Show WAS A MAGNIFICENT SIGHT of the Sew Scene allOO at the Austin Dam anic R a Chilled u 11 ilac Greet lint ft San Antonio Tex April Mc Mac who wu was an to the collapse of at the dam at Austin thus describes tb the great t catastrophe I 1 Iwas wall was gasing allne Intently at th the great gret body bolly of wlter vater as It wept swept gracefully over the crest ot of the darn dam carrying with It Ita a acres of bf drift that parted as 1 It went down the tall falls The Th water over the crest was more than tn ten feet teet In depth and was wa rial III at the rate rale ot of eighteen Inch Inches an hour The fell fall of the wa water ter wu was about iO 40 feet and the roaring lintl surging that It II produced cn can be II I than described It grand and awe noth III tn in my opinion could In any me meur mess ur ure compare with It the tails falls ot of Nia NIagara ara While thus with wilh aWe on ona ona a sight such ucb as AI I never before witnessed I 1 noticed a sudden commo tiun of the waters near ner tile the center ot of the darn dam For a moment the water where here the commotion occurred seemed to recede but It was Wal only for tor a mo moment moment ment It then shot hot upward In R a tie tre spout pout to It I height ot of I feet U Sf IC In fur fury and I IlaW saw laW that the darn dam w was aw away Tile The spread pread toward the east eastend end of the darn dam and there wu was a trem trembling bling ot of it the earth Suddenly above the dismal roar of time the surging raging waters there came cante a err cry The dm dam Is II breaking the dam damis is 18 breaking The sound lOund ot of the cr crAI cry was AI as dismal u as that of the mael maci strum and shuddered and nd their blood although the sun un un t fm II a sk k When the occurred the dla di from the crest of at the wave Vav iii as It rolled over oer Ute the lIam to the water be below below low was a about 48 feet Imagine then It you can a body of water 49 40 feet In Inh h and nd of great width and u released from an and you OU will have a taint faint Idea IdeR of the scene cen that I 1 witnessed at the dam across the Colorado river r rOnce Once released from Its confinement the water ater subsided rapidly seeking a leei with that below lalow the dam and then It II wu was seen lIMn how the hr break k hid had occurred lb dam wu was not toppled over all as man many supposed It would be but Instead a large larre section near the center and nd extending toward towar the east t bank was waa moved bodily down the stream a dIstance of at least leut to 40 feet Another Netlon extending to 10 within 30 test teet ot of the head gate te mason muon 17 13 on th the east lIt end was waa also allO moved down a distance ot o 40 0 or 5 feet teet Between th these two Iwo displaced see ee lions lion timers wu was a gap p of About feet feH where the dam hail had completely dl dis disappeared 11 appeared ami am It wu not Ion long before the section the center Milo aho crumbled and nd had the remaining dl displaced leed section also turn tum tumbled bled down the power house houle which went down a few hours later would probably have been saved aved A As It WU was this section threw a h heavy current against the power house hOUM which event undermined the Welt wn wall of the building and caused It to collapse |