninety days is certainly the only alternatives there Is for the operatives to protect themselves from lens and eventually bankrupcy. Their course, a wise one, .will soon be acknowledged so by the refiners and other oil manufacturers In Philadelphia. New York and otber cities. when they learn that there is plenty of "crude in bulk" on band. In Butler oounty , where the old producers and prospectors are now . traveling, the production of petroleum is greater and of a more superior quality than in any direction in tbe great oil l eft. The cost of putting down wells Is much heavier, as tbe oil lies at a erf at depth. some of tbe workings going down from 1,200 to 1,800 faet. Tbe expense of Etarting a Dumn will reach 110.000, wnue in this dis trict it does no t cost but from $2,000 to $3,000. The quality' of petrolüm, produced from the time the wen commences to spout, win do from 1,000 to 6,000 barrels per day, which Is considerably more than the amount got from the heaviest running opening in the upper region. No well has ever prodaoed over 1,000 parreu nere

- -. BEVENAKT. You uk me why at our first meeting A sudden dimoect seemed to veil My eyes, and wby they shunned your 'greeting, And why my lips were strangely pale? Who sees the shade of a lost lover, May well be pale for hope or fear; You seemed a ghost from days gone over w When first 1 looked upon you, dear 1 Because, before a word. was spoken, - ' And aLmont ere I saw you plain, I thougbt you her whose heurl was broken, The day that mine was snapped in twain. Now, like a ghost let loone from prison. And strange below the colli mou skies. You see my dead youth re-arlseu, To meet the nugic of your ej es. 8PR1NO. BY JLSJTIX ROBKRTSOX WOXOS. Phe ring-dove in the vale, love, Bines till the hour is late; And 'Us a pleasant tale, love, She slngftb to her mate. All of s net In a green wood tree, When tbe droning night wind blow ; Where silent swing but he and she. When the moon is sailing low. The red rose by the wall, love, Now whispers from her gloom "s ' And when tbe r-uc-3eams eall, love, . .. The rose will burst in bloom. " Tbe nappy bird, tbe radiant flower, Await Time's fleeting wing; But onto love there comes au hour -Mom sweet than bade lug spring. THB DESOLATED VALLEY.

SCENES AND INCIDENTS. THB JXS8 WHERE THB FAULT LAY- PRE- . SENTIMENTS OP DOOM fERILOUS ESCAPES. . Specials to the Chicago Tribune tell many interesting facts relative, to the Mill river calamity: It should be borne in mind that all losses are total. Insurance against fires does not repay the damage of flood, and the salvage from the mass of valuable machinery and costly stores and manufactured products will be practically nothing. All day long this ghastly wound in one ot the fairest valleys of Massachusetts has been explored and probed by searchers looking for.- the. bodies of the lost and loved. A cold, driz zling rain has been falling, yet, in spite of this and the deep mud. hundreds ot vehicles and thousands of spectators bave visited and traversed the scene of devastation. This afternoon tbe Canal railroad resumed trains to Williamsburg, and so did much to relieve tbe demand for transportation. In the wake of the disaster came the harpies in teams, and the streets this afternoon were invested with numbers of the thieves, loafers, and hard characters of the lower manufacturing vil lages, and from cities as lar away as Boston and New York. Before noon a force of special police was summoned and promptly sent trom Springfield, and later in the day the local company of militia was called out, and the Jreabody uuards. one ot the Springfield companies, called on. These measures of self-protection were taken thoroughly, and will be further increased to-morrow should circumstances require. Already the exhumation and interment of the dead have been going on, and a large lorca will be required lor weeks to thoroughly search the üebris "covering the meadows.' 'So intimately, however, were the villages known to each other, that it will not be necessary toarosecute the work much longer. Nearly all the missing arc accounted for. THB SUPPLY OF COFFINS was exhausted early in the day, and two bodies, as they were 1 ound,were laid in au open express wagon, under a tattered coverlet, and so carried through the btreets of Williamsburg. Eighteen persons are missing from two houses which stood side by side at Leeds. Upon the question ot the construction ot the reservoir public opinion is divided. The interests of tbe capitalists and manufacturers are so thoroghly mingled and divided among all clashes of the people that it is not easy to obtaiu a competent and impartial opinion. In some influential quarters there is a disposition to excuse the construction of the reservoir, and justify tbe method and manner of Us building. Though preparations for rebuilding some of :-he .destroyed manufactories have been be gun, two t- the thrlviug villages of last week are wipeu out lor a generation to come. Leeds is obliterated, and" Mr. Warner, proprietor of the button factory, says he shall not rebuild there as he can hire power cheaper elsewhere. Neither will Mr. Skinner rebuild his silk factory on ita eld site, thongh it mav be restored in another localityt Mr. " LyuiaD, of the firm, of A. : A. ; Low fc Co., of New York, and other capitalists of the city, are interested In this enterprise, liayaen, Moore & Co. are rebuilding already, and Williamsburg will soon gather its resources and restore some of ita waste places. E. C. Gardiner, civil engineer, ot Springfield, who was employed as a surveyor during tne construction of the reservoir, told a reporter of the Republican to-day that no engineer's dan was accepted fully in the construction, and that the engineer in charge was entirely subservient to A COMMITTER OF THE COMPANY owning the water power, who frequently modified his suggestions to meet their notions of economy. Some of the work was done without the oversight of an engineer at all. In tbe matter of the much-talked-of atone wall in tbe center of the embankment, the contract did not call for eight feet in thickness at the base, but a thickness of between five and six feet, which was what the Republican's repoxter found to tx the, actual fact. This notion is strengthened from a memory of the singular wording of the specification, which begun by providing that tbe wall should be two feet thick at the top, increasing in thickness to a certain width at the base, rather than vice versa as is usual. Still this central wall was considered of little moment by the building committee. The main or entire strength of the dam was supposed to be in the thick earthen bank, and one of the committee even soberly suggested that an eight-inch wall of brick would answer every purpose. Tbe idea was that the principal office of this wall was mainly to prevent the burrowing of water animals through it. or its perfora tion by sticks and timbers. A. D. Briggs, of Springfield, state raiiroaa commissioner, who was tbe first to make a bid for the construction of the reservoir, was also Inter viewed. Ills estimate proposed to make tbe cost ol the work between FKUXX) anaf iou.ow, a aum so much larger than the company were willing to pay that his plan was imme diately ireiected. and he had no further interest in the affair. Mr. Briggs places al responsibility on the shoulders of the building committee. As to the theory that th6 masonry In tbe heart of the embarkment was a matter of secondary Import ance, that. Mr. Briczs said, depended on cir cumstances, Tbo earthwork, if honest and flawless, would, accidents aside, probably have furnished - THE REQUISITE STRENGTH. But there was always a chance for its perforation from one cause or another, and the object of a central wall, was that of a break water. This wall, if built of good material and fairly entrenched in hard-pan, should bean element of strength. If, however, loosely constructed V and ' not ' deeply laid beneath the snrface, then there was the probability of tbe water ultimately insinuating its way beneath it, and ad tbe volume increased and the . spaces widened, this wall would boome worse than useless. To one of

these causes, Mr. Briggs suspects, may be

traced tne ratal -weakness or the Williamsburg reservoir. . This Impression was emphasized by some assertions made by Mr. Brigg9 when on a fishing excursion to the reservoir four or five years ago. lie noticed that considerable water oozed from the base of the dam all along Its length, evidently caused by the heavy pressure on the otber side and be called Governor LTajden's attention to it, uttering words of warning, and telling him that if tbe dam didgo off it wosld sweep everything on its way into the Connecticut river. Indeed the more intelligent people down tbe valley, Mr. Brigg says, have lived with the shadow of this disaster hunting them for years. Governor Haydan, himself was particularly nervous about it, and any casual conversation .concerning the reservoir was nearly always accompanied with some allusion of presentment. Some one, a while since, asked Mr. Skinner. "What do you have for excitement up here now-a-days?" "Well, he said, "we occasionally have a freshet: then there Is a general alarm that the reservoir has broken loose. The sweeping away or rour generations in one family was among the uncommon incidents of the flood at Leeds, as follows: Mrs. Duales, a woman of nearly 80 years of age: her daughter, Mrs. Robert Fitzgerald, aged 45 years; Mrs. Fitzgerald's son, a youth ct 21, ana four young children or the same woman and, finally, the TWO LITTLE CHILDREN of John Clancy, grandchildren of Mrs Fitzgerald and great-grandchildren of Mrs. Dunlea. M. Clancy, by the way, dfod a year ago of consumption, so that Clancy is now bereft of his whole family. As marvel-H OU3 an experience as any vaunted, was that of the women of Selectman Quingley's famlly, who were cleaning up their breakfast-table when the water burst in a the cellardoor. Mrs. Quigley, her two handsome, sprightly daughters, and a schoolma'am visiting them, rushed up-stairs to the second storv of the L part on which they were, and thence watched the tremendous spectacle. They had hardly reached their harborage when the front part of the house was wrenched off as swiftly and easily as one would tear a paper, and the floor gaped wide beneath them with tbe fierce strain. They saw tbe great brick mill tremble and collapse like a child's house of blocks, and the cbapel rise and sail like a boat around tbe point just below, there striKe ana iau to pieces. They saw a neighor floating past on a roof, extended tbeit hands from a window, and aided him to es cape to their refuge. What emotions they felt in that hour of waiting they can never very clearly tell, except that they thought tne next moment tnej', loo.would go. They did not talk very much, nor did thev sine. and their prayers were not uttered aloud; it was a season of mute expectancy and not so mucn resignation as stunned and deadened acceptance of fate. The fate, however, passed them by; the wave that so lightly tore away the neavy main portion of tbe houses, and dashed into splinters their great barns with all the contents, spared their slighter structure and left them safe. When, shortly after, they were at work in the mud-heaped confusion of theii house, the girls were almost hysterically gay with the reaction from the fearful strain urjon their nerves. Mr. Quiglev, from the bank, a few rods off, watched the DESTRUCTION OF HIS nOME and property and the environment of his lamily in an agony ot anxiety impossible for those who read this to appreciate. The death of tbe entire Birmingham family, consisting of Henry Birmingham, his wife and three daughters Mary aged 18, Tillie 14, and Carrie 8 will create a wide gap In the social life of Williamsburg. The circumstances connected with their case are painful in the extreme. Mary was a teacher in one of the Northampton schools, and as was her custom, bad come home to send Saturday and Sunday. When the alarm of tbe approaching Mood was sounded, she was at work assisting her mother in her household duties, ller sister Lillie had but just got up, while Carrie, the pet ot tbe household wrs still asleep in her bed. Mr. Birmingham, who was superintendent of tbe James Woolen Mill, bad gone to bis work, and did not discover the approaching wave until it had neared his residence, situated but a short distance above tbe factory. Had he remained in the building his life would have been saved, but with the fierce determination characteristic of the man, he made a dash for bis bouse, intent on saving bis family if possible, but as he reared the doorway the torrent was upon him, swooping away the house with its inmates. . Ueorge Ivo Der ts, a bright lad of 15, the only surviving member of the family of Alexander Roberts, engineer on the New Haven & Northampton railroad was carried some distance with the rest ot the family in their bouse, and, when that broke, clung to some debris, and was carried with the torrent nearly a mile, when he was rescued bv James Forsythe. Tbe facts connected with his escape which be can clearly recall are that he floated very near to the embankment. but before he could make a landing he was carried Into the current. When finally taken from the water he was stupified by exhaustion, but soon recovered, and is now in bis usual health. He has been kindly cared for in the family ot Thomas Nash, where he will remain for the present. HOW IT BEGAN. THB QATE-KKKFKR A RIDE OF WARNING INCREDULITY OF THE DOOMED PEOPLE. From two pages which the Springfield Republican devotes to the calamity this account of the beginning is extracted: A little below the reservoir on the western bank, but out of range of the flood, stands a small, dismal-looking dwelling, is which lives the -gate-keeper. This ia George Cheney, a man of about 85, apparently an honest and well-meaning individual, of little education and no more than ordinary intelligence. He has held the place nearly three years, bis duty being to attend to tbe opening and shutting of the gates, keep close watch of tbe condition of the reservoir and report to his em ployers anything which seemed to demand attenticn. It has been his practice upon rising in the morning to go out and inspect tbo condition of affairs. He went out as usual, Saturday morning, about 6 o'clock. Everything looked all right; the reservoir was - full, as it . had been for several days, water was flowing oat the waste-way on the west side past bis house the gate-way having been closedga fortnight there was no sign of tbe impending catastrophe, and Cheney returned to his house; the family, including his wile, several children and his father, sat down to breakfast. They were just finishing the meal when a great noise was heard, and tbe old man, who was standing at one of the eastern windows, exclaimed, ''For God's sake, George, look there!" About 40 feet in length of the bottom of the reservoir on the' east side just beyond the gate, wai shooting down-stream. , Cheney seeuiH to have realized tbe situation and tbe emergency at once. With a single eye to the discharge of bis duty, and almost, as one would infer from hearing him tell tbe story, without stopping to consider the danger involved, he rushed down to the gate and let on the water" full head. in tbe hope that this might possibly afford relief and avert . THE THREATENING DANGER. , This done he paused a moment to investigate the condition of the wall where the

break had taken place: a glance' showed him

that it could hardly fall in a few minutes to give way entirely; streams of water as large as a man's arm were foMng their way through, new ones appearing every moment, the wall waa constantly crumblinfir away. and its utter downfall was evidently only a question of minutes. Cheney rushed up to his house and told his father he was going to the village to warn the peo1 a . i a. a . pie; uugnner toey nurnea to the Darn, a few rods below, and. while Cheney was throwing a bridle unon bis horse, his father mit him stick. Leaping upon his horse's back, and plying vigorously the lasb, he rode at top most speed down tbe road that skirted the stream's bank to Williamsburg, covering the three miles, he thinks, in 15 minutes. It was then about 7:30 o'clock. Driving to the house of Mr. 6pellman, who had general charge of the reservoir, he summoned that gentleman from the breakfast table tostartle him with, "Tbe reservoir Is going ln It was but the night before that Cheney had been talking with him. about tbe reservoir, and both had agreed that everything looked all right tor the summer. It is not strange, therefore, that Spellman could not at first credit the statement, thought the man a little "scairt," and to his startling communication replied. "No! it can't be possible.' But Cheney quickly told him about the giving way ot earth and the streams of water rushing through and soon convinced him that the danger was most imminent. The first duty was to warn the people further down tbe stream; Cheney's horse was exhausted, and Spellman directed him to go to tbe livery stable, where strain precious moments were lost in convincing THE INCREDULOUS PROPRIETOR that the messenger's story could be true. Finally a horse was made ready, and a fresh man got off to notify tbe dwellers further down the stream. Of course, the onslaught of the water was terrible and grand beyond description; one can only give its results as depicting best its appalling accompaniments.. To one tbe thick coming mass of water seemed like tbe heaviest ocean waves; to another the sound was like the tearing of shingles from many buildings, while a third heard it as the heavy sullen thunder which succeeds the summer storm. It was preceded and surrounded by a dense anrav 4ir tccr Harlr an) ftK(sLr &a i-Ka KaapIak smoke, while even as iar away as tbe hill ai i ... . . mere was an oaor like that emitted by stagnant pools. The wave is generally described as 20 feet high, though in one spot its spray washed the branches of a tree 40 feet from the ground. It would be interesting to follow the front ot the flood as it thrust itself upon different eyes along the miamsourg vauey; nut, taking a representative view of the village as given by the Rev. John F. Gleason, we must pats the de tails oi its progress, i ew, bv the way, were Biiiutieuiiy caiui u receive aistinct iinnrPftsionn and the almnat nnmiriiini, dim ming u p of the matter is, "It was so sudden !' Mr. Gleason got up from his breakfast table to see the Adams flonrinir mill saiiinrr before his window, while his neighbor's nouses in tne vauey Deiow were taken up by tbe water like chins, tocrmnhla tUa trees were -blown down like grass, huge uuwiutrs were lossea doui Dy tne resistless current, while the waves wnmd Rvnirelv play awhile with the barns and shoi to J 1. . n ,. : ii i guuu tuciu tv vuiljs auu splinters. TIIE DAM EXAMINED.. A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AT WILLIAMSBURG EVIDENCE OF CRIMINAL CARELESSNESS CLEARING CP THE RUBBISH. New York, May 20. A dispatch from Northampton, Mass., dated yesterday, says that when the legislative committee visited the resorvoir, the banking of which, . on Saturday, was attended with such terrible consequences, everybody descended to the gap and a careful examination was mads of the bottom, the walls, filling and surroundings. The contractor. Basset, taking a conv of the specifications, contained in the original contract, under which tbe dam had been built, called the attention of the members to what he termed the evidence of their fulfillment and the consequent exoneration from the blame of himself and those who acted for him. Colonel Wilson, ot Boston, the en gineer who bad constructed the Hartford reservoir, 20 years ago, and who had accompanied the committee as an expert, remarked: "This dam was not built according to the specifications of that paper ln your hand." The colonel then proceeded to point out that the specifications had called for the building of a foundation wall at least three feet below tne bottom or the reservoir, whereas It was built only upon the bottom, between which and the wall the water was found to pass easily, creating the leak, and eventually spreading tbe latter. Again, the embankment protection of this wall wan 40 feet narrower than the contract specified it should have been. 'In snort;" said Colonel Wilson, "tbe specifications have been entirely disregarded, and the accident was inevitable. The only wonder is that it did not occur before. The terrible neglect and gross ignorance displayed in tbe .construction of the dam was criminal, and its recent evil consequences murder." In talking of the event later, Colonel Wilson said he could not regard it as an accident, because the dam could not hold any body of water in, as the earth at the bottom, under tbe wall, was slowly but surely washed away daily. Joel Hayden said that such had been his father's opinion, and so strongly FIXED IN THIS BELIEF had he been that he issued standing orders la the foundry to his hands to leave benches and building the moment they heard the word ' "reservoir," shouted in the street, and take refuge on high ground. O. G. Spellman, overseer of the reservoir, and formerly secretary and treasurer of the association by which tbe dm was built, was protected in his house Monday night and last night by a large number of special police and military. Monday evening an Irishman, foimerlv in the employ ot Spellman, Informed him ihat the Irishmen and Canadians bad determined to avenge tbe loss of their homes and families by lynching him during the night. He felt the need for police and military. At the first streak of dawn the villagers were at work among the ruins. As morning advanced, parties of men equipped as "navvies, continued to arrive from surrounding townships, so that by 7 o'clock thousands were clearing and carting off the debris. All the way from Northampton meadows to Williamsburg every eye sought for bodies, and 21 comses were found. These bodies were difficult to recognize because decomposition had set in. Tbey were much disfigured by bruises and totilly nude. At Leeds nothing was done except looking for the dead under the rubbish, which experienced men say will not be cleared away, even at the present expeditious rate, in less than a week. At Haydenville tbe day was begun iu a business like manner. Joel Hayden employed his bands and all who were able and willing to earn' a - dollar in picking up his patterns and brass ware, several thousand dollars worth of which were stored In his outhouses and banks before noon. To get at these Hayden finds it necessary to alter the course of tbe stream, and his men are plowing anew channel for it, beginning at the north side of the former site of the brass foundry, and running south through the alley. An incident of . ' . ' EXTRAORDINARY CANINE AFFECTION: . ' has just come to light ln connection with the awful calamity, Colenel John Hayden, one

of the sons of the late Lieutenant Governor

Hayden, has a dog of the St. Bernard kind, lie has for a long time been a village favor-' ite and pet of the school children. Ira Bryant, father of Mrs. Colonel Haydtn. over sixty years of age, was a great favorite with tbe dog. Bryant . was lost in the disaster. Sunday 'afternoon the dog etarted out and followed the searchers tor tbe bodies in the meadowlands. He was seen on Miller'- flats, pawing in the sand, and when bewai visited, it was found he had dug quit . deep in the dirt, In which was discovered the lower portions of a man's limbs. The next half hour revealed the form of Bryant. Dilijrent search bad been made for these remains, but it seemed hardly possible that any 'human heinsr could have found the imbedded corpse. "Williamsburg and Skinneraville stand Kill not a bit of work otber than that necessary in searching for the dead being it progress. Even some manufacturers, to whom a majority of the people look for an incentive to actioa, shut themselves up in their houses and factories. Skinner, it is stated, has signified his intention not to rebuild his factory, and Mr. Spellman certainly aaid he would not erect his. All the leading men of illiamsburc are not r .a O - . T V IA YlCiU to this blow without making an attempt at io-wwuuouiuBui vi a ouce pretty and thriving town. They the. apathy of griei now paralyzing them, and to exert themselves manfully if the legislature and lartra ritiea will nniv ;i Over nine thousand dollars have been raiseu in tne city for the relief of the sufferers by tbe Massachusetts flood. THE SAVED AND LOST. A HEROIC MILKMAN orVTNO THE ALARM THE TEMPORARY MORGUES. One of the moet interesting incidents connected with the Massachusetts catastrophe is' the ride of the milkman, Collins Graves, as detailed by the Spriugfield Republican: From tbe reservoir the stream threaded its way almost directly south to the village, two and a half miles away, hedged in on either side by high hills, one oftbem, High ridge, being one of tbe lolty peaks of Western Massachusetts, and hence a survey station. When the village is teached, the river, uniting with the Goshen" stream, swerves a little to the east and hug the hill, and here along its basks are mot of the mills of Williamsburg village, whila the houses fill the valley up to its side. So on Saturday morning lay the ft coded district of the town all tbe rich meadow laud down the pleasant street glowing green under the freshening rain when George Cheney hastened down to warn the inhabitants of the breaking dam; he went first to see O.G. Spellman, and, after a little time wasted in convincing him of the impending; danger, he crossed to the livery stable of J. W. Reicher, where he met Collins Graves, the milkman, on his morning round. "If the dam is breaking," aaid Graves, after listening to Cbenev'a fragmentary story, "the folks must know Jt," aud, lashing his Jleet horse into a run he dashed away toward Haydenville, shouting: "The reservoir is right bere;"run, 'tis all yon can do!. It. whs now a quarter of 8, and. meanwhile Belcher and Cheney had rung the bell of tbe Congregational church to further warn the village folk. On went horse and driver, spreading the alarm. Graves shouting all tbe way -he made directly for the manufacturing establishments, lor, said he, "the people could bear it, but tbe roar of the factories would drown any warning for the operatives." At Skinnerville the pair were live ' minutes ahead of the coming torrent; but at Haydenville they had but two minutes ia which to spread the alarm. Here the famous ride, which will be sung in story and told to tbe credit of Collins Graves around the firesides of Williamsburg forever a the salvation of many hundred lives ended at the hotel the horse and rider were both exbausted,and here another herald took up tbe tidings. Graves could hear the thunder cf the coming flood, but, not fully appreciating its extent, be turned to go back toward Williamsburg. At the "Dug-way" at Haydenville the disaster which ne bad predicted burst upon his sight, and he had JCST TIMI TO TURN OFF into a bank near Captain Klntnley's when ft crashed past him; indeed, he was not 20 econds too soon, and, as it was. he bad almost depaired of reaching a place of safety, and had even thought et abandoning histried steed to its fate. Graves, by the way is a Williamsburg boy. and has got a pleasant borne on the Hill, ontof all dantrerof floods. Nothing could exceed the painful excitement of that search for the dead, unless it were the still horror of the ex tern porized morgues that were all along the road of the calamity. In Northamption. the few that' reached there were taken to the town hall - from the Florence meadows they were taken to a carpenter's shop on the hill east of the river, at Leeds to the barn in the rear of Rosa' store, at Haydenville to the chapel of tbe church, at Williamsburg to the town hall. To behold the scenes presented in these tem porary harborages or the victims made the stoutest heart quail, and the faintest nerves shudder and almost give way with sickening repulsion, inen lay on the rude boards, often without a shred of clothing left, or, if clad, with every garment frayed to mere shreds, men and women in horrible lnvariabieness or agony; the only mature face noticed as peaceful was that of Annie Uogan, who seemed as if taking a happy sleep when the body was first taken out of the sands. There lav children many little children tneir iutie, oeioved races beaten and bruised, and yet now and then one as sweet and placid as when its goodnight kiss was given. Many a veteran soldier, who bad been hardened to death in battle, and cared little for the sight of dead men,' found this spectacle of the innocent little dead ones more than he could bear, and many a strong man found his eye moisten ing with unwonted tears. No one was ashamed of tears, there and thus; one would htve been less than human to hold them back. . The report of tbe railway commissioner of Ohio contains some carefully prepared suggestions on the practicability of fixed rates for transportation. It says: "The impropriety and Impracticability of fixing unyielding and inflexible rates for transportation by general laws, applicable to all roads,, or by special acts applying to particular roads or classes of roads, seems too apparent to need comment. The almost unlimited, differences in the condition of our roads, affected by location, grades, curves, equipment, regularity of business, management,' changes in earnings caused by construction: f branches, by developing! new industries, opening new mines, or making new connections, and tbe innumerable and diverse matters which come in to effect or change their status tor better or worse, but develop the) folly of attempts to regulate rates of transportation by inflexible law. Such acts, or those intended to govern rates upon the basU of gross earnings or net income, can be of but temporary value. They demand such, frequent changes ln order to be efficient or just as to be of little service, and fail to accomplish the purpose desired. Laws which might be applicable and well adjusted today, may be quite the reverse a few months hence. General laws fixing rates which may rest lightly and not perceptibly affect thfi operation of roads well located, with light grades, and well managed, would be quite oppressive and burdensome to . those less fortunate. " A schedule which would rnskat he lowest practicable rates under which some of our roads could do business and maintain an existence, would be far above rates now charged upon other lines- more, fortunately situated..