Hauser Lake Dam Bursts.

Hauser Lake Dam Bursts.

一个伟大的身体从豪泽湖的水释放出来the bursting, on April 15, of the dam across the Missouri river 15 miles below Helena, kept pouring down the Missouri river. The little villages of Craig and Hauser Lake were destroyed by the flood; a dozen cabins at Oxbow, where another dam was being constructed, were swept away, while numerous ranches have suffered losses in buildings and live stock. Telephone and telegraph lines were washed out, and the damage dune was very great. As the flood came near 7 miles of the Great Falls, where the great Boston and Montana smelter is situated on the river bank, some hundred of employes, working day and night, saved that place from destruction by the construction of a wing-dam. Couriers on horseback and warning by telegraph sent the people living along the river fleeing to the hills. The Black Eagle dam across the Missouri at Great halls was blown up with dynamite, in order to prevent the destruction of the Boston and Montana smelter. This materially helped, and put an end to more serious danger from the flood. A smelting workman was drowned when the dam was dynamited—the second man to lose his life as a result of the flood. According to a dispatch from Cascade, the water rose rapidly, and the big steel bridge at that point was doomed. The surface of the flood was black with ranchhouses, live stock, and haystacks, and it seemed that nothing could prevent the river from ingulfing the lower sections of Great Falls. The immense lake, covering 20 sq. miles in the valley below Helena, was completely drained on April 15. Below Craig and as far as Ultn the Great Northern railroad tracks were under water. The entire village of Hauser Lake was swept away, together with the belongings of the families of 30.000 employes. At Oxbow, the third dam in process of construction was only slightly damaged; but a dozen cabins were wrecked. A number of houses in Craig and Cascade were washed away. The Hauser lake dam across the Missouri, the break in which was the cause of the flood, was completed last year, and furnished electric power for smelters and manufacturing plants at Helena, Butte, and Anaconda. The break in the structure, according to Manager Berry, was caused by the “buckling of steel plates near the lower expansion joint.” After the first break was noticed, nearly fifteen minutes elapsed before the centre of the structure gave way with a terrific crash, and in a few minutes 250 ft. of it had been destroyed, leaving about 125 ft. at either end intact. Five dwellinghouses, the office building and stable were swept away: but the powerhouse was only slightly damaged and no lives were lost. Hauser lake dam, 70 ft. high and 41)0 ft. long, was completed last year, at a cost of more than $2,000,000, and developed a horsepower of 25.000, which was utilised in operating the various power plants in Helena and the Butte mines and the Amalgamated Copper company's smelter plants at Anaconda. The copper smelter works of the Amalgamated Copper company and tne power plants have not been injured. The greatest damage outside of the destruction by dynamite of the dam at Great Falls, was done at Craig, 40 miles north of Helena, where the schoolhousc, the railway station, two general stores, two saloons, and several residences were torn up and wrecked. Losses of herds of cattle are also reported by stockmen. The total loss is variously estimated at between $600,000. and $1,000,000.

一个伟大的身体从豪泽湖的水释放出来the bursting, on April 15, of the dam across the Missouri river 15 miles below Helena, kept pouring down the Missouri river. The little villages of Craig and Hauser Lake were destroyed by the flood; a dozen cabins at Oxbow, where another dam was being constructed, were swept away, while numerous ranches have suffered losses in buildings and live stock. Telephone and telegraph lines were washed out, and the damage dune was very great. As the flood came near 7 miles of the Great Falls, where the great Boston and Montana smelter is situated on the river bank, some hundred of employes, working day and night, saved that place from destruction by the construction of a wing-dam. Couriers on horseback and warning by telegraph sent the people living along the river fleeing to the hills. The Black Eagle dam across the Missouri at Great halls was blown up with dynamite, in order to prevent the destruction of the Boston and Montana smelter. This materially helped, and put an end to more serious danger from the flood. A smelting workman was drowned when the dam was dynamited—the second man to lose his life as a result of the flood. According to a dispatch from Cascade, the water rose rapidly, and the big steel bridge at that point was doomed. The surface of the flood was black with ranchhouses, live stock, and haystacks, and it seemed that nothing could prevent the river from ingulfing the lower sections of Great Falls. The immense lake, covering 20 sq. miles in the valley below Helena, was completely drained on April 15. Below Craig and as far as Ultn the Great Northern railroad tracks were under water. The entire village of Hauser Lake was swept away, together with the belongings of the families of 30.000 employes. At Oxbow, the third dam in process of construction was only slightly damaged; but a dozen cabins were wrecked. A number of houses in Craig and Cascade were washed away. The Hauser lake dam across the Missouri, the break in which was the cause of the flood, was completed last year, and furnished electric power for smelters and manufacturing plants at Helena, Butte, and Anaconda. The break in the structure, according to Manager Berry, was caused by the “buckling of steel plates near the lower expansion joint.” After the first break was noticed, nearly fifteen minutes elapsed before the centre of the structure gave way with a terrific crash, and in a few minutes 250 ft. of it had been destroyed, leaving about 125 ft. at either end intact. Five dwellinghouses, the office building and stable were swept away: but the powerhouse was only slightly damaged and no lives were lost. Hauser lake dam, 70 ft. high and 41)0 ft. long, was completed last year, at a cost of more than $2,000,000, and developed a horsepower of 25.000, which was utilised in operating the various power plants in Helena and the Butte mines and the Amalgamated Copper company's smelter plants at Anaconda. The copper smelter works of the Amalgamated Copper company and tne power plants have not been injured. The greatest damage outside of the destruction by dynamite of the dam at Great Falls, was done at Craig, 40 miles north of Helena, where the schoolhousc, the railway station, two general stores, two saloons, and several residences were torn up and wrecked. Losses of herds of cattle are also reported by stockmen. The total loss is variously estimated at between $600,000. and $1,000,000.