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diff --git a/41271.txt b/41271.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d805fe7..0000000 --- a/41271.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9766 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Johnstown Flood, by -Willis Fletcher Johnson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: History of the Johnstown Flood - Including all the Fearful Record; the Breaking of the South - Fork Dam; the Sweeping Out of the Conemaugh Valley; the - Over-Throw of Johnstown; the Massing of the Wreck at the - Railroad Bridge; Escapes, Rescues, Searches for Survivors - and the Dead; Relief Organizations, Stupendous Charities, - etc., etc. With Full Accounts also of the Destruction on - the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers, and the Bald Eagle - Creek. - -Author: Willis Fletcher Johnson - -Release Date: November 2, 2012 [EBook #41271] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, KD Weeks and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes - -Any corrections made are catalogued in a note at the end of this text. - -Italics are rendered using the '_' character as _italics_. Text printed -in a bold font is rendered using the '=' character as =bold=. All -small capital letters are printed as uppercase. - -The abbreviations "A.M." and "P.M." appear in normal uppercase as well -as in small capitals. They are also variably printed with intervening -spaces (e.g., "A. M."). They are rendered here as uppercase with the -spacing as found in the text. - -The text contained illustrations, which could not be included in this -version. They are indicated using [Illustration: <caption>]. Their -position in the text may have changed in order to re-join paragraphs -and/or to avoid interrupting the text. The page numbers in the list -of illustrations are, therefore, approximate. Please use the html -version from Project Gutenberg to view the illustrations. - - - - -[Illustration: MAP OF THE DELUGED CONEMAUGH DISTRICT.] - - - - - HISTORY - - OF - - THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD. - - INCLUDING - - ALL THE FEARFUL RECORD; THE BREAKING OF THE SOUTH FORK DAM; - THE SWEEPING OUT OF THE CONEMAUGH VALLEY; THE OVER-THROW - OF JOHNSTOWN; THE MASSING OF THE WRECK AT - THE RAILROAD BRIDGE; ESCAPES, RESCUES, SEARCHES - FOR SURVIVORS AND THE DEAD; RELIEF - ORGANIZATIONS, STUPENDOUS CHARITIES, - ETC., ETC. - - WITH FULL ACCOUNTS ALSO OF THE - - DESTRUCTION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA AND JUNIATA RIVERS, AND THE - BALD EAGLE CREEK. - - BY - - WILLIS FLETCHER JOHNSON. - - _ILLUSTRATED._ - - EDGEWOOD PUBLISHING CO., - 1889. - Copyright, 1889, by - WILLIS FLETCHER JOHNSON. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The summer of 1889 will ever be memorable for its appalling disasters by -flood and flame. In that period fell the heaviest blow of the nineteenth -century--a blow scarcely paralleled in the histories of civilized lands. -Central Pennsylvania, a centre of industry, thrift and comfort, was -desolated by floods unprecedented in the records of the great waters. On -both sides of the Alleghenies these ravages were felt in terrific power, -but on the western slope their terrors were infinitely multiplied by the -bursting of the South Fork Reservoir, letting out millions of tons of -water, which, rushing madly down the rapid descent of the Conemaugh -Valley, washed out all its busy villages and hurled itself in a deadly -torrent on the happy borough of Johnstown. The frightful aggravations -which followed the coming of this torrent have waked the deepest -sympathies of this nation and of the world, and the history is demanded -in permanent form, for those of the present day, and for the generation -to come. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - The Conemaugh Valley in Springtime--Johnstown and its - Suburbs--Founded a Hundred Years ago--The Cambria Iron - Works--History of a Famous Industry--American Manufacturing - Enterprise Exemplified--Making Bessemer Steel--Social and - Educational Features--The Busiest City of its Size in the - State, 15 - - CHAPTER II. - - Conemaugh Lake--Remains of an Old-time Canal System--Used for - the Pleasure of Sportsmen--The Hunting and Fishing - Club--Popular Distrust Growing into Indifference--The Old - Cry of "Wolf!"--Building a Dam of Straw and Mud--Neglect - Ripening into Fitness for a Catastrophe, 31 - - CHAPTER III. - - Dawning of the Fatal Day--Darkness and Rain--Rumors of - Evil--The Warning Voice Unheeded--A Whirlwind of Watery - Death--Fate of a Faithful Telegrapher--What an Eye-Witness - Saw--A Solid Wall of Water Rushing Down the Valley, 42 - - CHAPTER IV. - - The Pathway of the Torrent--Human Beings Swept away like - Chaff--The Twilight of Terror--The Wreck of East - Conemaugh--Annihilation of Woodvale--Locomotives Tossed - about like Cockle-shells by the mighty Maelstrom, 51 - - CHAPTER V. - - "Johnstown is Annihilated"--Appearance of the Wreck--An Awful - Sabbath Spectacle--A Sea of Mud and Corpses--The City in a - Gigantic Whirlpool--Strange Tokens of the Fury of the - Flood--Scene from the Bridge--Sixty Acres of Debris--A - Carnival of Slaughter, 66 - - CHAPTER VI. - - Pictures of the Flood Drawn by Eye-witnesses--A Score of - Locomotives Swallowed up--Railroad Cars Swept - away--Engineers who would not Abandon their Posts--Awful - Scenes from a Car Window--A Race for Life--Victims of the - Flood, 81 - - CHAPTER VII. - - Some Heroes of the Flood--The Ride of Collins Graves at - Williamsburg Recalled--John G. Parke's Heroic - Warning--Gallant Self-Sacrifice of Daniel Peyton--Mrs. Ogle, - the Intrepid Telegraph Operator--Wholesale Life Saving by - Miss Nina Speck, 97 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Stories of Suffering--A Family Swept away at a Stroke--Beside - a Sister's Corpse--A Bride Driven Mad--The Unidentified - Dead--Courage in the Face of Death--Thanking God his Child - had not Suffered--One Saved out of a Household of - Thirteen--Five Saved out of Fifty-Five, 108 - - CHAPTER IX. - - Stories of Railroad Men and Travelers who were in the Midst of - the Catastrophe--A Train's Race with the Wave--Houses - Crushed like Eggshells--Relics of the Dead in the Tree - tops--A Night of Horrors--Fire and Flood Commingled--Lives - Lost for the Sake of a Pair of Shoes, 119 - - CHAPTER X. - - Scenes in a House of Refuge--Stealing from the Dead--A - Thousand Bodies seen Passing over the Bridge--"Kill us or - Rescue us!"--Thrilling Escapes and Agonizing - Losses--Children Born amid the Flood--A Night in Alma - Hall--Saved through Fear, 137 - - CHAPTER XI. - - The Flight to the Mountains--Saving a Mother and her Babe--The - Hillsides Black with Refugees--An Engineer's Story--How the - Dam gave away--Great Trees Snapped off like Pipe-stems by - the Torrent, 147 - - CHAPTER XII. - - A Desperate Voyage--Scenes like those after a Great - Battle--Mother and Babe Dead together--Praying as they - Drifted to Destruction--Children Telling the Story of - Death--Significant Greetings between Friends--Prepared for - any News, 154 - - CHAPTER XIII. - - Salutations in the City of the Dead--Crowds at the - Morgues--Endless Trains of Wagons with Ghastly - Freight--Registering the Survivors--Minds Unsettled by the - Tragedy--Horrible Fragments of Humanity Scattered through - Piles of Rubbish, 161 - - CHAPTER XIV. - - Recognizing the Dead--Food and Clothing for Destitute - Survivors--Looking for the Lost--The Bereaved Burying their - Dead--Drowned Close by a Place of Safety--A Heroic - Editor--One who would not be Comforted, 171 - - CHAPTER XV. - - A Bird'seye View of the Ruined City--Conspicuous Features of - the Disaster--The Railroad Lines--Stones and Iron Tossed - about like Driftwood--An Army Officer's Valuable Services in - Restoring and Maintaining Order, 179 - - CHAPTER XVI. - - Clearing a Road up the Creek--Fantastic Forms of Ruin--An - Abandoned Locomotive with no Rail to Run on--Iron Beams Bent - like Willow Twigs--Night in the Valley--Scenes and Sounds of - an Inferno, 188 - - CHAPTER XVII. - - Sights that Greeted Visitors--Wreckage Along the Valley--Ruins - of the Cambria Iron Works--A Carnival of Drink--Violence and - Robbery--Camping on the Hillsides--Rich and Poor alike - Benefit, 198 - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - The First Train Load of Anxious Seekers--Hoping against - Hope--Many Instances of Heroism--Victims Seen Drifting down - beyond the Reach of Help--Unavailing Efforts to Rescue the - Prey of the Flood, 207 - - CHAPTER XIX. - - Newspaper Correspondents Making their Way in--The Railroads - Helpless--Hiring a Special Train--Making Desperate - Speed--First faces of the Flood--Through to Johnstown at - Last, 216 - - CHAPTER XX. - - The Work of the Reporters--Strange Chronicles of Heroism and - of Woe--Deadly Work of the Telegraph Wires--A Baby's Strange - Voyage--Prayer wonderfully Answered--Steam against Torrent, - 228 - - CHAPTER XXI. - - Human Ghouls and Vampires on the Scene--A Short Shrift for - Marauders--Vigilance Committees Enforcing Order--Plunderers - of the Dead Relentlessly Dispatched--Outbursts of Righteous - Indignation, 238 - - CHAPTER XXII - - The Cry for Help and the Nation's Answer--President Harrison's - Eloquent and Effective Appeal--Governor Beaver's Message--A - Proclamation by the Governor of New York--Action of the - Commissioner of Pensions--Help from over the Sea, 249 - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - The American Heart and Purse Opened Wide--A Flood of Gold - against the Flood of Water--Contributions from every Part - of the Country, in Sums Large and Small, 265 - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - Benefactions of Philadelphia--Organization of Charity--Train - loads of Food and Clothing--Generous spirit of Convicts in - the Penitentiary--Contributions from over the Sea--Queen - Victoria's sympathy--Letter from Florence Nightingale, 281 - - CHAPTER XXV. - - Raising a Great Relief Fund in New York--Where the Money - came from--Churches, Theatres and Prisons join in the good - work--More than One Hundred Thousand Dollars a Day--A few - Names from the Great Roll of Honor, 292 - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - Breaking up the Ruins and Burying the Dead--Innumerable - Funerals--The Use of Dynamite--The Holocaust at the - Bridge--The Cambria Iron Works--Pulling out Trees with - Locomotives, 299 - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - Caring for the Sufferers--Noble Work of Miss Clara Barton - and the Red Cross Society--A Peep into a Hospital--Finding - Homes for the Orphans--Johnstown Generous in its Woe--A - Benevolent Eating House, 309 - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - Recovering from the Blow--The Voice of the Locomotive Heard - again--Scenes Day by Day amid the Ruins and at the - Morgue--Strange Salvage from the Flood--A Family of - Little Children, 319 - - CHAPTER XXIX. - - The City Filled with Life Again--Work and Bustle on Every - Hand--Railroad Trains Coming In--Pathetic Meetings of - Friends--Persistent Use of Dynamite to Break Up the - Masses of Wreckage--The Daily Record of Work Amid the - Dead, 341 - - CHAPTER XXX. - - Scenes at the Relief Stations--The Grand Army of the - Republic in Command--Imposing Scenes at the Railroad - Station--Cars Loaded with Goods for the Relief of the - Destitute, 353 - - CHAPTER XXXI. - - General Hastings' Headquarters--Duties of the Military - Staff--A Flood of Telegrams of Inquiry Pouring In--Getting - the Post-office to Work Again--Wholesale Embalming--The - Morgue in the Presbyterian Church--The Record of the - Unknown Dead--A Commemorative Newspaper Club, 358 - - CHAPTER XXXII. - - A Cross between a Military and a Mining Camp--Work of the - Army Engineers--Equipping Constables--Pressure on the - Telegraph Lines--Photographers not Encouraged--Sight-seers - Turned Away--Strange Uses for Coffins, 370 - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - - Sunday Amid the Ruins--Services in One Church and in the - Open Air--The Miracle at the Church of the Immaculate - Conception--Few Women and Children Seen--Disastrous - Work of Dynamite--A Happy Family in the Wreck, 378 - - CHAPTER XXXIV. - - Plans for the Future of Johnstown--The City to be Rebuilt - on a Finer Scale than Ever Before--A Real Estate Boom - Looked For--Enlarging the Conemaugh--Views of - Capitalists, 387 - - CHAPTER XXXV. - - Well-known People who Narrowly Escaped the Flood--Mrs. - Halford's Experience--Mrs. Childs Storm bound--Tales - Related by Travelers--A Theatrical Company's Plight, 393 - - CHAPTER XXXVI. - - The Ubiquitous Reporter Getting There--Desperate Traveling - through a Storm-swept Country--Special Trains and Special - Teams--Climbing Across the Mountains--Rest for the Weary - in a Hay Mow, 402 - - CHAPTER XXXVII. - - The Reporter's Life at Johnstown--Nothing to Eat, but Much - to Do--Kindly Remembrances of a Kindly Friend--Driven - from Bed by Rats--Three Hours of Sleep in Seventy-two--A - Picturesque Group, 410 - - CHAPTER XXXVIII. - - Williamsport's Great Losses--Flooded with Thirty-four Feet - of Water--Hundreds of Millions of Feet of Lumber Swept - Away--Loss of Life--Incidents of Rescue and of Death--The - Story of Garret Crouse and his Gray Horse, 421 - - CHAPTER XXXIX. - - The Juniata Valley Ravaged by the Storm--Losses at Tyrone, - Huntingdon and Lewistown--Destruction at Lock Haven--A - Baby's Voyage Down Stream--Romantic Story of a Wedding, 435 - - CHAPTER XL. - - The Floods along the Potomac--The National Capital - Submerged--A Terrible Record in Maryland--Gettysburg - a Sufferer--Tidings of Devastation from Many Points in - Several States, 444 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - MAP OF THE DELUGED CONEMAUGH DISTRICT, 1 - - JOHNSTOWN AS LEFT BY THE FLOOD, 19 - - RUINS OF JOHNSTOWN VIEWED FROM PROSPECT HILL, 37 - - GENERAL VIEW OF THE RUINS, LOOKING UP STONY CREEK, 55 - - RUINS, SHOWING THE PATH OF THE FLOOD, 73 - - TYPICAL SCENE IN JOHNSTOWN, 91 - - JOHNSTOWN--VIEW CORNER OF MAIN AND CLINTON STREETS, 109 - - VIEW ON CLINTON STREET, JOHNSTOWN, 127 - - MAIN AND CLINTON STREETS, LOOKING SOUTHWEST, 145 - - RUINS, CORNER OF CLINTON AND MAIN STREETS, 163 - - RUINS, FROM SITE OF THE HULBURT HOUSE, 181 - - THE DEBRIS ABOVE THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD BRIDGE, 199 - - RUINS OF THE CAMBRIA IRON WORKS, 217 - - RUINS OF THE CAMBRIA IRON COMPANY'S STORE, 235 - - THIRD STREET, WILLIAMSPORT, PA., DURING THE FLOOD, 253 - - WRECK OF THE IRON BRIDGE AT WILLIAMSPORT, PA., 271 - - WRECK OF THE LUMBER YARDS AT WILLIAMSPORT, PA., 289 - - 250,000,000 FEET OF LOGS AFLOAT IN THE SUSQUEHANNA, 307 - - LAST TRAINS IN AND OUT OF HARRISBURG, 325 - - COLUMBIA, PA., UNDER THE FLOOD, 343 - - PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE AT SIXTH STREET, WASHINGTON, D. C., 361 - - SEVENTH STREET, WASHINGTON, D. C., IN THE FLOOD, 379 - - FOURTEENTH STREET, WASHINGTON, D. C., IN THE FLOOD, 397 - - THE FLOOD IN WASHINGTON, D. C., OPPOSITE HARRIS'S THEATRE, 415 - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -Springtime in the mountains. Graceful slopes and frowning precipices -robed in darkest green of hemlock and spruce. Open fields here and there -verdant with young grass and springing grain, or moist and brown beneath -the plow for the planting time. Hedgerow and underwood fragrant with -honeysuckle and wild blackberry bloom; violets and geraniums purpling -the forest floor. Conemaugh creek and Stony creek dash and plunge and -foam along their rocky channels to where they unite their waters and -form the Conemaugh river, hastening down to the Ohio, to the -Mississippi, to the Mexican Gulf. Trout and pickerel and bass flash -their bronze and silver armor in the sparkling shallows of the streams -and in the sombre and placid depths of the lake up yonder behind the old -mud dam. Along the valley of the Conemaugh are ranged villages, towns, -cities: Conemaugh, Johnstown, Cambria, Sang Hollow, Nineveh, and others, -happy and prosperous. Conemaugh nestles at the very foot of the -Alleghenies; all railroad trains eastward bound stop there to catch -their breath before beginning the long climb up to Altoona. Sang Hollow -nestles by the river amid almost tropical luxuriance of vegetation; yon -little wooded islet in mid-stream a favorite haunt of fishermen. Nineveh -is rich in bog iron and coal, and the whirr of the mill-wheel is heard. -Johnstown, between the two creeks at their junction, is the queen city -of the valley. On either side the creek, and beyond, the steep mountain -sides; behind, the narrow valley reaching twenty miles back to the lake; -before, the Conemaugh river just beginning its romantic course. Broken -hillsides streaked with torrents encompass it. Just a century ago was -Johnstown founded by one Joseph Johns, a German settler. Before then its -beauteous site was occupied by an Indian village, Kickenapawling. Below -this was the head of navigation on the Conemaugh. Hither came the -wagoners of the Alleghenies, with huge wains piled high with merchandise -from seaboard cities, and placed it on flat-bottomed boats and started -it down the river-way to the western markets. The merchandise came up -from Philadelphia and Baltimore by river, too; up the Susquehanna and -Juniata, to the eastern foot-hills, and there was a great portage from -the Juniata to the Conemaugh; the Kittanning Trail, then the Frankstown -Turnpike. Later came the great trunk railroad whose express trains now -go roaring down the valley. - -Johnstown is--nay, Johnstown was!--a busy and industrious place. The -people of the town were the employees of the Cambria Iron and Steel -Company, their families, and small storekeepers. There was not one rich -man in the town. Three-quarters of the 28,000 people lived in small -frame tenement houses on the flats by the river around the works of the -Cambria Company. The Cambria Company owns almost all the land, and the -business and professional men and the superintendents of the company -live on the hills away up from the creeks. The creeks become the -Conemaugh river right at the end of the town, near where the big stone -Pennsylvania Railroad bridge crosses the river. - -The borough of Johnstown was on the south bank of Conemaugh creek, and -the east bank of Stony creek, right in the fork. It had only about a -third of the population of the place. It had never been incorporated -with the surrounding villages, as the Cambria Company, which owned most -of the villages and only part of Johnstown, did not wish to have them -consolidated into one city. - -Conemaugh was the largest village on the creek between the lake and -Johnstown. It is often spoken of as part of Johnstown, though its -railroad station is two or three miles up the creek from the Johnstown -station. The streets of the two towns run into each other, and the space -between the two stations is well built up along the creek. Part of the -Cambria Iron and Steel Company's works are at Conemaugh, and five or six -thousand of the workingmen and their families lived there. The business -was done in Johnstown borough, where almost all the stores of Johnstown -city were. - -The works of the Cambria Company were strung along from here down into -Johnstown proper. They were slightly isolated to prevent a fire in one -spreading to the others, and because there was not much flat land to -build on. The Pennsylvania road runs along the river, and the works were -built beside it. - -[Illustration: JOHNSTOWN AS LEFT BY THE FLOOD.] - -Between Conemaugh and Johnstown borough was a string of tenements along -the river which was called Woodvale. Possibly 3000 workmen lived in -them. They were slightly built of wood, many of them without cellars or -stone foundations. There were some substantially built houses in the -borough at the fork. Here the flats widen out somewhat, and they had -been still further increased in extent by the Cambria Company, which -filled up part of the creek beds with refuse and the ashes from their -works. This narrowed the beds of the creeks. The made land was not -far above the water at ordinary times. Even during the ordinary spring -floods the waters rose so high that it flowed into the cellars of the -tenements, and at times into the works. The natural land was occupied by -the business part of the town, where the stores were and the -storekeepers had their residences. The borough had a population of about -9000. On the north bank of the river were a third as many more people -living in tenements built and owned by the Cambria Company. Further -down, below the junction of the two creeks, along both banks of the -Conemaugh river, were about 4000 employees of the Cambria Company and -their families. The place where they lived was called Cambria or Cambria -City. All these villages and boroughs made up what is known as the city -of Johnstown. - -The Cambria Company employed about 4000 men in its works and mines. -Besides these were some railroad shops, planing mills, flour mills, -several banks and newspapers. Only the men employed by the Cambria -Company and their families lived on the flats and made ground. The -Cambria Company owned all this land, and made it a rule not to sell it, -but to lease it. The company put rows of two-story frame tenements close -together, on their land close to the works, the cheaper class of -tenements in solid blocks, to cheapen their construction. The better -tenements were separate buildings, with two families to the house. The -tenements rented for from $5 to $15 a month, and cost possibly, on the -average, $500 to build. They were all of wood, many of them without -cellars, and were built as cheaply as possible. The timbers were mostly -pine, light and inflammable. It was not an uncommon thing for a fire to -break out and to burn one or two rows of tenements. But the different -rows were not closely bunched, but were sprinkled around in patches near -the separate works, and it was cheaper for the company to rebuild -occasionally than to put up brick houses. - -Besides owning the flats, the Cambria Company owned the surrounding -hills. In one of the hills is limestone, in another coal, and there is -iron ore not far away. The company has narrow-gauge roads running from -its mines down to the works. The city was at the foot of these three -hills, which meet in a double V shape. Conemaugh creek flowing down one -and Stony creek flowing down the other. The hills are not so far distant -that a man with a rifle on any one could not shoot to either of the -others. They are several hundred feet high and so steep that roads run -up them by a series of zigzag grades. Few people live on these hills -except on a small rise of ground across the river from Johnstown. In -some places the company has leased the land for dwelling houses, but it -retains the ownership of the land and of the coal, iron and limestone in -it. The flats having all been occupied, the company in recent years had -put up some tenements of a better class on the north bank of the river, -higher up than the flood reached. The business part of the town also was -higher up than the works and the tenements of the company. - -In normal times the river is but a few hundred feet wide. The bottom is -stony. The current is so fast that there is little deposit along the -bank. It is navigable at no time, though in the spring a good canoeist -might go down it if he could steer clear of the rocks. In the summer the -volume of water diminishes so much that a boy with a pair of rubber -boots on can wade across without getting his feet wet, and there have -been times when a good jumper could cross the river on the dry stones. -Below Johnstown, after Stony creek has joined the Conemaugh creek, the -volume of water increases, but the Conemaugh throughout its whole length -is nothing but a mountain stream, dry in the summer and roaring in the -spring. It runs down into the Kiskiminitas river and into the Allegheny -river, and then on to Pittsburgh. It is over 100 miles from Johnstown to -Pittsburgh following the windings of the river, twice as far as the -straight line. - -Johnstown was one of the busiest towns of its size in the State. Its -tonnage over the Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Ohio roads was larger -than the tonnage of many cities three times its size. The Iron and Steel -Company is one of the largest iron and steel corporations in the world. -It had its main rolling mills, Bessemer steel works, and wire works at -Johnstown, though it also has works in other places, and owns ore and -coal mines and leases in the South, in Michigan, and in Spain, besides -its Pennsylvania works. It had in Johnstown and the surrounding villages -4000 or 5000 men usually at work. In flush times it has employed more -than 6000. So important was the town from a railroad point of view that -the Baltimore and Ohio ran a branch from Rockwood, on its main line to -Pittsburgh, up to Johnstown, forty-five miles. It was one of the main -freight stations on the Pennsylvania road, though the passenger business -was so small in proportion that some express trains do not stop there. -The Pennsylvania road recently put up a large brick station, which was -one of the few brick buildings on the flats. Some of the Cambria -Company's offices were also of brick, and there was a brick lodging -house for young men in the employ of the company. The Pennsylvania road -had repair shops there, which employed a few hundred men, and the -Baltimore and Ohio branch had some smaller shops. Johnstown had several -Catholic and Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and Lutheran churches. It -had several daily and weekly papers. The chief were the _Tribune_, the -_Democrat_, and the _Freie Presse_. - -The Cambria Iron Works, the great industry of Johnstown, originated in a -few widely separated charcoal furnaces built by pioneer iron workers in -the early years of the century. As early as 1803 General Arthur St. -Clair engaged in the iron business, and erected the Hermitage furnace -about sixteen miles from the present site of Johnstown. In 1809 the -working of ores was begun near Johnstown. These were primitive furnaces, -where charcoal was the only fuel employed, and the raw material and -product were transported entirely on wagons, but they marked the -beginning of the manufacture of iron in this country. - -The Cambria Iron Company was chartered under the general law in 1852, -for the operation of four old-fashioned charcoal furnaces in and near -Johnstown, which was then a village of 1300 inhabitants, to which the -Pennsylvania railroad had just been extended. In 1853 the construction -of four coke furnaces was begun, but it was two years before the first -was finished. England was then shipping rails into this country under a -low duty, and the iron industry here was struggling for existence. The -company at Johnstown was aided by a number of Philadelphia merchants, -but was unable to continue in business, and suspended in 1854. At a -meeting of the creditors in Philadelphia soon afterward a committee was -appointed, with Daniel J. Morrell as Chairman, to visit the works at -Johnstown and recommend the best means, if any, to save themselves from -loss. In his report, Mr. Morrell strongly urged the Philadelphia -creditors to invest more money and continue the business. They did so, -and Matthew Newkirk was made President of the company. The company again -failed in 1855, and Mr. Morrell then associated a number of gentlemen -with him, and formed the firm of Wood, Morrell & Co., leasing the works -for seven years. The year 1856 was one of great financial depression, -and 1857 was worse, and, as a further discouragement, the large furnace -was destroyed by fire in June, 1857. In one week, however, the works -were in operation again, and a brick building was soon constructed. When -the war came, and with it the Morrill tariff of 1861, a broader field -was opened up, and in 1862 the present company was formed. - -The years following the close of the war brought about an unprecedented -revival in railroad building. In 1864 there were but 33,908 miles of -railroad in the United States, while in 1874 there were 72,741 miles, or -more than double. There was a great demand for English steel rails, -which advanced to $170 per ton. Congress imposed a duty of $28 a ton on -foreign rails, and encouraged American manufacturers to go into the -business. The Cambria Company began the erection of Bessemer steel works -in 1869, and sold the first steel rails in 1871, at $104 a ton. - -The company had 700 dwelling-houses, rented to employees. The works and -rolling mills of the company were situated upon what was originally a -river flat, where the valley of the Conemaugh expanded somewhat, just -below Johnstown, and now part of Millville. The Johnstown furnaces, Nos. -1, 2, 3 and 4, formed one complete plant, with stacks 75 feet high and -16 feet in diameter at the base. Steam was generated in forty boilers -fired by furnace gas, for eight vertical, direct-acting blowing engines. -Nos. 5 and 6 blast furnaces formed together a second plant, with stacks -75 feet high and 19 feet in diameter. The Bessemer plant was the sixth -started in the United States (July, 1871). The main building was 102 -feet in width by 165 feet in length. The cupolas were six in number. -Blast was supplied from eight Baker rotary pressure blowers, driven by -engines 16 x 24 inches at 110 revolutions per minute. The Bessemer works -were supplied with steam by a battery of twenty-one tubular boilers. The -best average, although not the very highest work done in the Bessemer -department, was 103 heats of 8-1/2 tons each for each twenty-four -hours. The best weekly record reached 4847 tons of ingots, and the best -monthly record 20,304 tons. The best daily output was 900 tons of -ingots. All grades of steel were made in the converters, from the -softest wire and bridge stock to spring stock. The open-hearth building, -120 x 155 feet, containing three Pernot revolving hearth furnaces of -fifteen tons capacity each, supplied with natural gas. The rolling mill -was 100 feet in width by 1900 feet in length, and contained a 24-inch -train of two stands of three-high rolls, and a ten-ton traveling crane -for changing rolls. The product of the mill was 80,000 pounds per turn. -The bolt and nut works produced 1000 kegs of finished track bolts per -month, besides machine bolts. The capacity of the axle shop was 100 -finished steel axles per day. The "Gautier steel department" consisted -of a brick building 200 x 50 feet, where the wire was annealed, drawn -and finished; a brick warehouse 373 x 43 feet, many shops, offices, -etc.; the barb-wire mill, 50 x 250 feet, where the celebrated Cambria -link barb wire was made, and the main merchant mill, 725 x 250 feet. -These mills produced wire, shafting, springs, plough-shares, rake and -harrow teeth, and other kinds of agricultural implement steel. In 1887 -they produced 50,000 tons of this material, which was marketed mainly in -the Western States. Grouped with the principal mills thus described -were the foundries, pattern and other shops, draughting offices and time -offices, etc., all structures of a firm and substantial character. - -The company operated about thirty-five miles of railroad tracks, -employing in this service twenty-four locomotives, and owned 1500 cars. -To the large bodies of mountain land connected with the old charcoal -furnaces additions have been made of ores and coking coals, and the -company now owns in fee simple 54,423 acres of mineral lands. It has 600 -beehive coke ovens in the Connellsville district, and the coal producing -capacity of the mines in Pennsylvania owned by the company is 815,000 -tons per year. - -In continuation of the policy of Daniel J. Morrell, the Cambria Iron -Company has done a great deal for its employees. The Cambria Library was -erected by the Iron Company and presented to the town. The building was -43 x 68-1/2 feet, and contained a library of 6914 volumes. It contained -a large and valuable collection of reports of the United States and the -State, and it is feared that they have been greatly damaged. The Cambria -Mutual Benefit Association is composed of employees of the company, and -is supported by it. The employees receive benefits when sick or injured, -and in case of death their families are provided for. The Board of -Directors of this association also controls the Cambria Hospital, which -was erected by the Iron Company in 1866, on Prospect Hill, in the -northern part of the town. The company also maintained a club house, and -a store which was patronized by others, as well as by its employees. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -Twenty miles up Conemaugh creek, beyond the workingmen's villages of -South Fork and Mineral Point, was Conemaugh lake. It was a part of the -old and long disused Pennsylvania Canal system. At the head of Conemaugh -creek, back among the hills, three hundred feet or more above the level -of Johnstown streets, was a small, natural lake. When the canal was -building, the engineers took this lake to supply the western division of -the canal which ran from there to Pittsburgh. The Eastern division ended -at Hollidaysburgh east of the summit of the Alleghanies, where there was -a similar reservoir. Between the two was the old Portage road, one of -the first railroads constructed in the State. The canal was abandoned -some years ago, as the Pennsylvania road destroyed its traffic. The -Pennsylvania Company got a grant of the canal from the State. Some years -after the canal was abandoned the Hollidaysburgh reservoir was torn -down, the water gradually escaping into the Frankstown branch of the -Juniata river. The people of the neighborhood objected to the existence -of the reservoir after the canal was abandoned, as little attention was -paid to the structure, and the farmers in the valley below feared that -the dam would break and drown them. The water was all let out of that -reservoir about three years ago. - -The dam above Johnstown greatly increased the small natural lake there. -It was a pleasant drive from Johnstown to the reservoir. Boating and -fishing parties often went out there. Near the reservoir is Cresson, a -summer resort owned by the Pennsylvania road. Excursion parties are made -up in the summer time by the Pennsylvania Company, and special trains -are run for them from various points to Cresson. A club called the South -Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was organized some years ago, and got the -use of the lake from the Pennsylvania Company. Most of the members of -the club live in Pittsburgh, and are prominent iron and coal men. -Besides them there are some of the officials of the Pennsylvania road -among the members. They increased the size of the dam until it was not -far from a hundred feet in height, and its entire length, from side to -side at the top, was not far from nine hundred feet. This increased the -size of the lake to three miles in length and a mile and a quarter in -width. It was an irregular oval in shape. The volume of water in it -depended on the time of the year. - -Some of the people of Johnstown had thought for years that the dam might -break, but they did not think that its breaking would do more than flood -the flats and damage the works of the Cambria Company. - -When the Hunting and Fishing Club bought the site of the old reservoir a -section of 150 feet had been washed out of the middle. This was rebuilt -at an expense of $17,000 and the work was thought to be very strong. At -the base it was 380 feet thick and gradually tapered until at the top it -was about 35 feet thick. It was considered amply secure, and such faith -had the members of the club in its stability that the top of the dam was -utilized as a driveway. It took two years to complete the work, men -being engaged from '79 to '81. While it was under process of -construction the residents of Johnstown expressed some fears as to the -solidity of the work, and requested that it be examined by experts. An -engineer of the Cambria Iron Works, secured through Mr. Morrell, of that -institution, one provided by Mr. Pitcairn, of the Pennsylvania Railroad, -and Nathan McDowell, chosen by the club itself, made a thorough -examination. They pronounced the structure perfectly safe, but suggested -some precautionary measures as to the stopping of leaks, that were -faithfully carried out. The members of the club themselves discovered -that the sewer that carried away the surplus or overflow from the lake -was not large enough in times of storm. So five feet of solid rock were -cut away in order to increase the mouth of the lake. Usually the surface -of the water was 15 feet below the top of the dam, and never in recent -years did it rise to more than eight feet. In 1881, when work was going -on, a sudden rise occurred, and then the water threatened to do what it -did on this occasion. The workmen hastened to the scene and piled debris -of all sorts on the top and thus prevented a washout. - -For more than a year there had been fears of a disaster. The foundations -of the dam at South Fork were considered shaky early in 1888, and many -increasing leakages were reported from time to time. - -"We were afraid of that lake," said a gentleman who had lived in -Johnstown for years; "We were afraid of that lake seven years ago. No -one could see the immense height to which that artificial dam had been -built without fearing the tremendous power of the water behind it. The -dam must have had a sheer height of 100 feet, thus forcing the water -that high above its natural bed, and making a lake at least three miles -long and a mile wide, out of what could scarcely be called a pond. I -doubt if there is a man or woman in Johnstown who at some time or other -had not feared and spoken of the terrible disaster that has now come. - -"People wondered, and asked why the dam was not strengthened, as it -certainly had become weak; but nothing was done, and by and by they -talked less and less about it, as nothing happened, though now and then -some would shake their heads as if conscious the fearful day would come -some time when their worst fears would be transcended by the horror of -the actual occurrence." - -There is not a shadow of doubt but that the citizens of Cambria County -frequently complained, and that at the time the dam was constructed a -vigorous effort was made to put a stop to the work. It is true that the -leader in this movement was not a citizen of Johnstown, but he was and -is a large mine owner in Cambria County. His mine adjoins the reservoir -property. He was frequently on the spot, and his own engineer inspected -the work. He says the embankment was principally of shale and clay, and -that straw was used to stop the leaking of water while the work was -going on. He called on the sheriff of Cambria County and told him it was -his duty to apply to the court for an injunction. The sheriff promised -to give the matter his attention, but, instead of going before court, -went to the Cambria Company for consultation. An employee was sent up -to make an inspection, and as his report was favorable to the reservoir -work the sheriff went no further. But the gentleman referred to said -that he had not failed to make public his protest at the time and to -renew it frequently. This recommendation for an injunction and protest -were spoken of by citizens of Altoona as a hackneyed subject. - -Confirmation has certainly been had at South Fork, Conemaugh, Millvale -and Johnstown. The rumor of an expected break was prevalent at these -places, but citizens remarked that the rumor was a familiar incident of -the annual freshets. It was the old classic story of "Wolf, wolf." They -gave up the first floors to the water and retired upstairs to wait until -the river should recede, as they had done often before, scouting the -oft-told story of the breaking of the reservoir. - -[Illustration: RUINS OF JOHNSTOWN, VIEWED FROM PROSPECT HILL.] - -An interesting story, involving the construction and history of the -Conemaugh lake dam, was related by J. B. Montgomery, who formerly lived -in Western Pennsylvania, and is now well known in the West as a railroad -contractor. "The dam," said he, "was built about thirty-five years ago -by the State of Pennsylvania, as a feeder for the western division of -the Pennsylvania Canal. The plans and specifications for the dam were -furnished by the Chief Engineer of the State. I am not sure, but it is -my impression, that Colonel William Milnor Roberts held the office at -the time. Colonel Roberts was one of the most famous engineers in the -country. He died several years ago in Chili. The contractors for the -construction of the dam were General J. K. Moorhead and Judge H. B. -Packer, of Williamsport, a brother of Governor Packer. General Moorhead -had built many dams before this on the rivers of Pennsylvania, and his -work was always known to be of the very best. In this case, however, all -that he had to do was to build the dam according to the specifications -furnished by the State. The dam was built of stone and wood throughout, -and was of particularly solid construction. There is no significance in -the discovery of straw and dirt among the ruins of the dam. Both are -freely used when dams are being built, to stop the numerous leaks. - -"The dam had three waste-gates at the bottom, so arranged that they -could be raised when there was too much water in the lake, and permit -the escape of the surplus. These gates were in big stone arches, through -which the water passed to the canal when the lake was used as a feeder. - -"In 1859 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company purchased the canal from the -State, and the dam and lake went into the possession of that company. -Shortly afterward the Pennsylvania Company abandoned the western -division of the canal, and the dam became useless as a feeder. For -twenty-five years the lake was used only as a fish-pond, and the dam -and the gates were forgotten. Five years ago the lake was leased to a -number of Pittsburgh men, who stocked it with bass, trout, and other -game fish. I have heard it said that the waste-gates had not been opened -for a great many years. If this is so, no wonder the dam broke. -Naturally the fishermen did not want to open the gates after the lake -was stocked, for the fish would have run out. A sluiceway should have -been built on the side of the dam, so that when the water reached a -certain height the surplus could escape. The dam was not built with the -intention that the water should flow over the top of it under any -circumstances, and if allowed to escape in that way the water was bound -to undermine it in a short time. With a dam the height of this the -pressure of a quantity of water great enough to overflow it must be -something tremendous. - -"If it is true that the waste-gates were never opened after the -Pittsburgh men had leased the lake, the explanation of the bursting of -the dam is to be found right there. It may be that the dam had not been -looked after and strengthened of late years, and it was undoubtedly -weakened in the period of twenty-five years during which the lake was -not used. After the construction of the dam the lake was called the -Western Reservoir. The south fork of the Conemaugh, which fed the lake, -is a little stream not over ten feet wide, but even when there were no -unusual storms it carried enough water to fill the lake full within a -year, showing how important it was that the gates should be opened -occasionally to run off the surplus." - -Mr. Montgomery was one of a party of engineers who inspected the dam -when it was leased by the Pennsylvania Company, five years ago. It then -needed repairs, but was in a perfectly safe condition if the water was -not allowed to flow over it. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -Friday, May 31st, 1889. The day before had been a solemn holiday. In -every village veterans of the War for the Union had gathered; in every -cemetery flowers had been strewn upon the grave-mounds of the heroic -dead. Now the people were resuming the every-day toil. The weather was -rainy. It had been wet for some days. Stony Creek and Conemaugh were -turbid and noisy. The little South Fork, which ran into the upper end of -the lake, was swollen into a raging torrent. The lake was higher than -usual; higher than ever. But the valley below lay in fancied security, -and all the varied activities of life pursued their wonted round. - -Friday, May 31st, 1889. Record that awful date in characters of funereal -hue. It was a dark and stormy day, and amid the darkness and the storm -the angel of death spread his wings over the fated valley, unseen, -unknown. Midday comes. Disquieting rumors rush down the valley. There is -a roar of an approaching storm--approaching doom! The water swiftly -rises. A horseman thunders down the valley: "To the hills, for God's -sake! To the hills, for your lives!" They stare at him as at a madman, -and their hesitating feet linger in the valley of the shadow of death, -and the shadow swiftly darkens, and the everlasting hills veil their -faces with rain and mist before the scene that greets them. - -This is what happened:-- - -The heavy rainfall raised the lake until its water began to pour over -the top of the dam. The dam itself--wretchedly built of mud and -boulders--saturated through and through, began to leak copiously here -and there. Each watery sapper and miner burrowed on, followers swiftly -enlarging the murderous tunnels. The whole mass became honeycombed. And -still the rain poured down, and still the South Fork and a hundred minor -streams sent in their swelling floods, until, with a roar like that of -the opening gates of the Inferno belching forth the legions of the -damned, the wall gave way, and with the rush of a famished tiger into a -sheepfold, the whirlwind of water swept down the valley on its errand of -destruction-- - - "And like a horse unbroken, - When first he feels the rein, - The furious river struggled hard, - And tossed his tawny mane, - And burst the curb, and bounded, - Rejoicing to be free, - And, whirling down in mad career, - Battlement and plank and pier, - Rushed headlong to the sea!" - -According to the statements of people who lived in Johnstown and other -towns on the line of the river, ample time was given to the inhabitants -of Johnstown by the railroad officials and by other gentlemen of -standing and reputation. In hundreds of cases this warning was utterly -disregarded, and those who heeded it early in the day were looked upon -as cowards, and many jeers were uttered by lips that now are cold. The -people of Johnstown also had a special warning in the fact that the dam -in Stony Creek, just above the town, broke about noon, and thousands of -feet of lumber passed down the river. Yet they hesitated, and even when -the wall of water, almost forty feet high, was at their doors, one man -is said by a survivor to have told his family that the stream would not -rise very high. - -How sudden the calamity is illustrated by an incident which Mr. Bender, -the night chief operator of the Western Union in Pittsburgh, relates: -"At 3 o'clock that Friday afternoon," said he, "the girl operator at -Johnstown was cheerfully ticking away that she had to abandon the office -on the first floor, because the water was three feet deep there. She -said she was telegraphing from the second story and the water was -gaining steadily. She was frightened, and said many houses were flooded. -This was evidently before the dam broke, for our man here said something -encouraging to her, and she was talking back as only a cheerful girl -operator can, when the receiver's skilled ear caught a sound on the wire -made by no human hand, which told him that the wires had grounded, or -that the house had been swept away in the flood from the lake, no one -knows which now. At 3 o'clock the girl was there, and at 3.07 we might -as well have asked the grave to answer us." - -The water passed over the dam about a foot above its top, beginning at -about half-past 2. Whatever happened in the way of a cloud-burst took -place in the night. There had been little rain up to dark. When the -workmen woke in the morning the lake was full, and rising at the rate of -a foot an hour. It kept on rising until 2 P. M., when it began breaking -over the dam and undermining it. Men were sent three or four times -during the day to warn people below of their danger. When the final -break came at 3 o'clock, there was a sound like tremendous and continued -peals of thunder. Trees, rocks and earth shot up into mid-air in great -columns and then started down the ravine. A farmer who escaped said that -the water did not come down like a wave, but jumped on his house and -beat it to fragments in an instant. He was safe on the hillside, but his -wife and two children were killed. - -Herbert Webber, who was employed by the Sportsmen's Club at the lake, -tells that for three days previous to the final outburst, the water of -the lake forced itself out through the interstices of the masonry, so -that the front of the dam resembled a large watering pot. The force of -the water was so great that one of these jets squirted full thirty feet -horizontally from the stone wall. All this time, too, the feeders of the -lake, particularly three of them, more nearly resembled torrents than -mountain streams, and were supplying the dammed up body of water with -quite 3,000,000 gallons of water hourly. - -At 11 o'clock that Friday morning, Webber says he was attending to a -camp about a mile back from the dam, when he noticed that the surface of -the lake seemed to be lowering. He doubted his eyes, and made a mark on -the shore, and then found that his suspicions were undoubtedly well -founded. He ran across the country to the dam, and there saw, he -declares, the water of the lake welling out from beneath the foundation -stones of the dam. Absolutely helpless, he was compelled to stand there -and watch the gradual development of what was to be the most disastrous -flood of this continent. - -According to his reckoning it was 2.45 when the stones in the centre of -the dam began to sink because of the undermining, and within eight -minutes a gap of twenty feet was made in the lower half of the wall -face, through which the water poured as though forced by machinery of -stupendous power. By 3 o'clock the toppling masonry, which before had -partaken somewhat of the form of an arch, fell in, and then the -remainder of the wall opened outward like twin gates, and the great -storage lake was foaming and thundering down the valley of the -Conemaugh. - -Webber became so awestruck at the catastrophe that he declares he was -unable to leave the spot until the lake had fallen so low that it showed -bottom fifty feet below him. How long a time elapsed he says he does not -know before he recovered sufficient power of observation to notice this, -but he does not think that more than five minutes passed. Webber says -that had the dam been repaired after the spring freshet of 1888 the -disaster would not have occurred. Had it been given ordinary attention -in the spring of 1887 the probabilities are that thousands of lives -would have been saved. - -Imagine, if you can, a solid piece of ground, thirty-five feet wide and -over one hundred feet high, and then, again, that a space of two hundred -feet is cut out of it, through which is rushing over seven hundred -acres of water, and you can have only a faint conception of the terrible -force of the blow that came upon the people of this vicinity like a clap -of thunder out of a clear sky. It was irresistible in its power and -carried everything before it. After seeing the lake and the opening -through the dam it can be readily understood how that out-break came to -be so destructive in its character. - -The lake had been leaking, and a couple of Italians were at work just -over the point where the break occurred, and in an instant, without -warning, it gave way and they went down in the whirling mass of water, -and were swept into eternity. - -Mr. Crouse, proprietor of the South Fork Fishing Club Hotel, says: "When -the dam of Conemaugh lake broke the water seemed to leap, scarcely -touching the ground. It bounded down the valley, crashing and roaring, -carrying everything before it. For a mile its front seemed like a solid -wall twenty feet high." The only warning given to Johnstown was sent -from South Fork village by Freight Agent Dechert. _When the great wall -that held the body of water began to crumble at the top he sent a -message begging the people of Johnstown for God's sake to take to the -hills._ He reports no serious accidents at South Fork. - -Richard Davis ran to Prospect Hill when the water raised. As to Mr. -Dechert's message, he says just such have been sent down at each flood -since the lake was made. _The warning so often proved useless that -little attention was paid to it this time._ "I cannot describe the mad -rush," he said. "At first it looked like dust. That must have been the -spray. I could see houses going down before it like a child's play -blocks set on edge in a row. As it came nearer I could see houses totter -for a moment, then rise and the next moment be crushed like egg shells, -against each other." - -Mr. John G. Parke, of Philadelphia, a civil engineer, was at the dam -superintending some improvements in the drainage system at the lake. He -did all he could with the help of a gang of laborers to avert the -catastrophe and to warn those in danger. His story of the calamity is -this:-- - -"For several days prior to the breaking of the dam, storm after storm -swept over the mountains and flooded every creek and rivulet. The waters -from these varied sources flowed into the lake, which finally was not -able to stand the pressure forced upon it. Friday morning I realized the -danger that was threatened, and although from that time until three -o'clock every human effort was made to prevent a flood, they were of no -avail. When I at last found that the dam was bound to go, I started out -to tell the people, and by twelve o'clock everybody in the Conemaugh -region did or should have known of their danger. Three hours later my -gravest fears were more than realized. It is an erroneous idea, however, -that the dam burst. It simply moved away. The water gradually ate into -the embankment until there was nothing left but a frail bulwark of wood. -This finally split asunder and sent the waters howling down the -mountains." - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -The course of the torrent from the broken dam at the foot of the lake to -Johnstown is almost eighteen miles, and with the exception of one point, -the water passed through a narrow V-shaped valley. Four miles below the -dam lay the town of South Fork, where the South Fork itself empties into -the Conemaugh river. The town contained about 2000 inhabitants. About -four-fifths of it has been swept away. Four miles further down on the -Conemaugh river, which runs parallel with the main line of the -Pennsylvania Railroad, was the town of Mineral Point. It had 800 -inhabitants, 90 per cent. of the houses being on a flat and close to the -river. Terrible as it may seem, very few of them have escaped. Six miles -further down was the town of Conemaugh, and here alone there was a -topographical possibility--the spreading of the flood and the breaking -of its force. It contained 2500 inhabitants, and has been almost wholly -devastated. Woodvale, with 2000 people, lay a mile below Conemaugh in -the flat, and one mile further down were Johnstown and its -suburbs--Cambria City and Conemaugh borough, with a population of -30,000. On made ground, and stretched along right at the river's verge, -were the immense iron works of the Cambria Iron and Steel Company, who -have $5,000,000 invested in their plant. Besides this there are many -other large industrial establishments on the bank of the river. - -The stream of human beings that was swept before the angry floods was -something most pitiful to behold. Men, women and children were carried -along frantically shrieking for help, but their cries availed them -nothing. Rescue was impossible. Husbands were swept past their wives, -and children were borne along, at a terrible speed, to certain death, -before the eyes of their terrorized and frantic parents. Houses, -out-buildings, trees and barns were carried on the angry flood of waters -as so much chaff. Cattle standing in the fields were overwhelmed, and -their carcasses strewed the tide. The railroad tracks converging on the -town were washed out, and wires in all directions were prostrated. - -Down through the Packsaddle came the rushing waters. Clinging to -improvised rafts, constructed in the death battle from floating boards -and timbers, were agonized men, women and children, their heart-rending -shrieks for help striking horror to the breasts of the onlookers. Their -cries were of no avail. Carried along at a railway speed on the breast -of this rushing torrent, no human ingenuity could devise a means of -rescue. - -It is impossible to describe briefly the suddenness with which the -disaster came. A warning sound was heard at Conemaugh a few minutes -before the rush of water came, but it was attributed to some -meteorological disturbance, and no trouble was borrowed because of the -thing unseen. As the low, rumbling noise increased in volume, however, -and came nearer, a suspicion of danger began to force itself even upon -the bravest, which was increased to a certainty a few minutes later, -when, with a rush, the mighty stream spread out in width, and when there -was no time to do anything to save themselves. Many of the unfortunates -were whirled into the middle of the stream before they could turn -around; men, women and children were struggling in the streets, and it -is thought that many of them never reached Johnstown, only a mile or two -below. - -At Johnstown a similar scene was enacted, only on a much larger scale. -The population is greater and the sweeping whirlpool rushed into a -denser mass of humanity. The imagination of the reader can better depict -the spectacle than the pen of the writer can give it. It was a twilight -of terror, and the gathering shades of evening closed in on a panorama -of horrors that has few parallels in the history of casualties. - -When the great wave from Conemaugh lake, behind the dam, came down the -Conemaugh Valley, the first obstacle it struck was the great viaduct -over the South Fork. This viaduct was a State work, built to carry the -old Portage road across the Fork. The Pennsylvania Railroad parallels -the Portage road for a long distance, and runs over the Fork. Besides -sweeping the viaduct down, the bore, or smaller bores on its wings, -washed out the Portage road for miles. One of the small bores went down -the bed of a brook which comes into the Conemaugh at the village of -South Fork, which is some distance above the viaduct. The big bore -backed the river above the village. The small bore was thus checked in -its course and flowed into the village. - -[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE RUINS, LOOKING UP STONY CREEK.] - -The obstruction below being removed, the backed-up water swept the -village of South Fork away. The flood came down. It moved steadily, but -with a velocity never yet attained by an engine moved by power -controllable by man. It accommodated itself to the character of the -breaks in the hill. It filled every one, whether narrow or broad. Its -thrust was sideways and downward as well as forward. By side thrusts it -scoured every cave and bend in the line of the mountains, lessening -its direct force to exert power laterally, but at the same time moving -its centre straight on Johnstown. It is well to state that the Conemaugh -river is tortuous, like most streams of its kind. Wherever the mountains -retreat, flats make out from them to the channel of the stream. It was -on such flats that South Fork and Mineral Point villages and the -boroughs of Conemaugh, Franklin, Woodvale, East Conemaugh and Johnstown -were built. - -After emerging from the South Fork, with the ruins of the great viaduct -in its maw, it swept down a narrow valley until just above the village -of Mineral Point. There it widened, and, thrusting its right wing into -the hollow where the village nestled, it swept away every house on the -flat. These were soon welded into a compact mass, with trees and logs -and general drift stuff. This mass followed the bore. What the bore -could not budge, its follower took up and carried. - -The first great feat at carrying and lifting was done at East Conemaugh. -It tore up every building in the yard of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It -took locomotives and carried them down and dug holes for their burials. -It has been said that the flood had a downward thrust. There was proof -of this on the banks of the river, where there was a sort of breakwater -of concreted cinders, slag, and other things, making a combination -harder than stone. Unable to get a grip directly on these banks, the -flood jumped over them, threw the whole weight of the mass of logs and -broken buildings down on the sand behind them, scooped this sand out, -and then, by backward blows, knocked the concrete to pieces. In this it -displayed almost the uttermost skill of human malice. - -After crossing the flat of East Conemaugh and scooping out of their -situations sixty-five houses in two streets, as well as tearing -passenger trains to pieces, drowning an unknown number of persons, and -picking up others to dash against whatever obstacles it encountered, it -sent a force to the left, which cut across the flat of Franklin borough, -ripped thirty-two houses to pieces, and cut a second channel for the -Conemaugh river, leaving an island to mark the place of division of the -forces of the flood. The strength of the eastern wing can be estimated -from the fact that the iron bars piled in heaps in the stock yard of the -Cambria Iron Company were swept away, and that some of them may be found -all along the river as far as Johnstown. - -After this came the utter wiping out of the borough of Woodvale, on the -flat to the northeast of Johnstown and diagonally opposite it. Woodvale -had a population of nearly 3000 people. It requires a large number of -houses to shelter so many. Estimating 10 to a family, which is a big -estimate, there were 300 houses in Woodvale. There were also a woolen -mill, a flour mill, the Gautier Barb Wire Mills of the Cambria Iron -Company, and the tannery of W. H. Rosenthal & Co. Only the flour mill -and the middle section of the bridge remain. The flat is bare otherwise. -The stables of the Woodvale Horse Railroad Company went out with the -water; every horse and car in them went also. - -The change was wrought in five minutes. Robert Miller, who lost two of -his children and his mother-in-law, thus describes the scene: "I was -standing near the Woodvale Bridge, between Maple avenue and Portage -street, in Johnstown. The river was high, and David Lucas and I were -speculating about the bridges, whether they would go down or not. Lucas -said, 'I guess this bridge will stand; it does not seem to be weakened.' -Just then we saw a dark object up the river. Over it was a white mist. -It was high and somehow dreadful, though we could not make it out. Dark -smoke seemed to form a background for the mist. We did not wait for -more. By instinct we knew the big dam had burst and its water was coming -upon us. Lucas jumped on a car horse, rode across the bridge, and went -yelling into Johnstown. The flood overtook him, and he had to abandon -his horse and climb a high hill. - -"I went straight to my house in Woodvale, warning everybody as I ran. My -wife and mother-in-law were ready to move, with my five children, so we -went for the hillside, but we were not speedy enough. The water had come -over the flat at its base and cut us off. I and my wife climbed into a -coal car with one of the children, to get out of the water. I put two -more children into the car and looked around for my other children and -my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law was a stout woman, weighing about two -hundred and twelve pounds. She could not climb into a car. The train was -too long for her to go around it, so she tried to crawl under, leading -the children. - -"The train was suddenly pushed forward by the flood, and she was knocked -down and crushed, so were my children, by the same shock. My wife and -children in the car were thrown down and covered with coal. I was taken -off by the water, but I swam to the car and pulled them from under a lot -of coal. A second blow to the train threw our car against the hillside -and us out of it to firm earth. I never saw my two children and -mother-in-law after the flood first struck the train of coal cars. I -have often heard it said that the dam might break, but I never paid any -attention to it before. It was common talk whenever there was a freshet -or a big pack of ice." - -The principal street of Woodvale was Maple avenue. The Conemaugh river -now rushes through it from one side of the flat to the other. Its -pavement is beautifully clean. It is doubtful that it will ever be -cleared by mortal agency again. - -Breaking down the barbed steel wire mill and the tannery at the bridge, -the flood went across the regular channel of the river and struck the -Gautier Steel Works, made up of numerous stanch brick buildings and one -immense structure of iron, filled with enormous boilers, fly wheels, and -machinery generally. The buildings are strewn through Johnstown. Near -their sites are some bricks, twisted iron beams, boilers, wheels, and -engine bodies, bound together with logs, driftwood, tree branches, and -various other things, woven in and out of one another marvelously. These -aggregations are of enormous size and weight. They were not too strong -for the immense power of the destroying agent, for a twenty-ton -locomotive, taken from the Gautier Works, now lies in Main street, -three-quarters of a mile away. It did not simply take a good grip upon -them; it was spreading out its line for a force by its left wing, and -hit simultaneously upon Johnstown flat, its people and houses, while its -right wing did whatever it could in the way of helping the destructive -work. The left wing scoured the flat to the base of the mountain. With a -portion of the centre it then rushed across Stony creek. The remainder -of the central force cleared several paths in diverging directions -through the town. - -While the left and centre were tearing houses to pieces and drowning -untold lives, the right had been hurrying along the base of the northern -hills, in the channel of the Conemaugh river, carrying down the houses, -bridges, human beings and other drift that had been picked up on the way -from South Fork. - -Thus far the destruction at Johnstown had not been one-quarter what it -is now. But the bed of the Conemaugh beyond Johnstown is between high -hills that come close together. The cut is bridged by a viaduct. The -right wing, with its plunder, was stopped by the bridge and the bend. -The left and centre came tearing down Stony creek. There was a collision -of forces. The men, women, children, horses, other domestic animals, -houses, bridges, railroad cars, logs and tree branches were jammed -together in a solid mass, which only dynamite can break up. The outlet -of Stony creek was almost completely closed and the channel of the -Conemaugh was also choked. The water in both surged back. In Stony creek -it went along the curve of the base of the hill in front of which -Kernville is built. Dividing its strength, one part of the flood went up -Stony creek a short distance and moved around again into Johnstown. It -swept before it many more houses than before and carried them around in -a circle, until they met and crashed against other houses, torn from the -point of Johnstown flat by a similar wave moving in a circle from the -Conemaugh. - -The two waves and their burdens went around and around in -slowly-diminishing circles, until most of the houses had been ground to -pieces. There are living men, women and children who circled in these -frightful vortices for an hour. Lawyer Rose, his wife, his two brothers -and his two sisters are among those. They were drawn out of their house -by the suction of the retreating water, and thus were started on a -frightful journey. Three times they went from the Kernville side of the -creek to the centre of the Johnstown flat and past their own dwelling. -They were dropped at last on the Kernville shore. Mr. Rose had his -collar bone broken, but the others were hurt only by fright, wetting and -some bruises. - -Some of the back water went up the creek and did damage at Grubtown and -Hornerstown. More of it, following the line of the mountain, rushed in -at the back of Kernville. It cut a clear path for itself from the lower -end of the village to the upper end, diagonally opposite, passing -through the centre. It sent little streams to topple homes over in side -places and went on a round trip into the higher part of Johnstown, -between the creek and the hill. It carried houses from Kernville to the -Johnstown bank of the creek, and left them there. Then it coursed down -the bank, overturning trains of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and -also houses, and keeping on until it had made the journey several times. - -How so marvelous a force was exerted is illustrated in the following -statement from Jacob Reese, of Pittsburg, the inventor of the basic -process for manufacturing steel. Mr. Reese says:-- - -"When the South Fork dam gave way, 16,000,000 tons of water rushed down -the mountain side, carrying thousands of tons of rocks, logs and trees -with it. When the flood reached the Conemaugh Valley it struck the -Pennsylvania Railroad at a point where they make up the trains for -ascending the Allegheny Mountains. Several trains with their locomotives -and loaded cars were swept down the valley before the flood wave, which -is said to have been fifty feet high. Cars loaded with iron, cattle, and -freight of all kinds, with those mighty locomotives, weighing from -seventy to one hundred tons each, were pushed ahead of the flood, trucks -and engines rolling over and over like mere toys. - -"Sixteen million tons of water gathering fences, barns, houses, mills -and shops into its maw. Down the valley for three miles or more rushed -this mighty avalanche of death, sweeping everything before it, and -leaving nothing but death and destruction behind it. When it struck the -railroad bridge at Johnstown, and not being able to force its way -through that stone structure, the debris was gorged and the water dammed -up fifty feet in ten minutes. - -"This avalanche was composed of more than 100,000 tons of rocks, -locomotives, freight cars, car trucks, iron, logs, trees and other -material pushed forward by 16,000,000 tons of water falling 500 feet, -and it was this that, sliding over the ground, mowed down the houses, -mills and factories as a mowing machine does a field of grain. It swept -down with a roaring, crushing sound, at the rate of a mile a minute, and -hurled 10,000 people into the jaws of death in less than half an hour. -And so the people called it the avalanche of death." - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -"Johnstown is annihilated," telegraphed Superintendent Pitcairn to -Pittsburg on Friday night. "He came," says one who visited the place on -Sunday, "very close to the facts of the case. Nothing like it was ever -seen in this country. Where long rows of dwelling-houses and business -blocks stood forty-eight hours ago, ruin and desolation now reign -supreme. Probably 1500 houses have been swept from the face of the earth -as completely as if they had never been erected. Main street, from end -to end, is piled fifteen and twenty feet high with debris, and in some -instances it is as high as the roofs of the houses. This great mass of -wreckage fills the street from curb to curb, and frequently has crushed -the buildings in and filled the space with reminders of the terrible -calamity. There is not a man in the place who can give any reliable -estimate of the number of houses that have been swept away. City -Solicitor Kuehn, who should be very good authority in this matter, -places the number at 1500. From the woolen mill above the island to the -bridge, a distance of probably two miles, a strip of territory nearly a -half mile in width has been swept clean, not a stick of timber or one -brick on top of another being left to tell the story. It is the most -complete wreck that imagination could portray. - -"All day long men, women, and children were plodding about the desolate -waste looking in vain to locate the boundaries of their former homes. -Nothing but a wide expanse of mud, ornamented here and there with heaps -of driftwood, remained, however, for their contemplation. It is -perfectly safe to say that every house in the city that was not located -well up on the hillside was either swept completely away or wrecked so -badly that rebuilding will be absolutely necessary. These losses, -however, are nothing compared to the frightful sacrifice of precious -human lives to be seen on every hand. - -"During all this solemn Sunday Johnstown has been drenched with the -tears of stricken mortals, and the air is filled with sobs and sighs -that come from breaking hearts. There are scenes enacted here every hour -and every minute that affect all beholders profoundly. When homes are -thus torn asunder in an instant, and the loved ones hurled from the arms -of loving and devoted mothers, there is an element of sadness in the -tragedy that overwhelms every heart. - -"A slide, a series of frightful tosses from side to side, a run, and you -have crossed the narrow rope bridge which spanned the chasm dug by the -waters between the stone bridge and Johnstown. Crossing the bridge is an -exciting task, yet many women accomplished it rather than remain in -Johnstown. The bridge pitched like a ship in a storm. Within two inches -of your feet rushed the muddy waters of the Conemaugh. There were no -ropes to easily guide, and creeping was more convenient than walking. -One had to cross the Conemaugh at a second point in order to reach -Johnstown proper. This was accomplished by a skiff ferry. The ferryman -clung to a rope and pulled the boat over. - -"After landing one walks across a desolate sea of mud, in which there -are interred many human bodies. It was once the handsome portion of the -town. The cellars are filled up with mud, so that a person who has never -seen the city can hardly imagine that houses ever stood where they did. -Four streets solidly built up with houses have been swept away. Nothing -but a small, two-story frame house remains. It was near the edge of the -wave and thus escaped, although one side was torn off. The walk up to -wrecks of houses was interrupted in many places by small branch streams. -Occasionally across the flats could be seen the remains of a victim. -The stench arising from the mud is sickening. Along the route were -strewn tin utensils, pieces of machinery, iron pipes, and wares of every -conceivable kind. In the midst of the wreck a clothing store dummy, with -a hand in the position of beckoning to a person, stands erect and -uninjured. - -"It is impossible to describe the appearance of Main street. Whole -houses have been swept down this one street and become lodged. The wreck -is piled as high as the second-story windows. The reporter could step -from the wreck into the auditorium of the opera house. The ruins consist -of parts of houses, trees, saw logs and reels from the wire factory. -Many houses have their side walls and roofs torn up, and one can walk -directly into what had been second-story bed-rooms, or go in by way of -the top. Further up town a raft of logs lodged in the street, and did -great damage. At the beginning of the wreckage, which is at the opening -of the valley of the Conemaugh, one can look up the valley for miles and -not see a house. Nothing stands but an old woolen mill. - -"Charles Luther is the name of the boy who stood on an adjacent -elevation and saw the whole flood. He said he heard a grinding noise far -up the valley, and looking up he could see a dark line moving slowly -toward him. He saw that it was houses. On they came, like the hand of a -giant clearing off his table. High in the air would be tossed a log or -beam, which fell back with a crash. Down the valley it moved and across -the little mountain city. For ten minutes nothing but moving houses were -seen, and then the waters came with a roar and a rush. This lasted for -two hours, and then it began to flow more steadily." - -Seen from the high hill across the river from Johnstown, the Conemaugh -Valley gives an easy explanation of the terrible destruction which it -has suffered. This valley, stretching back almost in a straight line for -miles, suddenly narrows near Johnstown. The wall of water which came -tearing down toward the town, picking up all the houses and mills in the -villages along its way, suddenly rose in height as it came to the narrow -pass. It swept over the nearest part of the town and met the waters of -Stony creek, swollen by rains, rushing along with the speed of a -torrent. The two forces coming together, each turned aside and started -away again in a half-circle, seeking an outlet in the lower Conemaugh -Valley. The massive stone bridge of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, -at the lower base of the triangle, was almost instantly choked up with -the great mass of wreckage dashed against it, and became a dam that -could not be swept away, and proved to be the ruin of the town and the -villages above. The waters checked here, formed a vast whirlpool, which -destroyed everything within its circle. It backed up on the other side -of the triangle, and devastated the village of Kernville, across the -river from Johnstown. - -The force of the current was truly appalling. The best evidence of its -force is exhibited in the mass of debris south of the Pennsylvania -bridge. Persons on the hillsides declare that houses, solid from their -foundation stones, were rushed on to destruction at the rate of thirty -miles an hour. On one house forty persons were counted; their cries for -help were heard far above the roaring waters. At the railroad bridge the -house parted in the middle, and the cries of the unfortunate people were -smothered in the engulfing waters. - -At the Cambria Iron Works a huge hickory struck the south brick wall of -the rolling mill at an angle, went through it and the west wall, where -it remains. A still more extraordinary incident is seen at the -foot-bridge of the Pennsylvania station, on the freight track built for -the Cambria Iron Works. The sunken track and bridge are built in a -curve. In clearing out the track the Cambria workmen discovered two huge -bridge trusses intact, the larger one 30 feet long and 10 feet high. It -lay close to the top of the bridge and had been driven into the cut at -least fifty feet. - -It was with an impulse to the right side of the mountain that the great -mass of water came down the Conemaugh river. It was a mass of water with -a front forty feet high, and an eighth of a mile wide. Its velocity was -so great that its first sweep did little damage on either side. It had -no time to spread. Where it burst from the gap it swept south until it -struck the bridge, and, although it was ten feet or more deep over the -top of the bridge, the obstruction of the mass of masonry was so great -that the head of the rush of water was turned back along the -Pennsylvania Railroad bluff on the left, and, sweeping up to where it -met the first stream again, licked up the portion of the town on the -left side of the triangular plain. A great eddy was thus formed. Through -the Stony Creek Gap to the right there was a rush of surplus water. In -two minutes after the current first burst through, forty feet deep, with -a solid mass of water whirling around with a current of tremendous -velocity, it was a whirlpool vastly greater than that of ten Niagaras. -The only outlet was under and over the railroad bridge, and the -continuing rush of the waters into the valley from the gap was greater -for some time than the means of escape at the bridge. - -[Illustration: RUINS SHOWING THE PATH OF THE FLOOD.] - -"Standing now at the bridge," says a visitor on Monday, "where this vast -whirlpool struggled for exit, the air is heavy with smoke and foul with -nameless odors from a mass of wreckage. The area of the triangular -space where the awful whirlpool revolved is said to be about four square -miles. The area of the space covered by this smoking mass is sixty -acres. The surface of this mass is now fifteen feet below the top of the -bridge and about thirty below the point on the bluff where the surface -of the whirlpool lashed the banks. One ragged mass some distance above -the bridge rises several feet above the general level, but with that -exception the surface of the debris is level. It has burned off until it -reached the water, and is smouldering on as the water gradually lowers. -On the right bank, at about where was the highest water level, a -detachment of the Pittsburg Fire Department is throwing two fitful -streams of water down into the smoke, with the idea of gradually -extinguishing the fire. In the immensity of the disaster with which they -combat their feeble efforts seem like those of boys with squirt guns -dampening a bonfire. About the sixty acres of burning debris, and to the -left of it from where it begins to narrow toward Stony Creek Gap, there -is a large area of level mud, with muddy streams wandering about in it. -This tract of mud comprises all of the triangle except a thin fringe of -buildings along the bluff on the Pennsylvania Railroad. A considerable -number of houses stand on the high ground on the lower face of the -central mountain and off to the right into Stony Creek Gap. The fringe -along the Pennsylvania Railroad is mostly of stores and other large -brick buildings that are completely wrecked, though not swept away. The -houses on the higher ground are unharmed; but down toward the edge they -fade away by degrees of completeness in their wreckage into the yellow -level of the huge tract over which the mighty whirlpool swept. Off out -of sight, in Stony Creek Gap, are fringes of houses on either side of -the muddy flat. - -"This flat is a peculiar thing. It is level and uninteresting as a piece -of waste ground. Too poor to grow grass, there is nothing to indicate -that it had ever been anything else than what it is. It is as clean of -debris and wreckage as though there had never been a building on it. In -reality it was the central and busiest part of Johnstown. Buildings, -both dwellings and stores, covered it thickly. Its streets were paved, -and its sidewalks of substantial stone. It had street-car lines, gas and -electric lights, and all the other improvements of a substantial city of -15,000 or 20,000 inhabitants. Iron bridges spanned the streams, and the -buildings were of substantial character. Not a brick remains, not a -stone nor a stick of timber in all this territory. There are not even -hummocks and mounds to show where wreckage might be covered with a layer -of mud. They are not there, they are gone--every building, every -street, every sidewalk and pavement, the street railways, and everything -else that covered the surface of the earth has vanished as utterly as -though it had never been there. The ground was swept as clean as though -some mighty scraper had been dragged over it again and again. Not even -the lines of the streets can be remotely traced. - -"'I have visited Johnstown a dozen times a year for a long time,' said a -business man to-day, 'and I know it thoroughly, but I haven't the least -idea now of what part of it this is. I can't even tell the direction the -streets used to run.' - -"His bewilderment is hardly greater than that of the citizens -themselves. They wander about in the mud for hours trying to find the -spot where the house of some friend or relative used to stand. It takes -a whole family to locate the site of their friend's house with any -reasonable certainty. - -"Wandering over this muddy plain one can realize something of what must -have been the gigantic force of that vast whirlpool. It pressed upon the -town like some huge millstone, weighing tens of thousands of tons and -revolving with awful velocity, pounding to powder everything beneath. -But the conception of the power of that horrible eddy of the flood must -remain feeble until that sixty acres of burning debris is inspected. It -seems from a little distance like any other mass of wreckage, though -vastly longer than any ever before seen in this country. It must have -been many times more tremendous when it was heaped up twenty feet higher -over its whole area and before the fire leveled it off. But neither then -nor now can the full terror of the flood that piled it there be -adequately realized until a trip across parts where the fire has been -extinguished shows the manner in which the stuff composing it is packed -together. It is not a heap of broken timbers lying loosely thrown -together in all directions. It is a solid mass. The boards and timbers -which made up the frame buildings are laid together as closely as sticks -of wood in a pile--more closely, for they are welded into one another -until each stick is as solidly fixed in place as though all were one. A -curious thing is that wherever there are a few boards together they are -edge up, and never standing on end or flat. The terrible force of the -whirlpool that ground four square miles of buildings into this sixty -acres of wreckage left no opportunity for gaps or holes between pieces -in the river. Everything was packed together as solidly as though by -sledge-hammer blows. - -"But the boards and timber of four square miles of buildings are not all -that is in that sixty-acre mass. An immense amount of debris from -further up the valley lies there. Twenty-seven locomotives, several -Pullman cars and probably a hundred other cars, or all that is left of -them, are in that mass. Fragments of iron bridges can be seen sticking -out occasionally above the wreckage. They are about the only things the -fire has not leveled, except the curious hillock spoken of, which is an -eighth of a mile back from the bridge, where the flames apparently raged -less fiercely. Scattered over the area, also, are many blackened logs -that were too big to be entirely burned, and that stick up now like spar -buoys in a sea of ruin. Little jets of flame, almost unseen by daylight, -but appearing as evening falls, are scattered thickly over the surface -of the wreckage. - -"Of the rest of Johnstown, and the collection of towns within sight of -the bridge, not much is to be said. They are, to a greater or less -extent, gone, as Johnstown is gone. Far up the gap through which came -the flood a large brick building remains standing, but ruined. It is all -that is left of one of the biggest wire mills and steel works in the -country. Turning around below the bridge are the works of the Cambria -Iron Company. The buildings are still standing, but they are pretty well -ruined, and the machinery with which they were filled is either totally -destroyed or damaged almost beyond repair. High up on the hill at the -left and scattered up on other hills in sight are many dwellings, neat, -well kept, and attractive places apparently, and looking as bright and -fresh now as before the awful torrent wiped out of existence everything -in the valley below. - -"This is Johnstown and its immediate vicinity as nearly as words can -paint it. It is a single feature, one section out of fifteen miles of -horror that stretches through this once lovely valley of the Allegheny. -What is true of Johnstown is true of every town for miles up and down. -The desolation of one town may differ from the desolation in others as -one death may differ from another; but it is desolation and death -everywhere--desolation so complete, so relentless, so dreadful that it -is absolutely beyond the power of language fairly to tell the tale." - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -Mr. William Henry Smith, General Manager of the Associated Press, was a -passenger on a railroad train which reached the Conemaugh Valley on the -very day of the disaster. He writes as follows of what he saw: - -"The fast line trains that leave Chicago at quarter past three and -Cincinnati at seven P.M. constitute the day-express eastward from -Pittsburg, which runs in two sections. This train left Pittsburg on time -Friday morning, but was stopped for an hour at Johnstown by reports of a -wash-out ahead. It had been raining hard for over sixteen hours, and the -sides of the mountains were covered with water descending into the -valleys. The Conemaugh River, whose bank is followed by the Pennsylvania -Railroad for many miles, looked an angry flood nearly bankfull. -Passengers were interested in seeing hundreds of saw-logs and an -enormous amount of driftwood shoot rapidly by, and the train pursued its -way eastward. At Johnstown there was a long wait, as before stated. The -lower stories of many houses were submerged by the slack-water, and the -inhabitants were looking out of the second-story windows. Horses were -standing up to their knees in water in the streets; a side-track of the -railroad had been washed out; loaded cars were on the bridge to keep it -steady, and the huge poles of the Western Union Telegraph Company, -carrying fifteen wires, swayed badly, and several soon went down. The -two sections ran to Conemaugh, about two miles eastward of Johnstown, -and lay there about three hours, when they were moved on to the highest -ground and placed side by side. The mail train was placed in the rear of -the first section, and a freight train was run onto a side track on the -bank of the Conemaugh. The report was that a bridge had been washed out, -carrying away one track and that the other track was unsafe. There was a -rumor also that the reservoir at South Fork might break. This made most -of the passengers uneasy, and they kept a pretty good look-out for -information. The porters of the Pullman cars remained at their posts, -and comforted the passengers with the assurance that the Pennsylvania -Railroad Company always took care of its patrons. A few gentlemen and -some ladies and children quietly seated themselves, apparently -contented. One gentleman, who was ill, had his berth made up and -retired, although advised not to do so. - -"Soon the cry came that the water in the reservoir had broken down the -barrier and was sweeping down the valley. Instantly there was a panic -and a rush for the mountain side. Children were carried and women -assisted by a few who kept cool heads. It was a race for life. There was -seen the black head of the flood, now the monster Destruction, whose -crest was high raised in the air, and with this in view even the weak -found wings for their feet. No words can adequately describe the terror -that filled every breast, or the awful power manifested by the flood. -The round-house had stalls for twenty-three locomotives. There were -eighteen or twenty of these standing there at this time. There was an -ominous crash, and the round-house and locomotives disappeared. -Everything in the main track of the flood was first lifted in air and -then swallowed up by the waters. A hundred houses were swept away in a -few minutes. These included the hotel, stores, and saloons on the front -street and residences adjacent. The locomotive of one of the trains was -struck by a house and demolished. The side of another house stopped in -front of another locomotive and served as a shield. The rear car of the -mail train swung around in the rear of the second section of the -express and turned over on its side. Three men were observed standing -upon it as it floated. The coupling broke, and the car moved out upon -the bosom of the waters. As it would roll the men would shift their -position. The situation was desperate, and they were given up for lost. -Two or three hardy men seized ropes and ran along the mountain side to -give them aid. Later it was reported that the men escaped over some -driftwood as their car was carried near a bank. It is believed there -were several women and children inside the car. Of course they were -drowned. As the fugitives on the mountain side witnessed the awful -devastation they were moved as never before in their lives. They were -powerless to help those seized upon by the waters; the despair of those -who had lost everything in life and the wailing of those whose relatives -or friends were missing filled their breasts with unutterable sorrow. - -"The rain continued to fall steadily, but shelter was not thought of. -Few passengers saved anything from the train, so sudden was the cry 'Run -for your lives, the reservoir has broken!' - -"Many were without hats, and as their baggage was left on the trains, -they were without the means of relieving their unhappy condition. The -occupants of the houses still standing on the high ground threw them -open to those who had lost all, and to the passengers of the train. - -"During the height of the flood, the spectators were startled by the -sound of two locomotive whistles from the very midst of the waters. Two -engineers, with characteristic courage, had remained at their posts, and -while there was destruction on every hand, and apparently no escape for -them, they sounded their whistles. This they repeated at intervals, the -last time with triumphant vigor, as the waters were receding from the -sides of their locomotives. By half-past five the force of the reservoir -water had been spent on the village of Conemaugh, and the Pullman cars -and locomotive of the second section remained unmoved. This was because, -being on the highest and hardest ground, the destructive current of the -reservoir flood had passed between that and the mountain, while the -current of the river did not eat it away. But the other trains had been -destroyed. A solitary locomotive was seen embedded in the mud where the -round-house had stood. - -"As the greatest danger had passed, the people of Conemaugh gave their -thoughts to their neighbors of the city of Johnstown. Here was centred -the great steel and iron industries, the pride of Western Pennsylvania, -the Cambria Iron Works being known everywhere. Here were churches, -daily newspapers, banks, dry-goods houses, warehouses, and the -comfortable and well-built homes of twelve thousand people. In the -contemplation of the irresistible force of that awful flood, gathering -additional momentum as it swept on toward the Gulf, it became clear that -the city must be destroyed, and that unless the inhabitants had -telegraphic notice of the breaking of the reservoir they must perish. A -cry of horror went up from the hundreds on the mountain-side, and a few -instinctively turned their steps toward Johnstown. The city was -destroyed. All the mills, furnaces, manufactories, the many and varied -industries, the banks, the residences, all, all were swallowed up before -the shadows of night had settled down upon the earth. Those who came -back by daybreak said that from five thousand to eight thousand had been -drowned. Our hope is that this is an exaggeration, and when the roll is -called most will respond. In the light of this calamity, the destruction -at Conemaugh sinks into insignificance." - -Mr. George Johnston, a lumber merchant of Pittsburg, was another -witness. "I had gone to Johnstown," he says, "to place a couple of -orders. I had scarcely reached the town, about three o'clock in the -afternoon, when I saw a bulletin posted up in front of the telegraph -office, around which quite a crowd of men had congregated. I pushed my -way up, and read that the waters were so high in the Conemaugh that it -was feared the three-mile dam, as it was called, would give way. I know -enough about Johnstown to feel that my life was not worth a snap once -that dam gave way. Although the Johnstown people did not seem to pay -much attention to the warning, I was nervous and apprehensive. I had -several parties to see, but concluded to let all but one go until some -later day. So I hurried through with my most urgent transactions and -started for the depot. The Conemaugh had then gotten so high that the -residents of the low-lying districts had moved into upper stories. I -noticed a number of wagons filled with furniture hurrying through the -streets. A few families, either apprehensive of the impending calamity -or driven from their houses by the rising waters, had started for the -surrounding hills. Johnstown, you know, lies in a narrow valley, and -lies principally on the V-shaped point between the converging river and -Stony Creek. - -"I was just walking up the steps to the depot when I heard a fearful -roar up the valley. It sounded at first like a heavy train of cars, but -soon became too loud and terrible for that. I boarded a train, and as I -sat at the car window a sight broke before my view that I will remember -to my dying day. Away up the Conemaugh came a yellow wall, whose crest -was white and frothy. I rushed for the platform of the car, not knowing -what I did, and just then the train began to move. Terrified as I was, I -remember feeling that I was in the safest place and I sank back in a -seat. When I looked out again what had been the busy mill yards of the -Cambria Iron Company was a yellow, turbulent sea, on whose churned -currents houses and barns were riding like ships in a brook. The water -rushing in upon the molten metal in the mills had caused deafening -explosions, which, coupled with the roar and grinding of the flood, made -a terrifying din. Turning to the other side and looking on down the -valley, I saw the muddy water rushing through the main streets of the -town. I could see men and horses floundering about almost within call. -House-tops were being filled with white-faced people who clung to each -other and looked terror-stricken upon the rising flood. - -"It had all come so quickly that none of them seemed to realize what had -happened. The conductor of my train had been pulling frantically at the -bell-rope, and the train went spinning across the bridge. I sat in my -seat transfixed with horror. Houses were spinning through beneath the -bridge, and I did not know at what moment the structure would melt away -under the train. The conductor kept tugging at the bell-rope and the -train shot ahead again. We seemed to fairly leap over the yellow -torrents, and I wondered for an instant whether we had not left the -rails and were flying through the air. My heart gave a bound of relief -when we dashed into the forest on the hillside opposite the doomed town. -As the train sped along at a rate of speed that made me think the -engineer had gone mad, I took one look back upon the valley. What a -sight it was! The populous valley for miles either way was a seething, -roaring cauldron, through whose boiling surface roofs of houses and the -stand-pipes of mills protruded. The water was fairly piling up in a well -farther up, and I saw the worst had not yet come. Then I turned my eyes -away from the awful sight and tried not to even think until Pittsburg -was reached. - -"I cannot see how it is possible for less than five thousand lives to -have been sacrificed in Johnstown alone. At least two-thirds of the town -was swept away. The water came so quickly that escape from the low -districts was impossible. People retreated to the upper floors of their -residences and stores until the water had gotten too deep to allow their -escape. When the big flood came the houses were picked up like -pasteboard boxes or collapsed like egg-shells. The advance of the flood -was black with houses, logs, and other debris, so that it struck -Johnstown with the solid force of a battering-ram. None but -eye-witnesses of the flood can comprehend its size and awfulness as it -came tumbling, roaring down upon the unprotected town." - -[Illustration: TYPICAL SCENE IN JOHNSTOWN.] - -The appearance of the flood at Sang Hollow, some miles below Johnstown, -is thus pictured by C. W. Linthicum, of Baltimore: - -"My train left Pittsburg on Friday morning for Johnstown. The train was -due at Sang Hollow at two minutes after four, but was five minutes late. -At Sang Hollow, just as we were about to pull out, we heard that the -flood was coming. Looking ahead, up the valley, we saw an immense wall -of water thirty feet high, raging, roaring, rushing toward us. The -engineer reversed his engine and rushed back to the hills at full speed, -and we barely escaped the waters. We ran back three hundred yards, and -the flood swept by, tearing up track, telegraph poles, trees, and -houses. Superintendent Pitcairn was on the train. We all got out and -tried to save the floating people. Taking the bell cord we formed a line -and threw the rope out, thus saving seven persons. We could have saved -more, but many were afraid to let go of the debris. It was an awful -sight. The immense volume of water was roaring along, whirling over huge -rocks, dashing against the banks and leaping high into the air, and this -seething flood was strewn with timber, trunks of trees, parts of houses, -and hundreds of human beings, cattle, and almost every living animal. -The fearful peril of the living was not more awful than the horrors of -hundreds of distorted, bleeding corpses whirling along the avalanche of -death. We counted one hundred and seven people floating by and dead -without number. A section of roof came by on which were sitting a woman -and girl. A man named C. W. Heppenstall, of Pittsburg, waded and swam to -the roof. He brought the girl in first and then the woman. They told us -they were not relatives. The woman had lost her husband and four -children, and the girl her father and mother, and entire family. A -little boy came by with his mother. Both were as calm as could be, and -the boy was apparently trying to comfort the mother. They passed -unheeding our proffered help, and striking the bridge below, went down -into the vortex like lead. - -"One beautiful girl came by with her hands raised in prayer, and, -although we shouted to her and ran along the bank, she paid no -attention. We could have saved her if she had caught the rope. An old -man and his wife whom we saved said that eleven persons started from -Cambria City on the roof with him, but that the others had dropped off. - -"At about eight P. M. we started for New Florence. All along the river -we saw corpses without number caught in the branches of trees and -wedged in corners in the banks. A large sycamore tree in the river -between Sang Hollow and New Florence seemed to draw into it nearly all -who floated down, and they went under the surface at its roots like -lead. When the waters subsided two hundred and nine bodies were found at -the root of this tree. All night the living and the dead floated by New -Florence. At Pittsburg seventy-eight bodies were found on Saturday, and -as many more were seen floating by. Hundreds of people from ill-fated -Johnstown are wandering homeless and starving on the mountain-side. Very -few saved anything, and I saw numbers going down the stream naked. The -suffering within the next few days will be fearful unless prompt relief -is extended." - -H. M. Bennett and S. W. Keltz, engineer and conductor of engine No. -1,165, an extra freight, which happened to be lying at South Fork when -the dam broke, tell a graphic story of their wonderful flight and escape -on the locomotive before the advancing flood. At the time mentioned -Bennett and Keltz were in the signal tower at that point awaiting -orders. The fireman and flagman were on the engine, and two brakemen -were asleep in the caboose. Suddenly the men in the tower heard a loud -booming roar in the valley above them. They looked in the direction of -the sound, and were almost transfixed with horror to see two miles -above them a huge black wall of water, at least one hundred and fifty -feet in height, rushing down the valley upon them. - -One look the fear-stricken men gave the awful sight, and then they made -a rush for the locomotive, at the same time giving the alarm to the -sleeping brakemen in the caboose with loud cries, but with no avail. It -was impossible to aid them further, however, so they cut the engine -loose from the train, and the engineer, with one wild wrench, threw the -lever wide open, and they were away on a mad race for life. For a moment -it seemed that they would not receive momentum enough to keep ahead of -the flood, and they cast one despairing glance back. Then they could see -the awful deluge approaching in its might. On it came, rolling and -roaring like some Titanic monster, tossing and tearing houses, sheds, -and trees in its awful speed as if they were mere toys. As they looked -they saw the two brakemen rush out of the cab, but they had not time to -gather the slightest idea of the cause of their doom before they, the -car, and signal tower were tossed high in the air, to disappear forever -in engulfing water. - -Then with a shudder, as if at last it comprehended its peril, the engine -leaped forward like a thing of life, and speeded down the valley. But -fast as it went, the flood gained upon them. Hope, however, was in the -ascendant, for if they could but get across the bridge below the track -would lean toward the hillside in such a manner that they would be -comparatively safe. In a few breathless moments the shrieking locomotive -whizzed around the curve and they were in sight of the bridge. Horror -upon horrors! Ahead of them was a freight train, with the rear end -almost on the bridge, and to get across was simply impossible! Engineer -Bennett then reversed the lever and succeeded in checking the engine as -they glided across the bridge, and then they jumped and ran for their -lives up the hillside, as the bridge and tender of the locomotive they -had been on were swept away like a bundle of matches in the torrent. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -There have been many famous rides in history. Longfellow has celebrated -that of Paul Revere. Read has sung of Sheridan's. John Boyle O'Reilly -has commemorated in graceful verse the splendid achievement of Collins -Graves, who, when the Williamsburg dam in Massachusetts broke, dashed -down the valley on horseback in the van of the flood, warning the people -and saving countless lives: - - "He draws no rein, but he shakes the street - With a shout and a ring of the galloping feet, - And this the cry that he flings to the wind: - 'To the hills for your lives! The flood is behind!' - - "In front of the roaring flood is heard - The galloping horse and the warning word. - Thank God! The brave man's life is spared! - From Williamsburg town he nobly dared - To race with the flood and take the road - In front of the terrible swath it mowed. - For miles it thundered and crashed behind, - But he looked ahead with a steadfast mind: - 'They must be warned,' was all he said, - As away on his terrible ride he sped." - -There were two such heroes in the Conemaugh Valley. Let their deeds be -told and their names held in everlasting honor. One was John G. Parke, a -young civil engineer of Philadelphia, a nephew of the General John G. -Parke who commanded a corps of the Union Army. He was the first to -discover the impending break in the South Fork dam, and jumping into the -saddle he started at breakneck speed down the valley shouting: "The dam; -the dam is breaking; run for your lives!" Hundreds of people were saved -by this timely warning. Reaching South Fork Station, young Parke -telegraphed tidings of the coming inundation to Johnstown, ten miles -below, fully an hour before the flood came in "a solid wall of water -thirty feet high" to drown the mountain-bound town. - -Some heeded the note of alarm at Johnstown; others had heard it before, -doubted, and waited until death overtook them. Young Parke climbed up -into the mountains when the water was almost at his horse's heels, and -saw the deluge pass. - -Less fortunate was Daniel Peyton, a rich young man of Johnstown. He -heard at Conemaugh the message sent down from South Fork by the gallant -Parke. In a moment he sprang into the saddle. Mounted on a grand, big, -bay horse, he came riding down the pike which passes through Conemaugh -to Johnstown, like some angel of wrath of old, shouting his warning: - -"Run for your lives to the hills! Run to the hills!" - -The people crowded out of their houses along the thickly settled streets -awe-struck and wondering. No one knew the man, and some thought he was a -maniac and laughed. On and on, at a deadly pace, he rode, and shrilly -rang out his awful cry. In a few moments, however, there came a cloud of -ruin down the broad streets, down the narrow alleys, grinding, twisting, -hurling, over-turning, crashing--annihilating the weak and the strong. -It was the charge of the flood, wearing its coronet of ruin and -devastation, which grew at every instant of its progress. Forty feet -high, some say, thirty according to others, was this sea, and it -travelled with a swiftness like that which lay in the heels of Mercury. - -On and on raced the rider, on and on rushed the wave. Dozens of people -took heed of the warning and ran up to the hills. - -Poor, faithful rider! It was an unequal contest. Just as he turned to -cross the railroad bridge the mighty wall fell upon him, and horse, -rider, and bridge all went out into chaos together. - -A few feet further on several cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad train -from Pittsburg were caught up and hurried into the cauldron, and the -heart of the town was reached. - -The hero had turned neither to the right nor left for himself, but rode -on to death for his townsmen. When found Peyton was lying face upward -beneath the remnants of massive oaks, while hard by lay the gallant -horse that had so nobly done all in his power for humanity before he -started to seek a place of safety for himself. - -Mrs. Ogle, the manager of the Western Union telegraph office, who died -at her post, will go down in history as a heroine of the highest order. -Notwithstanding the repeated notifications which she received to get out -of reach of the approaching danger, she stood by the instruments with -unflinching loyalty and undaunted courage, sending words of warning to -those in danger in the valley below. When every station in the path of -the coming torrent had been warned, she wired her companion at South -Fork: "This is my last message," and as such it shall always be -remembered as her last words on earth, for at that very moment the -torrent engulfed her and bore her from her post on earth to her post of -honor in the great beyond. - -Miss Nina Speck, daughter of the Rev. David Speck, pastor of the First -United Brethren Church, of Chambersburg, was in Johnstown visiting her -brother and narrowly escaped death in the flood. She arrived home clad -in nondescript clothing, which had been furnished by an old colored -washerwoman, and told the following story of the flood: - -"Our house was in Kernsville, a part of Johnstown through which Stony -Creek ran. Although we were a square from the creek, the back-water from -the stream had flooded the streets in the morning and was up to our -front porch. At four o'clock on Friday afternoon we were sitting on the -front porch watching the flood, when we heard a roar as of a tornado or -mighty conflagration. - -"We rushed up-stairs and got out upon the bay-window. There an awful -sight met our eyes. Down the Conemaugh Valley was advancing a mighty -wall of water and mist with a terrible roar. Before it were rolling -houses and buildings of all kinds, tossing over and over. We thought it -was a cyclone, the roar sounding like a tempest among forest trees. We -started down-stairs and out through the rear of the house to escape to -the hillside near by. But before we could get there the water was up to -our necks and we could make no progress. We turned back and were -literally dashed by the current into the house, which began to move off -as soon as [we] were in it again. From the second-story window I saw a -young man drifting toward us. I broke the glass from the frames with my -hands and helped him in, and in a few minutes more I pulled in an old -man, a neighbor, who had been sick. - -"Our house moved rapidly down the stream and fortunately lodged against -a strong building. The water forced us out of the second-story up into -the attic. Then we heard a lot of people on our roof begging us for -God's sake to let them in. I broke through the roof with a bed-slat and -pulled them in. Soon we had thirteen in all crouched in the attic. - -"Our house was rocking, and every now and then a building would crash -against us. Every moment we thought we would go down. The roofs of all -the houses drifting by us were covered with people, nearly all praying -and some singing hymns, and now and then a house would break apart and -all would go down. On Saturday at noon we were rescued, making our way -from one building to the next by crawling on narrow planks. I counted -hundreds of bodies lying in the debris, most of them covered over with -earth and showing only the outlines of the form." - -Opposite the northern wall of the Methodist Church the flood struck the -new Queen Anne house of John Fronheiser, a superintendent in the Cambria -Works. He was at home, as most men were that day, trying to calm the -fears of the women and children of the family during the earlier flood. -Down went the front of the new Queen Anne house, and into the wreck of -it fell the Superintendent, two elder children, a girl and a boy. As the -flood passed he heard the boy cry: "Don't let me drown, papa; break my -arms first!" and the girl: "Cut off my legs, but don't let me drown!" - -And as he heard them, came a wilder cry from his wife drifting down with -the current, to "Save the baby." But neither wife nor baby could be -saved, and boy and girl stayed in the wreck until the water went down -and they were extricated. - -Horror piled on horror is the story from Johnstown down to the viaduct. -Horror shot through with intense lights of heroism, and here and there -pervaded with gleams of humor. It is known that one girl sang as she was -whirled through the flood, "Jesus, lover of my soul," until the water -stopped her singing forever. It is known that Elvie Duncan, daughter of -the Superintendent of the Street Car Company, when her family was -separated and she was swept away with her baby sister, kept the little -thing alive by chewing bread and feeding it to her. It is known that -John Dibart, banker, died as helplessly in his splendid house as did -that solitary prisoner in his cell; that the pleasant park, with the -chain fence about it, was so completely annihilated that not even one -root of the many shade trees within its boundaries remains. It is known -also that to a leaden-footed messenger boy, who was ambling along Main -Street, fear lent wings to lift him into the _Tribune_ office in the -second story of the Post Office, and that the Rosensteels, general -storekeepers of Woodvale, were swept into the windows of their friends, -the Cohens, retail storekeepers of Main Street, Johnstown, two miles -from where they started. It is known that the Episcopal Church, at -Locust and Market Streets, went down like a house of cards, or as the -German Lutheran had gone, in the path of the flood, and that Rector -Diller, his wife and child, and adopted daughter went with it, while of -their next-door neighbors, Frank Daly, of the Cambria Company, and his -mother, the son was drowned and the mother, not so badly hurt in body as -in spirit, died three nights after in the Mercy Hospital, Pittsburg. - -But while the flood was driving people to silent death down the valley, -there was a sound of lamentation on the hills. Hundreds who had climbed -there to be out of reach during the morning's freshet saw the city in -the valley disappearing, and their cries rose high above the crash and -the roar. Little time had eyes to watch or lips to cry. O'Brien, the -disabled Millville storekeeper, was one of the crowd in the park. He saw -a town before him, then a mountain of timber approaching; then a dizzy -swirl of men at the viaduct, a breaking of the embankment to the east of -it, the forming of a whirlpool there that ate up homes and those that -dwelt in them, as a cauldron of molten iron eats up the metal scraps -that are thrown in to cool it, and then a silence and a subsidence. - -It was a quarter of four o'clock. At half-past three there had been a -Johnstown. Now there was none. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -Volumes might be written of the sufferings endured and valor exhibited -by the survivors of the flood, or of the heart-rending grief with which -so many were stricken. At Johnstown an utterly wretched woman named Mrs. -Fenn stood by a muddy pool of water trying to find some trace of a once -happy home. She was half crazed with grief, and her eyes were red and -swollen. As a correspondent stepped to her side she raised her pale, -haggard face and remarked: - -"They are all gone. O God! be merciful to them! My husband and my seven -dear little children have been swept down with the flood, and I am left -alone. We were driven by the awful flood into the garret, but the water -followed us there. Inch by inch it kept rising, until our heads were -crushing against the roof. It was death to remain. So I raised a window, -and one by one, placed my darlings on some driftwood, trusting to the -great Creator. As I liberated the last one, my sweet little boy, he -looked at me and said: 'Mamma, you always told me that the Lord would -care for me; will He look after me now?' I saw him drift away with his -loving face turned toward me, and, with a prayer on my lips for his -deliverance, he passed from sight forever. The next moment the roof -crashed in, and I floated outside, to be rescued fifteen hours later -from the roof of a house in Kernsville. If I could only find one of my -darlings I could bow to the will of God, but they are all gone. I have -lost everything on earth now but my life, and I will return to my old -Virginia home and lay me down for my last great sleep." - -A handsome woman, with hair as black as a raven's wing, walked through -the depot where a dozen or more bodies were awaiting burial. Passing -from one to another, she finally lifted the paper covering from the face -of a woman, young, and with traces of beauty showing through the stains -of muddy water, and with a cry of anguish she reeled backward to be -caught by a rugged man who chanced to be passing. In a moment or so she -had calmed herself sufficiently to take one more look at the features of -her dead. She stood gazing at the corpse as if dumb. Finally, turning -away with another wild burst of grief, she said: "And her beautiful hair -all matted and her sweet face so bruised and stained with mud and -water!" The dead woman was the sister of the mourner. The body was -placed in a coffin a few minutes later and sent away to its narrow -house. - -A woman was seen to smile, one morning just after the catastrophe, as -she came down the steps of Prospect Hill, at Johnstown. She ran down -lightly, turning up toward the stone bridge. She passed the little -railroad station where the undertakers were at work embalming the dead, -and walked slowly until she got opposite the station. Then she stopped -and danced a few steps. There was but a small crowd there. The woman -raised her hands above her head and sang. She became quiet and then -suddenly burst into a frenzied fit of weeping and beat her forehead with -her hands. She tore her dress, which was already in rags. - -"I shall go crazy," she screamed, "if they do not find his body." - -The poor woman could not go crazy, as her mind had been already -shattered. - -"He was a good man," she went on, while the onlookers listened -pityingly. "I loved him and he loved me." - -"Where is he?" she screamed. "I must find him." - -And she started at the top of her speed down the track toward the river. -Some men caught her. She struggled desperately for a few moments, and -then fainted. - -Her name was Eliza Adams, and she was a bride of but two months. Her -husband was a foreman at the Cambria Iron Works and was drowned. - -[Illustration: JOHNSTOWN--VIEW COR. MAIN AND CLINTON STS.] - -The body of a beautiful young girl of twenty was found wedged in a mass -of ruins just below the Cambria Iron Works. She was taken out and laid -on the damp grass. She was tall, slender, of well-rounded form, clad in -a long red wrapper, with lace at her throat and wrists. Her feet were -encased in pretty embroidered slippers. Her face was a study for an -artist. Features clear cut as though chiseled from Parian marble; and, -strangely enough, they bore not the slightest disfigurement, and had not -the swelled and puffed appearance that was present in nearly all the -other drowned victims. A smile rested on her lips. Her hair, which had -evidently been golden, was matted with mud and fell in heavy masses to -her waist. - -"Does any one know her?" was asked of the silent group that had gathered -around. - -No one did, and she was carried to the improvised morgue in the -school-house, and now fills a grave as one of the "unidentified dead." - -Miss Rose Clark was fastened in the debris at the railroad bridge, at -Johnstown. The force of the water had torn all of her garments off and -pinned her left leg below the water between two beams. She was more -calm than the men who were trying to rescue her. The flames were coming -nearer, and the intense heat scorching her bare skin. She begged the men -to cut off the imprisoned leg. Finally half of the men turned and fought -the fire, while the rest endeavored to rescue Miss Clark. After six -hours of hard work, and untold suffering by the brave little lady she -was taken from the ruins in a dead faint. She was one mass of bruises, -from her breast to her knees, and her left arm and leg were broken. - -Just below Johnstown, on the Conemaugh, three women were working on the -ruins of what had been their home. An old arm-chair was taken from the -ruins by the men. When one of the women saw the chair, it brought back a -wealth of memory, probably the first since the flood occurred, and -throwing herself on her knees on the wreck she gave way to a flood of -tears. - -"Where in the name of God," she sobbed, "did you get that chair? It was -mine--no, I don't want it. Keep it and find for me, if you can, my -album. In it are the faces of my husband and little girl." - -Patrick Downs was a worker in one of the mills of the Cambria Iron -Works. He had a wife and a fourteen-year-old daughter, Jessie Downs, who -was a great favorite with the sturdy, hard-handed fellow-workmen of her -father. - -She was of rare beauty and sweetness. Her waving, golden-yellow hair, -brushed away from a face of wondrous whiteness, was confined by a ribbon -at the neck. Lustrous Irish blue eyes lighted up the lovely face and -ripe, red lips parted in smiles for the workmen in the mills, every one -of whom was her lover. - -Jessie was in the mill when the flood struck the town, and had not been -seen since till the work of cleaning up the Cambria plant was begun in -earnest. Then, in the cellar of the building a workman spied a little -shoe protruding from a closely packed bed of sandy mud. In a few moments -the body of Jessie Downs was uncovered. - -The workmen who had been in such scenes as this for six days stood about -with uncovered heads and sobbed like babies. The body had not been -bruised nor hurt in any way, the features being composed as if in sleep. - -The men gathered up the body of their little sweetheart and were -carrying it through the town on a stretcher when they met poor Patrick -Downs. He gazed upon the form of his baby, but never a tear was in his -eye, and he only thanked God that she had not suffered in contest with -the angry waves. - -He had but a moment before identified the body of his wife among the -dead recovered, and the mother and child were laid away together in one -grave on Grove Hill, and the father resumed work with the others. - -Dr. Lowman is one of the most prominent physicians of Western -Pennsylvania. His residence in Johnstown was protected partially from -the avalanche of water by the Methodist Church, which is a large stone -structure. Glancing up-stream, the Doctor saw advancing what seemed to -be a huge mountain. Grasping the situation, he ran in and told the -family to get to the top floors as quickly as possible. They had -scarcely reached the second floor when the water was pouring into the -windows. They went higher up, and the water followed them, but it soon -reached its extreme height. - -While the family were huddled in the third story the Doctor looked out -and saw a young girl floating toward the window on a door. He smashed -the glass, and, at the great risk of his own life, succeeded in hauling -the door toward him and lifting the girl through the window. She had not -been there long when one corner of the building gave way and she became -frightened. She insisted on taking a shutter and floating down-stream. -In vain did the Doctor try to persuade her to forego such a suicidal -attempt. She said that she was a good swimmer, and that, once out in the -water, she had no fears for her ultimate safety. Resisting all -entreaties and taking a shutter from the window, she plunged out into -the surging waters, and has not since been heard from. - -When the girl deserted the house, Dr. Lowman and his family made their -way to the roof. While up there another corner of the house gave way. -After waiting for several hours, the intervening space between the bank -building and the dwelling became filled with drift. The Doctor gathered -his family around him, and after a perilous walk they all reached the -objective point in safety. Dr. Lowman's aged father was one of the -party. When his family was safe Dr. Lowman started to rescue other -unfortunates. All day Saturday he worked like a beaver in water to his -neck, and he saved the lives of many. - -No man returns from the valley of death with more horrible remembrance -of the flood than Dr. Henry H. Phillips, of Pittsburg. He is the only -one known to be saved out of a household of thirteen, among whom was his -feeble old mother and other near and dear friends. His own life was -saved by his happening to step out upon the portico of the house just as -the deluge came. Dr. Phillips had gone to Johnstown to bring his mother, -who was an invalid, to his home in the East End. They had intended -starting for Pittsburg Friday morning, but Mrs. Phillips did not feel -able to make the journey, and it was postponed until the next day. In -the meantime the flood began to come, and during the afternoon of Friday -the family retired to the upper floors of the house for safety. There -were thirteen in the house, including little Susan McWilliams, the -twelve-year-old daughter of Mr. W. H. McWilliams, of Pittsburg, who was -visiting her aunt, Mrs. Phillips; Dr. L. T. Beam, son-in-law of Mrs. -Phillips; another niece, and Mrs. Dowling, a neighbor. The latter had -come there with her children because the Phillips house was a brick -structure while her own was frame. Its destruction proved to be the more -sudden and complete on account of the material. - -The water was a foot deep on the first floor, and the family were -congratulating themselves that they were so comfortably situated in the -upper story, when Dr. Phillips heard a roaring up toward the Cambria -Iron Works. Without a thought of the awful truth, he stepped out upon -the portico of the house to see what it meant. A wall of water and -wreckage loomed up before him like a roaring cloud. Before he could turn -back or cry out he saw a house, that rode the flood like a chip, come -between him and his vision of the window. Then all was dark, and the -cold water seemed to wrap him up and toss him to a house-top three -hundred yards from where that of his mother had stood. Gathering his -shattered wits together the Doctor saw he was floating about in the -midst of a black pool. Dark objects were moving all about him, and -although there was some light, he could not recognize any of the -surroundings. For seventeen hours he drifted about upon the wreckage -where fate had tossed him. Then rescuers came, and he was taken to safe -quarters. A long search has so far failed to elicit any tidings of the -twelve persons in the Phillips' house. - -Mr. G. B. Hartley, of Philadelphia, was one of the five out of -fifty-five guests of the Hurlburt House who survived. - -"The experience I passed through at Johnstown on that dreadful Friday -night," said Mr. Hartley to a correspondent, "is like a horrible -nightmare in a picture before me. When the great rush of water came I -was sitting in the parlors of the Hurlburt House. Suddenly we were -startled to hear several loud shouts on the streets. These cries were -accompanied by a loud, crashing noise. At the first sound we all rushed -from the room panic-stricken. There was a crash and I found myself -pinned down by broken boards and debris of different kinds. The next -moment I felt the water surging in. I knew it went higher than my head -because I felt it. The water must have passed like a flash or I would -not have come out alive. After the shock I could see that the entire -roof of the hotel had been carried off. Catching hold of something I -manged to pull myself up on to the roof. The roof had slid off and lay -across the street. On the roof I had a chance to observe my -surroundings. Down on the extreme edge of the roof I espied the -proprietor of the hotel, Mr. Benford. He was nearly exhausted, and it -required every effort for him to hold to the roof. Cautiously advancing, -I managed to creep down to where he was holding. I tried to pull him up, -but found I was utterly powerless. Mr. Benford was nearly as weak as -myself, and could do very little toward helping himself. We did not give -up, however, and in a few minutes, by dint of struggling and putting -forth every bit of strength, Mr. Benford managed to crawl upon the roof. -Crouching and shivering on another part of the roof were two girls, one -a chamber-maid of the hotel, and the other a clerk in a store that was -next to it. The latter was in a pitiable plight. Her arm had been torn -from its socket. I took off my overcoat and gave it to her. Mr. Benford -did the same thing for the other, for it was quite chilly. A young man -was nursing his mother, who had had her scalp completely torn off. He -asked me to hold her head until he could make a bandage. He tore a thick -strip of cloth and placed it round her head. The blood saturated it -before it was well on. Soon after this I was rescued more dead than -alive." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -Many of the most thrilling sights and experiences were those of railroad -employees and passengers. Mr. Henry, the engineer of the second section -of express train No. 8, which runs between Pittsburg and Altoona, was at -Conemaugh when the great flood came sweeping down the valley. He was -able to escape to a place of safety. His was the only train that was not -injured, even though it was in the midst of the great wave. The story as -related by Mr. Henry is most graphic. - -"It was an awful sight," he said. "I have often seen pictures of flood -scenes and I thought they were exaggerations, but what I witnessed last -Friday changes my former belief. To see that immense volume of water, -fully fifty feet high, rushing madly down the valley, sweeping -everything before it, was a thrilling sight. It is engraved indelibly on -my memory. Even now I can see that mad torrent carrying death and -destruction before it. - -"The second section of No. 8, on which I was, was due at Johnstown -about quarter past ten in the morning. We arrived there safely and were -told to follow the first section. When we arrived at Conemaugh the first -section and the mail were there. Washouts further up the mountain -prevented our going on, so we could do nothing but sit around and -discuss the situation. The creek at Conemaugh was swollen high, almost -overflowing. The heavens were pouring rain, but this did not prevent -nearly all the inhabitants of the town from gathering along its banks. -They watched the waters go dashing by and wondered whether the creek -would get much higher. But a few inches more and it would overflow its -banks. There seemed to be a feeling of uneasiness among the people. They -seemed to fear that something awful was going to happen. Their -suspicions were strengthened by the fact that warning had come down the -valley for the people to be on the lookout. The rains had swollen -everything to the bursting point. The day passed slowly, however. Noon -came and went, and still nothing happened. We could not proceed, nor -could we go back, as the tracks about a mile below Conemaugh had been -washed away, so there was nothing for us to do but to wait and see what -would come next. - -"Some time after three o'clock Friday afternoon I went into the train -dispatcher's office to learn the latest news. I had not been there long -when I heard a fierce whistling from an engine away up the mountain. -Rushing out I found dozens of men standing around. Fear had blanched -every cheek. The loud and continued whistling had made every one feel -that something serious was going to happen. In a few moments I could -hear a train rattling down the mountain. About five hundred yards above -Conemaugh the tracks make a slight curve and we could not see beyond -this. The suspense was something awful. We did not know what was coming, -but no one could get rid of the thought that something was wrong at the -dam. - -"Our suspense was not very long, however. Nearer and nearer the train -came, the thundering sound still accompanying it. There seemed to be -something behind the train, as there was a dull, rumbling sound which I -knew did not come from the train. Nearer and nearer it came; a moment -more and it would reach the curve. The next instant there burst upon our -eyes a sight that made every heart stand still. Rushing around the -curve, snorting and tearing, came an engine and several gravel cars. The -train appeared to be putting forth every effort to go faster. Nearer it -came, belching forth smoke and whistling long and loud. But the most -terrible sight was to follow. Twenty feet behind came surging along a -mad rush of water fully fifty feet high. Like the train, it seemed to -be putting forth every effort to push along faster. Such an awful race -we never before witnessed. For an instant the people seemed paralyzed -with horror. They knew not what to do, but in a moment they realized -that a second's delay meant death to them. With one accord they rushed -to the high lands a few hundred feet away. Most of them succeeded in -reaching that place and were safe. - -"I thought of the passengers in my train. The second section of No. 8 -had three sleepers. In these three cars were about thirty people, who -rushed through the train crying to the others 'Save yourselves!' Then -came a scene of the wildest confusion. Ladies and children shrieked and -the men seemed terror-stricken. I succeeded in helping some ladies and -children off the train and up to the high lands. Running back, I caught -up two children and ran for my life to a higher place. Thank God, I was -quicker than the flood! I deposited my load in safety on the high land -just as it swept past us. - -"For nearly an hour we stood watching the mad flood go rushing by. The -water was full of debris. When the flood caught Conemaugh it dashed -against the little town with a mighty crash. The water did not lift the -houses up and carry them off, but crushed them up one against the other -and broke them up like so many egg-shells. Before the flood came there -was a pretty little town. When the waters passed on there was nothing -but a few broken boards to mark the central portion of the city. It was -swept as clean as a newly-brushed floor. When the flood passed onward -down the valley I went over to my train. It had been moved back about -twenty yards, but it was not damaged. About fifteen persons had remained -in the train and they were safe. Of the three trains ours was the -luckiest. The engines of both the others had been swept off the track, -and one or two cars in each train had met the same fate. What saved our -train was the fact that just at the curve which I mentioned the valley -spread out. The valley is six or seven hundred yards broad where our -train was standing. This, of course, let the floods pass out. It was -only about twenty feet high when it struck our train, which was about in -the middle of the valley. This fact, together with the elevation of the -track, was all that saved us. We stayed that night in the houses in -Conemaugh that had not been destroyed. The next morning I started down -the valley and by four o'clock in the afternoon had reached Conemaugh -furnace, eight miles west of Johnstown. Then I got a team and came home. - -"In my tramp down the valley I saw some awful sights. On the tree -branches hung shreds of clothing torn from the unfortunates as they -were whirled along in the terrible rush of the torrent. Dead bodies were -lying by scores along the banks of the creeks. One woman I helped drag -from the mud had tightly clutched in her hand a paper. We tore it out of -her hand and found it to be a badly water-soaked photograph. It was -probably a picture of the drowned woman." - -Pemberton Smith is a civil engineer employed by the Pennsylvania -Railroad. On Friday, when the disaster occurred, he was at Johnstown, -stopping at the Merchants' Hotel. What happened he described as follows: - -"In the afternoon, with four associates, I spent the time playing -checkers in the hotel, the streets being flooded during the day. At -half-past four we were startled by shrill whistles. Thinking a fire was -the cause, we looked out of the window. Great masses of people were -rushing through the water in the street, which had been there all day, -and still we thought the alarm was fire. All of a sudden the roar of the -water burst upon our ears, and in an instant more the streets were -filled with debris. Great houses and business blocks began to topple and -crash into each other and go down as if they were toy-block houses. -People in the streets were drowning on all sides. One of our company -started down-stairs and was drowned. The other four, including myself, -started up-stairs, for the water was fast rising. When we got on the -roof we could see whole blocks swept away as if by magic. Hundreds of -people were floating by, clinging to roofs of houses, rafts, timbers, or -anything they could get a hold of. The hotel began to tremble, and we -made our way to an adjoining roof. Soon afterward part of the hotel went -down. The brick structures seemed to fare worse than frame buildings, as -the latter would float, while the brick would crash and tumble into one -great mass of ruins. We finally climbed into a room of the last building -in reach and stayed there all night, in company with one hundred and -sixteen other people, among the number being a crazy man. His wife and -family had all been drowned only a few hours before, and he was a raving -maniac. And what a night! Sleep! Yes, I did a little, but every now and -then a building near by would crash against us, and we would all jump, -fearing that at last our time had come. - -"Finally morning dawned. In company with one of my associates we climbed -across the tops of houses and floating debris, built a raft, and poled -ourselves ashore to the hillside. I don't know how the others escaped. -This was seven o'clock on Saturday morning. We started on foot for South -Fork, arriving there at three P. M. Here we found that all communication -by telegraph and railroad was cut off by the flood, and we had naught -to do but retrace our steps. Tired and footsore! Well, I should say so. -My gum-boots had chafed my feet so I could hardly walk at all. The -distance we covered on foot was over fifty miles. On Sunday we got a -train to Altoona. Here we found the railroad connections all cut off, so -we came back to Johnstown again on Monday. And what a desolate place! I -had to obtain a pass to go over into the city. Here it is: - - "Pass Pemberton Smith through all the streets. - "ALEC. HART, Chief of Police. - "A. J. MAXHAM, Acting Mayor." - -"The tragic pen-pictures of the scenes in the press dispatches have not -been exaggerated. They cannot be. The worse sight of all was to see the -great fire at the railroad-bridge. It makes my blood fairly curdle to -think of it. I could see the lurid flames shoot heavenward all night -Friday, and at the same time hundreds of people were floating right -toward them on top of houses, etc., and to meet a worse death than -drowning. To look at a sight like this and not be able to render a -particle of assistance seemed awful to bear. I had a narrow escape, -truly. In my mind I can hear the shrieks of men, women, and children, -the maniac's ravings, and the wild roar of a sea of water sweeping -everything before it." - -[Illustration: VIEW ON CLINTON ST., JOHNSTOWN.] - -Among the lost was Miss Jennie Paulson, a passenger on a railroad -train, whose fate is thus described by one of her comrades: - -"We had been making but slow progress all the day. Our train lay at -Johnstown nearly the whole day of Friday. We then proceeded as far as -Conemaugh, and had stopped from some cause or other, probably on account -of the flood. Miss Paulson and a Miss Bryan were seated in front of me. -Miss Paulson had on a plaid dress, with shirred waist of red cloth -goods. Her companion was dressed in black. Both had lovely corsage -bouquets of roses. I had heard that they had been attending a wedding -before they left Pittsburg. The Pittsburg lady was reading a novel -entitled _Miss Lou_. Miss Bryan was looking out of the window. When the -alarm came we all sprang toward the door, leaving everything behind us. -I had just reached the door when poor Miss Paulson and her friend, who -were behind me, decided to return for their rubbers, which they did. I -sprang from the car into a ditch next the hillside, in which the water -was already a foot and a-half deep, and, with the others, climbed up the -mountain side for our very lives. We had to do so, as the water glided -up after us like a huge serpent. Any one ten feet behind us would have -been lost beyond a doubt. I glanced back at the train when I had reached -a place of safety, but the water already covered it, and the Pullman -car in which the ladies were was already rolling down the valley in the -grasp of the angry waters." - -Mr. William Scheerer, the teller of the State Banking Company, of -Newark, N. J., was among the passengers on the ill-fated day express on -the Pennsylvania Railroad that left Pittsburg at eight o'clock A. M., on -the now historic Friday, bound for New York. - -There was some delays incidental to the floods in the Conemaugh Valley -before the train reached Johnstown, and a further delay at that point, -and the train was considerably behind time when it left Johnstown. Said -Mr. Scheerer: "The parlor car was fully occupied when I went aboard the -train, and a seat was accordingly given me in the sleeper at the rear -end of the train. There were several passengers in this car, how many I -cannot say exactly, among them some ladies. It was raining hard all the -time and we were not a very excited nor a happy crowd, but were whiling -away the time in reading and in looking at the swollen torrent of the -river. Very few of the people were apprehensive of any danger in the -situation, even after we had been held up at Conemaugh for nearly five -hours. - -"The railroad tracks where our train stopped were full fourteen feet -above the level of the river, and there was a large number of freight -and passenger cars and locomotives standing on the tracks near us and -strung along up the road for a considerable distance. Between the road -and the hill that lay at our left there was a ditch, through which the -water that came down from the hill was running like a mill-race. It was -a monotonous wait to all of us, and after a time many inquiries were -made as to why we did not go ahead. Some of the passengers who made the -inquiry were answered laconically--'Wash-out,' and with this they had to -be satisfied. I had been over the road several times before, and knew of -the existence of the dangerous and threatening dam up in the South Fork -gorge, and could not help connecting it in my mind with the cause of our -delay. But neither was I apprehensive of danger, for the possibility of -the dam giving away had been often discussed by passengers in my -presence, and everybody supposed that the utmost damage it would do when -it broke, as everybody believed it sometime would, would be to swell a -little higher the current that tore down through the Conemaugh Valley. - -"Such a possibility as the carrying away of a train of cars on the great -Pennsylvania road was never seriously entertained by anybody. We had -stood stationary until about four o'clock, when two colored porters went -through the car within a short time of each other, looking and acting -rather excited. I asked the first one what the matter was, and he -replied that he did not know. I inferred from his reply that if there -was any thing serious up, the passengers would be informed, and so I -went on reading. When the next man came along I asked him if the -reservoir had given way, and he said he thought it had. - -"I put down my book and stepped out quickly to the rear platform, and -was horrified at the sight that met my gaze up the valley. It seemed as -if a forest was coming down upon us. There was a great wall of water -roaring and grinding swiftly along, so thickly studded with the trees -from along the mountain sides that it looked like a gigantic avalanche -of trees. Of course I lingered but an instant, for the mortal danger we -all were in flashed upon me at the first sight of that terrible -on-coming torrent. But in that instant I saw an engine lifted bodily off -the track and thrown over backward into the whirlpool, where it -disappeared, and houses crushed and broken up in the flash of an eye. - -"The noise was like incessant thunder. I turned back into the car and -shouted to the ladies, three of whom alone were in the car at the -moment, to fly for their lives. I helped them out of the car on the side -toward the hill, and urged them to jump across the ditch and run for -their lives. Two of them did so, but the third, a rather heavy lady, a -missionary, who was on her way to a foreign station, hesitated for an -instant, doubtful if she could make the jump. That instant cost her her -life. While I was holding out my hand to her and urging her to jump, the -rush of waters came down and swept her, like a doll, down into the -torrent. In the same instant an engine was thrown from the track into -the ditch at my feet. The water was about my knees as I turned and -scrambled up the hill, and when I looked back, ten seconds later, it was -surging and grinding ten feet deep over the track I had just left. - -"The rush of waters lasted three-quarters of an hour, while we stood -rapt and spell-bound in the rain, looking at the ruin no human agency -could avert. The scene was beyond the power of language to describe. You -would see a building standing in apparent security above the swollen -banks of the river, the people rushing about the doors, some seeming to -think that safety lay indoors, while others rushed toward higher ground, -stumbling and falling in the muddy streets, and then the flood rolled -over them, crushing in the house with a crash like thunder, and burying -house and people out of sight entirely. That, of course, was the scene -of only an instant, for our range of vision was only over a small -portion of the city. - -"We sought shelter from the rain in the home of a farmer who lived high -up on the side-hill, and the next morning walked down to Johnstown and -viewed the ruins. It seemed as if the city was utterly destroyed. The -water was deep over all the city and few people were visible. We -returned to Conemaugh and were driven over the mountains to Ebensburg, -where we took the train for Altoona, but finding we could get no further -in that direction we turned back to Ebensburg, and from there went by -wagon to Johnstown, where we found a train that took us to Pittsburg. I -got home by the New York Central." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -Edward H. Jackson, who worked in the Cambria Iron Works, told the -following story: - -"When we were going to work Friday morning at seven o'clock, May 31st, -the water in the river was about six inches below the top of the banks, -the rains during the night having swollen it. We were used to floods -about this time of the year, the water always washing the streets and -running into the cellars, so we did not pay much attention to this -fact. It continued rising, and about nine o'clock we left work in order -to go back to our homes and take our furniture and carpets to the upper -floors, as we had formerly done on similar occasions. At noon the water -was on our first floors, and kept rising until there was five feet of -water in our homes. It was still raining hard. We were all in the upper -stories about half-past four, when the first intimation we had of -anything unusual was a frightful crash, and the same moment our house -toppled over. Jumping to the windows, we saw the water rushing down the -streets in immense volumes, carrying with it houses, barns, and, worst -of all, screaming, terrified men, women, and children. In my house were -Colonel A. N. Hart, who is my uncle, his wife, sister, and two children. -They watched their chance, and when a slowly moving house passed by they -jumped to the roof and by careful manoeuvring managed to reach Dr. S. -M. Swan's house, a three-story brick building, where there were about -two hundred other people. I jumped on to a tender of an engine as it -floated down and reached the same house. All the women and children were -hysterical, most of the men were paralyzed by terror, and to describe -the scene is simply impossible. From the windows of this house we threw -ropes to persons who floated by on the roofs of houses, and in this way -we saved several. - -"Our condition in the house was none of the pleasantest. There was -nothing to eat; it was impossible to sleep, even had any one desired to -do so; when thirsty we were compelled to catch the rain-water as it fell -from the roof and drink it. Other people had gone for safety in the same -manner as we had to two other brick houses, H. Y. Hawse's residence and -Alma Hall's, and they went through precisely the same experience as we -did. Many of our people were badly injured and cut, and they were -tended bravely and well by Dr. W. E. Matthews, although he himself was -badly injured. During the evening we saved by ropes W. Forrest Rose, his -wife, daughter, and four boys. Mr. Rose's collar-bone and one rib were -broken. After a fearful night we found, when day broke, that the water -had subsided, and I and some others of the men crawled out upon the -rubbish and debris to search for food, for our people were starving. All -we could find were water-soaked crackers and some bananas, and these -were eagerly eaten by the famished sufferers. - -"Then, during the morning, began the thieving. I saw men bursting open -trunks, putting valuables in their pockets, and then looking for more. I -did not know these people, but I am sure they must have lived in the -town, for surely no others could have got there at this time. A meeting -was held, Colonel Hart was made Chief of Police, and he at once gave -orders that any one caught stealing should be shot without warning. -Notwithstanding this we afterward found scores of bodies, the fingers of -which were cut off, the fiends not wishing to waste time to take off the -rings. Many corpses of women were seen from which the ears had been cut, -in order to secure the diamond earrings. - -"Then, to add to our horrors, the debris piled up against the bridge -caught fire, and as the streets were full of oil, it was feared that the -flames would extend backwards, but happily for us this was not the case. -It was pitiful to hear the cries of those who had been caught in the -rubbish, and, after having been half drowned, had to face death as -inevitable as though bound to a stake. The bodies of those burned to -death will never be recognized, and of those drowned many were so badly -disfigured by being battered against the floating houses that they also -will be unrecognizable. It is said that Charles Butler, the assistant -treasurer of the Cambria Iron Works, who was in the Hurlburt House, -convinced that he could not escape and wishing his body to be -recognized, pinned his photograph and a letter to the lapel of his coat, -where they were found when his body was recovered. I have lost -everything I owned in the world," said Mr. Jackson, in conclusion, "and -hundreds of others are in the same condition. The money in the banks is -all right, however, for it was stowed away in the vaults." - -Frank McDonald, a railroad conductor, says: - -"I certainly think I saw one thousand bodies go over the bridge. The -first house that came down struck the bridge and at once took fire, and -as fast as the others came down they were consumed. I believe I am safe -in saying I saw one thousand bodies burn. It reminded me of a lot of -flies on fly-paper struggling to get away, with no hope and no chance -to save them. I have no idea that had the bridge been blown up the loss -of life would have been any less. They would have floated a little -further with the same certain death. Then, again, it was impossible for -any one to have reached the bridge in order to blow it up, for the -waters came so fast that no one could have done it." - -Michael Renesen tells a wonderful story of his escape. He says he was -walking down Main Street when he heard a rumbling noise, and, looking -around, he imagined it was cloud, but in a minute the water was upon -him. He floated with the tide for some time, when he was struck with -some floating timber and borne underneath the water. When he came up he -was struck again, and at last he was caught by a lightning rod and held -there for over two hours, when he was finally rescued. - -Mrs. Anne Williams was sitting sewing when the flood came on. She heard -some people crying and jumped out of the window and succeeded in getting -on the roof of an adjoining house. Under the roof she heard the cries of -men and women, and saw two men and a woman with their heads just above -the water, crying "For God's sake, either kill us outright or rescue -us!" - -Mrs. Williams cried for help for the drowning people, but none came, -and she saw them give up one by one. - -James F. McCanagher had a thrilling experience in the water. He saw his -wife was safe on land, and thought his only daughter, a girl aged about -twenty-one, was also saved, but just as he was making for the shore he -saw her and went to rescue her. He succeeded in getting within about ten -feet of land, when the girl said, "Good-bye, father," and expired in his -arms before he reached the shore. - -James M. Walters, an attorney, spent Friday night in Alma Hall, and -relates a thrilling story. One of the most curious occurrences of the -whole disaster was how Mr. Walters got to the hall. He has his office on -the second floor. His home is at No. 135 Walnut Street. He says he was -in the house with his family when the waters struck it. All was carried -away. Mr. Walters' family drifted on a roof in another direction; he -passed down several streets and alleys until he came to the hall. His -dwelling struck that edifice and he was thrown into his own office. -About three hundred persons had taken refuge in the hall and were on the -second, third, and fourth stories. The men held a meeting and drew up -some rules which all were bound to respect. - -Mr. Walters was chosen president, and Rev. Mr. Beale was put in charge -of the first floor, A. M. Hart of the second floor, Dr. Matthews of the -fourth floor. No lights were allowed, and the whole night was spent in -darkness. The sick were cared for, the weaker women and children had the -best accommodation that could be had, while the others had to wait. The -scenes were most agonizing. Heartrending shrieks, sobs, and moans -pierced the gloomy darkness. The crying of children mingled with the -suppressed sobs of the women. Under the guardianship of the men all took -more hope. No one slept during all the long, dark night. Many knelt for -hours in prayer, their supplications mingling with the roar of the -waters and the shrieks of the dying in the surrounding houses. - -In all this misery two women gave premature birth to children, Dr. -Matthews is a hero--several of his ribs were crushed by a falling -timber, and his pains were most severe. Yet through all he attended the -sick. When two women in a house across the street shouted for help, he, -with two other brave young men, climbed across the drift and ministered -to their wants. No one died during the night, but a woman and children -surrendered their lives on the succeeding day as a result of terror and -fatigue. Miss Rose Young, one of the young ladies in the hall, was -frightfully cut and bruised. Mrs. Young had a leg broken. All of Mr. -Walters' family were saved. - -Mrs. J. F. Moore, wife of a Western Union Telegraph employee in -Pittsburg, escaped with her two children from the devastated city just -one hour before the flood had covered their dwelling-place. Mr. Moore -had arranged to have his family move Thursday from Johnstown and join -him in Pittsburg. Their household goods were shipped on Thursday and -Friday. The little party caught the last train which made the trip -between Johnstown and Pittsburg. - -Mrs. Moore told her story. "Oh! it was terrible," she said. "The -reservoir had not yet burst when we left, but the boom had broken, and -before we got out of the house the water filled the cellar. On the way -to the depot the water was high up on the carriage wheels. Our train -left at quarter to two P. M., and at that time the flood had begun to -rise with terrible rapidity. Houses and sheds were carried away and two -men were drowned almost before our eyes. People gathered on the roofs to -take refuge from the water, which poured into the lower rooms of their -dwellings, and many families took flight and became scattered. Just as -the train pulled out I saw a woman crying bitterly. Her house had been -flooded and she had escaped, leaving her husband behind, and her fears -for his safety made her almost crazy. Our house was in the lower part of -the town, and it makes me shudder to think what would have happened had -we remained in it an hour longer. So far as I know, we were the only -passengers from Johnstown on the train." - -Mrs. Moore's little son told the reporter that he had seen the rats -driven out of their holes by the flood and running along the tops of the -fences. - -One old man named Parsons, with his wife and children, as soon as the -water struck their house, took to the roof and were carried down to the -stone bridge, where the back wash of the Stony Creek took them back up -along the banks and out of harm's way, but not before a daughter-in-law -became a prey to the torrent. He has lived here for thirty-five years, -and had acquired a nice, comfortable home. To-day all is gone, and as he -told the story he pointed to a rather seedy-looking coat he had on. "I -had to ask a man for it. It's hard, but I am ruined, and I am too old to -begin over again." - -Mr. Lewis was a well-to-do young man, and owned a good property where -now is a barren waste. When the flood came the entire family of eight -took to the roof, and were carried along on the water. Before they -reached the stone bridge, a family of four that had floated down from -Woodvale, two and a half miles distant, on a raft, got off to the roof -of the Lewis House, where the entire twelve persons were pushed to the -bank of the river above the bridge, and all were saved. When Mr. Lewis -was telling his story he seemed grateful to the Almighty for his safety -while thousands were lost to him. - -Another young man who had also taken to a friendly roof, became -paralyzed with fear, and stripping himself of his clothes flung himself -from the housetop into the stream and tried to swim. The force of the -water rushed him over to the west bank of the river, where he was picked -up soon after. - -A baby's cradle was fished out of a ruin and the neatly tucked-in sheets -and clothes, although soiled with mud, gave evidence of luxury. The -entire family was lost, and no one is here to lay claim to baby's crib. -In the ruin of the Penn House the library that occupied the extension -was entirely gone, while the brick front was taken out and laid bare the -parlor floor, in which the piano, turned upside down, was noticeable, -while several chandeliers were scattered on top. - -[Illustration: MAIN AND CLINTON STREETS, LOOKING SOUTHWEST.] - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -The first survivors of the Johnstown wreck who arrived at Pittsburg were -Joseph and Henry Lauffer and Lew Dalmeyer. They endured considerable -hardship and had several narrow escapes with their lives. Their story of -the disaster can best be told in their own language. Joe, the youngest -of the Lauffer brothers, said: - -"My brother and I left on Thursday for Johnstown. The night we arrived -there it rained continually, and on Friday morning it began to flood. I -started for the Cambria store at a quarter-past eight on Friday, and in -fifteen minutes afterward I had to get out of the store in a wagon, the -water was running so rapidly. We then arrived at the station and took -the day express and went as far as Conemaugh, where we had to stop. The -limited, however, got through, and just as we were about to start the -bridge at South Fork gave way with a terrific crash, and we had to stay -there. We then went to Johnstown. This was at a quarter to ten in the -morning, when the flood was just beginning. The whole city of Johnstown -was inundated and the people all moved up to the second floor. - -"Now this is where the trouble occurred. These poor unfortunates did not -know the reservoir would burst, and there are no skiffs in Johnstown to -escape in. When the South Fork basin gave way mountains of water twenty -feet high came rushing down the Conemaugh River, carrying before them -death and destruction. I shall never forget the harrowing scene. Just -think of it! thousands of people, men, and women, and children, -struggling and weeping and wailing as they were being carried suddenly -away in the raging current. Houses were picked up as if they were but a -feather, and their inmates were all carried away with them, while cries -of 'God help me!' 'Save me!' 'I am drowning!' 'My child!' and the like -were heard on all sides. Those who were lucky enough to escape went to -the mountains, and there they beheld the poor unfortunates being crushed -to death among the debris without any chance of being rescued. Here and -there a body was seen to make a wild leap into the air and then sink to -the bottom. - -"At the stone bridge of the Pennsylvania Railroad people were dashed to -death against the piers. When the fire started there hundreds of bodies -were burned. Many lookers-on up on the mountains, especially the woman, -fainted." - -Mr. Lauffer's brother, Harry, then told his part of the tale, which was -not less interesting. He said: "We had a series of narrow escapes, and I -tell you we don't want to be around when anything of that kind occurs -again. - -"The scenes at Johnstown have not in the least been exaggerated, and, -indeed, the worst is to be heard. When we got to Conemaugh and just as -we were about to start the bridge gave way. This left the day express, -the accommodation, a special train, and a freight train at the station. -Above was the South Fork water basin, and all of the trains were well -filled. We were discussing the situation when suddenly, without any -warning, the whistles of every engine began to shriek, and in the noise -could be heard the warning of the first engineer, 'Fly for your lives! -Rush to the mountains, the reservoir has burst.' Then with a thundering -peal came the mad rush of waters. No sooner had the cry been heard than -those who could rushed from the train with a wild leap and up the -mountains. To tell this story takes some time, but the moments in which -the horrible scene was enacted were few. Then came the avalanche of -water, leaping and rushing with tremendous force. The waves had angry -crests of white, and their roar was something deafening. In one -terrible swath they caught the four trains and lifted three of them -right off the track, as if they were only a cork. There they floated in -the river. Think of it, three large locomotives and finely finished -Pullmans floating around, and above all the hundreds of poor -unfortunates who were unable to escape from the car swiftly drifting -toward death. Just as we were about to leap from the car I saw a mother, -with a smiling, blue-eyed baby in her arms. I snatched it from her and -leaped from the train just as it was lifted off the track. The mother -and child were saved, but if one more minute had elapsed we all would -have perished. - -"During all of this time the waters kept rushing down the Conemaugh and -through the beautiful town of Johnstown, picking up everything and -sparing nothing. - -"The mountains by this time were black with people, and the moans and -sighs from those below brought tears to the eyes of the most -stony-hearted. There in that terrible rampage were brothers, sisters, -wives and husbands, and from the mountain could be seen the -panic-stricken marks in the faces of those who were struggling between -life and death. I really am unable to do justice to the scene, and its -details are almost beyond my power to relate. Then came the burning of -the debris near the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge. The scene was too -sickening to endure. We left the spot and journeyed across country and -delivered many notes, letters, etc., that were intrusted to us." - -The gallant young engineer, John G. Parke, whose ride of warning has -already been described, relates the following: - -"On Thursday night I noticed that the dam was in good order and the -water was nearly seven feet from the top. When the water is at this -height the lake is then nearly three miles in length. It rained hard on -Thursday night and I rode up to the end of the lake on the eventful day -and saw that the woods around there was teeming with a seething cauldron -of water. Colonel Unger, the president of the fishing club that owns the -property, put twenty-five Italians to work to fix the dam. A farmer in -the vicinity also lent a willing hand. To strengthen the dam a plow was -run along the top of it, and earth was then thrown into the furrows. On -the west side a channel was dug and a sluice was constructed. We cut -through about four feet of shale rock, when we came to solid rock which -was impossible to cut without blasting. Once we got the channel open the -water leaped down to the bed-rock, and a stream fully twenty feet wide -and three feet deep rushed out on that end of the dam, while great -quantities of water were coming in by the pier at the other end. And -then in the face of this great escape of water from the dam, it kept -rising at the rate of ten inches an hour. - -"At noon I fully believed that it was practically impossible to save the -dam, and I got on a horse and galloped down to South Fork, and gave the -alarm, telling the people at the same time of their danger, and advising -them to get to a place of safety. I also sent a couple of men to the -telegraph tower, two miles away, to send messages to Johnstown and -Cambria and to the other points on the way. The young girl at the -instrument fainted when the news reached her, and was carried away. -Then, by the timely warning given, the people at South Fork had an -opportunity to move their household goods and betake themselves to a -place of safety. Only one person was drowned in that place, and he was -trying to save an old washtub that was floating down-stream. - -"It was noon when the messages were sent out, so that the people of -Johnstown had just three hours to fly to a place of safety. Why they did -not heed the warning will never be told. I then remounted my horse and -rode to the dam, expecting at every moment to meet the lake rushing down -the mountain-side, but when I reached there I found the dam still -intact, although the water had then reached the top of it. At one P. M. -I walked over the dam, and then the water was about three inches on it, -and was gradually gnawing away its face. As the stream leaped down the -outer face, the water was rapidly wearing down the edge of the -embankment, and I knew that it was a question of but a few hours. From -my knowledge I should say there was fully ten million tons of water in -the lake at one o'clock, while the pressure was largely increased by the -swollen streams that flowed into it, but even then the dam could have -stood it if the level of the water had been kept below the top. But, -coupled with this, there was the constantly trickling of the water over -the sides, which was slowly but surely wearing the banks away. - -"The big break took place at just three o'clock, and it was about ten -feet wide at first and shallow; but when the opening was made the -fearful rushing waters opened the gap with such increasing rapidity that -soon after the entire lake leaped out and started on its fearful march -of death down the Valley of the Conemaugh. It took but forty minutes to -drain that three miles of water, and the downpour of millions of tons of -water was irresistible. The big boulders and great rafters and logs that -were in the bed of the river were picked up, like so much chaff, and -carried down the torrent for miles. Trees that stood fully seventy-five -feet in height and four feet through were snapped off like pipe-stems." - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -One of the most thrilling incidents of the disaster was the performance -of A. J. Leonard, whose family reside in Morrellville. He was at work, -and hearing that his house had been swept away, determined at all -hazards to ascertain the fate of his family. The bridges having been -carried away, he constructed a temporary raft, and clinging to it as -close as a cat to the side of a fence, he pushed his frail craft out in -the raging torrent and started on a chase which, to all who were -watching, seemed to mean an embrace in death. - -Heedless of cries "For God's sake, go back, you will be drowned," and -"Don't attempt it," he persevered. As the raft struck the current he -threw off his coat and in his shirt sleeves braved the stream. Down -plunged the boards and down went Leonard, but as it rose he was seen -still clinging. A mighty shout arose from the throats of the hundreds on -the banks, who were now deeply interested, earnestly hoping he would -successfully ford the stream. - -Down again went his bark, but nothing, it seemed, could shake Leonard -off. The craft shot up in the air apparently ten or twelve feet, and -Leonard stuck to it tenaciously. Slowly but surely he worked his boat to -the other side of the stream, and after what seemed an awful suspense he -finally landed, amid ringing cheers of men, women, and children. - -The scenes at Heanemyer's planing-mill at Nineveh, where the dead bodies -are lying, are never to be forgotten. The torn, bruised, and mutilated -bodies of the victims are lying in a row on the floor of the -planing-mill, which looks more like the field of Bull Run after that -disastrous battle than a workshop. The majority of the bodies are nude, -their clothing having been torn off. All along the river bits of -clothing--a tiny shoe, a baby dress, a mother's evening wrapper, a -father's coat--and, in fact, every article of wearing apparel -imaginable, may be seen hanging to stumps of trees and scattered on the -bank. - -One of the most pitiful sights of this terrible disaster came to notice -when the body of a young lady was taken out of the Conemaugh River. The -woman was apparently quite young, though her features were terribly -disfigured. Nearly all the clothing excepting the shoes was torn off -the body. The corpse was that of a mother, for, although cold in death, -she clasped a young male babe, apparently not more than a year old, -tightly in her arms. The little one was huddled close up to the face of -the mother, who, when she realized their terrible fate, had evidently -raised it to her lips to imprint upon its lips the last kiss it was to -receive in this world. The sight forced many a stout heart to shed -tears. The limp bodies, with matted hair, some with holes in their -heads, eyes knocked out, and all bespattered with blood were a ghastly -spectacle. - -Mr. J. M. Fronheiser, one of the Superintendents in the Cambria Iron -Works, lived on Main Street. His house was one of the first to go, and -he himself, his wife, two daughters, son, and baby were thrown into the -raging torrent. His wife and eldest daughter were lost. He, with the -baby, reached a place of safety, and his ten-year-old boy and -twelve-year-old girl floated near enough to be reached. He caught the -little girl, but she cried: - -"Let me go, papa, and save brother; my leg is broken and my foot is -caught below." - -When he told her he was determined to rescue her, she exclaimed: - -"Then, papa, get a sharp knife and cut my leg off. I can stand it." - -The little fellow cried to his father: "You can't save me, papa. Both -my feet are caught fast, and I can't hold out any longer. Please get a -pistol and shoot me." - -Captain Gageby, of the army, and some neighbors helped to rescue both -children. The girl displayed Spartan fortitude and pluck. All night long -she lay in a bed without a mattress or medical attention in a garret, -the water reaching to the floor below, without a murmur or a whimper. In -the morning she was carried down-stairs, her leg dangling under her, but -when she saw her father at the foot of the stairs, she whispered to -Captain Gageby: - -"Poor papa; he is so sad." Then, turning to her father, she threw a kiss -with her hands and laughingly said, "Good morning, papa; I'm all right." - -The Pennsylvania Railroad Company's operators at Switch Corner, "S. Q.," -which is near Sang Hollow, tell thrilling stories of the scenes -witnessed by them on Friday afternoon and evening. Said one of them: - -"In order to give you an idea of how the tidal wave rose and fell, let -me say that I kept a measure and timed the rise and fall of the water, -and in forty-eight minutes it fell four and a half feet. - -"I believe that when the water goes down about seventy-five children and -fifty grown persons will be found among the weeds and bushes in the -bend of the river just below the tower. - -"There the current was very strong, and we saw dozens of people swept -under the trees, and I don't believe that more than one in twenty came -out on the other side." - -"They found a little girl in white just now," said one of the other -operators. - -"O God!" said the chief operator. "She isn't dead, is she?" - -"Yes; they found her in a clump of willow bushes, kneeling on a board, -just about the way we saw her when she went down the river." Turning to -me he said: - -"That was the saddest thing we saw all day yesterday. Two men came down -on a little raft, with a little girl kneeling between them, and her -hands raised and praying. She came so close to us we could see her face -and that she was crying. She had on a white dress and looked like a -little angel. She went under that cursed shoot in the willow bushes at -the bend like all the rest, but we did hope she would get through -alive." - -"And so she was still kneeling?" he said to his companion, who had -brought the unwelcome news. - -"She sat there," was the reply, "as if she was still praying, and there -was a smile on her poor little face, though her mouth was full of mud." - -Driving through the mountains a correspondent picked up a ragged little -chap not much more than big enough to walk. From his clothing he was -evidently a refugee. - -"Where are your folks?" he was asked. - -"We're living at Aunty's now." - -"Did you all get out?" - -"Oh! we're all right--that is, all except two of sister's babies. Mother -and little sister wasn't home, and they got out all right." - -"Where were you?" - -"Oh! I was at sister's house. We was all in the water and fire. Sister's -man--her husband, you know--took us up-stairs, and he punched a hole -through the roof, and we all climbed out and got saved." - -"How about the babies?" - -"Oh! sister was carrying two of them in her arms, and the bureau hit her -and knocked them out, so they went down." - -The child had unconsciously caught one of the oddest and most -significant tricks of speech that have arisen from the calamity. Nobody -here speaks of a person's having been drowned, or killed, or lost, or -uses any other of the general expressions for sudden death. They have -simply "gone down." Everybody here seems to avoid harsh words in -referring to the possible affliction of another. Euphonistic phrases are -substituted for plain questions. Two old friends met for the first time -since the disaster. - -"I'm glad to see you," exclaimed the first. "Are you all right?" - -"Yes, I'm doing first rate," was the reply. - -The first friend looked awkwardly about a moment, and then asked with -suppressed eagerness: - -"And--and your family--are they all--well?" - -There was a world of significance in the hesitation before the last -word. - -"Yes. Thank God! not one of them went down." - -A man who looked like a prosperous banker, and who had evidently come -from a distance drove through the mountains toward South Fork. On the -way he met a handsome young man in a silk hat, mounted on a mule. The -two shook hands eagerly. - -"Have you anything?" - -"Nothing. What have you?" - -"Nothing." - -The younger man turned about and the two rode on silently through the -forest road. Inquiry later developed the fact that the banker-looking -man was really a banker whose daughter had been lost from one of the -overwhelmed trains. The young man was his son. Both had been searching -for some clue to the young woman's fate. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -It was not "good morning" in Johnstown nor "good night" that passed as a -salutation between neighbors who meet for the first time since the -deluge but "How many of your folks gone?" It is always "folks," always -"gone." You heard it everywhere among the crowds that thronged the -viaduct and looked down upon the ghastly twenty acres of unburied dead, -from which dynamite was making a terrible exhumation of the corpses of -two thousand mortals and five hundred houses. You heard it at the rope -bridge, where the crowds waited the passage of the incessant file of -empty coffins. You heard it upon the steep hillside beyond the valley of -devastation, where the citizens of Johnstown had fled into the borough -of Conemaugh for shelter. You heard it again, the first salutation, -whenever a friend, who had been searching for _his_ dead, met a -neighbor: "Are any of your friends gone?" - -It was not said in tears or even seemingly in madness. It had simply -come to be the "how-d'ye-do" of the eleven thousand people who survived -the twenty-nine thousand five hundred people of the valley of the -Conemaugh. - -Still finding bodies by scores in the debris: still burying the dead and -caring for the wounded; still feeding the famishing and housing the -homeless, was the record for days following the one on which Johnstown -was swept away. A perfect stream of wagons bearing the dead as fast as -they were discovered was constantly filing to the various improvised -morgues where the bodies were taken for identification. Hundreds of -people were constantly crowding to these temporary houses, one of which -was located in each of the suburban boroughs that surround Johnstown. -Men armed with muskets, uniformed sentinels, constituting the force that -guarded the city while it was practically under martial law, stood at -the doors and admitted the crowd by tens. - -[Illustration: RUINS, CORNER MAIN AND CLINTON STS.] - -In the central dead-house in Johnstown proper there lay two rows of -ghastly dead. To the right were twenty bodies that had been identified. -They were mostly women and children, and they were entirely covered with -white sheets, and a piece of paper bearing the name was pinned at the -feet. To the left were eighteen bodies of the unknown dead. As the -people passed they were hurried along by an attendant and gazed at the -uncovered faces seeking to identify them. All applicants for -admission, if it was thought they were prompted by idle curiosity, were -not allowed to enter. The central morgue was formerly a school-house, -and the desks were used as biers for the dead bodies. Three of the -former pupils lay on the desks dead, with white pieces of paper pinned -on the white sheets that covered them, giving their names. - -But what touching scenes are enacted every hour about this mournful -building! Outside the sharp voices of the sentinels are constantly -shouting: "Move on." Inside weeping women and sad-faced, hollow-eyed men -are bending over loved and familiar faces. Back on the steep grassy hill -which rises abruptly on the other side of the street are crowds of -curious people who have come in from the country round about to look at -the wreckage strewn around where Johnstown was. - -"Oh! Mr. Jones," a pale-faced woman asks, walking up, sobbing, "can't -you tell me where we can get a coffin to bury Johnnie's body?" - -"Do you know," asks a tottering old man, as the pale-faced woman turns -away, "whether they have found Jennie and the children?" - -"Jennie's body has just been found at the bridge," is the answer, "but -the children can't be found." - -Jennie is the old man's widowed daughter, and was drowned, with her two -children, while her husband was at work over at the Cambria Mills. - -Just a few doors below the school-house morgue is the central office of -the "Registry Bureau." This was organized by Dr. Buchanan and H. G. -Connaugh, for the purpose of having a registry made of all those who had -escaped. They realized that it would be impossible to secure a complete -list of dead, and that the only practicable thing was to get a complete -list of the living. Then they would get all the Johnstown names, and by -that means secure a list of the dead. That estimate will be based on -figures secured by the subtraction of the total registry saved from -total population of Johnstown and surrounding boroughs. - -"I have been around trying to find my sister-in-law, Mrs. Laura R. -Jones, who is lost," said David L. Rogers. - -"How do you know she is lost?" he was asked. - -"Because I can't find her." - -When persons can't be found it is taken as conclusive evidence that they -have been drowned. It is believed that the flood has buried a great many -people below the bridge in the ground lying just below the Cambria -Works. Here the rush of waters covered the railroad tracks ten feet deep -with a coating of stones. Whether they will ever be dug for remains to -be seen. Meantime, those who are easier to reach will be hunted for. -There are many corpses in the area of rubbish that drifted down and -lodged against the stone bridge of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Out of -this rubbish one thousand bodies have already been taken. The fire that -was started by the driftwood touching against the burning Catholic -Church as it floated down was still burning. - -Walk almost anywhere through the devastated district and you will hear -expressions like this: "Why, you see that pile of wreckage there. There -are three bodies buried beneath that pile. I know them, for I lived next -door. They are Mrs. Charles E. Kast and her daughter, who kept a tavern, -and her bartender, C. S. Noble." - -Henry Rogers, of Pittsburg, is here caring for his relatives. "I am -scarcely in a condition to talk," he says. "The awful scenes I have just -witnessed and the troubles of my relatives have almost unnerved me. My -poor aunt, Mrs. William Slick, is now a raving maniac. Her husband was -formerly the County Surveyor. He felt that the warning about the dam -should not be disregarded. Accordingly he made preparations to go to a -place of safety. His wife was just recovering from an illness, but he -had to take her on horseback, and there was no time to get a carriage. -They escaped, but all their property was washed away. Mrs. Slick for a -time talked cheerfully enough, and said they should be thankful they had -escaped with their lives. But on Sunday it was noticed that she was -acting strangely. By night she was insane. I suppose the news that some -relatives had perished was what turned her mind. I am much afraid that -Mrs. Slick is not the only one in Johnstown whose reason has been -dethroned by the calamity. I have talked with many citizens, and they -certainly seem crazy to me. When the excitement passes off I suppose -they will regain their reason. The escape of my uncle, George R. Slick, -and his wife, I think was really providential. They, too, had determined -to heed the warning that the dam was unsafe. When the flood came they -had a carriage waiting at the front door. Just as they were entering it, -the water came. How it was, my aunt cannot tell me, but they both -managed to catch on to some debris, and were thus floated along. My aunt -says she has an indistinct recollection of some one having helped her -upon the roof of a house. The person who did her this service was lost. -All night they floated along on the roof. They suffered greatly from -exposure, as the weather was extremely chilly. Next morning they were -fortunately landed safely. My uncle, however, is now lying at the point -of death. I have noticed a singular coincidence here. Down in the lower -end of the city stood the United Presbyterian parsonage. The waters -carried it two miles and a half, and landed it in Sandy Vale Cemetery. -Strange as it may seem, the sexton's house in the cemetery was swept -away and landed near the foundations of the parsonage. I have seen this -myself, and it is commented on by many others." - -In one place the roofs of forty frame houses were packed in together -just as you would place forty bended cards one on top of another. The -iron rods of a bridge were twisted into a perfect spiral six times -around one of the girders. Just beneath it was a woman's trunk, broken -up and half filled with sand, with silk dresses and a veil streaming out -of it. From under the trunk men were lifting the body of its owner, -perhaps, so burned, so horribly mutilated, so torn limb from limb that -even the workmen, who have seen so many of these frightful sights that -they have begun to get used to them, turned away sick at heart. In one -place was a wrecked grocery store--bins of coffee and tea, flour, spices -and nuts, parts of the counter and the safe mingled together. Near it -was the pantry of a house, still partly intact, the plates and saucers -regularly piled up, a waiter and a teapot, but not a sign of the -woodwork, not a recognizable outline of a house. - -In another place was a human foot, and crumbling indications of a boot, -but no signs of a body. A hay-rick, half ashes, stood near the centre -of the gorge. Workmen who dug about it to-day found a chicken coop, and -in it two chickens, not only alive but clucking happily when they were -released. A woman's hat, half burned; a reticule, with part of a hand -still clinging to it; two shoes and part of a dress told the story of -one unfortunate's death. Close at hand a commercial traveler had -perished. There was his broken valise, still full of samples, fragments -of his shoes, and some pieces of his clothing. - -Scenes like these were occurring all over the charred field where men -were working with pick and axe and lifting out the poor, shattered -remains of human beings, nearly always past recognition or -identification, except by guess-work, or the locality where they were -found. Articles of domestic use scattered through the rubbish helped to -tell who some of the bodies were. Part of a set of dinner plates told -one man where in the intangible mass his house was. In one place was a -photograph album with one picture still recognizable. From this the body -of a child near by was identified. A man who had spent a day and all -night looking for the body of his wife, was directed to her remains by -part of a trunk lid. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - -The language of pathos is too weak to describe the scenes where the -living were searching for their loved and lost ones among the dead. - -"That's Emma," said an old man before one of the bodies. He said it as -coolly as though he spoke of his daughter in life, not in death, and as -if it were not the fifth dead child of his that he had identified. - -"Is that you, Mrs. James," said one woman to another on the foot-bridge -over Stony Creek. - -"Yes, it is, and we are all well," said Mrs. James. - -"Oh, have you heard from Mrs. Fenton?" - -"She's left," said the first woman, "but Mr. Fenton and the children are -gone." - -The scenes at the different relief agencies, where food, clothing, and -provisions were given out on the order of the Citizens Committee, were -extremely interesting. These were established at the Pennsylvania -Railroad depot, at Peter's Hotel, in Adams Street, and in each of the -suburbs. - -At the depot, where there was a large force of police, the people were -kept in files, and the relief articles were given out with some -regularity, but at such a place as Kernsville, in the suburbs, the -relief station was in the upper story of a partly wrecked house. - -The yard was filled with boxes and barrels of bread, crackers, biscuit, -and bales of blankets. The people crowded outside the yard in the -street, and the provisions were handed to them over the fence, while the -clothing was thrown to them from the upper windows. There was apparently -great destitution in Kernsville. - -"I don't care what it is, only so long as it will keep me warm," said -one woman, whose ragged clothing was still damp. - -The stronger women pushed to the front of the fence and tried to grab -the best pieces of clothing which came from the windows, but the people -in the house saw the game and tossed the clothing to those in the rear -of the crowd. A man stood on a barrel of flour and yelled out what each -piece of clothing was as it came down. - -At each yell there was a universal cry of "That's just what I want. My -boy is dying; he must have that. Throw me that for my poor wife," and -the likes of that. Finally the clothing was all gone, and there were -some people who didn't get any. They went away bewailing their -misfortune. - -A reporter was piloted to Kernsville by Kellog, a man who had lost his -wife and baby in the flood. - -"She stood right thar, sir," said the man, pointing to a house whose -roof and front were gone. "She climbed up thar when the water came first -and almost smashed the house. She had the baby in her arms. Then another -house came down and dashed against ours, and my wife went down with the -baby raised above her head. I saw it all from a tree thar. I couldn't -move a step to help 'em." - -Coming back, the same reporter met a man whose face was radiant. He -fairly beamed good nature and kindness. - -"You look happy," said the reporter. - -"Yes, sir; I've found my boy," said the man. - -"Is your house gone?" asked the reporter. - -"Oh, of course," answered the man. "I've lost all I've got except my -little boy," and he went on his way rejoicing. - -A wealthy young Philadelphian named Ogle had become engaged to a -Johnstown lady, Miss Carrie Diehl. They were to be wedded in the middle -of June, and were preparing for the ceremony. The lover heard of the -terrible flood, but, knowing that the residence of his dear one was up -in the hills, felt little fear for her safety. To make sure, however, he -started for Johnstown. Near the Fourth Street morgue he met Mr. Diehl. - -"Thank God! you are safe," he exclaimed, and then added: "Is Carrie -well?" - -"She was visiting in the valley when the wave came," was the mournful -reply. Then he beckoned the young man to enter the chamber of death. - -A moment later Mr. Ogle was kneeling beside the rough bier and was -kissing the cold, white face. From the lifeless finger he slipped a ring -and in its place put one of his own. Then he stole quietly out. - -"Mamma! mamma!" cried a child. She had recognized a body that no one -else could, and in a moment the corpse was ticketed, boxed, and -delivered to laborers, who bore it away to join the long funeral -procession. - -A mother recognized a baby boy. "Keep it a few minutes," she asked the -undertaker in charge. In a few moments she returned, carrying in her -arms a little white casket. Then she hired two men to bear it to a -cemetery. No hearses were seen in Johnstown. Relatives recognized their -dead, secured the coffins, got them carried the best way they could to -the morgues, then to the graveyards. A prayer, some tears, and a few -more of the dead thousands were buried in mother earth. - -A frequent visitor at these horrible places was David John Lewis. All -over Johnstown he rode a powerful gray horse, and to each one he met -whom he knew he exclaimed: "Have you seen my sisters?" Hardly waiting -for a reply, he galloped away, either to seek ingress into a morgue or -to ride along the river banks. One week before Mr. Lewis was worth -$60,000, his all being invested in a large commission business. After -the flood he owned the horse he rode, the clothes on his back, and that -was all. In the fierce wave were buried five of his near relatives, -sons, and his sisters Anna, Louise, and Maggie. The latter was married, -and her little boy and babe were also drowned. They were all dearly -loved by the merchant, who, crazed with grief and mounted on his horse, -was a conspicuous figure in the ruined city. - -William Gaffney, an insurance agent, had a very pitiful duty to perform. -On his father's and wife's side he lost fourteen relatives, among them -his wife and family. He had a man to take the bodies to the grave, and -he himself dug graves for his wife and children, and buried them. In -speaking of the matter he said: "I never thought that I could perform -such a sad duty, but I had to do it, and I did it. No one has any idea -of the feelings of a man who acts as undertaker, grave-digger, and -pall-bearer for his own family." - -The saddest sight on the river bank was Mr. Gilmore, who lost his wife -and family of five children. Ever since the calamity this old man was -seen on the river bank looking for his family. He insisted on the -firemen playing a stream of water on the place where the house formerly -stood, and where he supposed the bodies lay. The firemen, recognizing -his feelings, played the stream on the place, at intervals, for several -hours, and at last the rescuers got to the spot where the old man said -his house formerly stood. "I know the bodies are there, and you must -find them." When at last one of the men picked up a charred skull, -evidently that of a child, the old man exclaimed: "That is my child. -There lies my family; go on and get the rest of them." The workmen -continued, and in a few minutes they came to the remains of the mother -and three other children. There was only enough of their clothing left -to recognize them by. - -On the floor of William Mancarro's house, groaning with pain and grief, -lay Patrick Madden, a furnaceman of the Cambria Iron Company. He told of -his terrible experience in a voice broken with emotion. He said: "When -the Cambria Iron Company's bridge gave way I was in the house of a -neighbor, Edward Garvey. We were caught through our own neglect, like a -great many others, and a few minutes before the houses were struck -Garvey remarked that he was a good swimmer, and could get away no matter -how high the water rose. Ten minutes later I saw him and his son-in-law -drowned. - -"No human being could swim in that terrible torrent of debris. After the -South Fork Reservoir broke I was flung out of the building, and saw, -when I rose to the surface of the water, my wife hanging upon a piece of -scantling. She let it go and was drowned almost within reach of my arm, -and I could not help or save her. I caught a log and floated with it -five or six miles, but it was knocked from under me when I went over the -dam. I then caught a bale of hay and was taken out by Mr. Morenrow. - -"My wife is certainly drowned, and six children. Four of them were: -James Madden, twenty-three years old; John, twenty-one years; Kate, -seventeen years; and Mary, nineteen years." - -A spring wagon came slowly from the ruins of what was once Cambria. In -it, on a board and covered by a muddy cloth, were the remains of Editor -C. T. Schubert, of the Johnstown _Free Press_, German. Behind the wagon -walked his friend Benjamin Gribble. Editor Schubert was one of the most -popular and well-known Germans in the city. He sent his three sons to -Conemaugh Borough on Thursday, and on Friday afternoon he and his wife -and six other children called at Mr. Gribble's residence. They noticed -the rise of the water, but not until the flood from the burst dam washed -the city did they anticipate danger. All fled from the first to the -second floor. Then, as the water rose, they went to the attic, and Mr. -Schubert hastily prepared a raft, upon which all embarked. Just as the -raft reached the bridge, a heavy piece of timber swept the editor -beneath the surface. The raft then glided through, and all the rest were -rescued. Mr. Schubert's body was found beneath a pile of broken timbers. - -A pitiful sight was that of an old, gray-haired man named Norn. He was -walking around among the mass of debris, looking for his family. He had -just sat down to eat his supper when the crash came, and the whole -family, consisting of wife and eight children, were buried beneath the -collapsed house. He was carried down the river to the railroad bridge on -a plank. Just at the bridge a cross-tie struck him with such force that -he was shot clear upon the pier, and was safe. But he is a mass of -bruises and cuts from head to foot. He refused to go to the hospital -until he found the bodies of his loved ones. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -Five days after the disaster a bird's-eye view was taken of Johnstown -from the top of a precipitous mountain which almost overhangs it. The -first thing that impresses the eye, wrote the observer, is the fact that -the proportion of the town that remains uninjured is much smaller than -it seems to be from lower-down points of view. Besides the part of the -town that is utterly wiped out, there are two great swaths cut through -that portion which from lower down seems almost uninjured. Beginning at -Conemaugh, two miles above the railroad bridge, along the right side of -the valley looking down, there is a strip of an eighth by a quarter of a -mile wide, which constituted the heart of a chain of continuous towns, -and which was thickly built over for the whole distance, upon which now -not a solitary building stands except the gutted walls of the Wood, -Morrell & Co. general store in Johnstown, and of the Gautier wire mill -and Woodvale flour mill at Woodvale. Except for these buildings, the -whole two-mile strip is swept clean, not only of buildings, but of -everything. It is a tract of mud, rocks, and such other miscellaneous -debris as might follow the workings of a huge hydraulic placer mining -system in the gold regions. In Johnstown itself, besides the total -destruction upon this strip, extending at the end to cover the whole -lower end of the city, there is a swath branching off from the main -strip above the general store and running straight to the bluff. It is -three blocks wide and makes a huge "Y," with the gap through which the -flood came for the base and main strip and the swaths for branches. -Between the branches there is a triangular block of buildings that are -still standing, although most of them are damaged. At a point exactly -opposite the corner where the branches of the "Y" meet, and distant from -it by about fifty yards, is one of the freaks of the flood. The -Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station, a square, two-story brick building, -with a little cupola at the apex of its slanting roof, is apparently -uninjured, but really one corner is knocked in and the whole interior is -a total wreck. How it stood when everything anywhere near it was swept -away is a mystery. Above the "Y"-shaped tract of ruin there is another -still wider swath, bending around in Stony Creek, save on the left, -where the flood surged when it was checked and thrown back by the -railroad bridge. It swept things clean before it through Johnstown and -made a track of ruin among the light frame houses for nearly two miles -up the gap. The Roman Catholic Church was just at its upper edge. It is -still standing, and from its tower the bell strikes the hours regularly -as before, although everybody now is noticing that it always sounds like -a funeral. Nobody ever noticed it before, but from the upper side it can -be seen that a huge hole has been knocked through the side of the -building. A train of cars could be run through it. Inside the church is -filled with all sorts of rubbish and ruin. A little further on is -another church, which curiously illustrates the manner in which fire and -flood seemed determined to unite in completing the ruin of the city. -Just before the flood came down the valley there was a terrific -explosion in this church, supposed to have been caused by natural gas. -Amid all the terrors of the flood, with the water surging thirty feet -deep all around and through it, the flames blazed through the roof and -tower, and its fire-stained walls arise from the debris of the flood, -which covers its foundations. Its ruins are one of the most conspicuous -and picturesque sights in the city. - -[Illustration: RUINS FROM SITE OF THE HURLBURT HOUSE.] - -Next to Adams Street, the road most traveled in Johnstown now is the -Pennsylvania Railroad track, or rather bed, across the Stony Creek, and -at a culvert crossing just west of the creek. More people have been -injured here since the calamity than at any other place. The railroad -ties which hold the track across the culvert are big ones, and their -strength has not been weakened by the flood, but between the ties and -between the freight and passenger tracks there is a wide space. The -Pennsylvania trains from Johnstown have to stop, of course, at the -eastern end of the bridge, and the thousands of people whom they daily -bring to Johnstown from Pittsburgh have to get into Johnstown by walking -across the track to the Pennsylvania Railroad depot, and then crossing -the pontoon foot-bridge that has been built across the Stony Creek. All -day long there is a black line of people going back and forth across -this course. Every now and then there is a yell, a plunge, a rush of -people to the culvert, a call for a doctor, and cries of "Help" from -underneath the culvert. Some one, of course, has fallen between the -freight and passenger tracks, or between the ties of the tracks -themselves. In the night it is particularly dangerous traveling to the -Pennsylvania depot this way, and people falling then have little chance -of a rescue. So far at least thirty persons have fallen down the -culvert, and a dozen of them, who have descended entirely to the ground, -have escaped in some marvelous manner with their lives. Several -Pittsburghers have had their legs and arms broken, and one man cracked -his collar-bone. It is to be hoped that these accidents will keep off -the flock of curiosity-seekers, in some degree at least. The presence of -these crowds seriously interferes with the work of clearing up the town, -and affects the residents here in even a graver manner, for though many -of those coming to Johnstown to spend a day and see the ruins bring -something to eat with them, many do not do so, and invade the relief -stands, taking the food which is lavishly dealt out to the suffering. -Though the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge is as strong as ever, -apparently, beyond the bridge, the embankment on which the track is -built is washed away, and people therefore do not cross the bridge, but -leave the track on the western side, and, clambering down the abutments, -cross the creek on a rude foot-bridge hastily erected, and then through -the yard of the Open-Hearth Works and of the railroad up to the depot. -This yard altogether is about three-quarters of a mile long, but so -deceptive are distances in the valley that it does not look one-third -that. The bed of this yard, three-quarters of a mile long, and about the -same distance wide, is the most desolate place here. The yard itself is -fringed with the crumbling ruins of the iron works and of the railroad -shops. The iron works were great, high brick buildings, with steep iron -roofs. The ends of these buildings were smashed in, and the roofs bend -over where the flood struck them, in a curve. - -But it is the bed of the yard itself that is desolate. In appearance it -is a mass of stones and rocks and huge boulders, so that it seems a vast -quarry hewn and uncovered by the wind. There is comparatively little -debris here, all this having been washed away over to the sides of the -buildings, in one or two instances filling the buildings completely. -There is no soft earth or mud on the rocks at all, this part of -Johnstown being much in contrast with the great stretch of sand along -the river. In some instances the dirt is washed away to such a depth -that the bed-rock is uncovered. - -The fury of the waters here may be gathered from this fact: piled up -outside the works of the Open-Hearth Company were several heaps of -massive blooms--long, solid blocks of pig iron, weighing fifteen tons -each. The blooms, though they were not carried down the river, were -scattered about the yard like so many logs of wood. They will have to be -piled up again by the use of a derrick. The Open-Hearth Iron Works -people are making vigorous efforts to clear their buildings. The yards -of the company were blazing last night with the burning debris, but it -will be weeks before the company can start operations. - -In the Pennsylvania Railroad yard all is activity and bustle. At the -relief station, and at the headquarters of General Hastings, in the -signal tower, the man who is the head of all operations there, and the -directing genius of the place, is Lieutenant George Miller, of the Fifth -United States Infantry. Lieutenant Miller was near here on his vacation -when the flood came. He was one of the first on the spot, and was about -the only man in Johnstown who showed some ability as an organizer and a -disciplinarian. A reporter who groped his way across the railroad track, -the foot-bridge, and the quarries and yards at reveille found Lieutenant -Miller in a group of the soldiers of the Fourteenth Pennsylvania -Regiment telling them just what to do. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - -Travel was resumed up the valley of Conemaugh Creek for a few miles -about five days after the flood, and a weird sight was presented to the -visitor. No pen can do justice to it, yet some impressions of it must be -recorded. Every one has seen the light iron beams, shafts, and rods in a -factory lying in twisted, broken, and criss-cross shape after a fire has -destroyed the building. In the gap above Johnstown water has picked up a -four-track railroad covered with trains, freight, and passengers, and -with machine shops, a round-house, and other heavy buildings with heavy -contents, and it has torn the track to pieces, twisted, turned, and -crossed it as fire never could. It has tossed huge freight locomotives -about like barrels, and cars like packing-boxes, torn them to pieces, -and scattered them over miles of territory. It has in one place put a -stream of deep water, a city block wide, between the railroad and the -bluff, and in another place it has changed the course of the river as -far in the other direction and left a hundred yards inland the tracks -that formerly skirted the banks. - -Add to this that in the midst of all this devastation, fire, with the -singular fatality that has made it everywhere the companion of the flood -in this catastrophe, has destroyed a train of vestibule cars that the -flood had wrecked; that the passengers who remained in the cars through -the flood and until the fire were saved, while their companions who -attempted to flee were overwhelmed and drowned; and that through it all -one locomotive stood and still stands comparatively uninjured in the -heart of this disaster, and the story of one of the most marvelous -freaks of this marvelous flood is barely outlined. That locomotive -stands there on its track now with its fires burning, smoke curling from -the stack, and steam from its safety valve, all ready to go ahead as -soon as they will build a track down to it. It is No. 1309, a fifty-four -ton, eight driver, class R, Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive. George -Hudson was its engineer, and Conductor Sheely had charge of its train. -They, with all the rest of the crew, escaped by flight when they saw the -flood. - -The wonders of this playground, where a giant force played with masses -of iron, weighing scores of tons each, as a child might play with -pebbles, begins with a bridge, or a piece of a bridge, about thirty feet -long, that stands high and dry upon two ordinary stone abutments at -Woodvale. The part of the bridge that remains spanned the Pennsylvania -tracks. The tracks are gone, the bridge is gone on either side, the -river is gone to a new channel, the very earth for a hundred yards -around has been scraped off and swept away, but this little span remains -perched up there, twenty feet above everything, in the midst of a desert -of ruins--the only piece of a bridge that is standing from the railroad -bridge to South Forks. It is a light iron structure, and the abutments -are not unusually heavy. That it should be kept there, when everything -else was twisted and torn to pieces, is one other queer freak of this -flood. Near by are the wrecks of two freight trains that were standing -side by side when the flood caught them. The lower ends of both trains -are torn to pieces, the cars tossed around in every direction, and many -of them carried away. The whole of the train on the track nearest the -river was smashed into kindling wood. Its locomotive is gone entirely, -perhaps because this other train acted as a sort of buffer for the -second one. The latter has twenty-five or thirty cars that are -uninjured, apparently. They could move off as soon as that wonderful -engine, No. 1309, that stands with steam up at their head, gets ready -to pull out. A second look, however, shows that the track is in many -places literally washed from beneath the cars. Some of the trucks also -are turned half way around and standing with wheels running across the -track. But the force that did this left the light wood box cars -themselves unharmed. They were loaded with dressed beef and provisions. -They have been emptied to supply the hungry in Johnstown. - -In front of engine 1309 and this train the water played one of its most -fantastic tricks with the rails. The debris of trees, logs, planks, and -every description of wreckage is heaped up in front of the engine to the -headlight, and is packed in so tightly that twenty men with ropes and -axes worked all day without clearing all away. The track is absolutely -gone from the front of the engine clear up to beyond Conemaugh. Parts of -it lie about everywhere, twisted into odd shapes, turned upside down, -stacked crosswise one above the other, and in one place a section of the -west track has been lifted clear over the right track, runs along there -for a ways, and then twists back into its proper place. Even stranger -are the tricks the water has played with the rails where they have been -torn loose from the ties. The rails are steel and of the heaviest weight -used. They were twisted as easily as willow branches in a spring -freshet in a country brook. One rail lies in the sand in the shape of a -letter "S." More are broken squarely in two. Many times rails have been -broken within a few feet of a fishplate, coupling them to the next rail, -and the fragments are still united by the comparatively weak plates. -Every natural law would seem to show that the first place where they -should have broken was at the joints. - -There is little to indicate the recent presence of a railroad in the -stretch from this spot up to the upper part of Conemaugh. The little -plain into which the gap widened here, and in which stood the bulk of -the town, is wiped out. The river has changed its course from one side -of the valley to the other. There is not the slightest indication that -the central part of the plain was ever anything but a flood-washed gulch -in some mountain region. At the upper end of the plain, surrounded by a -desert of mud and rock, stands a fantastic collection of ruined railroad -equipments. Three trains stood there when the flood swept down the -valley. On the outside was a local passenger train with three cars and a -locomotive. It stands there yet, the cars tilted by the washing of the -tracks, but comparatively uninjured. Somehow a couple more locomotives -have been run into the sand bank. In the centre a freight train stood on -the track, and a large collection of smashed cars has its place now. It -was broken all to pieces. Inside of all was the day express, with its -baggage and express cars, and at the end three vestibule cars. It was -from this train that a number of passengers--fifteen certainly, and no -one knows how many more--were lost. When the alarm came most of the -passengers fled for the high ground. Many reached it; others hesitated -on the way, tried to run back to the cars, and were lost. Others stayed -on the cars, and, after the first rush of the flood, were rescued alive. -Some of the freight cars were loaded with lime, and this leaped over the -vestibule cars and set them on fire. All three of the vestibule cars -were burned down to the trucks. These and the peculiar-shaped iron -frames of the vestibules are all that show where the cars stood. - -The reason the flood, that twisted heavy steel rails like twigs just -below, did not wipe out these three trains entirely is supposed to be -that just in front of them, and between them and the flood, was the -round-house, filled with engines. It was a large building, probably -forty feet high to the top of the ventilators in the roof. The wave of -wrath, eye-witnesses say, was so high that these ventilators were -beneath it. The round-house was swept away to its very foundations, and -the flood played jackstraws with the two dozen locomotives lodged in it, -but it split the torrent, and a part of it went down each side of the -three trains, saving them from the worst of its force. Thirty-three -locomotives were in and about the round-house and the repair shops near -by. Of these, twenty-six have been found, or at least traced, part of -them being found scattered down into Johnstown, and one tender was found -up in Stony Creek. The other seven locomotives are gone, and not a trace -of them has been found up to this time. It is supposed that some of them -are in the sixty acres of debris above the bridge at Johnstown. All the -locomotives that remain anywhere within sight of the round-house, all -except those attached to the trains, are thrown about in every -direction, every side up, smashed, broken, and useless except for old -iron. The tenders are all gone. Being lighter than the locomotives, they -floated easier, and were quickly torn off and carried away. The engines -themselves were apparently rolled over and over in whichever direction -the current that had hold of them ran, and occasionally were picked up -bodily and slammed down again, wheels up, or whichever way chanced to be -most convenient to the flood. Most of them lie in five feet of sand and -gravel, with only a part showing above the surface. Some are out in the -bed of the river. - -A strange but very pleasant feature of the disaster in Conemaugh itself -is the comparatively small loss of life. As the townspeople figure it -out, there are only thirty-eight persons there positively known to have -perished besides those on the train. This was partly because the -buildings in the centre of the valley were mostly stores and factories, -and also because more heed appears to have been paid to the warnings -that came from up the valley. At noon the workmen in the shops were -notified that there was danger, and that they had better go home. At one -o'clock word was given that the dam was likely to go, and that everybody -must get on high ground. Few remained in the central part of the valley -when the high wave came through the gap. - -Dore never dreamed a weirder, ghastlier picture than night in the -Conemaugh Valley since the flood desolated it. Darkness falls early from -the rain-dropping, gray sky that has palled the valley ever since it -became a vast bier, a charnel-house fifteen miles long. The smoke and -steam from the placers of smouldering debris above the bridge aid to -hasten the night. Few lights gleam out, except those of the scattered -fires that still flicker fitfully in the mass of wreckage. Gas went out -with the flood, and oil has been almost entirely lacking since the -disaster. Candles are used in those places where people think it worth -while to stay up after dark. Up on the hills around the town bright -sparks gleam out like lovely stars from the few homes built so high. -Down in the valley the gloom settles over everything, making it look, -from the bluffs around, like some vast death-pit, the idea of entering -which brings a shudder. The gloomy effect is not relieved, but rather -deepened, by the broad beams of ghastly, pale light thrown across the -gulf by two or three electric lights erected around the Pennsylvania -Railroad station. They dazzle the eye and make the gloom still deeper. - -Time does not accustom the eyes to this ghastly scene. The flames rising -and falling over the ruins look more like witches' bale-fires the longer -they are looked at. The smoke-burdened depths in the valley seem -deserted by every living thing, except that occasionally, prowling -ghoul-like about the edges of the mass of debris, may be seen, as they -cross the beams of electric light, dark figures of men who are drawn to -the spot day and night, hovering over the place where some chance -movement may disclose the body of a wife, mother, or daughter gone down -in the wreck. They pick listlessly away at the heaps in one spot for -awhile and then wander aimlessly off, only to reappear at another spot, -pulling feverishly at some rags that looked like a dress, or poking a -stick into some hole to feel if there is anything soft at the bottom. At -one or two places the electric lights show, with exaggerated and -distorted shadows, firemen in big hats and long rubber coats, standing -upon the edge of the bridge, steadily holding the hose, from which two -streams of water shoot far out over the mass, sparkle for a moment like -silver in the pale light, and then drop downward into the blackness. - -For noise, there is heavy splashing of the Conemaugh over the rapids -below the bridge, the petulant gasping of an unseen fire-engine, pumping -water through the hose, and the even more rapid but greater puffing of -the dynamo-engine that, mounted upon a flat car at one end of the -bridge, furnishes electricity for the lights. There is little else -heard. People who are yet about gather in little groups, and talk in low -tones as they look over the dark, watchfire-beaconed gulf. Everybody in -Johnstown looks over that gulf in every spare moment, day or night. -Movement about is almost impossible, for the ways are only foot-paths -about the bluffs, irregular and slippery. Every night people are badly -hurt by falls over bluffs, through the bridge, or down banks. Lying -about under sheds in ruined buildings, and even in the open air, -wherever one goes, are the forms, wrapped in blankets, of men who have -no better place to sleep, resembling nothing so much as the corpses that -men are seen always to be carrying about the streets in the daytime. - -[Illustration: THE DEBRIS ABOVE THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD BRIDGE.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - - -One of the first to reach Johnstown from a distance was a New York -_World_ correspondent, who on Sunday wrote as follows:-- - -"I walked late yesterday afternoon from New Florence to a place opposite -Johnstown, a distance of four miles. I describe what I actually saw. All -along the way bodies were seen lying on the river banks. In one place a -woman was half buried in the mud, only a limb showing. In another was a -mother with her babe clasped to her breast. Further along lay a husband -and wife, their arms wound around each other's necks. Probably fifty -bodies were seen on that one side of the river, and it must be -remembered that here the current was the swiftest, and consequently -fewer of the dead were landed among the bushes. On the opposite side -bodies could also be seen, but they were all covered with mud. As I -neared Johnstown the wreckage became grand in its massive -proportions. In order to show the force of the current I will say that -three miles below Johnstown I saw a grand piano lying on the bank, and -not a board or key was broken. It must have been lifted on the crest of -the wave and laid gently on the bank. In another place were two large -iron boilers. They had evidently been treated by the torrent much as the -piano had been. - -"The scenes, as I neared Johnstown, were the most heart-rending that man -was ever called to look upon. Probably three thousand people were -scattered in groups along the Pennsylvania Railroad track and every one -of them had a relative lying dead either in the wreckage above, in the -river below, or in the still burning furnace. Not a house that was left -standing was in plumb. Hundreds of them were turned on their sides, and -in some cases three or four stood one on top of the other. Two miles -from Johnstown, on the opposite side of the river from where I walked, -stood one-half of the water-works of the Cambria Iron Company, a -structure that had been built of massive stone. It was filled with -planks from houses, and a large abutment of wreckage was piled up fully -fifty feet in front of it. A little above, on the same side, could be -seen what was left of the Cambria Iron Works, which was one of the -finest plants in the world. Some of the walls are still standing, it is -true, but not a vestige of the valuable machinery remains in sight. The -two upper portions of the works were swept away almost entirely, and -under the pieces of fallen iron and wood could be seen the bodies of -more than forty workmen. - -"At this point there is a bend in the river and the fiery furnace -blazing for a quarter of a mile square above the stone bridge came into -view. - -"'My God!' screamed a woman who was hastening up the track, 'can it be -that any are in there?' - -"'Yes; over a thousand,' replied a man who had just come from the -neighborhood, and it is now learned that he estimated the number at one -thousand too low. - -"The scenes of misery and suffering and agony and despair can hardly be -chronicled. One man, a clerk named Woodruff, was reeling along -intoxicated. Suddenly, with a frantic shout, he threw himself over the -bank into the flood and would have been carried to his death had he not -been caught by some persons below. - -"'Let me die,' he exclaimed, when they rescued him. 'My wife and -children are gone; I have no use for my life.' An hour later I saw -Woodruff lying on the ground entirely overcome by liquor. Persons who -knew him said that he had never tasted liquor before. - -"Probably fifty barrels of whisky were washed ashore just below -Johnstown, and those men who had lost everything in this world sought -solace in the fiery liquid. So it was that as early as six o'clock last -night the shrieks and cries of women were intermingled with drunkards' -howls and curses. What was worse than anything, however, was the fact -that incoming trains from Pittsburgh brought hundreds of toughs, who -joined with the Slavs and Bohemians in rifling the bodies, stealing -furniture, insulting women, and endeavoring to assume control of any -rescuing parties that tried to seek the bodies under the bushes and in -the limbs of trees. There was no one in authority, no one to take -command of even a citizens' posse could it have been organized. A -lawless mob seemed to control this narrow neck of land that was the only -approach to the city of Johnstown. I saw persons take watches from dead -men's jackets and brutally tear finger-rings from the hands of women. -The ruffians also climbed into the overturned houses and ransacked the -rooms, taking whatever they thought valuable. No one dared check them in -this work, and, consequently, the scene was not as riotous as it would -have been if the toughs had not had sway. In fact, they became beastly -drunk after a time and were seen lying around in a stupor. Unless the -military is on hand early to-morrow there may be serious trouble, for -each train pours loads of people of every description into the vicinity, -and Slavs are flocking like birds of prey from the surrounding country. - -"Here I will give the latest conservative estimate of the dead--it is -between seven and eight thousand drowned and two thousand burned. The -committee at Johnstown in their last bulletin placed the number of lives -lost at eight thousand. In doing so they are figuring the inhabitants of -their own city and the towns immediately adjoining. But it must be -remembered that the tidal wave swept ten miles through a populous -district before it even reached the locality over which this committee -has supervision. It devastated a tract the size and shape of Manhattan -Island. Here are a few facts that will show the geographical outlines of -the terrible disaster: The Hotel Hurlburt of Johnstown, a massive -three-story building of one hundred rooms, has vanished. There were in -it seventy-five guests at the time of the flood. Two only are now known -to be alive. The Merchants' Hotel is leveled. How many were inside it is -not known, but as yet no one has been seen who came from there or heard -of an inmate escaping. At the Conemaugh round-house forty-one -locomotives were swept down the stream, and before they reached the -stone bridge all the iron and steel work had been torn from their -boilers. It is almost impossible in this great catastrophe to go more -into details. - -"I stood on the stone bridge at six o'clock and looked into the seething -mass of ruin below me. At one place the blackened body of a babe was -seen; in another, fourteen skulls could be counted. Further along the -bones became thicker and thicker, until at last at one place it seemed -as if a concourse of people who had been at a ball or entertainment had -been carried in a bunch and incinerated. At this time the smoke was -still rising to the height of fifty feet, and it is expected that when -it dies down the charred bodies will be seen dotting the entire mass. - -"A cable had been run last night from the end of the stone bridge to the -nearest point across--a distance of three hundred feet. Over this cable -was run a trolley, and a swing was fastened under it. A man went over, -and he was the first one who visited Johnstown since the awful disaster. -I followed him to-day. - -"I walked along the hillside and saw hundreds of persons lying on the -wet grass, wrapped in blankets or quilts. It was growing cold and a -misty rain had set in. Shelter was not to be had, and houses on the -hillsides that had not been swept away were literally packed from top to -bottom. The bare necessities of life were soon at a premium, and loaves -of bread sold at fifty cents. Fortunately, however, the relief train -from Pittsburgh arrived at seven o'clock. Otherwise the horrors of -starvation would have been added. All provisions, however, had to be -carried over a rough, rocky road a distance of four miles (as I knew, -who had been compelled to walk it), and in many cases they were seized -by the toughs, and the people who were in need of food did not get it. - -"Rich and poor were served alike by this terrible disaster. I saw a girl -standing in her bare feet on the river's bank, clad in a loose petticoat -and with a shawl over her head. At first I thought she was an Italian -woman, but her face showed that I was mistaken. She was the belle of the -town--the daughter of a wealthy Johnstown banker--and this single -petticoat and shawl were not only all that was left her, but all that -was saved from the magnificent residence of her father. She had escaped -to the hills not an instant too soon. - -"The solicitor of Johnstown, Mr. George Martin, said to me to-day:-- - -"'All my money went away in the flood. My house is gone. So are all my -clothes, but, thank God, my family are safe.'" - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - - -The first train that passed New Florence, bound east, was crowded with -people from Pittsburgh and places along the line, who were going to the -scene of the disaster with but little hope of finding their loved ones -alive. It was a heart-rending sight. Not a dry eye was in the train. -Mothers moaned for their children. Husbands paced the aisles and wrung -their hands in mute agony. Fathers pressed their faces against the -windows and endeavored to see something, they knew not what, that would -tell them in a measure of the dreadful fate that their loved ones had -met with. All along the raging Conemaugh the train stopped, and bodies -were taken on the express car, being carried by the villagers who were -out along the banks. Oh, the horror and infinite pity of it all! What a -journey has been that of the last half hour! Swollen corpses lay here -and there in piles of cross-ties, or on the river banks along the -tangled greenery. - -It was about nine o'clock when the first passenger train since Friday -came to the New Florence depot with its load of eager passengers. They -were no idle travelers, but each had a mission. Here and there men were -staring out the windows with red eyes. Among them were tough-looking -Hungarians and Italians who had lost friends near Nineveh, while many -were weeping, on all sides. Two of the passengers on the train were man -and wife from Johnstown. He was dignified and more or less -self-possessed. She was anxious, and tried hard to control her feelings. -From every newcomer and possible source of information she sought news. - -"Ours is a big, new brick house," said she with a brave effort, but with -her brown eyes moist and red lips trembling. "It is a three-story house, -and I don't think there is any trouble, do you?" said she to me, and -without waiting for my answer, she continued with a sob, "There are my -four children in the house and their nurse, and I guess father and -mother will go over to the house, don't you?" - -In a few moments all those in the car knew the story of the pair, and -many a pitying glance was cast at them. Their house was one of the first -to go. - -The huge wave struck Bolivar just after dark, and in five minutes the -Conemaugh rose from six to forty feet, and the waters spread out over -the whole country. Soon houses began floating down, and clinging to the -debris were men, women, and children shrieking for aid. A large number -of citizens gathered at the county bridge, and they were reinforced by a -number from Garfield, a town on the opposite side of the river. They -brought ropes, and these were thrown over into the boiling waters as -persons drifted by, in efforts to save them. For half an hour all -efforts were fruitless, until at last, when the rescuers were about -giving up all hope, a little boy astride a shingle roof managed to catch -hold of one of the ropes. He caught it under his left arm and was thrown -violently against an abutment, but managed to keep hold and was pulled -onto the bridge amid the cheers of the onlookers. The lad was at once -taken to Garfield and cared for. The boy is about sixteen years old and -his name is Hessler. His story of the calamity is as follows:-- - -"With my father I was spending the day at my grandfather's house in -Cambria City. In the house at the time were Theodore, Edward, and John -Kintz, John Kintz, Jr., Miss Mary Kintz, Mrs. Mary Kintz, wife of John -Kintz, Jr.; Miss Treacy Kintz, Mrs. Rica Smith, John Hirsch and four -children, my father, and myself. Shortly after five o'clock there was a -noise of roaring waters and screams of people. We looked out the door -and saw persons running. My father told us to never mind, as the waters -would not rise further. But soon we saw houses swept by, and then we ran -up to the floor above. The house was three stories, and we were at last -forced to the top one. In my fright I jumped on the bed. It was an -old-fashioned one, with heavy posts. The water kept rising, and my bed -was soon afloat. Gradually it was lifted up. The air in the room grew -close, and the house was moving. Still the bed kept rising and pressed -the ceiling. At last the posts pushed the plaster. It yielded, and a -section of the roof gave way. Then I suddenly found myself on the roof -and was being carried down stream. After a little this roof commenced to -part, and I was afraid I was going to be drowned, but just then another -house with a shingle roof floated by, and I managed to crawl on it and -floated down until nearly dead with cold, when I was saved. After I was -freed from the house I did not see my father. My grandfather was on a -tree, but he must have been drowned, as the waters were rising fast. -John Kintz, Jr., was also on a tree. Miss Mary Kintz and Mrs. Mary Kintz -I saw drown. Miss Smith was also drowned. John Hirsch was in a tree, but -the four children were drowned. The scenes were terrible. Live bodies -and corpses were floating down with me and away from me. I would see a -person shriek and then disappear. All along the line were people who -were trying to save us, but they could do nothing, and only a few were -caught." - -An eye-witness at Bolivar Block station tells a story of heroism which -occurred at the lower bridge which crosses the Conemaugh at that point. -A young man, with two women, were seen coming down the river on part of -a floor. At the upper bridge a rope was thrown down to them. This they -all failed to catch. Between the two bridges he was noticed to point -toward the elder woman, who, it is supposed, was his mother. He was then -seen to instruct the women how to catch the rope which was being lowered -from the other bridge. Down came the raft with a rush. The brave man -stood with his arms around the two women. As they swept under the bridge -he reached up and seized the rope. He was jerked violently away from the -two women, who failed to get a hold on the rope. Seeing that they would -not be rescued, he dropped the rope and fell back on the raft, which -floated on down the river. The current washed their frail craft in -toward the bank. The young man was enabled to seize hold of a branch of -a tree. He aided the two women to get up into the tree. He held on with -his hands and rested his feet on a pile of driftwood. A piece of -floating debris struck the drift, sweeping it away. The man hung with -his body immersed in the water. A pile of drift soon collected, and he -was enabled to get another insecure footing. Up the river there was a -sudden crash, and a section of the bridge was swept away and floated -down the stream, striking the tree and washing it away. All three were -thrown into the water and were drowned before the eyes of the horrified -spectators, just opposite the town of Bolivar. - -At Bolivar a man, woman, and child were seen floating down in a lot of -drift. The mass soon began to part, and, by desperate efforts, the -husband and father succeeded in getting his wife and little one on a -floating tree. Just then the tree was washed under the bridge, and a -rope was thrown out. It fell upon the man's shoulders. He saw at a -glance that he could not save his dear ones, so he threw the means of -safety on one side and clasped in his arms those who were with him. A -moment later and the tree struck a floating house. It turned over, and -in an instant the three persons were in the seething waters, being -carried to their death. - -An instance of a mother's love at Bolivar is told. A woman and two -children were floating down the torrent. The mother caught a rope, and -tried to hold it to her and her babe. It was impossible, and with a look -of anguish she relinquished the rope and sank with her little ones. - -A family, consisting of father and mother and nine children, were washed -away in a creek at Lockport. The mother managed to reach the shore, but -the husband and children were carried out into the Conemaugh to drown. -The woman was crazed over the terrible event. - -A little girl passed under the Bolivar bridge just before dark. She was -kneeling on part of a floor, and had her hands clasped as if in prayer. -Every effort was made to save her, but they all proved futile. A -railroader who was standing by remarked that the piteous appearance of -the little waif brought tears to his eyes. All night long the crowd -stood about the ruins of the bridge which had been swept away at -Bolivar. The water rushed past with a roar, carrying with it parts of -houses, furniture, and trees. No more living persons are being carried -past. Watchers, with lanterns, remained along the banks until daybreak, -when the first view of the awful devastation of the flood was witnessed. -Along the bank lay the remnants of what had once been dwelling-houses -and stores; here and there was an uprooted tree. Piles of drift lay -about, in some of which bodies of the victims of the flood will be -found. - -Harry Fisher, a young telegraph operator, who was at Bolivar when the -first rush of waters began, says: "We knew nothing of the disaster -until we noticed the river slowly rising, and then more rapidly. News -reached us from Johnstown that the dam at South Fork had burst. Within -three hours the water in the river rose at least twenty feet. Shortly -before six o'clock ruins of houses, beds, household utensils, barrels, -and kegs came floating past the bridges. At eight o'clock the water was -within six feet of the roadbed of the bridge. The wreckage floated past, -without stopping, for at least two hours. Then it began to lessen, and -night coming suddenly upon us, we could see no more. The wreckage was -floating by for a long time before the first living persons passed. -Fifteen people that I saw were carried down by the river. One of these, -a boy, was saved, and three of them were drowned just directly below the -town. Hundreds of animals lost their lives. The bodies of horses, dogs, -and chickens floated past in numbers that could not be counted." - -Just before reaching Sang Hollow, the end of the mail line on the -Pennsylvania Railroad, is "S. O." signal tower, and the men in it told -piteous stories of what they saw. - -A beautiful girl came down on the roof of a building, which was swung in -near the tower. She screamed to the operators to save her, and one big, -brawny, brave fellow walked as far into the river as he could, and -shouted to her to guide herself into shore with a bit of plank. She was -a plucky girl, full of nerve and energy, and stood upon her frail -support in evident obedience to the command of the operator. She made -two or three bold strokes, and actually stopped the course of the raft -for an instant. Then it swerved, and went out from under her. She tried -to swim ashore, but in a few seconds she was lost in the swirling water. -Something hit her, for she lay on her back, with face pallid and -expressionless. - -Men and women, in dozens, in pairs, and singly; children, boys, big and -little, and wee babies, were there among the awful confusion of water, -drowning, gasping, struggling, and fighting desperately for life. Two -men, on a tiny raft, shot into the swiftest part of the current. They -crouched stolidly, looking at the shores, while between them, dressed in -white, and kneeling with her face turned heavenward, was a girl six or -seven years old. She seemed stricken with paralysis until she came -opposite the tower, and then she turned her face to the operator. She -was so close they could see big tears on her cheeks, and her pallor was -as death. The helpless men on shore shouted to her to keep up her -courage, and she resumed her devout attitude, and disappeared under the -trees of a projecting point a short distance below. "We couldn't see her -come out again," said the operator, "and that was all of it." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - - -An interesting story of endeavor was related on Monday by a -correspondent of the New York _Sun_, who made his way to the scene of -disaster. This is what he wrote:-- - -Although three days have passed since the disaster, the difficulty of -reaching the desolated region is still so great that, under ordinary -circumstances, no one would dream of attempting the trip. The -Pennsylvania Railroad cannot get within several miles of Johnstown, and -it is almost impossible to get on their trains even at that. They run -one, two, or three trains a day on the time of the old through trains, -and the few cars on each train are crowded with passengers in a few -minutes after the gates open. Then the sale of tickets is stopped, the -gates are closed, and all admission to the train denied. No extra cars -will be put on, no second section sent out, and no special train run on -any account, for love or money. The scenes at the station when the -gates are shut are sorrowful. Men who have come hundreds of miles to -search for friends or relatives among the dead stand hopelessly before -the edict of the blue-coated officials from eight in the morning until -one in the afternoon. There is no later train on the Pennsylvania road -out of Pittsburgh, and the agony of suspense is thus prolonged. Besides -that, the one o'clock train is so late in getting to Sang Hollow that -the work of beginning a search is practically delayed until the next -morning. - -[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CAMBRIA IRON WORKS.] - -The _Sun's_ special correspondents were of a party of fifteen or twenty -business men and others who had come from the East by way of Buffalo, -and who reached Pittsburgh in abundant time to have taken the -Pennsylvania Railroad train at eight o'clock, had the company wished to -carry them. With hundreds of others they were turned away, and appeals -even to the highest official of the road were useless, whether in the -interest of newspaper enterprise or private business, or in the sadder -but most frequent case where men prayed like beggars for an opportunity -to measure the extent of their bereavement, or find if, by some happy -chance, one might not be alive out of a family. The sight-seeing and -curious crowd was on hand early, and had no trouble in getting on the -train. Those who had come from distant cities, and whose mission was of -business or sorrow, were generally later, and were left. No effort was -made to increase the accommodations of the train for those who most -needed them. The _Sun's_ men had traveled a thousand miles around to -reach Pittsburgh. Their journey had covered three sides of the State of -Pennsylvania, from Philadelphia at the extreme southeast, through New -Jersey and New York to Buffalo by way of Albany and the New York -Central, and thence by the Lake Shore to Ashtabula, O., passing through -Erie at the extreme northwest corner of the State; thence down by the -Pittsburgh and Lake Erie road to Youngstown, O., and so into Pittsburgh -by the back door, as it were. Circumstances and the edict of the -Pennsylvania Railroad were destined to carry them still further around, -more than a hundred miles, nearly south of Pittsburgh, almost across the -line into Maryland, and thence fifty miles up before they reached their -destination. - -The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ordinarily does not attempt to compete -for business from Pittsburgh into Johnstown. Its only route between -those two cities leads over small branch lines among the mountains south -of Johnstown, and is over double the length of the Pennsylvania main -line route. The first train to reach Johnstown, however, was one over -the Baltimore and Ohio lines, and, although they made no attempt to -establish a regular line, they did on Sunday get two relief trains out -of Pittsburgh and into Johnstown. Superintendent Patten, of the -Baltimore and Ohio, established headquarters in a box car two miles -south of Johnstown, and telegraphed to Acting Superintendent McIlvaine, -at Pittsburgh, to take for free transportation all goods offered for the -relief of the sufferers. No passenger trains were run, however, except -the regular trains on the main line for Cumberland, Md., and the -branches from the main line to Johnstown were used entirely by wildcat -trains running on special orders, with no object but to get relief up as -quickly as possible. Nothing had left Pittsburgh for Johnstown, however, -to-day up to nine o'clock. Arrangements were made for a relief train to -go out early in the afternoon, to pick up cars of contributed goods at -the stations along the line and get them into Johnstown some time during -the night. "No specials" was also the rule on the Baltimore and Ohio, -but Acting Superintendent McIlvaine recognized in the _Sun_, with its -enormous possibilities in the way of spreading throughout the country -the actual situation of affairs in the devastated district, a means of -awaking the public to the extent of the disaster that would be of more -efficient relief to the suffering people than even train-loads of food -and clothing. The _Sun's_ case was therefore made exceptional, and when -the situation was explained to him he consented, for a sum that appalled -the representatives of some other papers who heard it, but which was, -for the distance to be covered, very fair, to set the _Sun's_ men down -in Johnstown at the earliest moment that steam and steel and iron could -do it. - -In fifteen minutes one of the Baltimore and Ohio light passenger -engines, with Engineer W. E. Scott in charge and Fireman Charles Hood -for assistant, was hitched to a single coach out in the yard. Conductor -W. B. Clancy was found somewhere about and put in command of the -expedition. Brakeman Dan Lynn was captured just as he was leaving an -incoming train, and although he had been without sleep for a day, he -readily consented to complete the crew of the _Sun's_ train. There was -no disposition to be hoggish in the matter, and at a time like this the -great thing was to get the best possible information as to affairs at -Johnstown spread over the country in the least possible time. The -facilities of the train were therefore placed at the disposal of other -newspaper men who were willing to share in the expense. None of them, -however, availed themselves of this chance to save practically a whole -day in reaching the scene, except the artist representing _Harper's -Weekly_, who had accompanied the _Sun_ men this far in their race -against time from the East. As far as the New York papers were -concerned, there were no men except those from the _Sun_ to take the -train. If any other New York newspaper men had yet reached Pittsburgh at -all, they were not to be found around the Baltimore and Ohio station, -where the _Sun_ extended its invitation to the other representatives of -the press. There were a number of Western newspaper men on hand, but -journalism in that section is not accustomed to big figures except in -circulation affidavits, and they were staggered at the idea of paying -even a share of the expense that the _Sun_ was bearing practically -alone. - -At 9.15 A. M., therefore, when the special train pulled out of the -Baltimore and Ohio station, it had for passengers only the _Sun_ men and -_Harper's_ artist. As it started Acting Superintendent McIlvaine was -asked:-- - -"How quickly can we make it?" - -"Well, it's one hundred and forty-six miles," he replied, "and it's all -kinds of road. There's an accommodation train that you will have to look -out for until you pass it, and that will delay you. It's hard to make -any promise about time." - -"Can we make it in five hours?" he was asked. - -"I think you can surely do that," he replied. - -How much better than the acting superintendent's word was the -performance of Engineer Scott and his crew this story shows. The -special, after leaving Pittsburgh, ran wild until it got to McKeesport, -sixteen miles distant. At this point the regular train, which left -Pittsburgh at 8.40, was overtaken. The regular train was on a siding, -and the special passed through the city with but a minute's stop. Then -the special had a clear track before it, and the engineer drove his -machine to the utmost limit of speed consistent with safety. It is -nineteen miles from McKeesport to West Newton, and the special made this -distance in twenty minutes, the average time of over a mile a minute -being much exceeded for certain periods. The curves of the road are -frightful, and at times the single car which composed the train was -almost swung clear off the track. The _Sun_ men recalled vividly the -ride of Horace Greeley with Hank Monk, and they began to reflect that -there was such a thing as riding so fast that they might not be able to -reach Johnstown at all. From Layton's to Dawson the seven and one-half -miles were made in seven minutes, while the fourteen miles from Layton's -to Connellsville were covered in fourteen minutes precisely. On the -tender of the engine the cover of the water-tank flew open and the water -splashed out. Coal flew from the tender in great lumps, and dashed -against the end of the car. Inside the car the newspaper men's grips and -belongings went flying around on the floor and over seats like mad. The -Allegheny River, whose curves the rails followed, seemed to be right -even with the car windows, so that one could look straight down into the -water, so closely to it was the track built. In Connellsville there was -a crowd to see the special. On the depot was the placard:-- - -"Car will leave at 3 P. M. to-day with food and clothing for Johnstown." - -In Connellsville the train stopped five minutes and underwent a thorough -inspection. Then it shoved on again. At Confluence, twenty-seven miles -from Connellsville, a bridge of a Baltimore and Ohio branch line across -the river was washed away, but this didn't interfere with the progress -of the special. For sixty miles on the road is up hill at a grade of -sixty-five feet to the mile, and the curves, if anything, are worse, but -there was no appreciable diminution in the speed of the train. Just -before reaching Rockwood the first real traces of the flood were -apparent. The waters of the Castlemore showed signs of having been -recently right up to the railroad tracks, and driftwood and debris of -all descriptions lay at the side of the rails. Nearly all bridges on the -country roads over the river were washed away and their remnants -scattered along the banks. - -Rockwood was reached at 12.05 P. M. Rockwood is eighty-seven miles from -McKeesport, and this distance, which is up an extremely steep grade, -was therefore made in two hours, which includes fifteen minutes' stop. -The distance covered from Pittsburgh was one hundred and two miles in -two hours. Rockwood is the junction of the main line of the Baltimore -and Ohio road at its Cambria branch, which runs to Johnstown. The -regular local train from there to Johnstown was held to allow the -_Sun's_ special to pass first. - -The _Sun's_ special left Rockwood at 12.20 in charge of Engineer Oliver, -who assumed charge at that point. He said that the branch to Johnstown -was a mountain road, with steep grades, very high embankments, and -damaged in spots, and that he would have to use great precaution in -running. He gave the throttle a yank and the train started with a jump -that almost sent the newspaper men on their heads. Things began to dance -around the car furiously as the train dashed along at a great pace, and -the reporters began to wonder what Engineer Oliver meant by his talk -about precautions. All along the route up the valley at the stations -were crowds of people, who stared in silence as the train swept by. On -the station platforms were piled barrels of flour, boxes of canned -goods, and bales of clothing. The roads leading in from the country to -the stations were full of farmers' wagons laden with produce of all -kinds for the sufferers. - -The road from Rockwood to Johnstown lies in a deep gully, at the bottom -of which flows little Stony Creek, now swollen to a torrent. Wooden -troughs under the track carry off the water which trickles down from the -hills, otherwise the track would be useless. As it is there are frequent -washouts, which have been partly filled in, and for ten miles south of -Johnstown all trains have to be run very slowly. The branches of trees -above the bank which have been blown over graze the cars on the railroad -tracks. The _Sun's_ special arrived in Johnstown at two o'clock. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - - -The experience of the newspaper correspondents in the Conemaugh valley -was the experience of a lifetime. Few war correspondents, even, have -been witnesses of such appalling scenes of horror and desolation. Day -after day they were busy recording the annals of death and despair, -conscious, meanwhile, that no expressions of accumulated pathos at their -command could do justice to the theme. They had only to stand in the -street wherever a knot of men had gathered, to hear countless stories of -thrilling escapes. Hundreds of people had such narrow escapes that they -hardly dared to believe that they were saved for hours after they -reached solid ground. William Wise, a young man who lived at Woodvale, -was walking along the road when the rush of water came down the valley. -He started to rush up the side of the hills, but stopped to help a young -woman; Ida Zidstein, to escape; lost too much time, and was forced to -drag the young woman upon a high pile of metal near the road. They had -clung there several hours, and thought that they could both escape, as -the metal pile was not exposed to the full force of the torrent. A -telegraph pole came dashing down the flood, its top standing above the -water, from which dangled some wires. The pole was caught in an eddy -opposite the pile. It shot in toward the two who were clinging there. As -the pole swung around, the wires came through the air like a whip-lash, -and catching in the hair of the young woman, dragged her down to instant -death. The young man remained on the heap of metal for hours before the -water subsided so as to allow him to escape. - -One man named Homer, with his child, age six, was on one of the houses -which were first carried away. He climbed to the roof and held fast -there for four hours, floating all the way to Bolivar, fifteen miles -below. - -A young hero sat upon the roof of his father's house, holding his mother -and little sister. Once the house swung in toward a brick structure -which still rested on its foundation. As one house struck the other, the -boy sprang into one of the windows. As he turned to rescue his mother -and sister, the house swung out again, and the boy, seeing that there -was no possibility of getting them off, leaped back to their side. A -second time the house was stopped--this time by a tree. The boy helped -his mother and sister to a place of safety in the tree, but before he -could leave the roof, the house was swept on and he was drowned. - -One man took his whole family to the roof of his floating house. He and -one child escaped to another building, but his wife and five children -were whirled around for hours, and finally carried down to the bridge -where so many people perished in the flames. They were all rescued. - -District Attorney Rose, his wife, two brothers and two sisters were -swept across the lower portion of the town. They had been thrown into -the water, and were swimming, the men assisting the women. Finally, they -got into a back current, and were cast ashore at the foot of the hills -back of Knoxville. - -One merchant of Johnstown, after floating about upon a piece of wreckage -for hours, was carried down to the stone bridge. After a miraculous -escape from being burned to death, he was rescued and carried ashore. He -was so dazed and terrified by his experience, however, that he walked -off the bridge and broke his neck. - -One man who was powerless to save his wife, after he had leaped from a -burning building to a house floating by, was driven insane by her -shrieks for help. - -An old gentleman of Verona rescued a modern Moses from the bulrushes. -Verona is on the east bank of the Allegheny river, twelve miles above -Pittsburg. Mr. McCutcheon, while standing on the river bank watching the -drift floating by, was compelled by instinct to take a skiff and row out -to one dense mass of timber. As he reached it, he was startled to find -in the centre, out of the reach of the water, a cradle covered with the -clothing. As he lifted the coverings aside a pretty five-months-old boy -baby smiled on him. The little innocent, unconscious of the scenes it -had passed through, crowed with delight as the old man lifted it -tenderly, cradle and all, into his skiff and brought it ashore. - -Among the miraculous escapes is that of George J. Lea and family. When -the rush of water came there were eight people on the roof of Lea's -house. The house swung around and floated for nearly half an hour before -it struck the wreck above the stone bridge. A three-year-old girl, with -sunny, golden hair and dimpled cheeks, prayed all the while that God -would save them, and it seemed that God really answered the prayer and -directed the house against the drift, enabling every one of the eight to -get off. - -H. M. Bennett and S. W. Keltz, engineer and conductor of engine No. 1165 -and the extra freight, which happened to be lying at South Fork when the -dam broke, tell a graphic story of their wonderful flight and escape on -the locomotive before the advancing flood. Bennett and Keltz were in -the signal tower awaiting orders. The fireman and flagman were on the -engine, and two brakemen were asleep in the caboose. Suddenly the men in -the tower heard a roaring sound in the valley above them. They looked in -that direction and were almost transfixed with horror to see, two miles -above them, a huge black wall of water, at least 150 feet in height, -rushing down the valley. The fear-stricken men made a rush for the -locomotive, at the same time giving the alarm to the sleeping brakemen -in the caboose, but with no avail. It was impossible to aid them -further, however, so Bennett and Keltz cut the engine loose from the -train, and the engineer, with one wild wrench, threw the lever wide -open, and they were away on a mad race for life. It seemed that they -would not receive momentum enough to keep ahead of the flood, and they -cast one despairing glance back. Then they could see the awful deluge -approaching in its might. On it came, rolling and roaring, tossing and -tearing houses, sheds and trees in its awful speed as if they were toys. -As they looked, they saw the two brakemen rush out of the caboose, but -they had not time to gather the slightest idea of the cause of their -doom before they, the car and signal tower were tossed high in the air, -to disappear forever. Then the engine leaped forward like a thing of -life, and speeded down the valley. But fast as it went, the flood -gained upon it. In a few moments the shrieking locomotive whizzed around -a curve, and they were in sight of a bridge. Horror upon horrors! ahead -of them was a freight train, with the rear end almost on the bridge, and -to get across was simply impossible. Engineer Bennett then reversed the -lever, and succeeded in checking the engine as they glided across the -bridge. Then the men jumped and ran for their lives up the hillside. The -bridge and the tender of the engine they had been on were swept away -like a bundle of matches. - -A young man who was a passenger on the Derry express furnishes an -interesting account of his experiences. "When we reached Derry," he -said, "our train was boarded by a relief committee, and no sooner was it -ascertained that we were going on to Sang Hollow than the contributions -of provisions and supplies of every kind were piled on board, filling an -entire car. On reaching Sang Hollow the scene that presented itself to -us was heart-rending. The road was lined with homeless people, some with -a trunk or solitary chair, the only thing saved from their household -goods, and all wearing an aspect of the most hopeless misery. Men were -at work transferring from a freight car a pile of corpses at least sixty -in number, and here and there a ghastly something under a covering -showed where the body of some victim of the flood lay awaiting -identification or burial in a nameless grave. Busy workers were engaged -in clearing away the piles of driftwood and scattered articles of -household use which cumbered the tracks and the roads. These piles told -their own mournful story. There were beds, bureaus, mattresses, chairs, -tables, pictures, dead horses and mules, overcoats, remnants of dresses -sticking on the branches of trees, and a thousand other odd pieces of -flotsam and jetsam from ruined homes. I saw a man get off the train and -pick up an insurance policy for $30,000. Another took away as relics a -baby's chair and a confirmation card in a battered frame. On the banks -of the Little Conemaugh creek people were delving in the driftwood, -which was piled to a depth of six or seven feet, unearthing and carrying -away whatever could be turned to account. Under those piles, it is -thought, numbers of bodies are buried, not to be recovered except by the -labor of many days. A woman and a little girl were brought from -Johnstown by some means which I could not ascertain. The woman was in -confinement, and was carried on a lounge, her sole remaining piece of -property. She was taken to Latrobe for hospital treatment. I cannot -understand how it is that people are unable to make their way from Sang -Hollow to Johnstown. The distance is short, and it should certainly be a -comparatively easy task to get over it on foot or horseback. However, -there seems to be some insuperable obstacle. All those who made the trip -on the train with me in order to obtain tidings of their friends in -Johnstown, were forced to return as I did. - -"The railroad is in a terrible condition. The day express and the -limited, which left Pittsburg on Friday morning, are lying between -Johnstown and Conemaugh on the east, having been cut off by the flood. -Linemen were sent down from our train at every station to repair the -telegraph wires which are damaged. Tremendous efforts are being exerted -to repair the injury sustained by the railroad, and it is only a -question of a couple of days until through communication is -reestablished. Our homeward trip was marked by a succession of sad -spectacles. At Blairsville intersection two little girls lay dead, and -in a house taken from the river was the body of a woman. Some idea of -the force of the flood may be had from the statement that freight cars, -both loaded and empty, had been lifted bodily from the track, and -carried a distance of several blocks, and deposited in a graveyard in -the outskirts of the town, where they were lying in a mass mixed up with -tombstones and monuments." - -[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CAMBRIA IRON CO'S STORE.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - - -Where the carcass is, there will the vultures be gathered together. It -is humiliating to human nature to record it, but it is nevertheless -true, that amid all the suffering and sacrifice, and heroism and -generosity that was displayed in this awful time, there arose some of -the basest passions of unbridled vice. The lust of gain led many -skulking wretches to rob and despoil, and even to mutilate the bodies of -the dead. Pockets were searched. Jewels were stolen. Finger-rings and -ear-rings were torn away, the knife often being used upon the poor, dead -clay to facilitate the spoliation. Against this savagery the better -elements of the populace sternly revolted. For the time there was no -organized government. But outraged and indignant humanity soon -formulates its own code of laws. Pistol and rope and bludgeon, in the -hand of honesty, did effective work. The reports of summary lynchings -that at first were spread abroad were doubtless exaggerated, but they -had a stern foundation of truth; and they had abundant provocation. - -Writing on that tragic Sunday, one correspondent says: "The way of the -transgressor in the desolated valley of the Conemaugh is hard indeed. -Each hour reveals some new and horrible story of suffering and outrage, -and every succeeding hour brings news of swift and merited punishment -meted out to the fiends who have dared to desecrate the stiff and -mangled bodies in the city of the dead, and torture the already -half-crazed victims of the cruelest of modern catastrophes. Last night a -party of thirteen Hungarians were noticed stealthily picking their way -along the banks of the Conemaugh toward Sang Hollow. Suspicious of their -purpose, several farmers armed themselves and started in pursuit. Soon -their most horrible fears were realized. The Hungarians were out for -plunder. They came upon the dead and mangled body of a woman, lying upon -the shore, upon whose person there were a number of trinkets of jewelry -and two diamond rings. In their eagerness to secure the plunder, the -Hungarians got into a squabble, during which one of the number severed -the finger upon which were the rings, and started on a run with his -fearful prize. The revolting nature of the deed so wrought upon the -pursuing farmers, who by this time were close at hand, that they gave -immediate chase. Some of the Hungarians showed fight, but, being -outnumbered, were compelled to flee for their lives. Nine of the brutes -escaped, but four were literally driven into the surging river and to -their death. The thief who took the rings was among the number of the -involuntary suicides." - -At 8.30 o'clock this morning an old railroader, who had walked from Sang -Hollow, stepped up to a number of men who were on the platform station -at Curranville, and said:-- - -"Gentlemen, had I a shot-gun with me half an hour ago, I would now be a -murderer, yet with no fear of ever having to suffer for my crime. Two -miles below here I watched three men going along the banks stealing the -jewels from the bodies of the dead wives and daughters of men who have -been robbed of all they hold dear on earth." - -He had no sooner finished the last sentence than five burly men, with -looks of terrible determination written on their faces, were on their -way to the scene of plunder, one with a coil of rope over his shoulder -and another with a revolver in his hand. In twenty minutes, so it is -stated, they had overtaken two of their victims, who were then in the -act of cutting pieces from the ears and fingers from the hands of the -bodies of two dead women. With revolver leveled at the scoundrels, the -leader of the posse shouted:-- - -"Throw up your hands, or I'll blow your heads off!" - -With blanched faces and trembling forms, they obeyed the order and -begged for mercy. They were searched, and, as their pockets were emptied -of their ghastly finds, the indignation of the crowd intensified, and -when a bloody finger of an infant encircled with two tiny gold rings was -found among the plunder in the leader's pocket, a cry went up, "Lynch -them! Lynch them!" Without a moment's delay ropes were thrown around -their necks and they were dangling to the limbs of a tree, in the -branches of which an hour before were entangled the bodies of a dead -father and son. After half an hour the ropes were cut and the bodies -lowered and carried to a pile of rocks in the forest on the hill above. -It is hinted that an Allegheny county official was one of the most -prominent in this justifiable homicide. - -One miserable wretch who was caught in the act of mutilating a body was -chased by a crowd of citizens, and when captured was promptly strung up -to a telegraph pole. A company of officers rescued him before he was -dead, much to the disgust of many reputable people, whose feelings had -been outraged by the treatment of their deceased relations. Shortly -after midnight an attempt was made to rob the First National Bank, -which, with the exception of the vaults, had been destroyed. The -plunderers were discovered by the citizens' patrol, which had been -established during the night, and a lively chase ensued. A number of -the thieves--six, it is said--were shot. It is not known whether any -were killed or not, as their bodies would have been washed away almost -immediately if such had been the case. - -A number of Hungarians collected about a number of bodies at Cambria -which had been washed up, and began rifling the trunks. After they had -secured all the contents they turned their attention to the dead. - -The ghastly spectacle presented by the distorted features of those who -had lost their lives during the flood had no influence upon the ghouls, -who acted more like wild beasts than human beings. They took every -article from the clothing on the dead bodies, not leaving anything of -value or anything that would serve to identify the remains. - -After the miscreants had removed all their plunder to dry ground a -dispute arose over a division of the spoils. A pitched battle followed, -and for a time the situation was alarming. Knives and clubs were used -freely. As a result several of the combatants were seriously wounded and -left on the ground, their fellow-countrymen not making any attempt to -remove them from the field of strife. - -A Hungarian was caught in the act of cutting off a dead woman's finger, -on which was a costly ring. The infuriated spectators raised an outcry -and the fiend fled. He was hotly pursued, and after a half-hour's hard -chase, was captured and hanged to a telegraph pole, but was cut down and -resuscitated by officers. Liquor emboldened the ghouls, and Pittsburg -was telegraphed for help, and the 18th and 14th Regiments, Battery B and -the Washington Infantry were at once called out for duty, members being -apprised by posters in the newspaper windows. - -One correspondent wrote: "The number of drunken men is remarkable. -Whiskey seems marvelously plenty. Men are actually carrying it around in -pails. Barrels of the stuff are constantly located among the drifts, and -_men are scrambling over each other and fighting like wild beasts_ in -their mad search for it. At the cemetery, at the upper end of town, I -saw a sight that rivals the Inferno. A number of ghouls had found a lot -of fine groceries, among them a barrel of brandy, with which they were -fairly stuffing themselves. One huge fellow was standing on the strings -of an upright piano singing a profane song, every little while breaking -into a wild dance. A half-dozen others were engaged in a hand-to-hand -fight over the possession of some treasure stolen from a ruined house, -and the crowd around the barrel were yelling like wild men." - -These reports were largely discredited and denied by later and probably -more trustworthy authorities, but there was doubtless a considerable -residue of truth in them. - -There were so many contradictory stories about these horrible doings -that our painstaking correspondent put to "Chall" Dick, the Deputy -Sheriff, this "leading question": "Did you shoot any robbers?" Chall did -not make instant reply, but finally looked up with a peculiar expression -on his face and said:-- - -"There are some men whom their friends will never again see alive." - -"Well, now, how many did you shoot?" was the next question. - -"Say," said Chall. "On Saturday morning I was the first to make my way -to Sang Hollow to see if I could not get some food for people made -homeless by the flood. There was a car-load of provisions there, but the -vandals were on hand. They broke into the car and, in spite of my -protestations, carried off box after box of supplies. I only got half a -wagon load. They were too many for me. I know when I have no show. There -was no show there and I got out. - -"As I was leaving Sang Hollow and got up the mountain road a piece, I -saw two Hungarians and one woman engaged in cutting the fingers off of -corpses to get some rings. Well, I got off that team and--well, there -are three people who were not drowned and who are not alive." - -"Where are the bodies?" - -"Ain't the river handy there? I went down to Sang Hollow on Sunday, but -I went fixed for trouble that time. When I got into the hollow the -officers had in tow a man who claimed he was arrested because he had -bummed it on the freight train. A large crowd of men were trying to -rescue the fellow. I rode into that crowd and scattered it. I got -between the crowd and officers, who succeeded in getting their man in -here. The fellow had been robbing the dead and had a lot of jewelry on -his person. I see by the papers that Consul Max Schamberg, of Pittsburg, -asserts that the Huns are a law-abiding race, and that when they were -accused of robbing the dead they were simply engaged in trying to -identify some of their friends. Consul Schamberg does not know what he -is talking about. I know better, for I saw them engaged in robbing the -dead. - -"Those I caught at it will never do the like again. Why, I saw them let -go of their friends in the water to catch a bedstead with a mattress on -it. That's the sort of law-abiding citizens the Huns are." - -Down the Cambria road, past which the dead of the river Conemaugh swept -into Nineveh in awful numbers, was witnessed a wretched scene--that of a -young officer of the National Guard in full uniform, and a poor -deputy-sheriff, who had lost home, wife, children and all, clinched -like madmen and struggling for the former's revolver. If the officer of -the Guard had won, there might have been a tragedy, for he was drunk. -The homeless deputy-sheriff, with his wife and babies swept to death -past the place where they struggled, was sober and in the right. - -The officer was a first lieutenant. His company came with that regiment -into this valley of distress to protect survivors from ruffianism and -maintain the peace and dignity of the State. The man with whom he fought -for the weapon was almost crazy in his own woe, but singularly cool and -self-possessed regarding the safety of those left living. - -It was one o'clock in the afternoon when a Philadelphia _Press_ -correspondent noticed on the Cambria road the young officer with his -long military coat cut open, leaning heavily for support upon two -privates. He was crying in a maudlin way, "You just take me to a place -and I'll drink soft stuff." They entreated him to return at once to the -regimental headquarters, even begged him, but he cast them aside and -went staggering down the road to the line, where he met the grave-faced -deputy face to face. The latter looked in the white of his eyes and -said: "You can't pass here, sir." - -"Can't pass here?" he cried, waving his arms. "You challenge an officer? -Stand aside!" - -"You can't pass here!" this time quietly, but firmly; "not while you're -drunk." - -"Stand aside!" yelled the lieutenant. "Do you know who I am? You talk to -an officer of the National Guard." - -"Yes; and listen," said the man in front of him so impatiently that it -hushed his antagonist's tirade. "I talk to an 'officer' of the National -Guard--I who have lost my wife, my children and all in this flood no man -has yet described; we who have seen our dead with their bodies mutilated -and their fingers cut from their hands by dirty foreigners for a little -gold, are not afraid to talk for what is right, even to an officer of -the National Guard." - -While he spoke another great, dark, stout man, who looked as if he had -suffered, came up, and upon taking in the situation every vein in his -forehead swelled purple with rage. - -"You dirty cur," he cried to the officer; "you dirty, drunken cur, if it -was not for the sake of peace I'd lay you out where you stand." - -"Come on," yelled the Lieutenant, with an oath. - -The big man sent out a terrible blow that would have left the Lieutenant -senseless had not one of the privates dashed in between, receiving part -of it and warding it off. The Lieutenant got out of his military coat. -The privates seized the big man and with another correspondent, who ran -to the scene, held him back. The Lieutenant put his hand to his pistol -pocket, the deputy seized him, and the struggle for the weapon began. -For a moment it was fierce and desperate, then another private came to -the deputy's assistance. The revolver was wrested from the drunken -officer and he himself was pushed back panting to the ground. - -The deputy seized the military coat he had thrown on the ground, and -with it and the weapon started to the regimental headquarters. Then the -privates got around him and begged him, one of them with tears in his -eyes, not to report their officer, saying that he was a good man when he -was sober. He studied a long while, standing in the road, while the -officer slunk away over the hill. Then he threw the disgraced uniform to -them, and said: "Here, give them to him; and, mind you, if he does not -go at once to his quarters, I'll take him there, dead or alive." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - - -While yet the first wild cry of anguish was thrilling among the startled -hills of the Conemaugh, the great heart of the nation answered it with a -mighty throb of sympathy. On Tuesday afternoon, at Washington, the -President called a gathering of eminent citizens to devise measures of -relief. The meeting was held in Willard's Hall, on F street, above -Fourteenth, and President Harrison made such an eloquent appeal for -assistance that nearly $10,000 was raised in the hour and a half that -the meeting was in session. - -As presiding officer the Chief Magistrate sat in a big arm-chair on the -stage. On his right were District Commissioner Douglass, Hine and -Raymond, and on his left sat Postmaster-General Wanamaker and Private -Secretary Halford. In the audience were Secretaries Noble, Proctor and -Tracy, Attorney-General Miller, Congressman Randall and Senators and -Representatives from all parts of the country. - -President Harrison called the meeting to order promptly at 3 o'clock. A -dead silence fell over the three hundred people as the President stepped -to the front of the platform and in a clear, distinct voice appealed for -aid for the thousands who had been bereft of their all by the terrible -calamity. His voice trembled once or twice as he dwelt upon the scene of -death and desolation, and a number of handkerchiefs were called into use -at his vivid portrayal of the disaster. - -Upon taking the chair the President said:-- - -"Every one here to-day is distressingly conscious of the circumstances -which have convened this meeting. It would be impossible to state more -impressively than the newspapers have already done the distressing -incidents attending the calamity which has fallen upon the city of -Johnstown and the neighboring hamlets, and upon a large section of -Pennsylvania situated upon the Susquehanna river. The grim pencil of -Dore would be inadequate to portray the horrors of this visitation. In -such meetings as we have here in the national capital and other like -gatherings that are taking place in all the cities of this land, we have -the only rays of hope and light in the general gloom. When such a -calamitous visitation falls upon any section of our country we can do no -more than to put about the dark picture the golden border of love and -charity. [Applause.] It is in such fires as these that the brotherhood -of man is welded. - -"And where is sympathy and help more appropriate than here in the -national capital? I am glad to say that early this morning, from a city -not long ago visited with pestilence, not long ago itself appealing to -the charitable people of the whole land for relief--the city of -Jacksonville, Fla.--there came the ebb of that tide of charity which -flowed toward it in the time of its need, in a telegram from the -Sanitary Relief Association authorizing me to draw upon them for $2000 -for the relief of the Pennsylvania sufferers. [Applause.] - -"But this is no time for speech. While I talk men and women are -suffering for the relief which we plan to give. One word or two of -practical suggestion, and I will place this meeting in your hands to -give effect to your impatient benevolence. I have a despatch from the -Governor of Pennsylvania advising me that communication has just been -opened with Williamsport, on a branch of the Susquehanna river, and that -the losses in that section have been appalling; that thousands of people -there are homeless and penniless, and that there is an immediate call -for food to relieve their necessities. He advises me that any supplies -of food that can be hastily gathered here should be sent via Harrisburg -to Williamsport, where they will be distributed. I suggest, therefore, -that a committee be constituted having in charge the speedy collection -of articles of food. - -"The occasion is such that the bells might well be rung through your -streets to call the attention of the thoughtless to this great -exigency--in order that a train load of provisions may be despatched -to-night or in the early morning to this suffering people. - -"I suggest, secondly, as many of these people have had the entire -furnishings of their houses swept away and have now only temporary -shelter, that a committee be appointed to collect such articles of -clothing, and especially bed clothing, as can be spared. Now that the -summer season is on, there can hardly be a house in Washington which -cannot spare a blanket or a coverlet. - -"And, third, I suggest that from the substantial business men and -bankers there be appointed a committee who shall collect money, for -after the first exigency is past there will be found in those -communities very many who have lost their all, who will need aid in the -construction of their demolished homes and in furnishing them so that -they may be again inhabited. - -"Need I say in conclusion that, as a temporary citizen of Washington, it -would give me great satisfaction if the national capital should so -generously respond to this call of our distressed fellow citizens as -to be conspicuous among the cities of our land. [Applause.] I feel that, -as I am now calling for contributions, I should state that on Saturday, -when first apprised of the disaster at Johnstown, I telegraphed a -subscription to the Mayor of that city. I do not like to speak of -anything so personal as this, but I felt it due to myself and to you -that I should say so much as this." - -[Illustration: THIRD STREET, WILLIAMSPORT, DURING THE FLOOD.] - -The vice presidents elected included all the members of the Cabinet, -Chief Justices Fuller, Bingham and Richardson, M. G. Emery, J. A. J. -Cresswell, Dr. E. B. Clark, of the Bank of the Republic; C. L. Glover, -of the Riggs Bank; Cashier James, of the Bank of Washington; B. H. -Warner, Ex-Commissioners Webb and Wheatley, Jesse B. Wilson, Ex-Minister -Foster and J. W. Thompson. The secretaries were S. H. Kaufmann, Beriah -Wilkins, E. W. Murphy and Hallett Kilbourne; treasurer, E. Kurtz -Johnson. - -While subscriptions were being taken up, the President intimated that -suggestions would be in order, and a prompt and generous response was -the result. The Adams Express Company volunteered to transport all -material for the relief of the distressed people free of charge, and the -Lamont Opera Company tendered their services for a benefit, to be given -in aid of the sufferers. The managers offered the use of their theatre -free of charge for any performances. Numerous other offers of -provisions and clothing were made and accepted. - -Then President Harrison read a number of telegrams from Governor Beaver, -in which he gave a brief synopsis of the horrors of the situation and -asked for the government pontoon bridge. - -"I regret to say," added the President, "that the entire length of the -pontoon bridge is only 550 feet. Governor Beaver advises me that the -present horrors are not alone to be dreaded, but he fears that -pestilence may come. I would therefore suggest that disinfectants be -included in the donations. I think we should concentrate our efforts and -work, through one channel, so that the work may be expeditiously done. -In view of that fact we should have one headquarters and everything -should be sent there. Then it could be shipped without delay." - -The use of Willard Hall was tendered and decided upon as a central -point. The District Commissioners were appointed a committee to receive -and forward the contributions. When the collections had been made, the -amounts were read out and included sums ranging from $500 to $1. - -The President, in dismissing the meeting, said:-- - -"May I express the hope that this work will be earnestly and thoroughly -pushed, and that every man and woman present will go from this meeting -to use their influence in order that these supplies of food and -clothing so much and so promptly needed may be secured, and that either -to-night or to-morrow morning a train well freighted with relief may go -from Washington." - -In adjourning the meeting, President Harrison urged expediency in -forwarding the materials for the sufferers. Just before adjournment a -resolution was read, thanking the President for the interest he had -taken in the matter. President Harrison stepped to the front of the -platform then, and declined the resolution in a few graceful remarks. - -"I appreciate the resolution," he said, "but I don't see why I should be -thanked any more than the others, and I would prefer that the resolution -be withdrawn." - -Pension Commissioner Tanner, on Monday, sent the following telegram to -the United States Pension agent at Pittsburg:-- - -"Make special any current vouchers from the towns in Pennsylvania ruined -by floods and pay at once on their receipt. Where certificates have been -lost in floods send permit to execute new voucher without presenting -certificate to magistrate. Permits signed in blank forwarded to-day. -Make special all original certificates of pensioners residing in those -towns and pay on receipt of vouchers, regardless of my instruction of -May 13th." - -The Governor of Pennsylvania issued the following:-- - - "COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, - "EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, - "HARRISBURG, PA., June 3d, 1889. - - "_To the People of the United States:--_ - -"The Executive of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has refrained -hitherto from making any appeal to the people for their benefactions, in -order that he might receive definite and reliable information from the -centres of disaster during the late floods, which have been -unprecedented in the history of the State or nation. Communication by -wire has been established with Johnstown to-day. The civil authorities -are in control, the Adjutant General of the State cooperating with them; -order has been restored and is likely to continue. Newspaper reports as -to the loss of life and property have not been exaggerated. - -"The valley of the Conemaugh, which is peculiar, has been swept from one -end to the other as with the besom of destruction. It contained a -population of forty thousand to fifty thousand people, living for the -most part along the banks of a small river confined within narrow -limits. The most conservative estimates place the loss of life at 5000 -human beings, and of property at twenty-five millions. Whole towns have -been utterly destroyed. Not a vestige remains. In the more substantial -towns the better buildings, to a certain extent, remain, but in a -damaged condition. Those who are least able to bear it have suffered the -loss of everything. - -"The most pressing needs, so far as food is concerned, have been -supplied. Shoes and clothing of all sorts for men, women and children -are greatly needed. Money is also urgently required to remove the -debris, bury the dead and care temporarily for the widows and orphans -and for the homeless generally. Other localities have suffered to some -extent in the same way, but not in the same degree. - -"Late advices seem to indicate that there is great loss of life and -destruction of property along the west branch of the Susquehanna and in -localities from which we can get no definite information. What does -come, however, is of the most appalling character, and it is expected -that the details will add new horrors to the situation. - -"The responses from within and without the State have been most generous -and cheering. North and South, East and West, from the United States and -from England, there comes the same hearty, generous response of sympathy -and help. The President, Governors of States, Mayors of cities, and -individuals and communities, private and municipal corporations, seem to -vie with each other in their expressions of sympathy and in their -contributions of substantial aid. But, gratifying as these responses -are, there is no danger of their exceeding the necessities of the -situation. - -"A careful organization has been made upon the ground for the -distribution of whatever assistance is furnished, in kind. The Adjutant -General of the State is there as the representative of the State -authorities, and is giving personal attention, in connection with the -Chief Burgess of Johnstown and a committee of relief, to the -distribution of the help which is furnished. - -"Funds contributed in aid of the sufferers can be deposited with Drexel -& Co., Philadelphia; Jacob C. Bomberger, banker, Harrisburg, or William -R. Thompson & Co., bankers, Pittsburg. All money contributed will be -used carefully and judiciously. Present wants are fairly met. - -"A large force will be employed at once to remove the debris and bury -the dead, so as to avoid disease and epidemic. - -"The people of the Commonwealth and others whose unselfish generosity is -hereby heartily appreciated and acknowledged may be assured that their -contributions will be made to bring their benefactions to the immediate -and direct relief of those for whose benefit they are intended. - - "JAMES A. BEAVER. - -"By the Governor, CHARLES W. STONE, Secretary of the Commonwealth." - -Governor Hill, of New York, also issued the following proclamation:-- - - STATE OF NEW YORK. - -"A disaster unparalleled of its kind in the history of our nation has -overtaken the inhabitants of the city of Johnstown and surrounding towns -in our sister State of Pennsylvania. In consequence of a mighty flood -thousands of lives have been lost, and thousands of those saved from the -waters are homeless and in want. The sympathy of all the people of the -State of New York is profoundly aroused in behalf of the unfortunate -sufferers by the calamity. The State, in its capacity as such, has no -power to aid, but the generous-hearted citizens of our State are always -ready and willing to afford relief to those of their fellow countrymen -who are in need, whenever just appeal has been made. - -"Therefore, as the Governor of the State of New York, I hereby suggest -that in each city and town in the State relief committees be formed, -contributions be solicited and such other appropriate action be taken as -will promptly afford material assistance and necessary aid to the -unfortunate. Let the citizens of every portion of the State vie with -each other in helping with liberal hand this worthy and urgent cause. - -"Done at the Capitol, this third day of June, in the year of our Lord -one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine." - - DAVID B. HILL. - -By the Governor, WILLIAM G. RICE, _Sec._ - -Nor were Americans in foreign lands less prompt with their offerings. On -Wednesday, in Paris, a meeting of Americans was held at the United -States Legation, on a call in the morning papers by Whitelaw Reid, the -United States Minister, to express the sympathy of the Americans in -Paris with the sufferers by the Johnstown calamity. In spite of the -short notice the rooms of the Legation were packed, and many went away -unable to gain admittance. Mr. Reid was called to the chair, and Mr. -Ernest Lambert was appointed secretary. The following resolutions were -offered by Mr. Andrew Carnegie and seconded by Mr. James N. Otis:-- - -_Resolved_, That we send across the Atlantic to our brethren, -overwhelmed by the appalling disaster at Johnstown, our most profound -and heartfelt sympathy. Over their lost ones we mourn with them, and in -every pang of all their misery we have our part. - -_Resolved_, That as American citizens we congratulate them upon and -thank them for the numerous acts of noble heroism displayed under -circumstances calculated to unnerve the bravest. Especially do we honor -and admire them for the capacity shown for local self-government, upon -which the stability of republican institutions depends, the military -organizations sent from distant points to preserve order during the -chaos that supervened having been returned to their homes as no longer -required within forty-eight hours of the calamity. In these few hours -the civil power recreated and asserted itself and resumed sway without -the aid of counsel from distant authorities, but solely by and from the -inherent power which remains in the people of Johnstown themselves. - -_Resolved_, That the thanks of this meeting be cordially tendered to Mr. -Reid for his prompt and appropriate action in this matter, and for -services as chairman of this meeting. - -_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded at once by -telegraph to the Mayors of Johnstown, Pittsburg and Philadelphia. - -Brief and touching speeches were made by General Lawton, late United -States Minister to Austria; the Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, General Meredith -Read and others. - -The resolutions were then unanimously adopted, and a committee was -appointed to receive subscriptions. About 40,000 francs were subscribed -on the spot. The American bankers all agreed to open subscriptions the -next day at their banking houses. "Buffalo Bill" subscribed the entire -receipts of one entertainment, to be given under the auspices of the -committee. - -Besides those already named, there were present Benjamin Brewster, Louis -von Hoffman, Charles A. Pratt, ex-Congressman Lloyd Bryce, Clarence -Dinsmore, Edward Tuck, Professor Chanler, the Rev. Dr. Stoddard and -others from New York; Colonel Otis Ritchie, of Boston; General Franklin -and Assistant Commissioner Tuck; George W. Allen, of St. Louis; -Consul-General Rathbone, and a large number of the American colony in -Paris. It was the largest and most earnest meeting of Americans held in -Paris for many years. - -The Municipal Council of Paris gave 5000 francs to the victims of the -floods. - -In London, the American Minister, Mr. Robert T. Lincoln, received from -his countrymen there large contributions. Mr. Marshall R. Wilder, the -comedian, gave an evening of recitations to swell the fund. Generous -contributions also came from Berlin and other European cities. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - - -Spontaneously as the floods descended upon the fated valley, the -American people sprang to the relief of the survivors. In every city and -town subscription lists were opened, and clothing and bedding and food -were forwarded by the train-load. Managers gave theatrical performances -and baseball clubs gave benefit games to swell the fund. The Mayors of -New York, Philadelphia and other large cities took personal charge of -the collection and forwarding of funds and goods. In New York a meeting -of representative citizens was called by the Mayor, and a committee -formed, with General Sherman as chairman, and the presidents of the -Produce Exchange and the Chamber of Commerce among the vice-chairmen, -while the president of the Stock Exchange acted as treasurer. The -following appeal was issued:-- - - "_To the People of the City of New York:_-- - -"The undersigned have been appointed a committee by a meeting held at -the call of the Mayor of the city to devise means for the succor and -relief of the sufferers in the Conemaugh Valley. A disaster of -unparalleled magnitude has overtaken the people of that valley and -elsewhere. Without warning, their homes have been swept away by an -unexpected and unprecedented flood. The daily journals of this city -contain long lists of the dead, and the number of those who perished is -still unknown. The survivors are destitute. They are houseless and -homeless, with scant food and no shelter, and the destructive waters -have not yet subsided. - -"In this emergency their cry for help reaches us. There has never been -an occasion in our history that the appeal to our citizens to be -generous in their contributions was of greater moment than the present. -That generosity which has distinguished them above the citizens of every -other city, and which was extended to the relief of the famishing in -Ireland, to the stricken city of Charleston, to the plague-smitten city -of Jacksonville, and so on through the record of every event where man -was compelled to appeal to man, will not be lacking in this most recent -calamity. Generous contributions have already reached the committee. Let -the amount increase until they swell into a mighty river of benevolence. - -"The committee earnestly request, as the want is pressing and succor to -be effectual must be speedy, that all contributions be sent at as early -a date as possible. Their receipt will be promptly acknowledged and -they will be applied, through responsible channels, to the relief of the -destitute and suffering." - -All the exchanges, newspapers and other public agencies took up the -work, and hundreds of thousands of dollars rolled in every day. Special -collections were taken in the churches, and large sums were thus -realized. - -In Philadelphia the work of relief was entered into in a similar manner, -with equally gratifying results. By Tuesday evening the various funds -established in that city for the sufferers had reached a total of -$360,000. In addition over 100,000 packages of provisions, clothing, -etc., making fully twenty car-loads, had been started on the way. The -leading business houses tendered the service of their delivery wagons -for the collection of goods, and some of them placed donation boxes at -their establishments, yielding handsome returns. - -At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad -Company the following resolution was adopted by a unanimous vote:-- - -"_Resolved_, That in addition to the $5000 subscribed by this company at -Pittsburg, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company hereby makes an extra -donation of $25,000 for the assistance of the sufferers by the recent -floods at Johnstown and other points upon the lines of the Pennsylvania -Railroad and the other affiliated roads, the contribution to be expended -under the direction of the Committee on Finance." - -At the same time the members of the Board and executive officers added a -contribution, as individuals, of $5000. - -The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company subscribed $10,000 to the -Citizens' Fund. - -In pursuance of a call issued by the Citizens' Permanent Relief -Association, a largely-attended meeting was held at the Mayor's office. -Drexel & Co., the treasurers of the fund, started the fund with a -contribution of $10,000. Several subscriptions of $1000 each were -announced. Many subscriptions were sent direct to Drexel & Co.'s banking -house, including $5000 from the Philadelphia brewers, $5000 from the -Baldwin Locomotive Works and other individual contributors. - -But the great cities had no monopoly of benefactions. How every town in -the land responded to the call may be imagined from a few items clipped -at random from the daily papers, items the like of which for days -crowded many columns of the public press:-- - -_Bethlehem, Penn., June 3._--The Bethlehem Iron Company to-day -contributed $5000 for the relief of the sufferers. - -_Johnstown, Penn., June 3._--Stephen Collins, of the Pittsburg -post-office, and several other members of the Junior Order of United -American Mechanics, were here to-day to establish a relief fund. They -have informed the committees that the members of this strong -organization are ready to do their best for their sufferers. - -_Buffalo, June 3._--A meeting was held at the Mayor's office to-day to -devise means for the aid of the flood sufferers. The Mayor sent $1000 by -telegraph this afternoon. A committee was appointed to raise funds. The -Merchants' Exchange also started a relief fund this morning. A relief -train on the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad left here for -Pittsburg to-night with contributions of food and clothing. - -_Albany, June 3._--_The Morning Express_ to-day started a subscription -for the relief of the sufferers. A public meeting, presided over by -Mayor Maher, was held at noon to-day, and a number of plans were adopted -for securing funds. There is now on hand $1000. Another meeting was held -this evening. The offertory in the city churches will be devoted to the -fund. - -_Poughkeepsie, June 3._--A general movement was begun here to-day to aid -the sufferers in Pennsylvania. Mayor Rowley issued a proclamation and -people have been sending money to _The Eagle_ office all day. Factory -operatives are contributing, clergymen are taking hold of the matter, -and to-night the Retail Dealers' Association held a public meeting at -the Court House to appoint committees to go about among the merchants -with subscription lists. Mrs. Brazier, proprietress of a knitting -factory, sent off sixty dozen suits of under-wear to the sufferers -to-day. - -_Troy, June 3._--Subscriptions exceeding $1500 for the relief of the -Pennsylvania flood sufferers were received to-day by _The Troy Press_. -The Mayor has called a public meeting for to-morrow. - -_Washington, June 3._--A subscription for the relief of the sufferers by -the Johnstown flood was started at the Post-office Department to-day by -Chief Clerk Cooley. First Assistant Postmaster-General Clarkson headed -the list with $100. The indications are that nearly $1000 will be raised -in this Department. Postmaster-General Wanamaker had already subscribed -$1000 in Philadelphia. - -_The Post_ has started a subscription for the relief of the Johnstown -sufferers. It amounts at present to $810. The largest single -contribution is $250 by Allen McLane. - -[Illustration: WRECK OF TRUSS BRIDGE, AT WILLIAMSPORT.] - -_Trenton, June 3._--In the Board of Trade rooms to-night over $1000 was -subscribed for the benefit of Johnstown sufferers. Contributions made -to-day will swell the sum to double that amount. Committees were -appointed to canvass the city. - -_Chicago, June 3._--Mayor Cregier called a public meeting, which was -held at the City Hall to-day, to take measures for the relief of the -Johnstown sufferers. John B. Drake, of the Grand Pacific, headed a -subscription with $500. - -_Hartford, Conn., June 3._--The House to-day concurred with the Senate -in passing the resolution appropriating $25,000 for the flood sufferers. - -_Boston, June 3._--The House this afternoon admitted a bill -appropriating $10,000 for the relief of the sufferers. - -A citizens' committee will receive subscriptions. It was announced that -$4600 had already been subscribed. Dockstader's Minstrels will give a -benefit to-morrow afternoon in aid of the sufferers' fund. - -_Pittsfield, Mass., June 3._--A meeting was held here to-night and about -$300 was raised for the Johnstown sufferers. The town will be canvassed -to-morrow. Senator Dawes attended the meeting, made an address and -contributed liberally. - -_Charleston, S. C., June 3._--At a meeting of the Charleston Cotton -Exchange to-day $500 was subscribed for the relief of the flood -sufferers. - -_Fort Worth, Texas, June 3._--The Texas Spring Palace Association -to-night telegraphed to George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, that -to-morrow's receipts at the Spring Palace will be given to the sufferers -by the flood. - -_Nashville, Tenn., June 3._--_The American_ to-day started a fund for -the relief of the Johnstown sufferers. - -_Utica, June 4._--Utica to-day sent $2000 to Johnstown. - -_Ithaca, June 4._--Cornell University has collected $800 for the -sufferers. - -_Troy, June 4._--_The Troy Times_ sent this afternoon $1200 to the Mayor -of Pittsburg. _The Press_ sent $1000, making $2000 forwarded by _The -Press_. - -_Boston, June 4._--The House to-day amended its bill of yesterday and -appropriated $30,000. - -The Citizens' Committee has received $12,000, and Governor Ames' check -for $250 was received. - -_New Bedford, Mass., June 4._--Mayor Clifford has sent $500 to the -sufferers. - -_Providence, R. I., June 4._--A meeting of business men this morning -raised $4000 for the sufferers. - -_Erie, Penn., June 4._--In mass meeting last night ex-Congressman W. L. -Scott led with a $1500 subscription for Johnstown, followed by ex-Judge -Galbraith with $500. The list footed up $6000 in a quarter of an hour. -Ward committees were appointed to raise it to $10,000. In addition to a -general subscription of $1000, which was sent forward yesterday, it is -rumored that a private gift of $5000 was also sent. - -_Toledo, June 4._--Two thousand dollars have been obtained here for the -flood sufferers. - -_Cleveland, June 4._--Over $16,000 was subscribed yesterday, which, -added to the $5000 raised on Sunday, swells Cleveland's cash -contributions to $21,000. Two car-loads of provisions and clothing and -twenty-one car-loads of lumber went forward to Johnstown. - -_Cincinnati, June 4._--Subscriptions amounting to $10,000 were taken on -'Change yesterday. - -_Milwaukee, June 4._--State Grand Commander Weissert telegraphed $250 to -the Pennsylvania Department yesterday. - -_Detroit, June 4._--The relief fund already reaches nearly $1000. -Ex-Governor Alger and Senator James McMillan have each telegraphed $500 -to the scene of the disaster. - -_Chicago, June 4._--A meeting of business men was held this morning to -collect subscriptions. Several large subscriptions, including one of -$1000 by Marshall Field & Co., were received. The committees expect to -raise $50,000 within twenty four hours. - -Governor Fifer has issued a proclamation urging the people to take -measures for rendering aid. The Aldermen of Chicago subscribed among -themselves a purse of $1000. The jewelers raised $1500. On the Board of -Trade one member obtained $5000, and another $4000. - -From a citizens' meeting in Denver to-night $2500 was raised. - -President Hughitt announces that the Chicago and Northwestern, the -Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, and the Fremont, Elkhorn and -Missouri Valley Railways will transport, free of charge, all provisions -and clothing for the sufferers. - -_Kansas City, Mo., June 4._--At the mass meeting last night a large sum -was subscribed for the sufferers. - -_Chattanooga, June 3._--Chattanooga to-day subscribed $500. - -_Wilmington, Del., June 4._--Over $2700 has been raised here for the -sufferers. A carload of supplies was shipped last night. Two doctors -have offered their services. - -_Knoxville, Tenn., June 4._--The relief committee to-day raised over -$1500 in two hours for the sufferers in Johnstown and vicinity. - -_Saratoga, June 4._--The village of Saratoga Springs has raised $2000. -Judge Henry Hilton subscribed one-half the amount. A committee was -appointed to-night to solicit additional subscriptions. - -_Carlisle, Penn., June 4._--Aid for the sufferers has been pouring in -from all sections of the Cumberland Valley. From this city $700 and a -supply of clothing and provisions have been sent. Among the -contributions to-day was $100 from the Indian children at the Government -training school. - -_Charleston, S. C., June 4._--The City Council to-day voted $1000 for -the relief of the Pennsylvania sufferers. The Executive Committee of the -Chamber of Commerce subscribed $380 in a few minutes, and appointed -three committees to canvass for subscriptions. The Merchants' Exchange -is at work and general subscriptions are starting. - -_St. Louis, June 4._--Generous subscriptions for the Conemaugh Valley -sufferers have been made here. The Merchants' Exchange has called a mass -meeting for to-morrow. - -_Middletown, June 4._--To-day the Mayor telegraphed the Mayor of -Johnstown to draw on him for $1000. - -_Poughkeepsie, June 4._--Mayor Rowley to-day sent $1638 to Drexel & Co., -Philadelphia. As much more was subscribed to-day. - -_Auburn, June 5._--Auburn has subscribed $2000. - -_Lockport, N. Y., June 5._--The Brewers' National Convention at Niagara -Falls this morning contributed $10,000. - -_St. Johnsbury, Vt., June 5._--Grand Master Henderson issued an -invitation to-day to Odd Fellows in Vermont to contribute toward the -sufferers. - -_Newburg, N. Y., June 5._--Newburg has raised about $2000 for the -sufferers. - -_Worcester, Mass., June 5._--Subscriptions to the amount of $2400 were -made here to-day. - -_Boston, June 5._--The total of the subscriptions received through -Kidder, Peabody & Co. to-day amounted to $35,400. The Fall River Line -will forward supplies free of charge. - -_Providence, June 5._--The subscriptions here now exceed $11,000. - -_Minneapolis, June 5._--The Citizens' Committee to-day voted to send -2000 barrels of flour to the sufferers. - -_Chicago, June 5_.--It is estimated that Chicago's cash contributions to -date aggregate about $90,000. - -_St. Louis, June 5._--The town of Desoto in this State has contributed -$200. Litchfield, Ill., has also raised $200. - -_Los Angeles, Cal., June 5._--This city has forwarded $2000 to Governor -Beaver. - -_Macon, June 5._--The City Council last night appropriated $200 for the -sufferers. - -_Chattanooga, Tenn., June 5._--A. B. Forrest Camp, No. 3, Confederate -Veterans of Chattanooga, have contributed $100 to the relief fund. J. M. -Duncan, general manager of the South Tredegar Iron Company, of this -city, who a few years ago left Johnstown for Chattanooga as a young -mechanic, sent $1000 to-day to the relief fund. Another $1000 will be -sent from the proceeds of a popular subscription. - -_Savannah, June 5._--The Savannah Benevolent Association subscribed -$1000 for the sufferers. - -_Binghamton, June 5._--More than $2600 will be sent to Johnstown from -this city. Lieutenant-Governor Jones telegraphed that he would subscribe -$100. - -_Albany, June 5._--Mayor Maher has telegraphed the Mayor of Pittsburg to -draw on him for $3000. The fund being raised by _The Morning Express_ -amounts to over $1141. - -_Lebanon, Penn., June 5._--This city will raise $5000 for the sufferers. - -_Rochester, June 5._--Over $400 was subscribed to the Red Cross relief -fund to-day and $119 to a newspaper fund besides. - -_Cleveland, June 5._--The cash collected in this city up to this evening -is $38,000. Ten car-loads of merchandise were shipped to Johnstown -to-day, and a special train of twenty-eight car-loads of lumber, from -Cleveland dealers, left here to-night. - -_Fonda, N. Y., June 5._--The people of Johnstown, N. Y., instead of -making an appropriation with which to celebrate the Fourth of July, will -send $1000 to the sufferers at Johnstown, Pa. - -_New Haven, June 5._--Over $2000 has been collected here. - -_Wilmington, Del., June 5._--This city's fund has reached $470. The -second car-load of supplies will be shipped to-morrow. - -_Glens Falls, N. Y., June 5._--Subscriptions here to-day amounted to -$622. - -_Poughkeepsie, June 5._--Up to this evening $2736 have been raised in -this city for Johnstown. - -_Washington, June 7._--The total cash contributions of the employees of -the Treasury Department to date, amounting to $2070, were to-day handed -to the treasurer of the Relief Fund of Washington. The officers and -clerks of the several bureaus of the Interior Department have subscribed -$2280. The contributions in the Government Printing Office aggregate -$1275. Chief Clerk Cooley to-day transmitted to the chairman of the -local committee $600 collected in the Post-office Department. - -_Syracuse, N. Y., June 7._--Mayor Kirk to-day sent to Governor Beaver a -draft for $3000. - -_Utica, N. Y., June 7._--Ilion has raised $1100, and has sent six cases -of clothing to Johnstown. - -The Little Falls subscription is $700 thus far. - -The Utica subscription is now nearly $6000. - -Thus the gifts of the people flowed in, day by day, from near and from -far, from rich and from poor, to make less dark the awful desolation -that had set up its fearful reign in the Valley of the Conemaugh. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - - -The city of Philadelphia with characteristic generosity began the work -of raising a relief fund on the day following the disaster, the Mayor's -office and Drexel's banking house being the chief centres of receipt. -Within four days six hundred thousand dollars was in hand. A most -thorough organization and canvass of all trades and branches of business -was made under the following committees: - - Machinery and Iron--George Burnham, Daniel A. Waters, William - Sellers, W. B. Bement, Hamilton Disston, Walter Wood, J. Lowber - Welsh, W. C. Allison, Charles Gilpin, Jr., E. Y. Townsend, - Dawson Hoopes, Alvin S. Patterson, Charles H. Cramp, and John H. - Brill. - - Attorneys--Mayer Sulzberger, George S. Graham, George W. - Biddle, Lewis C. Cassidy, William F. Johnson, Joseph Parrish, - Hampton L. Carson, John C. Bullitt, John R. Read, and Samuel B. - Huey. - - Physicians--William Pepper, Horatio C. Wood, Thomas G. Morton, - W. H. Pancoast, D. Hayes Agnew, and William W. Keen. - - Insurance--R. Dale Benson, C. J. Madeira, E. J. Durban, and - John Taylor. Chemicals--William Weightman, H. B. Rosengarten, - and John Wyeth. - - City Officers--John Bardsley, Henry Clay, Robert P. Dechert, - S. Davis Page, and Judge R. N. Willson. - - Paper--A. G. Elliott, Whitney Paper Company, W. E. & E. D. - Lockwood, Alexander Balfour, and the Nescochague Paper - Manufacturing Company. - - Coal--Charles F. Berwind, Austin Corbin, Charles E. - Barrington, and George B. Newton. - - Wool Dealers--W. W. Justice, David Scull, Coates Brothers, - Lewis S. Fish & Co., and Theodore C. Search. - - Commercial Exchange--Walter F. Hagar and William Brice. - - Board of Trade--Frederick Fraley, T. Morris Perot, John H. - Michener, and Joel Cook. - - Book Trade, Printing, and Newspapers--Charles Emory Smith, - Walter Lippincott, A. K. McClure, Charles E. Warburton, Thomas - MacKellar, William M. Singerly, Charles Heber Clark, and William - V. McKean. - - Furniture--Charles B. Adamson, Hale, Kilburn & Co., John H. - Sanderson, and Amos Hillborn & Co. - - Bakers and Confectioners--Godfrey Keebler, Carl Edelheim, - Croft & Allen, and H. O. Wilbur & Sons. - - China, etc.--R. J. Allen, and Tyndale, Mitchell & Co. - - Lumber--Thomas P. C. Stokes, William M. Lloyd Company, Henry - Bayard & Co., Geissel & Richardson, and D. A. Woelpper. - - Cloth and Tailors' Trimmings--Edmund Lewis, Henry N. Steel, - Joseph R. Keim, John Alburger, and Samuel Goodman. - - Notions, etc.--Joel J. Baily, John Field, Samuel Clarkson, - John C. Sullivan, William Super, John C. File, and W. B. - Hackenberg. - - Clothing--H. B. Blumenthal, William Allen, Leo Loeb, William - H. Wanamaker, Alan H. Reed, Morris Newberger, Nathan Snellenburg, - Samuel Goodman, and John Alburger. Dry Goods - Manufacturers--Lincoln Godfrey, Lemuel Coffin, N. Parker - Shortridge, and W.H. Folwell. - - Wholesale Dry Goods--Samuel B. Brown, John M. Howett, Henry H. - Ellison, and Edward T. Steel. - - Retail Dry Goods--Joseph G. Darlington, Isaac H. Clothier, - Granville B. Haines, and Henry W. Sharpless. - - Jewelers--Mr. Bailey, of Bailey, Banks & Biddle; James E. - Caldwell, and Simon Muhr. - - Straw Goods, Hats, and Millinery--John Adler, C. H. Garden & - Co., and Henry Tilge. - - City Railways--Alexander M. Fox, William H. Kemble, E. B. - Edwards, John F. Sullivan, and Charles E. Ellis. - - Photography--F. Gutekunst, A. K. P. Trask, and H. C. Phillips. - - Pianos and Musical--W. D. Dutton, Schomacker Piano Company, - and C. J. Heppe. - - Plumbers--William Harkness, Jr., J. Futhey Smith, C. A. - Blessing, and Henry B. Tatham. - - Liquors and Brewers--Joseph F. Sinnott, Bergner & Engel, John - Gardiner, and John F. Belz. - - Hotels--E. F. Kingsley, Thomas Green, L. U. Maltby, C. H. - Reisser, and H. J. Crump. - - Butchers--Frank Bower and Shuster Boraef. - - Woolen Manufacturers--William Wood, George Campbell, Joseph P. - Truitt, and John C. Watt. - - Retail Grocers--George B. Woodman, George A. Fletcher, Robert - Ralston, H. B. Summers, and E. J. Howlett. - - Boots and Shoes--John Mundell, John G. Croxton, Henry Z. - Ziegler, and A. A. Shumway. - - Theatrical--J. Fred. Zimmerman, Israel Fleishman, and T. F. - Kelly. - - Tobacco Trade--M. J. Dohan, L. Bamberger, E. H. Frishmuth, - Jr., Walter Garrett, M. E. McDowell, J. H. Baltz, Henry Weiner, - and George W. Bremer. - - Hosiery Manufactures--J. B. Allen and James B. Doak, Jr. Real - Estate--Adam Everly, John M. Gummey, and Lewis H. Redner. - - Cordage--E. H. Fitler, John T. Bailey, and Charles Lawrence. - - Patent Pavement--Dr. L. S. Filbert and James Stewart, Jr. - - Bankers and Brokers--Winthrop Smith, Robert H. Glendenning, - George H. Thomas, William G. Warden, Lindley Smyth, Thomas - Cochran, J. L. Erringer, Charles H. Banes, Wharton Barker, and - Jacob Naylor. - - Wholesale Grocers and Sugar Refiners--Francis B. Reeves, - Edward C. Knight, Adolph Spreckels, William Janney, and Charles - C. Harrison. - - Shirt Manufacturers and Dealers--Samuel Sternberger and Jacob - Miller. - - Carpets--James Dobson, Robert Dornan, Hugh McCallum, John F. - Orne, John R. White, and Thomas Potter, Jr. - - Saddlery Hardware, etc.--William T. Lloyd, of Lloyd & Supplee; - Conrad B. Day, George DeB. Keim, Charles Thackara, John C. - Cornelius, William Elkins, Jr., and James Peters. - -By Tuesday the tide of relief was flowing strongly. On that day between -eight and nine thousand packages of goods were sent to the freight depot -of the Pennsylvania Railroad, to be forwarded to the sufferers. Wagons -came in an apparently endless stream and the quantity of goods received -far exceeded that of any previous day. Eight freight cars, tightly -packed, were shipped to Johnstown, while five car-loads of provisions -were sent to Williamsport, and one of provisions to Lewistown. - -The largest consignment of goods from an individual was sent to -Williamsport by W. M. McCormick. He was formerly a resident of -Williamsport, and when he heard that the people of that city were -suffering for want of provisions, he immediately went out and ordered a -car-load of flour (one hundred and twenty-five barrels) and a car-load -of groceries and provisions, consisting of dried and smoked meats, -sugar, crackers, and a large assortment of other necessaries. Mr. -McCormick said he thought that several of his friends would go in with -him when they knew of the venture, but if they did not he would foot all -the bills himself. - -The saddest incident of the day was the visit of a handsome young lady, -about twenty-three years of age. She was accompanied by an older lady, -and brought three packages of clothing. It was Miss Clydia Blackford, -whose home was in Johnstown. She said sobbingly that every one of her -relatives and friends had been lost in the floods, and her home entirely -wiped out. The gift of the packages to the sufferers of her old home -seemed to give her a sort of sad pleasure. She departed with tears in -her eyes. - -When the convicts in the Eastern Penitentiary learned of the disaster -through the weekly papers which arrived on Wednesday and Thursday--the -only papers they are allowed to receive--a thing that will seem -incongruous to the outside world happened. The criminal, alone in his -cell, was touched with the same sympathy and desire to help fellow-men -in sore distress as the good people who have been filling relief depots -with supplies and coffers with money. Each as he read the story of the -flood would knock on his wicket and tell the keeper he wanted to give -some of his money. - -The convicts, by working over and above their daily task, are allowed -small pay for the extra time. Half the money so earned goes to the -county from which the convict comes and half to the convict himself. The -maximum amount a Cherry Hill inmate can make in a week for himself is -one dollar. - -The keepers told Warden Cassidy of the desire expressed all along that -the authorities receive their contributions. The convicts can do what -they please with their over-time money, by sending it to their friends, -and several had already sent small sums out of the Penitentiary to be -given to the Johnstown sufferers. The warden very promptly acceded to -the general desire and gave the keepers instructions. There are about -one thousand one hundred and ten men imprisoned in the institution, and -of this number one hundred and forty-six persons gave five hundred and -forty-two dollars and ninety-six cents. It would take one convict -working all his extra time ten years to earn that sum. - -There was one old man, a cripple, who had fifteen dollars to his credit. -He said to the keeper: "I've been doing crooked work nearly all my life, -and I want to do something square this time. I want to give all the -money coming to me for these fellers out there." The warden, however, -had made a rule prohibiting any individual from contributing more than -five dollars. The old man was told this, but he was determined. "Look -here," said he; "I'll send the rest of my money out to my folks and tell -them to send it." - -Chief of Police Mayer, in denying reports that there was an influx of -professional thieves into the flooded regions to rob the dead, said: -"The thieves wouldn't do anything like that; there is too much of the -gentleman in them." But here were thieves and criminals going into their -own purses out of that same "gentlemanly" part of them. - -Up to Saturday, June 8th, the cash contributions in Philadelphia, -amounted to $687,872.68. Meantime countless gifts and expressions of -sympathy came from all over the world. The Lord Mayor of Dublin, -Ireland, raised a fund of $5,000. Archbishop Walsh gave $500. - -Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British Minister at Washington, called on the -President on June 7th, in company with Secretary Blaine, and delivered -a message from Queen Victoria expressing her deep sympathy for the -sufferers by the recent floods in Pennsylvania. The President said in -reply: - -"Mr. Minister: This message of sympathy from Her Majesty the Queen will -be accepted by our people as another expression of her own generous -character, as well as of the friendliness and good-will of her people. -The disasters which have fallen upon several communities in the State of -Pennsylvania, while extreme and full of the most tragic and horrifying -incidents, have fortunately been limited in territorial extent. The -generosity of our own citizens will promptly lessen to these stricken -people every loss that is not wholly irretrievable; and these the -sympathy of the Queen and the English people will help to assuage. Will -you, Mr. Minister, be pleased to convey to the Queen the sincere thanks -of the American people." - -[Illustration: WRECK OF THE LUMBER YARDS AT WILLAMSPORT, PA.] - -A newspaper correspondent called upon the illustrious Miss Florence -Nightingale, at her home in London, and asked her to send a message to -America regarding the floods. In response, she wrote: - - "I am afraid that I cannot write such a message as I would wish to - just at this moment. I am so overdone. I have the deepest - sympathy with the poor sufferers by the floods, and with Miss Clara - Barton, of the Red Cross Societies, and the good women who are - hastening to their help. I am so overworked and ill that I can feel - all the more but write all the less for the crying necessity. - - (Signed) "FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE." - -Though Miss Nightingale is sixty-nine years old, and an invalid, this -note was written in a hand indicating all the strength and vigor of a -schoolgirl. She is seldom able to go out now, though when she can she -dearly loves to visit the Nightingale Home for Training Nurses, which -constitutes such an enduring monument and noble record of her life. But, -though in feeble health, Miss Nightingale manages to do a great deal of -work yet. From all parts of the world letters pour in upon her, asking -advice and suggestions on matters of hospital management, of health and -of education, all of which she seldom fails to answer. - -Last, but not least, let it be recorded that the members of the club -that owned the fatal lake sent promptly a thousand blankets and many -thousands of dollars to the sufferers from the floods, which had been -caused by their own lack of proper supervision of the dam. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - - -New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburg were, of course, the three chief -centres of charitable contributions, and the sources from which the -golden flood of relief was poured into the devastated valley. One of the -earliest gifts in New York city was that of $1,200, the proceeds of a -collection taken on Sunday morning, June 2d, in the West Presbyterian -Church, after an appeal by the Rev. Dr. John R. Paxton, the pastor. The -next day a meeting of prominent New York business men was held at the -Mayor's office, and a relief committee was formed. At this meeting many -contributions were announced. Isidor Wormser said that the Produce -Exchange had raised $15,000 for the sufferers. Ex-Mayor Grace reported -that the Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company had telegraphed the Cambria -Iron Company to draw upon it for $5,000 for the relief of the Cambria's -employees. Mayor Grant announced that he had received letters and checks -during the forenoon aggregating the sum of $15,000, and added his own -for $500. Subscriptions of $1,000 each were offered as fast as the -Secretary could record them by Kuhn, Loeb & Co., Jesse Seligman, Calvin -S. Brice, Winslow, Lanier & Co., Morris K. Jesup, Oswald Ottendorfer, R. -H. Macy & Co., M. Schiff & Co., and O. B. Potter. Sums of $500 were -subscribed with equal cheerfulness by Eugene Kelly, Sidney Dillon, the -Chatham National Bank, Controller Myers, Cooper, Hewitt & Co., Frederick -Gallatin, Tefft, Weller & Co., City Chamberlain Croker, and Tiffany & -Co. Numerous gifts of less sums quickly followed. Elliott F. Shepard -announced that the _Mail and Express_ had already sent $10,000 to -Johnstown. Before the Committee on Permanent Organization had time to -report, the Secretary gave out the information that $27,000 had been -subscribed since the meeting was called to order. Before the day was -over no less than $75,000 had been received at the Mayor's office, -including the following subscriptions: - - Pennsylvania Relief Committee of the Maritime Association of the - Port of New York, Gustav H. Schwab, Treasurer, $3,435; Chatham - National Bank, $500; Morris K. Jesup, $1,000; William Steinway, - $1,000; Theodore W. Myers, $500; J. G. Moore, $1,000; J. W. Gerard, - $200; Platt & Bowers, $250; Henry L. Hoguet, $100; Harry Miner, - $200; Tefft, Weller & Co., $500; Louis May, $200; Madison Square - Bank, $200; Richard Croker, $500; Tiffany & Co., $500; John Fox, - $200; Jacob H. Schiff, $1,000; Nash & Brush, $100; Oswald - Ottendorfer, $1,000; William P. St. John, $100; George Hoadly, for - Hoadly, Lauterbach & Johnson, $250; Edwin Forrest Lodge, Order of - Friendship, $200; W. T. Sherman, $100; W. L. Stone, $500; John R. - Dos Passos, $250; G. G. Williams, $100; Coudert Bros., $250; - _Staats-Zeitung_, $1,166; Cooper, Hewitt & Co., $500; Frederick - Gallatin, $500; R. H. Macy & Co., $1,000; Mr. Caldwell, $100; C. N. - Bliss, $500; Ward & Olyphant, $100; Eugene Kelly, $500; Lackawanna - Coal and Iron Company, through Mayor Grace, $5,000; W. R. Grace, - $500; G. Schwab & Bros., $300; Kuhn, Loeb & Co., $1,000; Central - Trust Co., $1,000; Calvin S. Brice, $1,000; J. S. Seligman & Co., - $1,000; Sidney Dillon, $500; Winslow, Lanier & Co., $1,000; Hugh J. - Grant, $500; Orlando B. Potter, $1,000. - - Through _The Tribune_, $319.75; through _The Sun_, $87.50; from - Tammany Society, through Richard Croker, $1,000; Joseph Pulitzer, - $2,000; Lazard Freres, $1,000; Arnold, Constable & Co., $1,000; D. - H. King, Jr., $1,000; August Belmont & Co., $1,000; New York Life - Insurance Co., $500; John D. Crimmins, $500; Nathan Manufacturing - Co., $500; Hugh N. Camp, $250; National Railway Publishing Co., - $200; William Openhym & Sons, $200; New York Transfer Co., $200; - Warner Brothers, $100; L. J. and I. Phillips, $100; John Davel & - Sons, $100; Hoole Manufacturing Co., $100; Hendricks Brothers, - $100; Rice & Bijur, $100; C. A. Auffmordt, $100; Thomas C. T. - Crain, $100; J. J. Wysong & Co., $100; Megroz, Portier, & Megroz & - Co., $100; Foster, Paul & Co., $100; S. Stein & Co., $100; James - McCreery & Co., $100; Lazell, Dalley & Co., $100; George W. - Walling, $100; Thomas Garner & Co., $100; John Simpson, $100; W. H. - Schieffelin & Co., $100; through A. Schwab, $1,400; H. C. F. Koch & - Co., $100; George T. Hoadly, $250; G. Sidenburg & Co., $100; Ward & - Oliphant, $100; Robert Bonner, $1,000; Horace White, $100; A. H. - Cridge, $250; Edward Shriever, $300; C. H. Ludington, $100; - Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Company of New York, $200; Warner - Brothers, $100; _New York Times_ (cash), $100; cash items, $321.20; - Bennett Building, $105. - -Shortly after the opening of the New York Stock Exchange a subscription -was started for the benefit of the Johnstown sufferers. The Governing -Committee of the Exchange made Albert King treasurer of the Exchange -Relief Fund, and, although many leading members were absent from the -floor, as is usual on Monday at this season of the year, the handsome -sum of $14,520 was contributed by the brokers present at the close of -business. Among the subscriptions received were: - - Vermilye & Co., $1,000; Moore & Schley, $1,000; L. Von - Hoffman & Co., $500; N. S. Jones, $500; Speyer & Co., $500; - Homans & Co., $500; Work, Strong & Co., $250; Washington E. - Connor, $250; Van Emberg & Atterbury, $250; Simon Borg & Co., - $250; Chauncey & Gwynne Bros., $250; John D. Slayback, $250; - Woerishoffer & Co., $250; S. V. White, $250; I. & S. Wormser, - $250; Henry Clews & Co., $250; Ladenberg, Thalmann & Co., - $250; John H. Davis & Co., $200; Jones, Kennett & Hopkins, - $200; H. B. Goldschmidt, $200; other subscriptions, $7,170. - -Generosity rose higher still on Tuesday. Early in the day $5,000 was -received by cable from the London Stock Exchange. John S. Kennedy also -sent $5,000 from London. John Jacob Astor subscribed $2,500 and William -Astor $1,000. Other contributions received at the Mayor's office were -these: - - Archbishop Corrigan, $250; Straiton & Storm, $250; Bliss, - Fabyan & Co., $500; Funk & Wagnalls, $100; Nathan Straus, - $1,000; Sidney Dillon, $500; Winslow, Lanier & Co., $1,000; - Henry Hilton, $5,000; R. J. Livingston, $1,000; Peter Marie, - $100; The Dick & Meyer Co., Wm. Dick, President, $1,000; - Decastro & Donner Sugar Refining Co., $1,000; Havemeyers & - Elder Sugar Refining Co., $1,000; Frederick Gallatin, $500; - Continental National Bank, from Directors, $1,000; F. O. - Mattiessen & Wiechers' Sugar Refining Co., $1,000; Phelps, - Dodge & Co., $2,500; Knickerbocker Ice Co., $1,000; First - National Bank, $1,000; Apollinaris Water Co., London, $1,000; - W. & J. Sloane, $1,000; Tefft, Weller & Co., $500; New York - Stock Exchange, $20,000; Board of Trade, $1,000; Central Trust - Co, $1,000; Samuel Sloan, $200. - -The following contributions were made in ten minutes at a special -meeting of the Chamber of Commerce: - - Brown Brothers & Co., $2,500; Morton, Bliss & Co., $1,000; - H. B. Claflin & Co., $2,000; Percy R. Pyne, $1,000; Fourth - National Bank, $1,000; E. D. Morgan & Co., $1,000; C. S. - Smith, $500; J. M. Ceballas, $500; Barbour Brothers & Co., - $500; Naumberg, Kraus & Co., $500; Thos. F. Rowland, $500; - Bliss, Fabyan & Co., $500; William H. Parsons & Co., $250; - Smith, Hogg & Gardner, $250; Doerun Lead Company, $250; A. R. - Whitney & Co., $250; Williams & Peters, $100; Joy, Langdon & - Co., $250; B. L. Solomon's Sons, $100; D. F. Hiernan, $100; A. - S. Rosenbaum, $100; Henry Rice, $100; Parsons & Petitt, $100; - Thomas H. Wood & Co., $100; T. B. Coddington, $100; John I. - Howe, $50; John Bigelow, $50; Morrison, Herriman & Co., $250; - Frederick Sturges, $250; James O. Carpenter, $50; C. H. - Mallory, $500; George A. Low, $25; Henry W. T. Mali & Co., - $500; C. Adolph Low, $50; C. C. Peck, $20. Total, $15,295. - -Thousands of dollars also came in from the Produce Exchange, Cotton -Exchange, Metal Exchange, Coffee Exchange, Real Estate Exchange, etc. -The Adams Express Co. gave $5,000, and free carriage of all goods for -the sufferers. The Mutual Life Insurance Co., gave $10,000. And so all -the week the gifts were made. Jay Gould, gave $1,000; the Jewish Temple -Emanuel, $1,500; The Hide and Leather Trade, $5,000; the Commercial -Cable Co., $500; the Ancient Order of Hibernians, $270; J. B. & J. H. -Cornell, $1,000; the New York Health Department, $500; Chatham National -Bank, $500; the boys of the House of Refuge on Randall's Island, -$258.22. Many gifts came from other towns and cities. - - Kansas City, $12,000; Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, - $22,106; Washington Post Office, $600; Boston, $94,000; - Willard (N. Y.) Asylum for Insane, $136; Washington Government - Printing Office, $1,275; Saugerties, N. Y., $850; Ithaca, N. - Y., $1,600; Cornell University, $1,100; Whitehall, N. Y., - $600; Washington Interior Department, $2,280; Schenectady, N. - Y., $3,000; Albany, $10,500; Washington Treasury Department, - $2,070; Augusta, Ga., $1,000; Charleston, S. C., $3,500; - Utica, N. Y., $6,000; Little Falls, N. Y., $700; Ilion, N. Y., - $1,100; Trenton, N. J., $12,000; Cambridge, Mass., $3,500; - Haverhill, Mass., $1,500; Lawrence, Mass., $5,000; Salem, - Mass., $1,000; Taunton, Mass., $1,010; New London, Conn., - $1,120; Newburyport, Mass., $1,500. - -No attempt has been made above to give anything more than a few random -and representative names of givers. The entire roll would fill a volume. -By the end of the week the cash contributions in New York city amounted -to more than $600,000. Collections in churches on Sunday, June 9th, -aggregated $15,000 more. Benefit performances at the theatres the next -week brought up the grand total to about $700,000. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - - -And now begins the task of burying the dead and caring for the living. -It is Wednesday morning. Scarcely has daylight broken before a thousand -funerals are in progress on the green hill-sides. There were no hearses, -few mourners, and as little solemnity as formality. The majority of the -coffins were of rough pine. The pall-bearers were strong ox-teams, and -instead of six pall-bearers to one coffin, there were generally six -coffins to one-team. Silently the processions moved, and silently they -unloaded their burdens in the lap of mother earth. No minister of God -was there to pronounce a last blessing as the clods rattled down, except -a few faithful priests who had followed some representatives of their -faith to the grave. - -All day long the corpses were being hurried below ground. The -unidentified bodies were grouped on a high hill west of the doomed city, -where one epitaph must do for all, and that the word "unknown." - -Almost every stroke of the pick in some portions of the city resulted in -the discovery of another victim, and, although the funerals of the -morning relieved the morgues of their crush, before night they were as -full of the dead as ever. Wherever one turns the melancholy view of a -coffin is met. Every train into Johnstown was laden with them, the -better ones being generally accompanied by friends of the dead. Men -could be seen staggering over the ruins with shining mahogany caskets on -their shoulders. - -In the midst of this scene of death and desolation a relenting -Providence seems to be exerting a subduing influence. Six days have -elapsed since the great disaster, and the temperature still remains low -and chilly in the Conemaugh valley. When it is remembered that in the -ordinary June weather of this locality from two to three days are -sufficient to bring an unattended body to a degree of decay and -putrefaction that would render it almost impossible to prevent the -spread of disease throughout the valley, the inestimable benefits of -this cool weather are almost beyond appreciation. - -The first body taken from the ruins was that of a boy, Willie Davis, who -was found in the debris near the bridge. He was badly bruised and -burned. The remains were taken to the undertaking rooms at the -Pennsylvania Railroad station, where they were identified. The boy's -mother has been making a tour of the different morgues for the past few -days, and was just going through the undertaking rooms when she saw the -remains of her boy being brought in. She ran up to the body and demanded -it. She seemed to have lost her mind, and caused quite a scene by her -actions. She said that she had lost her husband and six children in the -flood, and that this was the first one of the family that had been -recovered. The bodies of a little girl named Bracken and of Theresa and -Katie Downs of Clinton Street were taken out near where the remains of -Willie Davis were found. - -Two hundred experienced men with dynamite, a portable crane, a -locomotive, and half a dozen other appliances for pulling, hauling, and -lifting, toiled all of Wednesday at the sixty-acre mass of debris that -lies above the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge at Johnstown. "As a result," -wrote a correspondent, "there is visible, just in front of the central -arch, a little patch of muddy water about seventy-five feet long by -thirty wide. Two smaller patches are in front of the two arches on each -side of this one, but both together would not be heeded were they not -looked for especially. Indeed, the whole effect of the work yet done -would not be noticed by a person who had never seen the wreck before. -The solidity of the wreck and the manner in which it is interlaced and -locked together exceeds the expectations of even those who had examined -the wreck carefully, and the men who thought that with dynamite the mass -could be removed in a week, now do not think the work can be done in -twice this time. The work is in charge of Arthur Kirk, a Pittsburg -contractor. Dynamite is depended upon for loosening the mass, but it has -to be used in small charges for fear of damaging the bridge, which, at -this time, would be another disaster for the town. As it is, the south -abutment has been broken a little by the explosions. - -"After a charge of dynamite had shaken up a portion of the wreck in -front of the middle arch, men went to work with long poles, crowbars, -axes, saws, and spades. All the loose pieces that could be got out were -thrown into the water under the bridge, and then, beginning at the -edges, the bits of wreck were pulled, pushed and cut out, and sent -floating away. At first the work of an hour was hardly perceptible, but -each fresh log of timber pulled out loosened others and made better -progress possible. When the space beneath the arch was cleared, and a -channel thus made through which the debris could be floated off, a huge -portable crane, built on a flat-car and made for raising locomotives and -cars, was run upon the bridge over the arch and fastened to the track -with heavy chains. A locomotive was furnished to pull the rope, instead -of the usual winch with a crank handle. A rope from the crane was -fastened by chains or grapnels to a log, and then the locomotive pulled. -About once in five times the log came out. Other times the chain slipped -or something else made the attempt a failure. Whenever a big stick came -out men with pikes pushed off all the other loosened debris that they -could get at. Other men shoveled off the dirt and ashes which cover the -raft so thickly that it is almost as solid as the ground. - -"When a ten-foot square opening had been made back on the arch, the -current could be seen gushing up like a great spring from below, showing -that there was a large body of it being held down there by the weight of -the debris. The current through the arch became so strong that the -heaviest pieces in the wreck were carried off readily once they got -within its reach. One reason for this is that laborers are filling up -the gaps on the railroad embankment approaching the bridge in the north, -through which the river had made itself a new bed, and the water thus -dammed back has to go through or under the raft and out by the -bridge-arches. This both buoys up the whole mass and provides a means of -carrying off the wooden part of the debris as fast as it can be -loosened. - -"Meanwhile an attack on the raft was being made through the adjoining -arch in another way. A heavy winch was set up on a small island in the -river seventy-five yards below the bridge, and ropes run from this were -hitched to heavy timbers in the raft, and then pulled out by workmen at -the winch. A beginning for a second opening in the raft was made in this -way. One man had some bones broken and was otherwise hurt by the -slipping of the handle while he was at work at the winch this afternoon. -The whole work is dangerous for the men. There is twenty feet of swift -water for them to slip into, and timbers weighing tons are swinging -about in unexpected directions to crush them. - -"So far it is not known that any bodies have been brought out of the -debris by this work of removal, though many logs have been loosened and -sent off down the river beneath the water without being seen. There will -probably be more bodies back toward the centre of the raft than at the -bridge, for of those that came there many were swept over the top. Some -went over the arches and a great many were rescued from the bridge and -shore. People are satisfied now that dynamite is the only thing that can -possibly remove the wreck and that as it is being used it is not likely -to mangle bodies that may be in the debris any more than would any other -means of removing it. There are no more protests heard against its -use." - -Bodies continue to be dug out of the wreck in the central portion all -day. A dozen or so had been recovered up to nightfall, all hideously -burned and mangled. In spite of all the water that has been thrown upon -it by fire engines and all the rain that has fallen, the debris is still -smouldering in many spots. - -Work was begun in dead earnest on Wednesday on the Cambria Iron Works -buildings. The Cambria people gave out the absurd statement that their -loss will not exceed $100,000. It will certainly take this amount to -clean the works of the debris, to say nothing of repairing them. The -buildings are nearly a score in number, some of them of enormous size, -and they extend along the Conemaugh River for half a mile, over a -quarter of a mile in width. Their lonely chimneys, stretching high out -of the slate roofs above the brick walls, make them look not unlike a -man-of-war of tremendous size. The buildings on the western end of the -row are not damaged a great deal, though the torrent rolled through -them, turning the machinery topsy-turvy; but the buildings on the -eastern end, which received the full force of the flood, fared badly. -The eastern ends are utterly gone, the roofs bent over and smashed in, -the chimneys flattened, the walls cracked and broken, and, in some -cases, smashed entirely. Most of the buildings are filled with drift. -The workmen, who have clambered over the piles of logs and heavy drift -washed in front of the buildings and inside, say that they do not -believe that the machinery in the mills is damaged very much, and that -the main loss will fall on the mills themselves. Half a million may -cover the loss of the Cambria people, but this is a rather low estimate. -They have nine hundred men at work getting things in shape, and the -manner in which they have had to go to work illustrates the force with -which the flood acted. The trees jammed in and before the buildings were -so big and so solidly wedged in their places that no force of men could -pull them out, and temporary railroad tracks were built up to the mass -of debris. Then one of the engines backed down from the Pennsylvania -Railroad yards, and the workmen, by persistent effort, managed to get -big chains around parts of the drift. These chains were attached to the -engine, which rolled off puffing mightily, and in this way the mass of -drift was pulled apart. Then the laborers gathered up the loosened -material, heaped it in piles a distance from the buildings, and burned -them. Sometimes two engines had to be attached to some of the trees to -pull them out, and there are many trees which cannot be extricated in -this manner. They will have to be sawed into parts, and these parts -lugged away by the engines. - -[Illustration: 250,000,000 FEET OF LOGS AFLOAT IN THE SUSQUEHANNA.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - - -Upon a pretty little plateau two hundred feet above the waters of Stony -Creek, and directly in front of a slender foot-bridge which leads into -Kernsville, stands a group of tents which represents the first effort of -any national organization to give material sanitary aid to the unhappy -survivors of Johnstown. - -It is the camp of the American National Association of the Red Cross, -and is under the direction of that noble woman, Miss Clara Barton of -Washington, the President of the organization in this country. The camp -is not more than a quarter of a mile from the scene of operations in -this place, and, should pestilence attend upon the horrors of the flood, -this assembly of trained nurses and veteran physicians will be known all -over the land. That an epidemic of some sort will come, there seems to -be no question. The only thing which can avert it is a succession of -cool days, a possibility which is very remote. - -Miss Barton, as soon as she heard of the catastrophe, started -preparations for opening headquarters in this place. By Saturday morning -she had secured a staff, tents, supplies, and all the necessary -appurtenances of her work, and at once started on the Baltimore and Ohio -Road. She arrived here on Tuesday morning, and pitched her tents near -Stony Creek. This was, however, a temporary choice, for soon she removed -her camp to the plateau upon which it will remain until all need for -Miss Barton will have passed. With her came Dr. John B. Hubbell, field -agent; Miss M. L. White, stenographer; Gustave Angerstein, messenger, -and a corps of fifteen physicians and four trained female nurses, under -the direction of Dr. O'Neill, of Philadelphia. - -Upon their arrival they at once established quartermaster and kitchen -departments, and in less than three hours these divisions were fully -equipped for work. Then when the camp was formally opened on the plateau -there were one large hospital tent, capable of accommodating forty -persons, four smaller tents to give aid to twenty persons each, and four -still smaller ones which will hold ten patients each. Then Miss Barton -organized a house-to-house canvass by her corps of doctors, and began to -show results almost immediately. - -The first part of the district visited was Kernsville. There great want -and much suffering were discovered and promptly relieved. Miss Barton -says that in most of the houses which were visited were several persons -suffering from nervous prostration in the most aggravated form, many -cases of temporary insanity being discovered, which, if neglected, would -assume chronic conditions. There were a large number of persons, too, -who were bruised by their battling on the borders of the flood, and were -either ignorant or too broken-spirited to endeavor to aid themselves in -any particular. The majority of these were not sufficiently seriously -hurt to require removal from their homes to the camp, and so were given -medicines and practical, intelligent advice how to use them. - -There were fifteen persons, however, who were removed from Kernsville -and from a district known as the Brewery, on the extreme east of -Johnstown. Three of the number were women and were sadly bruised. One -man, Caspar Walthaman, a German operative at the Cambria Iron Works, was -the most interesting of all. He lived in a little frame house within -fifty yards of the brewery. When the flood came his house was lifted -from its foundations and was tossed about like a feather in a gale, -until it reached a spot about on a line with Washington Street. There -the man's life was saved by a great drift, which completely surrounded -the house, and which forced the structure against the Prospect Hill -shore, where the shock wrecked it. Walthaman was sent flying through the -air, and landed on his right side on the water-soaked turf. Fortunately -the turf was soft and springy with the moisture, and Walthaman had -enough consciousness left to crawl up the hillside, and then sank into -unconsciousness. - -At ten o'clock Saturday morning some friends found him. He was taken to -their home in Kernsville. He was scarcely conscious when found, and -before he had been in a place of safety an hour he had lost his mind, -the reaction was so great. His hair had turned quite white, and the -places where before the disaster his hair had been most abundant, on the -sides of his head, were completely denuded of it. His scalp was as -smooth as an apple-cheek. The physicians who removed him to the Red -Cross Hospital declared the case as the most extraordinary one resulting -from fright that had ever come under their observation. Miss Barton -declares her belief that not one of the persons who are now under -treatment is seriously injured, and is confident they will recover in a -few days. - -Her staff was reinforced by Mrs. and Dr. Gardner, of Bedford, who, -during the last great Western floods, rendered most excellent assistance -to the sufferers. Both are members of the Relief Association. The squad -of physicians and nurses was further added to by more from -Philadelphia, and then Miss Barton thought she was prepared to cope with -anything in the way of sickness which might arise. - -The appearance of the tents and the surroundings are exceedingly -inviting. Everything is exquisitely neat, the boards of the tent-floors -being almost as white as the snowy linen of the cots. This contrast to -the horrible filth of the town, with its fearful stenches and its -dead-paved streets, is so invigorating that it has become a place of -refuge to all who are compelled to remain here. - -The hospital is an old rink on the Bedford pike, which has been -transformed into an inviting retreat. Upon entering the door the visitor -finds himself in a small ante-room, to one side of which is attached the -general consulting-room. On the other side, opposite the hall, is the -apothecary's department, where the prescriptions are filled as carefully -as they would be at a first-class druggist's. In the rear of the medical -department and of the general consultation-room are the wards. There are -two of them--one for males and the other for females. A long, high, -heavy curtain divides the wards, and insures as much privacy as the most -modest person would wish. Around the walls in both wards are ranged the -regulation hospital beds, with plenty of clean and comfortable -bed-clothes. - -Patients in the hospital said they couldn't be better treated if they -were paying the physician for their attendance. The trained nurses of -the Red Cross Society carefully look after the wants of the sick and -injured, and see that they get everything they wish. People who have an -abhorrence of going into these hospitals need have no fear that they -will not be well treated. - -The orphans of the flood--sadly few there are of them, for it was the -children that usually went down first, not the parents--are looked after -by the Pennsylvania Children's Aid Society, which has transferred its -headquarters for the time being from Philadelphia to this city. There -was a thriving branch of this society here before the flood, but of all -its officers and executive force two only are alive. Fearing such might -be the situation, the general officers of the society sent out on the -first available train Miss H. E. Hancock, one of the directors, and Miss -H. W. Hinckley, the Secretary. They arrived on Thursday morning, and -within thirty minutes had an office open in a little cottage just above -the water-line in the upper part of the city. Business was ready as soon -as the office, and there were about fifty children looked after before -evening. In most cases these were children with relatives or friends in -or near Johnstown, and the society's work has been to identify them and -restore them to their friends. - -As soon as the society opened its office all cases in which children -were involved were sent at once to them, and their efforts have been of -great benefit in systematizing the care of the children who are left -homeless. Besides this, there are many orphans who have been living in -the families of neighbors since the flood, but for whom permanent homes -must be found. One family has cared for one hundred and fifty-seven -children saved from the flood, and nearly as many are staying with other -families. There will be no difficulty about providing for these little -ones. The society already has offers for the taking of as many as are -likely to be in need of a home. - -The Rev. Morgan Dix, on behalf of the Leake and Watts Orphan Home in New -York, has telegraphed an offer to care for seventy-five orphans. -Pittsburg is proving itself generous in this as in all other matters -relating to the flood, and other places all over the country are -telegraphing offers of homes for the homeless. Superintendent Pierson, -of the Indianapolis Natural Gas Company, has asked for two; Cleveland -wants some; Altoona would like a few; Apollo, Pa., has vacancies the -orphans can fill, and scores of other small places are sending in -similar offers and requests. A queer thing is that many of the officers -are restricted by curious provisions as to the religious belief of the -orphans. The Rev. Dr. Griffith, for instance, of Philadelphia, says -that the Angora (Pa.) Home would like some orphans, "especially Baptist -ones," and Father Field, of Philadelphia, offers to look after a few -Episcopal waifs. - -The work of the society here has been greatly assisted by the fact that -Miss Maggie Brooks, formerly Secretary of the local society here, but -living in Philadelphia at the time of the flood, has come here to assist -the general officers. Her acquaintance with the town is invaluable. - -Johnstown is generous in its misery. Whatever it has left it gives -freely to the strangers who have come here. It is not much, but it shows -a good spirit. There are means by which Johnstown people might reap a -rich harvest by taking advantage of the necessities of strangers. It is -necessary, for instance, to use boats in getting about the place, and -men in light skiffs are poling about the streets all day taking -passengers from place to place. Their services are free. They not only -do not, but will not accept any fee. J. D. Haws & Son own large -brick-kilns near the bridge. The newspaper men have possession of one of -the firm's buildings and one of the firm spends most of his time in -running about trying to make the men comfortable. A room in one of the -firm's barns filled with straw has been set apart solely for the -newspaper men, who sleep there wrapped in blankets as comfortably as in -beds. There is no charge for this, although those who have tried one -night on the floors, sand-piles, and other usual dormitories of the -place, would willingly pay high for the use of the straw. Food for the -newspaper and telegraph workers has been hard to get except in crude -form. Canned corned beef, eaten with a stick for a fork, and dry -crackers were the staples up to Tuesday, when a house up the hill was -discovered where anybody who came was welcome to the best the house -afforded. There was no sugar for the coffee, no vinegar for the lettuce, -and the apple butter ran out before the siege was raised, but the defect -was in the circumstances of Johnstown, and not in the will of the -family. - -"How much?" was asked at the end of the meal. - -They were poor people. The man probably earns a dollar a day. - -"Oh!" replied the woman, who was herself cook, waiter, and lady of the -house, "we don't charge anything in times like these. You see, I went -out and spent ten dollars for groceries at a place that wasn't washed -away right after the flood, and we've been living on that ever since. Of -course we don't ask any of the relief, not being washed out. You men are -welcome to all I can give." - -She had seen the last of her ten dollars worth of provisions gobbled up -without a murmur, and yet didn't "charge anything in times like these." -Her scruples did not, however, extend so far as to refusing tenders of -coin, inasmuch as without it her larder would stay empty. She filled it -up last night, and the news of the place having spread, she has been -getting a continual meal from five in the morning until late at night. -Although she makes no charge, her income would make a regular restaurant -keeper dizzy. - -So far as the Signal Service is concerned, the amount of rainfall in the -region drained by the Conemaugh River cannot be ascertained. Mrs. H. M. -Ogle, who had been the Signal Service representative in Johnstown for -several years and also manager of the Western Union office there, -telegraphed at eight o'clock Friday morning to Pittsburg that the river -marked fourteen feet, rising; a rise of thirteen feet in twenty-four -hours. At eleven o'clock she wired: "River twenty feet and rising, -higher than ever before; water in first floor. Have moved to second. -River gauges carried away. Rainfall, two and three-tenth inches." At -twenty-seven minutes to one P. M. Mrs. Ogle wired: "At this hour north -wind; very cloudy; water still rising." - -Nothing more was heard from her by the bureau, but at the Western Union -office at Pittsburg later in the afternoon she commenced to tell an -operator that the dam had broken, that a flood was coming, and before -she had finished the conversation a singular click of the instrument -announced the breaking of the current. A moment afterward the current of -her life was broken forever. - -Sergeant Stewart, in charge of the Pittsburg bureau, says that the fall -of water on the Conemaugh shed at Johnstown up to the time of the flood -was probably two and five-tenth inches. He believes it was much heavier -in the mountains. The country drained by the little Conemaugh and Stony -Creek covers an area of about one hundred square miles. The bureau, -figuring on this basis and two and five-tenth inches of rainfall, finds -that four hundred and sixty-four million six hundred and forty thousand -cubic feet of water was precipitated toward Johnstown in its last hours. -This is independent of the great volume of water in the lake, which was -not less than two hundred and fifty million cubic feet. - -It is therefore easily seen that there was ample water to cover the -Conemaugh Valley to the depth of from ten to twenty-five feet. Such a -volume of water was never known to fall in that country in the same -time. - -Colonel T. P. Roberts, a leading engineer, estimates that the lake -drained twenty-five square miles, and gives some interesting data on the -probable amount of water it contained. He says: "The dam, as I -understand, was from hill to hill, about one thousand feet long and -about eighty-five feet high at the highest point. The pond covered above -seven hundred acres, at least for the present I will assume that to be -the case. We are told also that there was a waste-weir at one end -seventy-five feet wide and ten feet below the comb or top of the dam. -Now we are told that with this weir open and discharging freely to the -utmost of its capacity, nevertheless the pond or lake rose ten inches -per hour until finally it overflowed the top, and, as I understand, the -dam broke by being eaten away at the top. - -"Thus we have the elements for very simple calculation as to the amount -of water precipitated by the flood, provided these premises are -accurate. To raise seven hundred acres of water to a height of ten feet -would require about three hundred million cubic feet of water, and while -this was rising the waste-weir would discharge an enormous volume--it -would be difficult to say just how much without a full knowledge of the -shape of its side-walls, approaches, and outlets--but if the rise -required ten hours the waste-weir might have discharged perhaps ninety -million cubic feet. We would then have a total of flood water of three -hundred and ninety million cubic feet. This would indicate a rainfall of -about eight inches over the twenty-five square miles. As that much does -not appear to have fallen at the hotel and dam it is more than likely -that even more than eight inches was precipitated in places farther up. -These figures I hold tentatively, but I am much inclined to believe that -there was a cloud burst." - -Of course, the Johnstown disaster, great as it was, was by no means the -greatest flood in history, since Noah's Deluge. The greatest of modern -floods was that which resulted from the overflow of the great Hoang-Ho, -or Yellow River, in 1887. This river, which has earned the title of -"China's Sorrow," has always been the cause of great anxiety to the -Chinese Government and to the inhabitants of the country through which -it flows. It is guarded with the utmost care at great expense, and -annually vast sums are spent in repairs of its banks. In October, 1887, -a number of serious breaches occurred in the river's banks about three -hundred miles from the coast. As a result the river deserted its natural -bed and spread over a thickly-populated plain, forcing for itself -finally an entire new road to the sea. Four or five times in two -thousand years the great river had changed its bed, and each time the -change had entailed great loss of life and property. - -In 1852 it burst through its banks two hundred and fifty miles from the -sea and cut a new bed through the northern part of Shaptung into the -Gulf of Pechili. The isolation in which foreigners lived at that time in -China prevented their obtaining any information as to the calamitous -results of this change, but in 1887 many of the barriers against -foreigners had been removed and a general idea of the character of the -inundation was easily obtainable. - -For several weeks preceding the actual overflow of its banks the -Hoang-Ho had been swollen from its tributaries. It had been unusually -wet and stormy in northwest China, and all the small streams were full -and overflowing. The first break occurred in the province of Honan, of -which the capital is Kaifeng, and the city next in importance is Ching -or Cheng Chou. The latter is forty miles west of Kaifeng and a short -distance above a bend in the Hoang-Ho. At this bend the stream is borne -violently against the south shore. For ten days a continuous rain had -been soaking the embankments, and a strong wind increased the already -great force of the current. Finally a breach was made. At first it -extended only for a hundred yards. The guards made frantic efforts to -close the gap, and were assisted by the frightened people in the -vicinity. But the breach grew rapidly to a width of twelve hundred -yards, and through this the river rushed with awful force. Leaping over -the plain with incredible velocity, the water merged into a small stream -called the Lu-chia. Down the valley of the Lu-chia the torrent poured -in an easterly direction, overwhelming everything in its path. - -Twenty miles from Cheng Chou it encountered Chungmou, a walled city of -the third rank. Its thousands of inhabitants were attending to their -usual pursuits. There was no telegraph to warn them, and the first -intimation of disaster came with the muddy torrent that rolled down upon -them. Within a short time only the tops of the high walls marked where a -flourishing city had been. Three hundred villages in the district -disappeared utterly, and the lands about three hundred other villages -were inundated. - -The flood turned south from Chungmou, still keeping to the course of the -Lu-chia, and stretched out in width for thirty miles. This vast body of -water was from ten to twenty feet deep. Several miles south of Kaifeng -the flood struck a large river which there joins the Lu-chia. The result -was that the flood rose to a still greater height, and, pouring into a -low-lying and very fertile plain which was densely populated, submerged -upward of one thousand five hundred villages. - -Not far beyond this locality the flood passed into the province of -Anhui, where it spread very widely. The actual loss of life could not be -computed accurately, but the lowest intelligent estimate placed it at -one million five hundred thousand, and one authority fixed it at seven -million. Two million people were rendered destitute by the flood, and -the suffering that resulted was frightful. Four months later the -inundated provinces were still under the muddy waters. The government -officials who were on guard when the Hoang-Ho broke its banks were -condemned to severe punishment, and were placed in the pillory in spite -of their pleadings that they had done their best to avert the disaster. - -The inundation which may be classed as the second greatest in modern -history occurred in Holland in 1530. There have been many floods in -Holland, nearly all due to the failure of the dikes which form the only -barrier between it and the sea. In 1530 there was a general failure of -the dikes, and the sea poured in upon the low lands. The people were as -unprepared as were the victims of the Johnstown disaster. Good -authorities place the number of human beings that perished in this flood -at about four hundred thousand, and the destruction of property was in -proportion. - -[Illustration: LAST TRAINS IN AND OUT OF HARRISBURG.] - -In April, 1421, the River Meuse broke in the dikes at Dort, or -Dordrecht, an ancient town in the peninsula of South Holland, situated -on an island. Ten thousand persons perished there and more than one -hundred thousand in the vicinity. In January, 1861, there was a -disastrous flood in Holland, the area sweeping over forty thousand -acres, and leaving thirty thousand villages destitute, and again in 1876 -severe losses resulted from inundations in this country. - -The first flood in Europe of which history gives any authentic account -occurred in Lincolnshire, England, A. D. 245, when the sea passed over -many thousands of acres. In the year 353 a flood in Cheshire destroyed -three thousand human lives and many cattle. Four hundred families were -drowned in Glasgow by an overflow of the Clyde in 758. A number of -English seaport towns were destroyed by an inundation in 1014. In 1483 a -terrible overflow of the Severn, which came at night and lasted for ten -days, covered the tops of mountains. Men, women, and children were -carried from their beds and drowned. The waters settled on the lands and -were called for one hundred years after the Great Waters. - -A flood in Catalonia, a province of Spain, occurred in 1617, and fifty -thousand persons lost their lives. One of the most curious inundations -in history, and one that was looked upon at the time as a miracle, -occurred in Yorkshire, England, in 1686. A large rock was split assunder -by some hidden force, and water spouted out, the stream reaching as high -as a church steeple. In 1771 another flood, known as the Ripon flood, -occurred in the same province. - -In September, 1687, mountain torrents inundated Navarre, and two -thousand persons were drowned. Twice, in 1787 and in 1802, the Irish -Liffey overran its banks and caused great damage. A reservoir in Lurca, -a city of Spain, burst in 1802, in much the same way as did the dam at -Johnstown, and as a result one thousand persons perished. Twenty-four -villages near Presburg, and nearly all their inhabitants, were swept -away in April, 1811, by an overflow of the Danube. Two years later large -provinces in Austria and Poland were flooded, and many lives were lost. -In the same year a force of two thousand Turkish soldiers, who were -stationed on a small island near Widdin, were surprised by a sudden -overflow of the Danube and all were drowned. There were two more floods -in this year, one in Silesia, where six thousand persons perished, and -the French army met such losses and privations that its ruin was -accelerated; and another in Poland, where four thousand persons were -supposed to have been drowned. In 1816 the melting of the snow on the -mountains surrounding Strabane, Ireland, caused destructive floods, and -the overflow of the Vistula in Germany laid many villages under water. -Floods that occasioned great suffering occurred in 1829, when severe -rains caused the Spey and Findhorn to rise fifty feet above their -ordinary level. The following year the Danube again overflowed its -banks and inundated the houses of fifty thousand inhabitants of Vienna. -The Saone overflowed in 1840, and poured its turbulent waters into the -Rhine, causing a flood which covered sixty thousand acres. Lyons was -flooded, one hundred houses were swept away at Avignon, two hundred and -eighteen at La Guillotiere, and three hundred at Vaise, Marseilles, and -Nimes. Another great flood, entailing much suffering, occurred in the -south of France in 1856. - -A flood in Mill River valley in 1874 was caused by the bursting of a -badly constructed dam. The waters poured down upon the villages in the -valley much as at Johnstown, but the people received warning in time, -and the torrent was not so swift. Several villages were destroyed and -one hundred and forty-four persons drowned. The rising of the Garonne in -1875 caused the death of one thousand persons near Toulouse, and twenty -thousand persons were made homeless in India by floods in the same year. -In 1882 heavy floods destroyed a large amount of property and drowned -many persons in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. - -The awful disaster in the Conemaugh Valley calls attention to the fact -that there are many similar dams throughout the United States. Though -few of these overhang a narrow gorge like the one in which the borough -of Johnstown reposed, there is no question that several of the dams now -deemed safe would, if broken down by a sudden freshet, sweep down upon -peaceful hamlets, cause immense damage to property and loss of life. The -lesson taught by the awful scenes at Johnstown should not go unheeded. - -Croton Lake Dam was first built with ninety feet of masonry overfall, -the rest being earth embankment. On January 7th, 1841, a freshet carried -away this earth embankment, and when rebuilt the overfall of the dam was -made two hundred and seventy feet long. The foundation is two lines of -cribs, filled with dry stone, and ten feet of concrete between. Upon -this broken range stone masonry was laid, the down-stream side being -curved and faced with granite, the whole being backed with a packing of -earth. The dam is forty feet high, its top is one hundred and sixty-six -feet above tidewater, and it controls a reservoir area of four hundred -acres and five hundred million gallons of water. The Boyd's Corner Dam -holds two million seven hundred and twenty-seven thousand gallons, and -was built during the years 1866 and 1872. It stands twenty-three miles -from Croton dam, and has cut-stone faces filled between with concrete. -The extreme height is seventy-eight feet, and it is six hundred and -seventy feet long. Although this dam holds a body of water five times -greater than that at Croton Lake, it is claimed by engineers that -should it give way the deluge of water which would follow would cause -very little loss of life and only destroy farming lands, as below it the -country is comparatively level and open. Middle Branch Dam holds four -billion four hundred thousand gallons, and was built during 1874 and -1878. It is composed of earth, with a centre of rubble masonry carried -down to the rock bottom. It is also considered to be in no danger of -causing destruction by sudden breakage, as the downpour of water would -spread out over a large area of level land. Besides these there are -other Croton water storage basins formed by dams as follows: East -Branch, with a capacity of 4,500,000,000 gallons; Lake Mahopac, -575,000,000 gallons; Lake Kirk, 565,000,000 gallons; Lake Gleneida, -165,000,000 gallons; Lake Gilead, 380,000,000 gallons; Lake Waccabec, -200,000,000 gallons; Lake Lonetta, 50,000,000 gallons; Barrett's ponds, -170,000,000 gallons; China pond, 105,000,000 gallons; White pond, -100,000,000 gallons; Pines pond, 75,000,000 gallons; Long pond, -60,000,000 gallons; Peach pond, 230,000,000 gallons; Cross pond, -110,000,000 gallons, and Haines pond, 125,000,000 gallons, thus -completing the storage capacity of the Croton water system of -14,000,000,000 gallons. The engineers claim that none of these -last-named could cause loss of life or any great damage to property, -because there exist abundant natural outlets. - -At Whitehall, N. G., there is a reservoir created by a dam three hundred -and twenty feet long across a valley half a mile from the village and -two hundred and sixty-six feet above it. A break in this dam would -release nearly six million gallons, and probably sweep away the entire -town. Norwich, N. Y., is supplied by an earthwork dam, with centre -puddle-wall, three hundred and twenty-three feet long and forty feet -high. It imprisons thirty million gallons and stands one hundred and -eighty feet above the village. At an elevation of two hundred and fifty -feet above the town of Olean N. Y., stands an embankment holding in -check two million, five hundred thousand gallons. Oneida, N. Y., is -supplied by a reservoir formed by a dam across a stream which controls -twenty-two million, three hundred and fifty thousand gallons. The dam is -nearly three miles from the village and at an altitude of one hundred -and ninety feet above it. Such are some of the reservoirs which threaten -other communities of our fair land. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - - -It is now the Thursday after the disaster, and amid the ruins of -Johnstown people are beginning to get their wits together. They have -quit the aimless wandering about amid the ruins, that marked them for a -crushed and despairing people. Everybody is getting to work and -forgetting something of the horror of the situation in the necessity of -thinking of what they are doing. The deadly silence that has prevailed -throughout the town is ended, giving place to the shouts of hundreds of -men pulling at ropes, and the crash of timbers and roofs as they pull -wrecked buildings down or haul heaps of debris to pieces. Hundreds more -are making an almost merry clang with pick and shovel as they clear away -mud and gravel, opening ways on the lines of the old streets. -Locomotives are puffing about, down into the heart of the town now, and -the great whistle at the Cambria Iron Works blew for noon yesterday and -to-day for the first time since the flood silenced it. To lighten the -sombre aspect of the ruined area, heightened by the cold gray clouds -hanging low about the hills, were acres of flame, where debris is being -got rid of. Down in what was the heart of the city the soldiers have -gone into camp, and little flags snap brightly in the high wind from -their acres of white tents. - -The relief work seems now to be pretty thoroughly organized, and -thousands of men are at work under the direction of the committee. The -men are in gangs of about a hundred each, under foremen, with mounted -superintendents riding about overseeing the work. - -The first effort, aside from that being made upon the gorge at the -bridge, is in the upper part of the city and in Stony Creek Gap, where -there are many houses with great heaps of debris covering and -surrounding them. Three or four hundred men were set at work with ropes, -chains, and axes upon each of these heaps, tearing it to pieces as -rapidly as possible. Where there are only smashed houses and furniture -in the heap the work is easy, but when, as in most instances, there are -long logs and tree-trunks reaching in every direction through the mass, -the task of getting them out is a slow and difficult one. The lighter -parts of the wreck are tossed into heaps in the nearest clear space and -set on fire. Horses haul the logs and heavier pieces off to add them to -other blazing piles. Everything of any value is carefully laid aside, -but there is little of it. Even the strongest furniture is generally in -little bits when found, but in one heap this morning were found two -mirrors, one about six feet by eight in size, without a crack in it, and -with its frame little damaged; the other one, about two feet by three in -size, had a little crack at the bottom, but was otherwise all right. - -Every once in a while the workmen about these wreck-heaps will stop -their shouting and straining at the ropes, gather into a crowd at some -one spot in the ruins, and remain idle and quiet for a little while. -Presently the group will stir itself a little, fall apart, and out of it -will come six men bearing between them on a door or other improvised -stretcher a vague form covered with a canvas blanket. The bearers go off -along the irregular paths worn into the muddy plain, toward the -different morgues, and the men go to work again. - -These little groups of six, with the burden between them, are as -frequent as ever. One runs across them everywhere about the place. -Sometimes they come so thick that they have to form in line at the -morgue doors. The activity with which work was prosecuted brought -rapidly to light the dark places within the ruins in which remained -concealed those bodies that the previous desultory searching had not -brought to light. Many of the disclosures might almost better have never -seen the light, so heart-rending were they. A mother lay with three -children clasped in her arms. So suddenly had the visitation come upon -them that the little ones had plainly been snatched up while at play, -for one held a doll clutched tightly in its dead hand, and in one hand -of another were three marbles. This was right opposite the First -National Bank building, in the heart of the city, and near the same spot -a family of five--father, mother, and three children--were found dead -together. Not far off a roof was lifted up, and dropped again in horror -at the sight of nine bodies beneath it. There were more bodies, or -fragments of bodies, found, too, in the gorge at the bridge, and from -the Cambria Iron Works the ghastly burden-bearers began to come in with -the first contributions of that locality to the death list. The passage -of time is also bringing to the surface bodies that have been lying -beneath the river further down, and from Nineveh bodies are continually -being sent up to Morrellville, just below the iron works, for -identification. - -Wandering about near the ruins of Wood, Morrell & Co.'s store a -messenger from Morrellville found a man who looked like the pictures of -the Tennessee mountaineers in the _Century Magazine_, with an addition -of woe and misery upon his gaunt, hairy face that no picture could ever -indicate. He was tall and thin, and bent, and, from his appearance, -abjectly poor. He was telling two strangers how he had lived right -across from the store, with his wife and eight children. When the high -water came and word was brought that the dam was in danger, he told his -wife to get the children together and come with him. The water was deep -in the streets, and the passage to the bluff would have been difficult. -She laughed at him and told him the dam was all right. He urged her, -ordered her, and did everything else but pick her up bodily and carry -her out, but she would not come. Finally he set the example and dashed -out, himself, through the water, calling to his wife to follow. As his -feet began to touch rising ground, he saw the wall of water coming down -the valley. He climbed in blind terror up the bank, helped by the rising -water, and, reaching solid ground, turned just in time to see the water -strike his house. - -"When I turned my back," he said, "I couldn't look any longer." - -Tears ran down his face as he said this. The messenger coming up just -then said:-- - -"Your wife has been found. They got her down at Nineveh. Her brother has -gone to fetch her up." - -The man went away with the messenger. - -"He didn't seem much rejoiced over the good news about his wife," -remarked one of the strangers, who had yet to learn that Johnstown -people speak of death and the dead only indirectly whenever possible. - -It was the wife's body, not the wife, that had been found, and that the -messenger was to fetch up. The bodies of this man's eight children have -not yet been found. He is the only survivor of a family of ten. - -Queer salvage from the flood was a cat that was taken out alive last -evening. Its hair was singed off and one eye gone, but it was able to -lick the hand of the man who picked it up and carried it off to keep, he -said, as a relic of the flood. A white Wyandotte rooster and two hens -were also dug out alive, and with dry feathers, from the centre of a -heap of wrecked buildings. - -The work of clearing up the site of the town has progressed so far that -the outlines of some of the old streets could be faintly traced, and -citizens were going about hunting up their lots. In many cases it was a -difficult task, but enough old landmarks are left to make the -determination of boundary lines by a new survey a comparatively easy -matter. - -The scenes in the morgues are disgusting in the highest degree. The -embalmers are at work cutting and slashing with an apathy born of four -days and nights of the work, and such as they never experienced before. -The boards on which the bodies lie are covered with mud and slime, in -many instances. - -Men with dynamite, blowing up the drift at the Pennsylvania Railroad -bridge, people in the drift watching for bodies, people finding bodies -in the ruins and carrying them away on stretchers or sheets, the -bonfires of blazing debris all over the town, the soldiers with their -bayonets guarding property or taking thieves into custody, the -tin-starred policemen with their base ball clubs promenading the streets -and around the ruins, the scenes of distress and frenzy at the relief -stations, the crash of buildings as their broken remnants fall to the -ground--this is the scene that goes on night and day in Johnstown, and -will go on for an indefinite time. Still, people have worked so in the -midst of such excitement, with the pressure of such an awful horror on -their minds that they can get but little rest even when they wish to. -Men in this town are too tired to sleep. They lie down with throbbing -brains that cannot stop throbbing, so that even the sense of thinking is -intense agony. - -The undertakers and embalmers claim that they are the busiest men in -town, and that they have done more to help the city than any other -workmen. The people who attend the morgues for the purpose of -identifying their friends and relatives are hardly as numerous as -before. Many of them are exhausted with the constant wear and tear, and -many have about made up their minds that their friends are lost beyond -recovery, and that there is no use looking for them any longer. Others -have gone to distant parts of the State, and have abandoned Johnstown -and all in it. - -A little girl in a poor calico dress climbed upon the fence at the Adams -Street morgue and looked wistfully at the row of coffins in the yard. -People were only admitted to the morgue in squads of ten each, and the -little girl's turn had not come yet. Her name was Jennie Hoffman. She -was twelve years old. She told a reporter that out of her family of -fourteen the father and mother and oldest sister were lost. They were -all in their home on Somerset Street when the flood came. The father -reached out for a tree which went sweeping by, and was pulled out of the -window and lost. The mother and children got upon the roof, and then a -dash of water carried her and the eldest daughter off. A colored man on -an adjoining house took off the little girls who were left--all of them -under twelve years of age, except Jennie--and together they clambered -over the roofs of the houses near by and escaped. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - - -Day after day the work of reparation goes on. The city has been blotted -out. Yet the reeking ruins that mark its site are teeming with life and -work more vigorous than ever marked its noisy streets and panting -factories. As men and money pour into Johnstown the spirit of the town -greatly revives, and the people begin to take a much more favorable view -of things. The one thing that is troubling people just now is the lack -of ready money. There are drafts here in any quantity, but there is no -money to cash them until the money in the vaults of the First National -Bank has been recovered. It is known that the vaults are safe and that -about $500,000 in cash is there. Of this sum $125,000 belongs to the -Cambria Iron Company. It was to pay the five thousand employes of the -works. The men are paid off every two weeks, and the last pay-day was to -have been on the Saturday after the fatal flood. The money was brought -down to Johnstown, on the day before the flood, by the Adams Express -Company, and deposited in the bank. After the water subsided, and it was -discovered that the money was safe, a guard was placed around the bank -and has been maintained ever since. - -When the pay-day of the Cambria Iron Company does come it will be an -impressive scene. The only thing comparable to it will be the roll-call -after a great battle. Mothers, wives, and children will be there to -claim the wages of sons, and husbands, and fathers. The men in the -gloomy line will have few families to take their wages home to. The -Cambria people do not propose to stand on any red-tape rules about -paying the wages of their dead employes to the surviving friends and -relatives. They will only try to make reasonably sure that they are -paying the money to the right persons. - -An assistant cashier, Thomas McGee, in the company's store saved $12,000 -of the company's funds. The money was all in packages of bills in bags -in the safe on the ground floor of the main building of the stores. When -the water began to rise he went up on the second floor of the building, -carrying the money with him. When the crash of the reservoir torrent -came Mr. McGee clambered upon the roof, and just before the building -tottered and fell he managed to jump on the roof of a house that went -by. The house was swept near the bank. Mr. McGee jumped off and fell -into the water, but struck out and managed to clamber up the bank. Then -he got up on the hills and remained out all night guarding his treasure. - -[Illustration: COLUMBIA, PA., UNDER THE FLOOD.] - -At dawn of Thursday the stillness of the night, which had been punctured -frequently by the pistol and musket shots of vigilant guards scaring off -possible marauders, was permanently fractured by the arousing of gangs -of laborers who had slept about wherever they could find a soft spot in -the ruins, as well as in tents set up in the centre of where the town -used to be. The soldiers in their camps were seen about later, and the -railroad gang of several hundred men set out up the track toward where -they had left off work the night before. Breakfast was cooked at -hundreds of camp-fires, and about brick-kilns, and wherever else a fire -could be got. At seven o'clock five thousand laborers struck pick and -shovel and saw into the square miles of debris heaped over the city's -site. At the same time more laborers began to arrive on trains and march -through the streets in long gangs toward the place where they were -needed. Those whose work was to be pulling and hauling trailed along in -lines, holding to their ropes. They looked like gangs of slaves being -driven to a market. By the time the forenoon was well under way, seven -thousand laborers were at work in the city under the direction of one -hundred foremen. There were five hundred cars and as many teams, and -half a dozen portable hoisting engines, besides regular locomotives and -trains of flat cars that were used in hauling off debris that could not -be burned. With this force of men and appliances at work the ruined -city, looked at from the bluffs, seemed to fairly swarm with life, -wherever the flood had left anything to be removed. The whole lower part -of the city, except just above the bridge, remained the deserted mud -desert that the waters left. There was no cleaning up necessary there. -Through the upper part of the city, where the houses were simply smashed -to kindling wood and piled into heaps, but not ground to pieces under -the whirlpool that bore down on the rest of the city, acres of bonfires -have burned all day. The stifling smoke, blown by a high wind, has made -life almost unendurable, and the flames have twirled about so fiercely -in the gusts as to scorch the workmen some distance away. Citizens whose -houses were not damaged beyond salvation have almost got to work in -clearing out their homes and trying to make them somewhere near -habitable. In the poorer parts of the city often one story and a half -frame cottages are seen completely surrounded by heaps of debris tossed -up high above their roofs. Narrow lanes driven through the debris have -given the owners entrance to their homes. - -With all the work the apparent progress was small. A stranger seeing the -place for the first time would never imagine that the wreck was not just -as the flood left it. The enormity of the task of clearing the place -grows more apparent the more the work is prosecuted, and with the force -now at work the job cannot be done in less than a month. It will hardly -be possible to find room for any larger force. - -The railroads added largely to the bustle of the place. Long freight -trains, loaded with food and clothing for the suffering, were -continually coming in faster than they could be unloaded. Lumber was -also arriving in great quantities, and hay and feed for the horses was -heaped up high alongside the tracks. Hundreds of men were swarming over -the road-bed near the Pennsylvania station, strengthening and improving -the line. Work was begun on frame sheds and other temporary buildings in -several places, and the rattle of hammers added its din to the shouts of -the workmen and the crash of falling wreckage. - -Some sort of organization is being introduced into other things about -the city than the clearing away of the debris. The Post-office is -established in a small brick building in the upper part of the city. -Those of the letter carriers who are alive, and a few clerks, are the -working force. The reception of mail consists of one damaged street -letter-box set upon a box in front of the building and guarded by a -carrier, who has also to see that there is no crowding in the long lines -of people waiting to get their turn at the two windows where letters and -stamps are served out. A wide board, stood up on end, is lettered -rudely, "Post-office Bulletin," and beneath is a slip of paper with the -information that a mail will leave the city for the West during the day, -and that no mail has been received. There are many touching things in -these Post-office lines. It is a good place for acquaintances who lived -in different parts of the city to find out whether each is alive or -dead. - -"You are through all right, I see," said one man in the line to an -acquaintance who came up this morning. - -"Yes," said the acquaintance. - -"And how's your folks? They all right, too?" was the next question. - -"Two of them are--them two little ones sitting on the steps there. The -mother and the other three have gone down." - -Such conversations as this take place every few minutes. Near the -Post-office is the morgue for that part of the city, and other lines of -waiting people reach out from there, anxious for a glimpse at the -contents of the twenty-five coffins ranged in lines in front of the -school-building, that does duty for a dead-house. Only those who have -business are admitted, but the number is never a small one. Each walks -along the lines of coffins, raises the cover over the face, glances in, -drops the cover quickly, and passes on. Men bearing ghastly burdens on -stretchers pass frequently into the school-house, where the undertakers -prepare the bodies for identification. - -A little farther along is the relief headquarters for that part of the -city, and the streets there are packed all day long with women and -children with baskets on their arms. So great is the demand that the -people have to stand in line for an hour to get their turn. A large -unfinished building is turned into a storehouse for clothing, and the -people throng into it empty-handed and come out with arms full of -underclothing and other wearing apparel. At another building the -sanitary bureau is serving out disinfectants. - -The workmen upon the debris in what was the heart of the city have now -reached well into the ruins and are getting to where the valuable -contents of jewelry and other stores may be expected to be found, and -strict watch is being kept to prevent the theft of any such articles by -the workmen or others. In the ruins of the Wood, Morrell & Co. general -store a large amount of goods, chiefly provisions and household -utensils, has been found in fairly good order. It is piled in a heap as -fast as gotten out, and the building is being pulled down. - -About the worst heap of wreckage in the centre of the city is where the -Cambria Library building stood, opposite the general store. This was a -very substantial and handsome building and offered much obstruction to -the flood. It was completely destroyed, but upon its site a mass of -trees, logs, heavy beams, and other wreckage was left, knotted together -into a mass only extricable by the use of the ax and saw. Two hundred -men have worked at it for three days and it is not half removed yet. - -The Cambria Iron Company have several acres of gravel and clay to remove -from the upper end of its yard. Except for an occasional corner of some -big iron machine that projects above the surface no one would ever -suspect that it was not the original earth. In one place a freight car -brake-wheel lies just on the surface of the ground, apparently dropped -there loosely. Any one who tries to kick it aside or pick it up finds -that it is still attached to its car, which is buried under a solid mass -of gravel and broken rock. Several lanes have been dug through this mass -down to the old railroad tracks, and two or three of the little yard -engines of the iron company, resurrected with smashed smoke-stacks and -other light damage, but workable yet, go puffing about hardly visible -above the general level of the new-made ground. - -The progress of the work upon the black and still smoking mass of -charred ruins above the bridge is hardly perceptible. There is clear -water for about one hundred feet back from the central arch, and a -little opening before the two on each side of it. When there is a -good-sized hole made before all three of these arches, through which the -bulk of the water runs, it is expected that the stuff can be pulled -apart and set afloat much more rapidly. Dynamiter Kirk, who is -overseeing the work, used up the last one hundred pounds of the -explosive early this afternoon, and had to suspend operations until the -arrival of two hundred pounds more that was on the way from Pittsburgh. -The dynamite has been used in small doses for fear of damaging the -bridge. Six pounds was the heaviest charge used. Even with this the -stone beneath the arches of the bridge is charred and crumbling in -places, and some pieces have been blown out of the heavy coping. The -whole structure shakes as though with an earthquake at every discharge. - -The dynamite is placed in holes drilled in logs matted into the surface -of the raft, and its effect being downward, the greatest force of the -explosion is upon the mass of stuff beneath the water. At the same time -each charge sent up into the air, one hundred feet or more, a fountain -of dirt, stones, and blackened fragments of logs, many of them large -enough to be dangerous. The rattling crash of their fall upon the bridge -follows hard after the heavy boom of the explosion. One of the worst and -most unexpected objects with which the men on the raft have to contend -is the presence in it of hundreds of miles of telegraph wire wound -around almost everything there and binding the whole mass together. - -No bodies have yet been brought to the surface by the operations with -dynamite, but indications of several buried beneath the surface are -evident. A short distance back from where the men are not at work, -bodies continue to be taken out from the surface of the raft at the rate -of ten or a dozen a day. The men this afternoon came across hundreds of -feet of polished copper pipe, which is said to have come from a Pullman -car. It was not known until then that there was a Pullman car in that -part of the raft. The remnants of a vestibule car are plainly seen at a -point a hundred feet away from this. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - - -The first thing that Johnstown people do in the morning is to go to the -relief stations and get something to eat. They go carrying big baskets, -and their endeavor is to get all they can. There has been a new system -every day about the manner of dispensing the food and clothing to the -sufferers. At first the supplies were placed where people could help -themselves. Then they were placed in yards and handed to people over the -fences. Then people had to get orders for what they wanted from the -Citizens Committee, and their orders were filled at the different relief -stations. Now the whole matter of receiving and dispensing relief -supplies has been placed in the hands of the Grand Army of the Republic -men. Thomas A. Stewart, commander of the Department of Pennsylvania, G. -A. R., arrived with his staff and established his headquarters in a tent -near the headquarters of the Citizens Committee, and opposite the -temporary post-office. Over this tent floats Commander Stewart's flag, -with purple border, bearing the arms of the State of Pennsylvania. The -members of his staff are: Quartermaster-General Tobin Taylor and his -assistant H. J. Williams, Chaplain John W. Sayres, and W. V. Lawrence, -quartermaster-general of the Ohio Department. The Grand Army men have -made the Adams Street relief station a central relief station, and all -the others, at Kernville, the Pennsylvania depot, Cambria City, and -Jackson and Somerset Street, sub-stations. The idea is to distribute -supplies to the sub-stations from the central station, and thus avoid -the jam of crying and excited people at the committee's headquarters. - -The Grand Army men have appointed a committee of women to assist them in -their work. The women go from house to house, ascertaining the number of -people quartered there, the number of people lost from there in the -flood, and the exact needs of the people. It was found necessary to have -some such committee as this, for there were women actually starving, who -were too proud to take their places in line with the other women with -bags and baskets. Some of these people were rich before the flood. Now -they are not worth a dollar. A _Sun_ reporter was told of one man who -was reported to be worth $100,000 before the flood, but who now is -penniless, and who has to take his place in the line along with others -seeking the necessaries of life. - -Though the Adams Street station is now the central relief station, the -most imposing display of supplies is made at the Pennsylvania Railroad -freight and passenger depots. Here, on the platforms and in the yards, -are piled up barrels of flour in long rows, three and four barrels high; -biscuits in cans and boxes, where car-loads of them have been dumped; -crackers, under the railroad sheds in bins; hams, by the hundred, strung -on poles; boxes of soap and candles, barrels of kerosene oil, stacks of -canned goods, and things to eat of all sorts and kinds. The same is -visible at the Baltimore and Ohio road, and there is now no fear of a -food famine in Johnstown, though of course everybody will have to rough -it for weeks. What is needed most in this line is cooking utensils. -Johnstown people want stoves, kettles, pans, knives, and forks. All the -things that have been sent so far have been sent with the evident idea -of supplying an instant need, and that is right and proper, but it would -be well now, if, instead of some of the provisions that are sent, -cooking utensils would arrive. Fifty stoves arrived from Pittsburgh this -morning, and it is said that more are coming. - -At both the depots where the supplies are received and stored a big -rope-line incloses them in an impromptu yard, so as to give room to -those having them in charge to walk around and see what they have got. -On the inside of this line, too, stalk back and forth the soldiers, with -their rifles on their shoulders, and, beside the lines pressing against -the ropes, there stands every day, from daylight until dawn, a crowd of -women with big baskets, who make piteous appeals to the soldiers to give -them food for their children at once, before the order of the relief -committee. Those to whom supplies are dealt out at the stations have to -approach in a line, and this line is fringed with soldiers, Pittsburgh -policemen, and deputy sheriffs, who see that the children and weak women -are not crowded out of their places by the stronger ones. The supplies -are not given in large quantities, but the applicants are told to come -again in a day or so and more will be given them. The women complain -against this bitterly, and go away with tears in their eyes, declaring -that they have not been given enough. Other women utter broken words of -thankfulness and go away, their faces wreathed in smiles. - -One night something in the nature of a raid was made by Father McTahney, -one of the Catholic priests here, on the houses of some people whom he -suspected of having imposed upon the relief committee. These persons -represented that they were destitute, and sent their children with -baskets to the relief stations, each child getting supplies for a -different family. There are unquestionably many such cases. Father -McTahney found that his suspicions were correct in a great many cases, -and he brought back and made the wrong-doers bring back the provisions -which they had obtained under false pretenses. - -The side tracks at both the Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad -depots are filled with cars sent from different places, bearing relief -supplies to Johnstown. The cars are nearly all freight cars, and they -contain the significant inscriptions of the railroad officials: "This -car is on time freight. It is going to Johnstown, and must not be -delayed under any circumstances." Then, there are the ponderous labels -of the towns and associations sending the supplies. They read this way: -"This car for Johnstown with supplies for the sufferers." "Braddock -relief for Johnstown." "The contributions of Beaver Falls to Johnstown." -The cars from Pittsburgh had no inscriptions. Some cars had merely the -inscription, in great big black letters on a white strip of cloth -running the length of the car, "Johnstown." One car reads on it: -"Stations along the route fill this car with supplies for Johnstown, and -don't delay it." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - - -At the end of the week Adjutant-General Hastings moved his headquarters -from the signal tower and the Pennsylvania Railroad depot to the eastern -end of the Pennsylvania freight depot. Here the general and his staff -sleep on the hard floor, with only a blanket under them. They have their -work systematized and in good shape, though about all they have done or -will do is to prevent strangers and others who have no business here -from entering the city. The entire regiment which is here is disposed -around the city in squads of two or three men each. The men are -scattered up and down the Conemaugh, away out on the Pennsylvania and -Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tracks, along Stony Creek on the southern -side of the town, and even upon the hills. It is impossible for any one -to get into town by escaping the guards, for there is a cordon of -soldiers about it. General Hastings rides around on a horse, inspecting -the posts, and the men on guard present arms to him in due form, he -returning the salute. The sight is a singular one, for General Hastings -is not in uniform, and in fact wears a very rusty civilian's dress. He -wears a pair of rubber boots covered with mud, and a suit of old, -well-stained, black clothes. His coat is a cutaway. His appearance among -his staff officers is still more dramatic, for the latter, being ordered -out and having time to prepare, are in gold lace and feathers and -glittering uniforms. - -General Hastings came here right after the flood, on the spur of the -moment, and not in his official capacity. He rides his horse finely and -looks every inch a soldier. He has established in his headquarters in -the freight depot a very much-needed bureau for the answering of -telegrams from friends of Johnstown people making inquiries as to the -latter's safety. The bureau is in charge of A. K. Parsons, who has done -good work since the flood, and who, with Lieutenant George Miller, of -the Fifth Infantry, U. S. A., General Hastings' right-hand man, has been -with the general constantly. The telegrams in the past have all been -sent to the headquarters of the Citizens Committee, in the Fourth Ward -Hotel, and have laid there, along with telegrams of every sort, in a -little heap on a little side table in one corner of the room. -Three-quarters of them were not called for, and people who knew that -telegrams were there for them did not have the patience to look through -the heap for them. Finally some who were not worried to death took the -telegrams, opened them all, and pinned them in separate packages in -alphabetical order and then put them back on the table again, and they -have been pored over, until their edges are frayed, by all the people -who crowded into the little low-roofed room where Dictator Scott and his -messengers are. There were something like three thousand telegrams there -in all. Occasionally a few are taken away, but in the majority of cases -they remain there. The persons to whom they were sent are dead or have -not taken the trouble to come to headquarters and see if their friends -are inquiring after them. Of course the Western Union Telegraph Company -makes no effort to deliver the messages. This would be impossible. - -[Illustration: PENNSYLVANIA AVE., COR. SIXTH ST., WASHINGTON, D. C.] - -The telegrams addressed to the Citizens Committee headquarters are all -different in form, of course, but they all breathe the utmost anxiety -and suspense. Here are some samples:-- - -Is Samuel there? Is there any hope? Answer me and end this suspense. - - SARAH. - - _To anybody in Johnstown_: - -Can you give me any information of Adam Brennan? - - MARY BRENNAN. - -Are any of you alive? - - JAMES. - -Are you all safe? Is it our John Burn that is dead? Is Eliza safe? -Answer. - -It is worth repeating again that the majority of these telegrams will -never be answered. - -The Post-office letter carriers have only just begun to make their -rounds in that part of the town which is comparatively uninjured. Bags -of first-class mail matter are alone brought into town. It will be weeks -before people see the papers in the mails. The supposition is that -nobody has time to read papers, and this is about right. The letter -carriers are making an effort, as far as they can, to distribute mail to -the families of the deceased people. Many of the letters which arrive -now contain money orders, and while great care has to be taken in the -distribution, the postal authorities recognize the necessity of getting -these letters to the parties addressed, or else returning them to the -Dead Letter Office as proof of the death of the individuals in question. -It is no doubt that in this way the first knowledge of the death of many -will be transmitted to friends. - -It is fair to say that the best part of the energies of the State of -Pennsylvania at present are all turned upon Johnstown. Here are the -leading physicians, the best nurses, some of the heaviest contractors, -the brightest newspaper men, all the military geniuses, and, if not the -actual presence, at least the attention, of the capitalists. The -newspapers, medical reviews, and publications of all sorts teem with -suggestions. Johnstown is a compendium of business, and misery, and -despair. One class of men should be given credit for thorough work in -connection with the calamity. These are the undertakers. They came to -Johnstown, from all over Pennsylvania, at the first alarm. They are the -men whose presence was imperatively needed, and who have actually been -forced to work day and night in preserving bodies and preparing them for -burial. One of the most active undertakers here is John McCarthy, of -Syracuse, N. Y., one of the leading undertakers there, and a very -public-spirited man. He brought a letter of introduction from Mayor -Kirk, of Syracuse, to the Citizens Committee here. He said to a -reporter:-- - -"It is worthy of mention, perhaps, that never before in such a disaster -as this have bodies received such careful treatment and has such a -wholesale embalming been practiced. Everybody recovered, whether -identified or not, whether of rich man or poor man, or of the humblest -child, has been carefully cleaned and embalmed, placed in a neat coffin, -and not buried when unidentified until the last possible moment. When -you reflect that over one thousand bodies have been treated in this way -it means something. It is to be regretted that some pains were not -taken to keep a record of the bodies recovered, but the undertakers -cannot be blamed for that. They should have been furnished with clerks, -and that whole matter made the subject of the work of a bureau by -itself. We have had just all we could do cleaning and embalming the -bodies." - -The unsightliest place in Johnstown is the morgue in the Presbyterian -Church. The edifice is a large brick structure in the centre of the -city, and was about the first church building in the city. About one -hundred and seventy-five people took refuge there during the flood. -After the first crash, when the people were expecting another every -instant, and of course that they would perish, the pastor of the church, -the Rev. Mr. Beale, began to pray fervently that the lives of those in -the church might be spared. He fairly wrestled in prayer, and those who -heard him say that it seemed to be a very death-struggle with the demon -of the flood itself. No second crash came, the waters receded, and the -lives of those in the church were spared. The people said that it was -all due to the Rev. Mr. Beale's prayer. The pews in the church were all -demolished, and the Sunday-school room under it was flooded with the -angry waters, and filled up to the ceiling with debris. The Rev. Mr. -Beale is now general morgue director in Johnstown, and has the -authority of a dictator of the bodies of the dead. In the Presbyterian -Church morgue the bodies are, almost without exception, those which have -been recovered from the ruins of the smashed buildings. The bodies are -torn and bruised in the most horrible manner, so that identification is -very difficult. They are nearly all bodies of the prominent or -well-known residents of Johnstown. The cleaning and embalming of the -bodies takes place in the corners of the church, on either side of the -pulpit. As soon as they have a presentable appearance, the bodies are -placed in coffins, put across the ends of the pews near the aisles, so -that people can pass around through the aisles and look at them. Few -identifications have yet been made here. In one coffin is the body of a -young man who had on a nice bicycle suit when found. In his pockets were -forty dollars in money. The bicycle has not been found. It is supposed -that the body is that of some young fellow who was on a bicycle tour up -the Conemaugh River, and who was engulfed by the flood. - -The waters played some queer freaks. A number of mirrors taken out of -the ruins with the frames smashed and with the glass parts entirely -uninjured have been a matter for constant comment on the part of those -who have inspected the ruins and worked in them. When the waters went -down, the Sunday-school rooms of the Presbyterian Church just referred -to were found littered with playing cards. In a baby's cradle was found -a dissertation upon infant baptism and two volumes of a history of the -Crusades. A commercial man from Pittsburgh, who came down to look at the -ruins, found among them his own picture. He never was in Johnstown but -two or three times before, and he did not have any friends there. How -the picture got among the ruins of Johnstown is a mystery to him. - -About the only people who have come into Johnstown, not having business -there connected with the clearing up of the city, are people from a -great distance, hunting up their friends and relatives. There are folks -here now from almost every State in the Union, with the exception, -perhaps, of those on the Pacific coast. There are people, too, from -Pennsylvania and States near by, who, receiving no answer to their -telegrams, have decided to come on in person. They wander over the town -in their search, at first frantically asking everybody right and left if -they have heard of their missing friends. Generally nobody has heard of -them, or some one may remember that he saw a man who said that he -happened to see a body pulled out at Nineveh or Cambria City, or -somewhere, that looked like Jack So-and-So, naming the missing one. At -the morgues the inquirer is told that about four hundred unidentified -dead have already been buried, and on the fences before the morgues and -on the outside house walls of the buildings themselves he reads several -hundred such notices as these, of bodies still unclaimed:-- - -A woman, dark hair, blue eyes, blue waist, dark dress, clothing of fine -quality; a single bracelet on the left arm; age, about twenty-three. - -An old lady, clothing undistinguishable, but containing a purse with -twenty-seven dollars and a small key. - -A young man, fair complexion, light hair, gray eyes, dark blue suit, -white shirt; believed to have been a guest at the Hurlburt House. - -A female; supposed to belong to the Salvation Army. - -A man about thirty-five years old, dark-complexioned, brown hair, brown -moustache, light clothes, left leg a little shortened. - -A boy about ten years old, found with a little girl of nearly same age; -boy had hold of girl's hand; both light-haired and fair-complexioned, -and girl had long curls; boy had on dark clothes, and girl a gingham -dress. - - * * * * * - -The people looking for their friends had lots of money, but money is of -no use now in Johnstown. It cannot hire teams to go up along the -Conemaugh River, where lots of people want to go; it cannot hire men as -searchers, for all the people in Johnstown not on business of their own -are digging in the ruins; it cannot even buy food, for what little food -there is in Johnstown is practically free, and a good square meal cannot -be procured for love nor money anywhere. Under these discouragements -many people are giving up the search and going home, either giving their -relatives up for dead or waiting for them to turn up, still maintaining -the hope that they are alive. - -Johnstown at night now is a wild spectacle. The major part of the town -is enveloped in darkness, and lights of all colors flare out all around, -so that the city looks something like a night scene in a railroad yard. -The burning of immense piles of debris is continued at night, and the -red glare of the flames at the foot of the hills seems like witch-fires -at the mouth of caverns. The camp-fires of the military on the hills -above the Conemaugh burn brightly. Volumes of smoke pour up all over the -town. Along the Pennsylvania Railroad gangs of men are working all night -long by electric light, and the engines, with their great headlights and -roaring steam, go about continually. Below the railroad bridge stretches -away the dark, sullen mass of the drift, with its freight of human -bodies beyond estimate. Now and then, from the headquarters of the -newspaper men, can be heard the military guards on their posts -challenging passers-by. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - - -It is now a week since the flood, and Johnstown is a cross between a -military camp and a new mining town, and is getting more so every day. -It has all the unpleasant and disagreeable features of both, relieved by -the pleasures of neither. Everywhere one goes soldiers are lounging -about or standing guard on all roads leading into the city, and stop -every one who cannot show a pass. There is a mass of tents down in the -centre of the ruins, and others are scattered everywhere on every -cleared space beside the railroad tracks and on the hills about. A corps -of engineers is laying pontoon bridges over the streams, pioneers are -everywhere laying out new camps, erecting mess sheds and other rude -buildings, and clearing away obstructions to the ready passage of supply -wagons. Mounted men are continually galloping about from place to place -carrying orders. At headquarters about the Pennsylvania Railroad depot -there are dozens of petty officers in giddy gold lace, and General -Hastings, General Wiley, and a few others in dingy clothes, sitting -about the shady part of the platform giving and receiving orders. The -occasional thunder of dynamite sounds like the boom of distant cannon -defending some outpost. Supplies are heaped up about headquarters, and -are being unloaded from cars as rapidly as locomotives can push them up -and get the empty cars out of the way again. From cooking tents smoke -and savory odors go up all day, mingled with the odor carbolic from -hospital tents scattered about. It is very likely that within a short -time this military appearance will be greatly increased by the arrival -of another regiment and the formal declaration of martial law. - -On the other hand the town's resemblance to a new mining camp is just as -striking. Everything is muddy and desolate. There are no streets nor any -roads, except the rough routes that the carts wore out for themselves -across the sandy plain. Rough sheds and shanties are going up on every -hand. There are no regular stores, but cigars and drink--none -intoxicating, however--are peddled from rough board counters. Railroads -run into the camp over uneven, crooked tracks. Trains of freight cars -are constantly arriving and being shoved off onto all sorts of sidings, -or even into the mud, to get them out of the way. Everybody wears his -trousers in his boots, and is muddy, ragged, and unshaven. Men with -picks and shovels are everywhere delving or mining for something that a -few days ago was more precious than gold, though really valueless now. -Occasionally they make a find and gather around to inspect it as miners -might a nugget. All it needs to complete the mining camp aspect of the -place is a row of gambling hells in full blast under the temporary -electric lights that gaudily illuminate the centre of the town. - -Matters are becoming very well systematized, both in the military and -the mining way. Martial law could be imposed to-day with very little -inconvenience to any one. The guard about the town is very well kept, -and the loafers, bummers, and thieves are being pretty well cleared out. -The Grand Army men have thoroughly organized the work of distributing -supplies to the sufferers by the flood, the refugees, and contraband of -this camp. - -The contractors who are clearing up the debris have their thousands of -men well in hand, and are getting good work out of them, considering the -conditions under which the men have to live, with insufficient food, -poor shelter, and other serious impediments to physical effectiveness. -All the men except those on the gorge above the bridge have been -working amid the heaps of ruined buildings in the upper part of the -city. The first endeavor has been to open the old streets in which the -debris was heaped as high as the house-tops. Fair progress has been -made, but there are weeks of work at it yet. Only one or two streets are -so far cleared that the public can use them. No one but the workmen are -allowed in the others. - -Up Stony Creek Gap, above the contractors, the United States Army -engineers began work on Friday under command of Captain Sears, who is -here as the personal representative of the Secretary of War. The -engineers, Captain Bergland's company from Willet's Point, and -Lieutenant Biddle's company from West Point, arrived on Friday night, -having been since Tuesday on the road from New York. Early in the -morning they went to work to bridge Stony Creek, and unloaded and -launched their heavy pontoons and strung them across the streams with a -rapidity and skill that astonished the natives, who had mistaken them, -in their coarse, working uniforms of over-all stuff, for a fresh gang of -laborers. The engineers, when there are bridges enough laid, may be set -at other work about town. They have a camp of their own on the outskirts -of the place. There are more constables, watchmen, special policemen, -and that sort of thing in Johnstown than in any three cities of its -size in the country. Naturally there is great difficulty in equipping -them. Badges were easily provided by the clipping out of stars from -pieces of tin, but every one had to look out for himself when it came to -clubs. Everything goes, from a broomstick to a base ball bat. The bats -are especially popular. - -"I'd like to get the job of handling your paper here," said a young -fellow to a Pittsburgh newspaper man. "You'll have to get some newsman -to do it anyhow, for your old men have gone down, and I and my partner -are the only newsmen in Johnstown above ground." - -The newsdealing business is not the only one of which something like -that is true. - -There has been a great scarcity of cooking utensils ever since the -flood. It not only is very inconvenient to the people, but tends to the -waste of a good deal of food. The soldiers are growling bitterly over -their commissary department. They claim that bread, and cheese, and -coffee are about all they get to eat. - -The temporary electric lights have now been strung all along the -railroad tracks and through the central part of the ruins, so that the -place after dark is really quite brilliant seen from a distance, -especially when to the electric display is added the red glow in the -mist and smoke of huge bonfires. - -Anybody who has been telegraphing to Johnstown this week and getting no -answers, would understand the reason for the lack of answers if he could -see the piles of telegrams that are sent out here by train from -Pittsburgh. Four thousand came in one batch on Thursday. Half of them -are still undelivered, and yet there is probably no place in the country -where the Western Union Company is doing better work than here. The -flood destroyed not only the company's offices, but the greater part of -their wires in this part of the country. The office they established -here is in a little shanty with no windows and only one door which won't -close, and it handles an amount of outgoing matter, daily, that would -swamp nine-tenths of the city offices in the country. Incoming business -is now received in considerable quantities, but for several days so -great was the pressure of outgoing business that no attempt was made to -receive any dispatches. The whole effort of the office has been to -handle press matter, and well they have done it. But there will be no -efficient delivery service for a long time. The old messenger boys are -all drowned, and the other boys who might make messenger boys are also -most of them drowned, so that the raw material for creating a service is -very scant. Besides that, nobody knows nowadays where any one else -lives. - -The amateur and professional photographers who have overrun the town for -the last few days came to grief on Friday. A good many of them were -arrested by the soldiers, placed under a guard, taken down to the Stony -Creek and set to lugging logs and timbers. Among those arrested were -several of the newspaper photographers, and these General Hastings -ordered released when he heard of their arrest. The others were made to -work for half a day. They were a mad and disgusted lot, and they vowed -all sorts of vengeance. It does seem that some notice to the effect that -photographers were not permitted in Johnstown should have been posted -before the men were arrested. The photographers all had passes in -regular form, but the soldiers refused even to look at these. - -More sightseers got through the guards at Bolivar on Friday night, and -came to Johnstown on the last train. Word was telegraphed ahead, and the -soldiers met them at the train, put them under arrest, kept them over -night, and in the morning they were set to work in clearing up the -ruins. - -The special detail of workmen who have been at work looking up safes in -the ruins and seeing that they were taken care of, reports that none of -the safes have been broken open or otherwise interfered with. The -committee on valuables reports that quantities of jewelry and money are -being daily turned into them by people who have found them in the ruins. -Often the people surrendering this stuff are evidently very poor -themselves. The committee believes that as a general thing the people -are dealing very honestly in this matter of treasure-trove from the -ruins. - -Three car-loads of coffins was part of the load of one freight train. -Coffins are scattered everywhere about the city. Scores of them seem to -have been set down and forgotten. They are used as benches, and even, it -is said, as beds. - -Grandma Mary Seter, aged eighty-three years, a well-known character in -Johnstown, who was in the water until Saturday, and who, when rescued, -had her right arm so injured that amputation at the shoulder was -necessary, is doing finely at the hospital, and the doctors expect to -have her around again before long. - -One enterprising man has opened a shop for the sale of relics of the -disaster, and is doing a big business. Half the people here are relic -cranks. Everything goes as a relic, from a horseshoe to a two-foot -section of iron pipe. Buttons and little things like that, that can -easily be carried off, are the most popular. - -[Illustration: SEVENTH STREET, WASHINGTON, D. C., UNDER THE FLOOD.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - - -A mantle of mist hung low over the Conemaugh Valley when the people of -Johnstown rose on Sunday morning, June 9th; but about the time the two -remaining church bells began to toll, the sun's rays broke through the -fog, and soon the sky was clear save for a few white clouds which sailed -lazily to the Alleghenies. Never in the history of Johnstown did -congregations attend more impressive church services. Some of them were -held in the open air, others in half-ruined buildings, and one only in a -church. The ceremonies were deeply solemn and touching. Early in the -forenoon German Catholics picked their way through the wreck to the -parsonage of St. Joseph's, where Fathers Kesbernan and Ald said four -masses. Next to the parsonage there was a great breach in the walls made -by the flood, and one-half of the parsonage had been carried away. At -one end of the pastor's reception-room had been placed a temporary -altar lighted by a solitary candle. There were white roses upon it, -while from the walls, above the muddy stains, hung pictures of the -Immaculate Conception, the Crucifixion, and the Virgin Mary. The room -was filled with worshipers, and the people spread out into the lateral -hall hanging over the cellar washed bare of its covering. No chairs or -benches were in the room. There was a deep hush as the congregation -knelt upon the damp floors, silently saying their prayers. With a -dignified and serene demeanor, the priest went through the services of -his church, while the people before him were motionless, the men with -bowed heads, the women holding handkerchiefs to their faces. - -Back of this church, on the side of a hill, there gathered another -congregation of Catholics. Their church and parsonage and chapel had all -been destroyed, and they met in a yard near their cemetery. A pretty -arbor, covered with vines, ran back from the street, and beneath this -stood their priest, Father Tahney, who had worked with them over a -quarter of a century. His hair was white, but he stood erect as he -talked to his people. Before him was a white altar. This, too, was -lighted with a single candle. The people stood before him and on each -side, reverently kneeling on the grass as they prayed. Three masses were -said by Father Tahney and by Father Matthews, of Washington, and then -the white-haired priest spoke a few words of encouragement to his -listeners. He urged them to make a manful struggle to rebuild their -homes, to assist one another in their distress, and to be grateful to -all Americans for the helping hand extended to them. Other Catholic -services were held at the St. Columba's Church, in Cambria, where Father -Troutwein, of St. Mary's Church, Fathers Davin and Smith said mass and -addressed the congregation. Father Smith urged them not to sell their -lands to those who were speculating in men's misery, but to be -courageous until the city should rise again. - -At the Pennsylvania station a meeting was held on the embankment -overlooking the ruined part of the town. The services were conducted by -the Rev. Mr. McGuire, chaplain of the 14th Regiment. The people sang -"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," and then Mr. McGuire read the -psalm beginning "I will bless the Lord at all times." James Fulton, -manager of the Cambria Iron Works, spoke encouraging words. He assured -them that the works would be rebuilt, and that the eight thousand -employes would be cared for. Houses would be built for them and -employment given to all in restoring the works. There was a strained -look on men's faces when he told them in a low voice that he held the -copy of a report which he had drawn up on the dam, calling attention to -the fact that it was extremely dangerous to the people living in the -valley. - -One of the peculiar things a stranger notices in Johnstown is the -comparatively small number of women seen in the place. Of the throngs -who walk about the streets searching for dead friends, there is not one -woman to ten men. Occasionally a little group of two or three women with -sad faces will pick their way about, looking for the morgues. There are -a few Sisters of Charity, in their black robes, seen upon the streets, -and in the parts of the town not totally destroyed the usual number of -women are seen in the houses and yards. But, as a rule, women are a -rarity in Johnstown now. This is not a natural peculiarity of Johnstown, -nor a mere coincidence, but a fact with a dreadful reason behind it. -There are so many more men than women among the living in Johnstown now, -because there are so many more women than men among the dead. Of the -bodies recovered there are at least two women for every man. Besides the -fact that their natural weakness made them an easier prey to the flood, -the hour at which the disaster came was one when the women would most -likely be in their homes and the men at work in the open air or in -factory yards, from which escape was easy. - -Children also are rarely seen about the town, and for a similar reason. -They are all dead. There is never a group of the dead discovered that -does not contain from one to three or four children for every grown -person. Generally the children are in the arms of the grown persons, and -often little toys and trinkets clasped in their hands indicate that the -children were caught up while at play, and carried as far as possible -toward safety. - -Johnstown when rebuilt will be a city of many widowers and few children. -In turning a school-house into a morgue the authorities probably did a -wiser thing than they thought. It will be a long time before the -school-house will be needed for its original purpose. - -The miracle, as it is called, that happened at the Church of the -Immaculate Conception, has caused a tremendous sensation. A large number -of persons will testify as to the nature of the event, and, to put it -mildly, the circumstances are really remarkable. The devotions in honor -of the Blessed Virgin celebrated daily during the month of May were in -progress on that Friday when the water descended on Cambria City. The -church was filled with people at the time, but when the noise of the -flood was heard the congregation hastened to get out of the way. They -succeeded as far as escaping from the interior is concerned, and in a -few minutes the church was partially submerged, the water reaching -fifteen feet up the sides and swirling around the corners furiously. The -building was badly wrecked, the benches were torn out, and in general -the entire structure, both inside and outside, was fairly dismantled. -Yesterday morning, when an entrance was forced through the blocked -doorway the ruin appeared to be complete. One object alone had escaped -the water's wrath. The statue of the Blessed Virgin, that had been -decorated and adorned because of the May devotions, was as unsullied as -the day it was made. The flowers, the wreaths, the lace veil were -undisturbed and unsoiled, although the marks on the wall showed that the -surface of the water had risen above the statue to a height of fifteen -feet, while the statue nevertheless had been saved from all contact with -the liquid. Every one who has seen the statue and its surroundings is -firmly convinced that the incident was a miraculous one, and even to the -most skeptical the affair savors of the supernatural. - -A singular feature of the great flood was discovered at the great stone -viaduct about half way between Mineral Point and South Fork. At Mineral -Point the Pennsylvania Railroad is on the south side of the river, -although the town is on the north side. About a mile and a half up the -stream there was a viaduct built of very solid masonry. It was -originally built for the old Portage Road. It was seventy-eight feet -above the ordinary surface of the water. On this viaduct the railroad -tracks crossed to the north side of the river and on that side ran into -South Fork, two miles farther up. It is the general opinion of engineers -that this strong viaduct would have stood against the gigantic wave had -it not been blown up by dynamite. But at South Fork there was a dynamite -magazine which was picked up by the flood and shot down the stream at -the rate of twenty miles an hour. It struck the stone viaduct and -exploded. The roar of the flood was tremendous, but the noise of this -explosion was heard by farmers on the Evanston Road, two miles and a -half away. Persons living on the mountain sides, in view of the river, -and who saw the explosion, say that the stones of the viaduct at the -point where the magazine struck it, were thrown into the air to the -height of two hundred feet. An opening was made, and the flood of death -swept through on its awful errand. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - - -It is characteristic of American hopefulness and energy that before work -was fairly begun on clearing away the wreck of the old city, plans were -being prepared for the new one that should arise, Ph[oe]nix-like, above -its grave. If the future policy of the banks and bankers of Johnstown is -to be followed by the merchants and manufacturers of the city the -prospects of a magnificent city rising from the present ruins are of the -brightest. James McMillen, president of the First National and Johnstown -Savings Banks, said: - -"The loss sustained by the First National Bank will be merely nominal. -It did a general commercial business and very little investing in the -way of mortgages. When the flood came the cash on hand and all our -valuable securities and papers were locked in the safe and were in no -way affected by the water. The damage to the building itself will be -comparatively small. Our capital was one hundred thousand dollars, while -our surplus was upwards of forty thousand dollars. The depositors of -this bank are, therefore, not worrying themselves about our ability to -meet all demands that may be made upon us by them. The bank will open up -for business within a few days as if nothing had happened. - -"As to the Johnstown Savings Bank it had probably $200,000 invested in -mortgages on property in Johnstown, but the wisdom of our policy in the -past in making loans has proven of great value to us in the present -emergency. Since we first began business we have refused to make loans -to parties on property where the lot itself would not be of sufficient -value to indemnify us against loss in case of the destruction of the -building. If a man owned a lot worth $2,000 and had on it a building -worth $100,000 we would refuse to loan over the $2,000 on the property. -The result is that the lots on which the buildings stood in Johnstown, -on which $200,000 of our money is loaned, are worth double the amount, -probably, that we have invested in them. - -"What will be the effect of the flood on the value of lots in Johnstown -proper? Well, instead of decreasing, they have already advanced in -value. This will bring outside capital to Johnstown, and a real estate -boom is bound to follow in the wake of this destruction. All the people -want is an assurance that the banks are safe and will open up for -business at once. With that feeling they have started to work with a -vim. We have in this bank $300,000 invested in Government bonds and -other securities that can be converted into cash on an hour's notice. We -propose to keep these things constantly before our business men as an -impetus to rebuilding our principal business blocks as soon as -possible." - -"What do you think of the idea projected by Captain W. R. Jones, to -dredge and lower the river bed about thirty feet and adding seventy per -cent. to its present width, as a precautionary measure against future -washouts?" - -"I not only heartily indorse that scheme, but have positive assurance -from other leading business men that the idea will be carried out, as it -certainly should be, the moment the work of cleaning away the debris is -completed. Besides that, a scheme is on foot to get a charter for the -city of Johnstown which will embrace all those surrounding boroughs. In -the event of that being done, and I am certain it will be, the plan of -the city will be entirely changed and made to correspond with the best -laid-out cities in the country. In ten years Johnstown will be one of -the prettiest and busiest cities in the world, and nothing can prevent -it. The streets will be widened and probably made to start from a common -centre, something after the fashion of Washington City, with a little -more regard for the value of property. With the Cambria Iron Company, -the Gautier Steel Works, and other manufactories, as well as yearly -increasing railroad facilities, Johnstown has a start which will grow in -a short time to enormous proportions. From a real estate standpoint the -flood has been a benefit beyond a doubt. Another addition to the city -will be made in the shape of an immense water-main to connect with a -magnificent reservoir of the finest water in the world to be located in -the mountains up Stony Creek for supplying the entire city as -contemplated in the proposed new charter. This plant was well under way -when the flood came, and about ten thousand dollars had already been -expended on it which has been lost." - -Mr. John Roberts, the surviving partner of the banking-house of John -Dibert & Company, said: - -"Aside from the loss to our own building we have come out whole and -entire. We had no money invested in mortgages in Johnstown that is not -fully indemnified by the lots themselves. Most of our money is invested -in property in Somerset County, where Mr. Dibert was raised. We will -exert every influence in our power to place the city on a better footing -than was ever before. The plan of raising the city or lowering the bed -of the river as well as widening its banks will surely be carried out. -In addition, I think the idea of changing the plan of the city and -embracing Johnstown and the surrounding buroughs in one large city will -be one of the greatest benefits the flood could have wrought to the -future citizens of Johnstown and the Conemough Valley. - -"I have been chairman of our Finance Committee of Councils for ten years -past, and I know the trouble we have had with our streets and alleys and -the necessity of a great change. In order to put the city in the proper -shape to insure commercial growth and topographical beauty, we will be -ready for business in a few days, and enough money will be put into -circulation in the valley to give the people encouragement in the work -of rebuilding." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - - -Among the travelers who were in or near the Conemaugh Valley at the time -of the flood, and who thus narrowly escaped the doom that swallowed up -thousands of their fellow-mortals, was Mr. William Henry Smith, General -Manager of the Associated Press. He remained there for some time and did -valuable work in directing the operations of news-gatherers and in the -general labors of relief. - -The wife and daughter of Mr. E. W. Halford, private secretary to -President Harrison, were also there. They made their way to Washington -on Thursday, to Mr. Halford's inexpressible relief, they having at first -been reported among the lost. On their arrival at the Capital they went -at once to the Executive Mansion, where the members of the Executive -household were awaiting them with great interest. The ladies lost all -their baggage, but were thankful for their almost miraculous delivery -from the jaws of death. Mrs. Harrison's eyes were suffused with tears -as she listened to the dreadful narrative. The President was also -deeply moved. From the first tidings of the dire calamity his thoughts -have been absorbed in sympathy and desire to alleviate the sufferings of -the devastated region. The manner of the escape of Mrs. Halford and her -daughter has already been told. When the alarm was given, she and her -daughter rushed with the other passengers out of the car and took refuge -on the mountain side by climbing up the rocky excavation near the track. -Mrs. Halford was in delicate health owing to bronchial troubles. She has -borne up well under the excitement, exposure, fatigue, and horror of her -experiences. - -Mrs. George W. Childs was also reported among the lost, but incorrectly. -Mr. Childs received word on Thursday for the first time direct from his -wife, who was on her way West to visit Miss Kate Drexel when detained by -the flood. Indirectly he had heard she was all right. The telegram -notified him that Mrs. Childs was at Altoona, and could not move either -way, but was perfectly safe. - -George B. Roberts, President of the Pennsylvania Railway Company, was -obliged to issue the following card: "In consequence of the terrible -calamity that has fallen upon a community which has such close relations -to the Pennsylvania Railway Company, Mr. and Mrs. George B. Roberts -feel compelled to withdraw their invitations for Thursday, June 6th." -Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Pugh also felt obliged to withdraw their -invitations for Wednesday, June 5th. - -The Rev. J. A. Ranney, of Kalamazoo, Mich., and his wife were passengers -on one of the trains wrecked by the Conemaugh flood. Mr. Ranney said: - -"Mrs. Ranney and I were on one of the trains at Conemaugh when the flood -came. There was but a moment's warning and the disaster was upon us. The -occupants of our car rushed for the door, where Mrs. Ranney and I became -separated. She was one of the first to jump, and I saw her run and -disappear behind the first house in sight. Before I could get out the -deluge was too high, and, with a number of others, I remained in the -car. Our car was lifted up and dashed against a car loaded with stone -and badly wrecked, but most of the occupants of this car were rescued. -As far as I know all who jumped from the car lost their lives. The -remainder of the train was swept away. I searched for days for Mrs. -Ranney, but could find no trace of her. I think she perished. The mind -cannot conceive the awful sight presented when we first saw the danger. -The approaching wall of water looked like Niagara, and huge engines were -caught up and whirled away as if they were mere wheel-barrows." - -D. B. Cummins, of Philadelphia, the President of the Girard National -Bank, was one of the party of four which consisted of John Scott, -Solicitor-General of the Pennsylvania Railroad; Edmund Smith, -ex-Vice-President of the same company; and Colonel Welsh himself, who -had been stopping in the country a few miles back of Williamsport. - -Mr. Cummins, in talking of the condition of things in that vicinity and -of his experience, said: "We were trout-fishing at Anderson's cabin, -about fourteen miles from Williamsport, at the time the flood started. -We went to Williamsport, intending to take a train for Philadelphia. Of -course, when we got there we found everything in a frightful condition, -and the people completely disheartened by the flood. Fortunately the -loss of life was very slight, especially when compared with the terrible -disaster in Johnstown. The loss, from a financial standpoint, will be -very great, for the city is completely inundated, and the lumber -industry seriously crippled. Besides, the stagnation of business for any -length of time produces results which are disastrous." - -[Illustration: FOURTEENTH STREET, WASHINGTON, D. C., IN THE FLOOD.] - -The first passengers that came from Altoona to New York by the -Pennsylvania Railroad since the floods included five members of the -"Night Off" Company, which played in Johnstown on Thursday night, about -whom considerable anxiety was felt for some time, till E. A. Eberle -received telegrams from his wife, the contents of which he at once gave -to the press. Mrs. Eberle was among the five who arrived. - -"No words can tell the horrors of the scenes we witnessed," she said in -answer to a request for an account of her experiences, "and nothing that -has been published can convey any idea of the awful havoc wrought in -those few but apparently never-ending minutes in which the worst of the -flood passed us. - -"Our company left Johnstown on Friday morning. We only got two miles -away, as far as Conemaugh, when we were stopped by a landslide a little -way ahead. About noon we went to dinner, and soon after we came back -some of our company noticed that the flood had extended and was washing -away the embankment on which our train stood. They called the engineer's -attention to the fact, and he took the train a few hundred feet further. -It was fortunate he did so, for a little while after the embankment -caved in. - -"Then we could not move forward or backward, as ahead was the landslide -and behind there was no track. Even then we were not frightened, and it -was not till about three o'clock, when we saw a heavy iron bridge go -down as if it were made of paper, that we began to be seriously alarmed. -Just before the dam broke a gravel train came tearing down, with the -engine giving out the most awful shriek I ever heard. Every one -recognized that this was a note of warning. We fled as hard as we could -run down the embankment, across a ditch, and for a distance equal to -about two blocks up the hillside. Once I turned to look at the vast wall -of water, but was hurried on by my friends. When I had gone about the -distance of another block the head of the flood had passed far away, and -with it went houses, cars, locomotives, everything that a few minutes -before had made up a busy scene. The wall of water looked to be fifty -feet high. It was of a deep yellow color, but the crest was white with -foam. - -"Three of us reached the house of Mrs. William Wright, who took us in -and treated us most kindly. I did not take any account of time, but I -imagine it was about an hour before the water ceased to rush past the -house. The conductor of our train, Charles A. Wartham, behaved with the -greatest bravery. He took a crippled passenger on his back in the rush -up the hill. A floating house struck the cripple, carried him away and -tore some of the clothes off Wartham's back, and he managed to struggle -on and save himself. Our ride to Ebensburg, sixteen miles, in a lumber -wagon without springs, was trying, but no one thought of complaining. -Later in the day we were sent to Cresson and thence to Altoona." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - - -No travelers in an upheaved and disorganized land push through with more -pluck and courage than the newspaper correspondents. Accounts have -already been given of some of their experiences. A writer in the New -York _Times_ thus told of his, a week after the events described: - -"A man who starts on a journey on ten minutes' notice likes the journey -to be short, with a promise of success and of food and clothes at its -end. Starting suddenly a week ago, the _Times's_ correspondent has since -had but a small measure of success, a smaller measure of food, and for -nights no rest at all; a long tramp across the Blue Hills and Allegheny -Mountains, behind jaded horses; helping to push up-hill the wagon they -tried to pull or to lift the vehicle up and down bridges whose -approaches were torn away, or in and out of fords the pathways to which -had disappeared; and in the blackness of the night, scrambling through -gullies in the pike road made by the storm, paved with sharp and -treacherous rocks and traversed by swift-running streams, whose roar was -the only guide to their course. All this prepared a weary reporter to -welcome the bed of straw he found in a Johnstown stable loft last -Monday, and on which he has reposed nightly ever since. - -"And let me advise reporters and other persons who are liable to sudden -missions to out-of-the-way places not to wear patent leather shoes. They -are no good for mountain roads. This is the result of sad experience. -Wetness and stone bruises are the benisons they confer on feet that -tread rough paths. - -"The quarter past twelve train was the one boarded by the _Times's_ -correspondent and three other reporters on their way hither a week ago -Friday night. It was in the minds of all that they would get as far as -Altoona, on the Pennsylvania Road, and thence by wagon to this place. -But all were mistaken. At Philadelphia we were told that there were -wash-outs in many places and bridges were down everywhere, so that we -would be lucky if we got even to Harrisburg. This was harrowing news. It -caused such a searching of time-tables and of the map of Pennsylvania as -those things were rarely ever subjected to before. It was at last -decided that if the Pennsylvania Railroad stopped at Harrisburg an -attempt would be made to reach the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at -Martinsburg, West Virginia, by way of the Cumberland Railroad, a train -on which was scheduled to leave Harrisburg ten minutes after the arrival -of the Pennsylvania train. - -"It was only too evident to us, long before we reached Harrisburg, that -we would not get to the West out of that city. The Susquehanna had risen -far over its banks, and for miles our train ran slowly with the water -close to the fire-box of the locomotive and over the lower steps of the -car platform. At last we reached the station. Several energetic -Philadelphia reporters had come on with us from that lively city, -expecting to go straight to Johnstown. As they left the train one cried: -'Hurrah, boys, there's White. He'll know all about it.' White stood -placidly on the steps, and knew nothing more than that he and several -other Philadelphia reporters, who had started Friday night, had got no -further than the Harrisburg station, and were in a state of wonderment, -leaving them to think our party caught. - -"As the Cumberland Valley train was pulling out of the station, its -conductor, a big, genial fellow, who seemed to know everybody in the -valley, was loth to express an opinion as to whether we would get to -Martinsburg. He would take us as far as he could, and then leave us to -work out our own salvation. He could give us no information about the -Baltimore and Ohio Road. Hope and fear chased one another in our midst; -hope that trains were running on that road, and fear that it, too, had -been stopped by wash-outs. In the latter case it seemed to us that we -should be compelled to return to Harrisburg and sit down to think with -our Philadelphia brethren. - -"The Cumberland Valley train took us to Hagerstown, and there the big and -genial conductor told us it would stay, as it could not cross the -Potomac to reach Martinsburg. We were twelve miles from the Potomac and -twenty from Martinsburg. Fortunately, a construction train was going to -the river to repair some small wash-outs, and Major Ives, the engineer -of the Cumberland Valley Road, took us upon it, but he smiled pitifully -when we told him we were going across the bridge. - -"'Why, man,' he said to the _Times's_ correspondent, 'the Potomac is -higher than it was in 1877, and there's no telling when the bridge will -go.' - -"At the bridge was a throng of country people waiting to see it go down, -and wondering how many more blows it would stand from foundering -canal-boats, washed out of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, whose lines -had already disappeared under the flood. A quick survey of the bridge -showed that its second section was weakening, and had already bent -several inches, making a slight concavity on the upper side. - -"No time was to be lost if we were going to Martinsburg. The country -people murmured disapproval, but we went on the bridge, and were soon -crossing it on the one-foot plank that served for a footwalk. It was an -unpleasant walk. The river was roaring below us. To yield to the -fascination of the desire to look between the railroad ties at the -foaming water was to throw away our lives. Then that fear that the tons -of drift stuff piled against the upper side of the bridge, would -suddenly throw it over, was a cause of anything but confidence. But we -held our breath, balanced ourselves, measured our steps, and looked far -ahead at the hills on the Western Virginia shore. At last the firm -embankment was reached, and four reporters sent up one sigh of relief -and joy. - -"Finding two teams, we were soon on our way to Martinsburg. - -"The Potomac was nine feet higher than it was ever known to be before, -and it was out for more than a mile beyond the tracks of the Cumberland -Valley Railroad at Falling Waters, where it had carried away several -houses. This made the route to Martinsburg twice as long as it otherwise -would have been. To weary, anxious reporters it seemed four times as -long, and that we should never get beyond the village of Falling Waters. -It confronted us at every turn of the crooked way, until it became a -source of pain. It is a pretty place, but we were yearning for -Johnstown, not for rural beauty. - -"All roads have an end, and Farmer Sperow's teams at last dragged us -into Martinsburg. Little comfort was in store for us there. No train had -arrived there for more than twenty-four hours. Farmer Sperow was called -on to take us back to the river, our instructions being to cross the -bridge again and take a trip over the mountains. Hope gave way to utter -despair when we learned that the bridge had fallen twenty minutes after -our passage. We had put ourselves into a pickle. Chief Engineer Ives and -his assistant, Mr. Schoonmaker joined us a little while later. They had -followed us across the bridge and been cut off also. They were needed at -Harrisburg, and they backed up our effort to get a special train to go -to the Shenandoah Valley Road's bridge, twenty-five miles away, which -was reported to be yet standing. - -"The Baltimore and Ohio officials were obdurate. They did not know -enough about the tracks to the eastward to experiment with a train on -them in the dark. They promised to make up a train in the morning. -Wagons would not take us as soon. A drearier night was never passed by -men with their hearts in their work. Morning came at last and with it -the news that the road to the east was passable nearly to Harper's -Ferry. Lots of Martinsburg folks wanted to see the sights at the Ferry, -and we had the advantage of their society on an excursion train as far -as Shenandoah Junction, where Mr. Ives had telegraphed for a special to -come over and meet us if the bridge was standing. - -"The telegraph kept us informed about the movement of the train. When we -learned that it had tested and crossed the bridge our joy was modified -only by the fear that we had made fools of ourselves in leaving -Harrisburg, and that the more phlegmatic Philadelphia reporters had -already got to Johnstown. But this fear was soon dissipated. The -trainman knew that Harrisburg was inundated and no train had gone west -for nearly two days. A new fear took its place. It was that New York -men, starting behind us, had got into Johnstown through Pittsburg by way -of the New York Central and its connections. No telegrams were penned -with more conflicting emotions surging through the writer than those by -which the _Times's_ correspondent made it known that he had got out of -the Martinsburg pocket and was about to make a wagon journey of one -hundred and ten miles across the mountains, and asked for information as -to whether any Eastern man had got to the scene of the flood. - -"The special train took us to Chambersburg, where Superintendent -Riddle, of the Cumberland Valley Road, had information that four -Philadelphia men were on their way thither, and had engaged a team to -take them on the first stage of the overland trip. A wild rush was made -for Schiner's livery, and in ten minutes we were bowling over the pike -toward McConnellsburg, having already sent thither a telegraphic order -for fresh teams. The train from Harrisburg was due in five minutes when -we started. As we mounted each hill we eagerly scanned the road behind -for pursuers. They never came in sight. - -"In McConnellsburg the entire town had heard of our coming, and were out -to greet us with cheers. They knew our mission and that a party of -competitors was tracking us. Landlord Prosser, of the Fulton Hotel, had -his team ready, but said there had been an enormous wash-out near the -Juniata River, beyond which he could not take us. We would have to walk -through the break in the pike and cross the river on a bridge tottering -on a few supports. Telegrams to Everett for a team to meet us beyond the -river and take us to Bedford, and to the latter place for a team to make -the journey across the Allegehenies to Johnstown settled all our plans. - -"As well as we could make it out by telegraphic advices, we were an hour -ahead of the Philadelphians. Ten minutes was not, therefore, too long -for supper. Landlord Prosser took the reins himself and we started -again, with a hurrah from the populace. As it was Sunday, they would -sell us nothing, but storekeeper Young and telegraph operator Sloan -supplied us with tobacco and other little comforts, our stock of which -had been exhausted. It will gratify our Prohibition friends to learn -that whisky was not among them. McConnellsburg is, unfortunately, a dry -town for the time being. It was a long and weary pull to the top of -Sidling Hill. To ease up on the team, we walked the greater part of the -way. A short descent and a straight run took us to the banks of Licking -Creek. - -"Harrisonville was just beyond, and Harrisonville had been under a -raging flood, which had weakened the props of the bridge and washed out -the road for fifty feet beyond it. The only thing to do was to unhitch -and lead the horses over the bridge and through the gully. This was -difficult, but it was finally accomplished. The more difficult task was -to get the wagon over. A long pull, with many strong lifts, in which -some of the natives aided, took it down from the bridge and through the -break, but at the end there were more barked shins and bruised toes than -any other four men ever had in common. - -"It was a quick ride from Everett to Bedford, for our driver had a good -wagon and a speedy team. Arriving at Bedford a little after two o'clock -in the morning, we found dispatches that cheered us, for they told us -that we had made no mistake, and might reach the scene of disaster -first. Only a reporter who has been on a mission similar to this can -tell the joy imparted by a dispatch like this: - -"'NEW YORK--Nobody is ahead of you. Go it.' - -"At four o'clock in the morning we started on our long trip of forty -miles across the Alleghenies to Johnstown. Pleasantville was reached at -half-past six A. M. Now the road became bad, and everybody but the -driver had to walk. Footsore as we were, we had to clamber over rocks -and through mud in a driving rain, which wet us through. For ten miles -we went thus dismally. Ten miles from Johnstown we got in the wagon, and -every one promptly went to sleep, at the risk of being thrown out at any -time as the wagon jolted along. Tired nature could stand no more, and we -slumbered peacefully until four half-drunken special policemen halted us -at the entrance to Johnstown. Argument with them stirred us up, and we -got into town and saw what a ruin it was." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - - -Nor was the life of the correspondents at Johnstown altogether a happy -one. The life of a newspaper man is filled with vicissitudes. Sometimes -he feeds on the fat of the land, and at others he feeds on air; but as a -rule he lives comfortably, and has as much satisfaction in life as other -men. It may safely be asserted, however, that such experiences as the -special correspondents of Eastern papers have met with in Johnstown are -not easily paralleled. When a war correspondent goes on a campaign he is -prepared for hardship and makes provision against it. He has a tent, -blankets, heavy overcoat, a horse, and other things which are -necessaries of life in the open air. But the men who came hurrying to -Johnstown to fulfill the invaluable mission of letting the world know -just what was the matter were not well provided against the suffering -set before them. - -The first information of the disaster was sent out by the Associated -Press on the evening of its occurrence. The destruction of wires made it -impossible to give as full an account as would otherwise have been sent, -but the dispatches convinced the managing editors of the wide-awake -papers that a calamity destined to be one of the most fearful in all -human history had fallen upon the peaceful valley of the Conemaugh. All -the leading Eastern papers started men for Philadelphia at once. From -Philadelphia these men went to Harrisburg. There were many able -representatives in the party, and they are ready to wager large amounts -that there was never at any place a crowd of newspaper men so absolutely -and hopelessly stalled as they were there. Bridges were down and the -roadway at many places was carried away. - -Then came the determined and exhausting struggle to reach Johnstown. The -stories of the different trips have been told. From Saturday morning -till Monday morning the correspondents fought a desperate battle against -the raging floods, risking their lives again and again to reach the -city. At one place they footed it across a bridge that ten minutes later -went swirling down the mad torrent to instant destruction. Again they -hired carriages and drove over the mountains, literally wading into -swollen streams and carrying their vehicles across. Finally one party -caught a Baltimore and Ohio special train and got into Johnstown. - -It was Monday. There was nothing to eat. The men were exhausted, hungry, -thirsty, sleepy. Their work was there, however, and had to be done. -Where was the telegraph office? Gone down the Conemaugh Valley to -hopeless oblivion. But the duties of a telegraph company are as -imperative as those of a newspaper. General Manager Clark, of -Pittsburgh, had sent out a force of twelve operators, under Operator -Munson as manager _pro tem._, to open communications at Johnstown. The -Pennsylvania Railroad rushed them through to the westerly end of the -fatal bridge. Smoke and the pall of death were upon it. Ruin and -devastation were all around. To get wires into the city proper was out -of the question. Nine wires were good between the west end of the bridge -and Pittsburgh. The telegraph force found, just south of the track, on -the side of the hill overlooking the whole scene of Johnstown's -destruction, a miserable hovel which had been used for the storage of -oil barrels. The interior was as dark as a tomb, and smelled like the -concentrated essence of petroleum itself. The floor was a slimy mass of -black grease. It was no time for delicacy. In went the operators with -their relay instruments and keys; out went the barrels. Rough shelves -were thrown up to take copy on, and some old chairs were subsequently -secured. Tallow dips threw a fitful red glare upon the scene. The -operators were ready. - -Toward dusk ten haggard and exhausted New York correspondents came -staggering up the hillside. They found the entire neighborhood infested -with Pittsburgh reporters, who had already secured all the good places, -such as they were, for work, and were busily engaged in wiring to their -offices awful tales of Hungarian depredations upon dead bodies, and -lynching affairs which never occurred. One paper had eighteen men there, -and others had almost an equal number. The New York correspondents were -in a terrible condition. Some of them had started from their offices -without a change of clothing, and had managed to buy a flannel shirt or -two and some footwear, including the absolutely necessary rubber boots, -on the way. Others had no extra coin, and were wearing the low-cut shoes -which they had on at starting. One or two of them were so worn out that -they turned dizzy and sick at the stomach when they attempted to write. -But the work had to be done. Just south of the telegraph office stands a -two-story frame building in a state of dilapidation. It is flanked on -each side by a shed, and its lower story, with an earth floor, is used -for the storage of fire bricks. The second-story floor is full of great -gaps, and the entire building is as draughty as a seive and as dusty as -a country road in a drought. The Associated Press and the _Herald_ took -the second floor, the _Times_, _Tribune_, _Sun_, _Morning Journal_, -_World_, Philadelphia _Press_, Baltimore _Sun_, and Pittsburgh _Post_ -took possession of the first floor, using the sheds as day outposts. -Some old barrels were found inside. They were turned up on end, some -boards were picked up outdoors and laid on them, and seats were -improvised out of the fire-bricks. Candles were borrowed from the -telegraph men, who were hammering away at their instruments and turning -pale at the prospect, and the work of sending dispatches to the papers -began. - -Not a man had assuaged his hunger. Not a man knew where he was to rest. -All that the operators could take, and a great deal more, was filed, and -then the correspondents began to think of themselves. Two tents, a -colored cook, and provisions had been sent up from Pittsburgh for the -operators. The tents were pitched on the side of the hill, just over the -telegraph "office," and the colored cook utilized the natural gas of a -brick-kiln just behind them. The correspondents procured little or -nothing to eat that night. Some of them plodded wearily across the -Pennsylvania bridge and into the city, out to the Baltimore and Ohio -tracks, and into the car in which they had arrived. There they slept, -in all their clothing, in miserably-cramped positions on the seats. In -the morning they had nothing to wash in but the polluted waters of the -Conemaugh. Others, who had no claim on the car, moved to pity a night -watchman, who took them to a large barn in Cambria City. There they -slept in a hay-loft, to the tuneful piping of hundreds of mice, the -snorting of horses and cattle, the nocturnal dancing of dissipated rats, -and the solemn rattle of cow chains. - -[Illustration: SEVENTH STREET, WASHINGTON, DURING THE FLOOD.] - -In the morning all hands were out bright and early, sparring for food. -The situation was desperate. There was no such thing in the place as a -restaurant or a hotel; there was no such thing as a store. The few -remaining houses were over-crowded with survivors who had lost all. They -could get food by applying to the Relief Committee. The correspondents -had no such privilege. They had plenty of money, but there was nothing -for sale. They could not beg nor borrow; they wouldn't steal. Finally, -they prevailed upon a pretty Pennsylvania mountain woman, with fair -skin, gray eyes, and a delicious way of saying "You un's," to give them -something to eat. She fried them some tough pork, gave them some bread, -and made them some coffee without milk and sugar. The first man that -stayed his hunger was so glad that he gave her a dollar, and that -became her upset price. It cost a dollar to go in and look around after -that. - -Then Editor Walters, of Pittsburgh, a great big man with a great big -heart, ordered up $150 worth of food from Pittsburgh. He got a German -named George Esser, in Cambria City, to cook at his house, which had not -been carried away, and the boys were mysteriously informed that they -could get meals at the German's. He was supposed to be one of the dread -Hungarians, and the boys christened his place the Cafe Hungaria. They -paid fifty cents apiece to him for cooking the meals, but it was three -days before the secret leaked out that Mr. Walters supplied the food. If -ever Mr. Walters gets into a tight place he has only to telegraph to New -York, and twenty grateful men will do anything in their power to repay -his kindness. - -Then the routine of Johnstown life for the correspondents became -settled. At night they slept in the old car or the hay-mow or elsewhere. -They breakfasted at the Cafe Hungaria. Then they went forth to their -work. They had to walk everywhere. Over the mountains, through briers -and among rocks, down in the valley in mud up to their knees, they -tramped over the whole district lying between South Fork and New -Florence, a distance of twenty-three miles, to gather the details of the -frightful calamity. Luncheon was a rare and radiant luxury. Dinner was -eaten at the cafe. Copy was written everywhere and anywhere. - -Constant struggles were going on between correspondents and policemen or -deputy sheriffs. The countersign was given out incorrectly to the -newspaper men one night, and many of them had much trouble. At night the -boys traversed the place at the risk of life and limb. Two _Times_ men -spent an hour and a half going two miles to the car for rest one night. -The city--or what had been the city--was wrapped in Cimmerian darkness, -only intensified by the feeble glimmer of the fires of the night guards. -The two correspondents almost fell through a pontoon bridge into the -Conemaugh. Again they almost walked into the pit full of water where the -gas tank had been. At length they met two guards going to an outlying -post near the car with a lantern. These men had lived in Johnstown all -their lives. Three times they were lost on their way over. Another -correspondent fell down three or four slippery steps one night and -sprained his ankle, but he gritted his teeth and stuck to his work. One -of the _Times_ men tried to sleep in a hay-mow one night, but at one -o'clock he was driven out by the rats. He wandered about till he found a -night watchman, who escorted him to a brick-kiln. Attired in all his -clothing, his mackintosh, rubber boots, and hat, and with his -handkerchief for a pillow, he stretched himself upon a plank on top of -the bricks inside the kiln and slept one solitary hour. It was the third -hour's sleep he had enjoyed in seventy-two hours. The next morning he -looked like a paralytic tramp who had been hauled out of an ash-heap. - -Another correspondent fell through an opening in the Pennsylvania bridge -and landed in a culvert several feet below. His left eye was almost -knocked out, and he had to go to one of the hospitals for treatment. But -he kept at his work. The more active newspaper men were a sight by -Wednesday. They knew it. They had their pictures taken. They call the -group "The Johnstown Sufferers." Their costumes are picturesque. One of -them--a dramatically inclined youth sometimes called Romeo--wears a pair -of low shoes which are incrusted with yellow mud, a pair of gray stained -trousers, a yellow corduroy coat, a flannel shirt, a soft hat of a dirty -greenish-brown tint, and a rubber overcoat with a cape. And still he is -not happy. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - - -The storm that filled Conemaugh Lake and burst its bounds also wrought -sad havoc elsewhere. Williamsport, Pa., underwent the experience of -being flooded with thirty-four feet of water, of having the Susquehanna -boom taken out with two hundred million feet of logs, over forty million -feet of sawed lumber taken, mills carried away and others wrecked, -business and industrial establishments wrecked, and a large number of -lives lost. The flood was nearly seven feet higher than the great high -water of 1865. - -Early on Friday news came of the flood at Clearfield, but it was not -before two o'clock Saturday morning that the swelling water began to -become prominent, the river then showing a rise averaging two feet to -the hour. Steadily and rapidly thereafter the rise continued. The rain -up the country had been terrific, and from Thursday afternoon, -throughout the night, and during Friday and Friday night, the rain fell -here with but little interruption. After midnight Friday it came down in -absolute torrents until nearly daylight Saturday morning. As a result of -this rise, Grafins Run, a small stream running through the city from -northwest to southeast, was raised until it flooded the whole territory -on either side of it. - -Soon after daylight, the rain having ceased, the stream began to -subside, and as the river had not then reached an alarming height, very -few were concerned over the outlook. The water kept getting higher and -higher, and spreading out over the lower streets. At about nine o'clock -in the forenoon the logs began to go down, filling the stream from bank -to bank. The water had by this time reached almost the stage of 1865. It -was coming up Third Street to the Court-house, and was up Fourth Street -to Market. Not long after it reached Third Street on William, and -advanced up Fourth to Pine. Its onward progress did not stop, however, -as it rose higher on Third Street, and soon began to reach Fourth Street -both at Elmira and Locust Streets. No one along Fourth between William -and Hepburn had any conception that it would trouble them, but the -sequel proved they were mistaken. - -Soon after noon the water began crossing the railroad at Walnut and -Campbell Streets, and soon all the country north of the railroad was -submerged, that part along the run being for the second time during the -day flooded. The rise kept on until nine o'clock at night, and after -that hour it began to go slowly the other way. By daylight Sunday -morning it had fallen two feet, and that receding continued during the -day. When the water was at its highest the memorable sight was to be -seen of a level surface of water extending from the northern line of the -city from Rural Avenue on Locust Street, entirely across the city to the -mountain on the south side. This meant that the water was six feet deep -on the floors of the buildings in Market Square, over four feet deep in -the station of the Pennsylvania Railroad and at the Park Hotel. Fully -three-quarters of the city was submerged. - -The loss was necessarily enormous. It was heaviest on the lumbermen. All -the logs were lost, and a large share of the cut lumber. - -The loss of life was heavy. - -A general meeting of lumbermen was held, to take action on the question -of looking after the lost stock. A comparison as to losses was made, but -many of those present were unable to give an estimate of the amount they -had lost. It was found that the aggregate of logs lost from the boom was -about two hundred million feet, and the aggregate of manufactured lumber -fully forty million feet. The only saw-mill taken was the Beaver mill -structure, which contained two mills, that of S. Mack Taylor and the -Williamsport Lumber Company. It went down stream just as it stood, and -lodged a few miles below the city. - -A member of the Philadelphia _Times_' staff telegraphed from -Williamsport:-- - -"Trusting to the strong arms of brave John Nichol, I safely crossed the -Susquehanna at Montgomery in a small boat, and met Superintendent -Westfall on the other side on an engine. We went to where the Northern -Central crosses the river again to Williamsport, where it is wider and -swifter. The havoc everywhere is dreadful. Most of the farmers for miles -and miles have lost their stock and crops, and some their horses and -barns. In one place I saw thirty dead cattle. They had caught on the top -of a hill, but were drowned and carried into a creek that had been a -part of a river. I could see where the river had been over the tops of -the barns a quarter of a mile from the usual bank. A man named Gibson, -some miles below Williamsport, lost every animal but a gray horse, which -got into the loft and stayed there, with the water up to his body. - -"A woman named Clark is alive, with six cows that she got upstairs. -Along the edges of the washed-out tracks families with stoves and a few -things saved are under board shanties. We passed the saw-mill that, by -forming a dam, is responsible for the loss of the Williamsport bridges. -The river looked very wild, but Superintendent Westfall and I crossed it -in two boats. It is nearly half a mile across. Both boats were carried -some distance and nearly upset. It was odd, after wading through mud -into the town, to find all Williamsport knowing little or nothing about -Johnstown or what had been happening elsewhere. Mr. Westfall was beset -by thousands asking about friends on the other side, and inquiring when -food can be got through. - -"The loss is awful. There have not been many buildings in the town -carried off, but there are few that have not been damaged. There is -mourning everywhere for the dead. Men look serious and worn, and every -one is going about splashed with mud. The mayor, in his address, says: -'Send us help at once--in the name of God, at once. There are hundreds -utterly destitute. They have lost all they had, and have no hope of -employment for the future. Philadelphia should, if possible, send -provisions. Such a thing as a chicken is unknown here. They were all -carried off. It is hard to get anything to eat for love or money. Flour -is needed worse than anything else.' - -"I gave away a cooked chicken and sandwiches that I had with me to two -men who had had nothing to eat since yesterday morning. The flood -having subsided, all the grim destitution is now uncovered. Last night a -great many grocery and other stores were gutted, not by the water, but -by hungry, desperate people. They only took things to eat. - -"A pathetic feature of the loss of life is the great number of children -drowned. In one case two brothers named Youngman, up the river, who have -a woolen mill, lost their wives and children and their property, too, by -the bursting of the dam. Everything was carried away in the night. They -saved themselves by being strong. One caught in a tree on the side of -the mountain across the river and remained there from Saturday night -until late Sunday, with the river below him." - -Among the many remarkable experiences was that of Garrett L. Crouse, -proprietor of a large kindling-wood mill, who is also well known to many -Philadelphia and New York business men. Mr. Crouse lives on the north -side of West Fourth Street, between Walnut and Campbell. On Saturday he -was down town, looking after his mill and wood, little thinking that -there was any flood in the western part of the city. At eleven o'clock -he started to go home, and sauntered leisurely up Fourth Street. He soon -learned the condition of things and started for Lycoming Street, and -was soon in front of the Rising Sun Hotel, on Walnut Street, wading in -the water, which came nearly to his neck. Boats passing and repassing -refused to take him in, notwithstanding that he was so close to his -home. The water continued to rise and he detached a piece of board-walk, -holding on to a convenient tree. In this position he stayed two hours in -the vain hope that a boat would take him on. - -At this juncture a man with a small boat hove in sight and came so close -that Mr. Crouse could touch it. Laying hold of the boat he asked the -skipper how much he would take to row him down to Fourth Street, where -the larger boats were running. - -"I can't take you," was the reply; "this boat only holds one." - -"I know it only holds one, but it will hold two this time," replied the -would-be passenger. "This water is getting unpleasantly close to my -lower lip. It's a matter of life and death with me, and if you don't -want to carry two your boat will carry one; but I'll be that one." - -The fellow in the boat realized that the talk meant business, and the -two started down town. At Pine Street Mr. Crouse waited for a big boat -another hour, and when he finally found one he was shivering with cold. -The men in the boat engaged to run him for five dollars, and they -started. - -It was five o'clock when they reached their destination, when they rowed -to their passenger's stable and found his horses up to their necks in -the flood. - -"What will you charge to take these two horses to Old Oaks Park?" he -asked. - -"Ten dollars apiece," was the reply. - -"I'll pay it." - -They then rowed to the harness room, got the bridles, rowed back to the -horses and bridled them. They first took out the brown horse and landed -her at the park, Mr Crouse holding her behind the boat. They returned -for the gray and started out with her, but had scarcely left the stable -when her head fell back to one side. Fright had already exhausted her. -They took her back to the house porch, when Mr. Crouse led her upstairs -and put her in a bed-room, where she stayed high and dry all night. On -Sunday morning the folks who were cleaning up were surprised to see a -gray horse and a man backing down a plank out of the front door of a -Fourth Street residence. - -It was Garrett Crouse and his gray horse, and when the neighbors saw it -they turned from the scene of desolation about them and warmly applauded -both beast and master. This is how a Williamsport man got home during -the flood and saved his horses. It took him five hours and cost him -twenty-five dollars. - -Mr. James R. Skinner, of Brooklyn, N. Y., arrived home after a series of -remarkable adventures in the floods at Williamsport. - -"I went to Williamsport last Thursday," said Mr. Skinner, "and on Friday -the rain fell as I had never seen it fall before. The skies seemed -simply to open and unload the water. The Susquehanna was booming and -kept on rising rapidly, but the people of Williamsport did not seem to -be particularly alarmed. On Saturday the water had risen to such a -height that the people quit laughing and gathered along the sides of the -torrent with a sort of awe-stricken curiosity. - -"A friend of mine, Mr. Frank Bellows, and myself went out to see the -grand spectacle, and found a place of observation on the Pennsylvania -Railroad bridge. Great rafts of logs were swept down the stream, and now -and then a house would be brought with a crash against the bridge. -Finally, one span gave way and then we beat a hasty retreat. By wading -we reached the place of a man who owned a horse and buggy. These we -hired and started to drive to the hotel, which is on the highest ground -in the city. The water was all the time rising, and the flood kept -coming in waves. These waves came with such frequency and volume that we -were forced to abandon the horse and buggy and try wading. With the -water up to our armpits we got to an outhouse, and climbing to the top -of it made our way along to a building. This I entered through a window, -and found the family in the upper stories. Floating outside were two -canoes, one of which I hired for two dollars and fifty cents. I at once -embarked in this and tried to paddle for my hotel. I hadn't gone a -hundred feet when I capsized. Going back, I divested myself of my coat, -waistcoat, shoes, and stockings. I tried again to make the journey, and -succeeded very well for quite a distance, when the canoe suddenly struck -something and over it went. I managed to hold the paddle and the canoe, -but everything else was washed away and lost. After a struggle in the -water, which was running like a mill-race, I got afloat again and -managed to lodge myself against a train of nearly submerged freight -cars. Then, by drawing myself against the stream, I got opposite the -hotel and paddled over. My friend Bellows was not so fortunate. The -other canoe had a hole in it, and he had to spend the night on the roof -of a house. - -"The trainmen of the Pennsylvania road thought to sleep in the cars, but -were driven out, and forced to take refuge in the trees, from which they -were subsequently rescued. The Beaver Dam mill was moved from its -position as though it was being towed by some enormous steam tug. The -river swept away everything that offered it any resistance. Saturday -night was the most awful I ever experienced. The horrors of the flood -were intensified by an inky darkness, through which the cries of women -and children were ceaselessly heard. Boatmen labored all night to give -relief, and hundreds were brought to the hotel for safety. - -"On Sunday the waters began to subside, and then the effects were more -noticeable. All the provision stores were washed out completely, and one -of the banks had its books, notes, and greenbacks destroyed. I saw rich -men begging for bread for their children. They had money, but there was -nothing to be bought. This lack of supplies is the greatest trouble that -Williamsport has to contend with, and I really do not see how the people -are to subsist. - -"Sunday afternoon Mr. C. H. Blaisdell, Mr. Cochrane, a lumberman and -woodman, a driver, and myself started in a wagon for Canton, with -letters and appeals for assistance. The roads were all washed away, and -we had to go over the mountains. We had to cut our way through the -forests at times, hold the wagon up against the sides of precipices, -ford streams, and undergo a thousand hardships. After two days of travel -that even now seems impossible, we got into Canton more dead than alive. -The soles were completely gone from my boots, and I had on only my -night-shirt, coat, and trousers, which I had saved from the flood. A -relief corps was at once organized, and sent with provisions for the -sufferers. But it had to take a roundabout way, and I do not know what -will become of those poor people in the meantime." - -Mr. Richard P. Rothwell, the editor of the New York _Engineering and -Mining Journal_, and Mr. Ernest Alexander Thomson, the two men who rowed -down the Susquehanna River from Williamsport, Pa., to Sunbury, and -brought the first news of the disaster by flood at Williamsport, came -through to New York by the Reading road. The boat they made the trip in -was a common flat-bottom rowboat, about thirteen feet long, fitted for -one pair of oars. There were three men in the crew, and her sides were -only about three inches above the water when they were aboard. The third -was Mr. Aaron Niel, of Phoenixville, Pa. He is a trotting-horse owner. - -Mr. Thomson is a tall, athletic young man, a graduate of Harvard in '87. -He would not acknowledge that the trip was very dangerous, but an idea -of it can be had from the fact that they made the run of forty-five -miles in four and one-half hours. - -"My brother, John W. Thomson, myself, and Mr. Rothwell," he said, "have -been prospecting for coal back of Ralston. It began to rain on Friday -just after we got into Myer's Hotel, where we were staying. The rain -fell in torrents for thirty-two hours. The water was four or five feet -deep in the hotel when the railroad bridge gave way, and domestic -animals and outhouses were floating down the river by scores. The bridge -swung around as if it were going to strike the hotel. Cries of distress -from the back porch were heard, and when we ran out we found a parrot -which belonged to me crying with all his might, 'Hellup! hellup! -hellup!' My brother left for Williamsport by train on Friday night. We -followed on foot. There were nineteen bridges in the twenty-five miles -to Williamsport, and all but three were gone. - -"In Williamsport every one seemed to be drinking. Men waited in rows -five or six deep in front of the bars of the two public houses, the Lush -House and the Concordia. We paid two dollars each for the privilege of -sleeping in a corner of the bar-room. Mr. Rothwell suggested the boat -trip when we found all the wagons in town were under water. The whole -town except Sauerkraut Hill was flooded, and it was as hard to buy a -boat as it was to get a cab during the blizzard. It was here we met -Niel. 'I was a raftsman,' he said, 'on the Allegheny years ago, and I -may be of use to you,' and he was. He sat in the bow, and piloted, I -rowed, and Mr. Rothwell steered with a piece of board. Our danger was -from eddies, and it was greatest when we passed the ruins of bridges. We -started at 10.15, and made the run to Montgomery, eighteen miles, in one -and a quarter hours. In places we were going at the rate of twenty miles -an hour. There wasn't a whole bridge left on the forty-five miles of -river. As we passed Milton we were in sight of the race-track, where -Niel won a trot the week before. The grand stand was just toppling into -the water. - -"I think I ought to row in a 'Varsity crew now," Mr. Thomson concluded. -"I don't believe any crew ever beat our time." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - - -There was terrible destruction to life and property throughout the -entire Juniata Valley by the unprecedented flood. Between Tyrone and -Lewistown the greatest devastation was seen and especially below -Huntingdon at the confluence of the Raystown branch and the Juniata -River. During the preceding days of the week the rain-filled clouds -swept around the southeast, and on Friday evening met an opposing strata -of storm clouds, which resulted in an indescribable down-pour of rain of -twelve hours' duration. - -The surging, angry waters swept down the river, every rivulet and -tributary adding its raging flood to the stream, until there was a sea -of water between the parallel hills of the valley. Night only added to -the terror and confusion. In Huntingdon City, and especially in the -southern and eastern suburbs, the inhabitants were forced to flee for -their lives at midnight on Thursday, and by daybreak the chimneys of -their houses were visible above the rushing waters. Opposite the city -the people of Smithfield found safety within the walls of the State -Reformatory, and for two days they were detained under great privations. - -Some conception of the volume of water in the river may be had from the -fact that it was thirty-five feet above low-water mark, being eight feet -higher than the great flood of 1847. Many of the inhabitants in the low -sections of Huntingdon, who hesitated about leaving their homes, were -rescued, before the waters submerged their houses, with great -difficulty. - -Huntingdon, around which the most destruction is to be seen of any of -the towns in the Juniata Valley, was practically cut off from all -communication with the outside world, as all the river bridges crossing -the stream at that point were washed away. There was but one bridge -standing in the county, and that was the Huntingdon and Broad Top -Railroad bridge, which stood isolated in the river, the trestle on the -other end being destroyed. Not a county bridge was left, and this loss -alone approximated $200,000. - -The gas works were wrecked on Thursday night and the town was left in -darkness. - -Just below where the Juniata and Raystown branch meet, lived John Dean -and wife, aged seventy-seven each, and both blind. With them resided -John Swaner and wife. Near by lived John Rupert, wife and three small -children. When the seething current struck these houses they were -carried a half mile down the course of the stream and lodged on the ends -amid stream. - -The Ruperts were soon driven to the attic, and finally, when it became -evident that they must perish, the frantic mother caught up two bureau -drawers, and placed her little children in them upon the angry waves, -hoping that they might be saved; but all in vain. - -The loss of life by the flood in Clinton County, in which Lock Haven is -situated, was heavy. Twenty of those lost were in the Nittany Valley, -and seven in Wayne Township. Lock Haven was very fortunate, as the -inhabitants there dwelling in the midst of logs on the rivers are -accustomed to overflows. There were many sagacious inhabitants who, -remembering the flood of 1865, on Saturday began to prepare by removing -their furniture and other possessions to higher ground for safety. It -was this full and realizing sense of the danger that gave Lock Haven -such immunity from loss of life. - -The only case of drowning in Lock Haven was of James Guilford, a young -man who, though warned not to do so, attempted to wade across the main -street, where six feet of the overflowed river was running, and was -carried off by the swift current. The other dead include William Confur -and his wife and three children, all carried off and drowned in their -little home as it floated away, and the two children of Jacob Kashne. - -Robert Armstrong and his sister perished at Clintondale under peculiarly -dreadful circumstances. At Mackeyville, John Harley, Andrew R. Stine, -wife and two daughters, were drowned, while the two boys were saved. At -Salona, Alexander M. Uting and wife, Mrs. Henry Snyder were drowned. At -Cedar Springs, Mrs. Luther S. Eyler and three children were drowned. The -husband was found alive in a tree, while his wife was dead in a -drift-pile a few rods away. At Rote, Mrs. Charles Cole and her two -children were drowned, while he was saved. Mrs. Charles Barner and her -children were also drowned, while the husband and father was saved. This -is a queer coincidence found all through this section, that the men are -survivors, while the wives and children are victims. - -The scenes that have been witnessed in Tyrone City during the time from -Friday evening, May 31st, to Monday evening, June 3d, are almost -indescribable. On Friday afternoon, May 31st, telephone messages from -Clearfield gave warning of a terrible flood at that place, and -preparations were commenced by everybody for high water, although no -one anticipated that it would equal in height that of 1885, which had -always in the past served as high-water mark in Lock Haven. - -All of that Friday rain descended heavily, and when at eight o'clock in -the evening the water commenced rising, the rain was falling in -torrents. The river rose rapidly, and before midnight was over the top -of the bank. Its rapid rising was the signal for hasty preparations for -higher water than ever before witnessed in the city. As the water -continued rising, both the river and Bald Eagle Creek, the vast scope of -land from mountain to mountain was soon a sea of foaming water. - -The boom gave away about two o'clock Saturday morning, and millions of -feet of logs were taken away. Along Water Street, logs, trees, and every -conceivable kind of driftwood went rushing by the houses at a fearful -rate of swiftness. The night was one to fill the stoutest heart with -dread, and the dawn of day on Saturday morning was anxiously awaited by -thousands of people. - -In the meantime men in boats were busy during the night taking people -from their houses in the lower portions of the city, and conveying them -to places of imagined security. - -When day dawned on June 1st, the water was still rising at a rapid rate. -The city was then completely inundated, or at least all that portion -lying east of the high lands in the Third and Fourth Wards. It was -nearly three o'clock Saturday afternoon before the water reached the -highest mark. It then was about three feet above the high-water mark of -1885. - -At four o'clock Saturday evening the flood began to subside, slowly at -first, and it was nearly night on Sunday before the river was again -within its banks. Six persons are reported missing at Salona, and the -dead bodies of Mrs. Alexander Whiting and Mrs. William Emenheisen were -recovered at Mill Hall and that of a six-year old child near by. The -loss there is terrible, and the community is in mourning over the loss -of life. - -G. W. Dunkle and wife had a miraculous escape from drowning early -Saturday A. M. They were both carried away on the top of their house -from Salona to Mill Hall, where they were both rescued in a remarkable -manner. A window in the house of John Stearn was kicked out, and Mr. and -Mrs. Dunkle taken in the aperture, both thus being rescued from a watery -grave. - -Near by a baby was saved, tied in a cradle. It was a pretty, -light-haired light cherub, and seemed all unconscious of the peril -through which it passed on its way down the stream. The town of Mill -Hall was completely gutted by the flood, entailing heavy loss upon the -inhabitants. - -The town of Renovo was completely wrecked. Two spans of the river bridge -and the opera-house were swept away. Houses and business places were -carried off or damaged and there was some loss of life. At Hamburg seven -persons were drowned by the flood, which carried away almost everything -in its path. - -Bellefonte escaped the flood's ravages, and lies high and dry. Some -parts of Centre County were not so fortunate, however, especially in -Coburn and Miles Townships, where great destruction is reported. Several -persons were drowned at Coburn, Mrs. Roust and three children among the -number. The bodies of the mother and one child were recovered. - -James Corss, a well-known resident of Lock Haven, and Miss Emma Pollock, -a daughter of ex-Governor Pollock of Philadelphia, were married at the -fashionable Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, at noon of -Wednesday, June 5th. The cards were sent out three weeks before, but -when it was learned that the freshet had cut off Lock Haven from -communication with the rest of the world, and several telegrams to the -groom had failed to bring any response, it was purposed to postpone the -wedding. The question of postponement was being considered on Tuesday -evening, when a dispatch was brought in saying that the groom was on his -way overland. Nothing further was heard from him, and the bride was -dressed and the bridal party waiting when the groom dashed up to the -door in a carriage at almost noon. - -After an interchange of joyful greetings all around, the bride and groom -set out at once for the church, determined that they should not be late. -On the way to the church the bride fainted. As the church came into view -she fainted again, and she was driven leisurely around Rittenhouse -Square to give her a chance to recover. She got better promptly. The -groom stepped out of the carriage and went into the church by the vestry -way. The carriage then drove round to the main entrance, and the bride -alighted with her father and her maids, and, taking her proper place in -the procession, marched bravely up the aisle, while the organ rang out -the well-remembered notes of Mendelssohn's march. The groom met her at -the chancel, the minister came out, and they were married. A reception -followed. - -The bride and groom left on their wedding-journey in the evening. Before -they went the groom told of his journey from Lock Haven. He said that -the little lumber town had been shut out from the rest of the world on -Friday night. He is a widower, and, accompanied by his grown daughter, -he started on his journey on Monday at two o'clock. They drove to -Bellefonte, a distance of twenty-five miles, and rested there on Monday -night. They drove to Leedsville on Tuesday morning. There, by hiring -relays of horses and engaging men to carry their baggage and row them -across streams, they succeeded in reaching Lewistown, a distance of -sixty-five miles, by Tuesday night. At Lewistown they found a direct -train for Philadelphia, and arrived there on Wednesday forenoon. - - - - -CHAPTER XL. - - -The opening of the month of June will long be remembered with sadness -and dismay by thousands of people in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland -and the two Virginias. In the District of Columbia, too, it was a time -of losses and of terror. The northwestern and more fashionable part of -Washington, D. C., never looked more lovely than it did on Sunday, but -along a good part of the principal business thoroughfare, Pennsylvania -avenue, and in the adjacent streets to the southward, there was a dreary -waste of turbid, muddy water, that washed five and six feet deep the -sides of the houses, filling cellars and basements and causing great -inconvenience and considerable loss of property. Boats plied along the -avenue near the Pennsylvania Railroad station and through the streets of -South Washington. A carp two feet long was caught in the ladies' -waiting-room at the Baltimore and Potomac station, and several others -were caught in the streets by boys. These fish came from the Government -Fish Pond, the waters of the Potomac having covered the pond and allowed -them to escape. - -Along the river front the usually calm Potomac was a wide, roaring, -turbulent stream of dirty water, rushing madly onward, and bearing on -its swift-moving surface logs, telegraph poles, portions of houses and -all kinds of rubbish. The stream was nearly twice its normal width, and -flowed six feet and more deep through the streets along the river front, -submerging wharves, small manufacturing establishments, and lapping the -second stories of mills, boat-houses and fertilizing works in -Georgetown. It completely flooded the Potomac Flats, which the -Government had raised at great expense to a height in most part of four -and five feet, and inundated the abodes of poor negro squatters, who had -built their frame shanties along the river's edge. The rising of the -waters has eclipsed the high-water mark of 1877. The loss was enormous. - -The river began rising early on Saturday morning, and from that time -continued to rise steadily until five o'clock Sunday afternoon, when the -flood began to abate, having reached a higher mark than ever before -known. The flood grew worse and worse on Saturday, and before noon the -river had become so high and strong that it overflowed the banks just -above the Washington Monument, and backing the water into the sewer -which empties itself at this point, began to flow along the streets on -the lower levels. - -By nightfall the water in the streets had increased to such an extent as -to make them impassable by foot passengers, and boats were ferrying -people from the business part of the town to the high grounds in South -Washington. The street cars also continued running and did a thriving -business conveying pleasure-seekers, who sat in the windows and bantered -one another as the deepening waters hid the floor. On Louisiana avenue -the produce and commission houses are located, and the proprietors -bustled eagerly about securing their more perishable property, and -wading knee-deep outside after floating chicken-coops. The grocery -merchants, hotel men and others hastily cleared out their cellars and -worked until the water was waist-deep removing their effects to higher -floors. - -Meanwhile the Potomac, at the Point of Rocks, had overflowed into the -Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and the two became one. It broke open the -canal in a great many places, and lifting the barges up, shot them down -stream at a rapid rate. Trunks of trees and small houses were torn from -their places and swept onward. - -The water continued rising throughout the night, and about noon of -Sunday reached its maximum, three feet six inches above high-water mark -of 1877, which was the highest on record. At that time the city -presented a strange spectacle. Pennsylvania avenue, from the Peace -monument, at the foot of the Capitol, to Ninth street, was flooded with -water, and in some places it was up to the thighs of horses. The cellars -of stores along the avenue were flooded, and so were some of the main -floors. In the side streets south of the avenue there was six to eight -feet of water, and yawls, skiffs and canoes were everywhere to be seen. -Communication except by boat was totally interrupted between North and -South Washington. At the Pennsylvania Railroad station the water was up -to the waiting-room. - -Through the Smithsonian and Agricultural Department grounds a deep -stream was running, and the Washington Monument was surrounded on all -sides by water. - -A dozen lives lost, a hundred poor families homeless, and over -$2,000,000 worth of property destroyed, is the brief but terrible record -of the havoc caused by the floods in Maryland. Every river and mountain -stream in the western half of the State has overflowed its banks, -inundating villages and manufactories and laying waste thousands of -acres of farm lands. The losses by wrecked bridges, washed-out roadbeds -and land-slides along the western division of the Baltimore and Ohio -Railroad, from Baltimore to Johnstown, reach half a million dollars or -more. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, that political bone of contention -and burden to Maryland, which has cost the State many millions, is a -total wreck. The Potomac river, by the side of which the canal runs, -from Williamsport, Md., to Georgetown, D. C., has swept away the locks, -towpaths, bridges, and, in fact, everything connected with the canal. -The probability is that the canal will not be restored, but that the -canal bed will be sold to one of the railroads that have been trying to -secure it for several years. The concern has never paid, and annually -has increased its enormous debt to the State. - -The Western Maryland Railroad Company and the connecting lines, the -Baltimore and Harrisburg, and the Cumberland Valley roads, lose heavily. -On the mountain grades of the Blue Ridge there are tremendous washouts, -and in some sections the tracks are torn up and the road-bed destroyed. -Several bridges were washed away. Dispatches from Shippensburg, -Hagerstown and points in the Cumberland Valley state that the damage to -that fertile farming region is incalculable. Miles of farm lands were -submerged by the torrents that rushed down from the mountains. Several -lives were lost and many head of cattle drowned. At the mountain town of -Frederick, Md., the Monocacy river, Carroll creek and other streams -combined in the work of destruction. - -Friday night was one of terror to the people of that section. The -Monocacy river rose rapidly from the time the rain ceased until last -night, when the waters began to fall. The back-water of the river -extended to the eastern limit of the city, flooding everything in its -path and riding over the fields with a fierce current that meant -destruction to crops, fences and everything in its path. At the -Pennsylvania Railroad bridge the river rose thirty feet above low-water -mark. It submerged the floor of the bridge and at one time threatened it -with destruction, but the breaking away of 300 feet of embankment on the -north side of the bridge saved the structure. With the 300 feet of -embankment went 300 feet of track. The heavy steel rails were twisted by -the waters as if they had been wrenched in the jaws of a mammoth vise. -The river at this point and for many miles along its course overflowed -its banks to the width of a thousand feet, submerging the corn and wheat -fields on either side and carrying everything before it. Just below the -railroad bridge a large wooden turnpike bridge was snapped in two and -carried down the tide. In this way a half-dozen turnpike bridges at -various points along the river were carried away. The loss to the -counties through the destruction of these bridges will foot up many -thousand dollars. - -Mrs. Charles McFadden and Miss Maggie Moore, of Taneytown, were drowned -in their carriage while attempting to cross a swollen stream. The horse -and vehicle were swept down the stream, and when found were lodged -against a tree. Miss Moore was lying half-way out of the carriage, as -though she had died in trying to extricate herself. Mrs. McFadden's body -was found near the carriage. At Knoxville considerable damage was done, -and at Point of Rocks people were compelled to seek the roofs of their -houses and other places of safety. A family living on an island in the -middle of the river, opposite the Point, fired off a gun as a signal of -distress. They were with difficulty rescued. In Frederick county, Md., -the losses aggregate $300,000. - -The heaviest damage in Maryland was in the vicinity of Williamsport, -Washington county. The railroads at Hagerstown and Williamsport were -washed out. The greatest loser is the Cumberland Valley Railroad. Its -new iron bridge across the Potomac river went down, nothing being left -of the structure except the span across the canal. The original cost of -the bridge was $70,000. All along the Potomac the destruction was great. -At and near Williamsport, where the Conococheague empties into the -Potomac, the loss was very heavy. - -At Falling Waters, where only a few days before a cyclone caused death -and destruction, two houses went down in the angry water, and the little -town was almost entirely submerged. In Carroll County, Md., the losses -reached several hundred thousand dollars. George Derrick was drowned at -Trevanion Mills, on Pipe creek. Along the Patapsco river in Howard -county great damage was done to mills and private property. Near -Sykesville the water undermined the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad track -and a freight train was turned over an embankment. William Hudson was -standing on the Suspension Bridge, at Orange Grove, when the structure -was swept away, and he was never seen again. - -Port Deposit, near the mouth of the Susquehanna river, went under water. -Residents along the river front left their homes and took refuge on the -hills back of the town. The river was filled with thousands of logs from -the broken booms up in the timber regions. From the eastern and southern -sections of the State came reports of entire fruit farms swept away. Two -men were drowned in the storm by the capsizing of a sloop near -Salisbury. - -A number of houses on the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers near Harper's -Ferry were destroyed by the raging waters which came thundering down -from the mountains, thirty to forty feet higher than low-water mark. -John Brown's fort was nearly swept away. The old building has withstood -a number of floods. There is only a rickety portion of it standing, -anyhow, and that is now covered with mud and rubbish. While the crowds -on the heights near Harper's Ferry were watching the terrible work of -destruction, a house was seen coming down the Potomac. Upon its roof -were three men wildly shouting to the people on the hills to save them. -Just as the structure struck the railroad bridge, the men tried to catch -hold of the flooring and iron work, but the swift torrent swept them all -under, and they were seen no more. What appeared to be a babe in a -cradle came floating down behind them, and a few moments later the body -of a woman, supposed to be the mother of the child, swept by. Robert -Connell, a farmer living upon a large island in the Potomac, known as -Herter Island, lost all his wheat crop and his cattle. His family was -rescued by Clarence Stedman and E. A. Keyser, an artist from Washington, -at the risk of their lives. The fine railroad bridge across the -Shenandoah, near Harper's Ferry, was destroyed. The Ferry Mill Company -sustained heavy losses. - -Along the South Mountains, in Washington and Alleghany counties, Md., -the destruction was terrible. Whole farms, including the houses and -barns, were swept away and hundreds of live stock killed. Between -Williamsport, Md., and Dam No. 6 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal -twenty-six houses were destroyed, and it is reported that several -persons were drowned. The homeless families are camping out on the -hills, being supplied with food and clothing by the citizens of -Williamsport. - -Joseph Shifter and family made a narrow escape. They were driven to the -roof of their house by the rising waters, and just a minute before the -structure collapsed the father caught a rowboat passing by, and saved -his wife and little ones. - -The town of Point of Rocks, on the Potomac river, twelve miles eastward -of Harper's Ferry, was half-submerged. Nearly $100,000 worth of property -in the town and vicinity was swept away. The Catholic Church there is -500 feet from the river. The extent of the flood here may be imagined -when it is stated that the water was up to the eaves of the church. - -The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal has been utterly lost, and what formerly -was the bed of the canal is now part of the Potomac river. There were -but few houses in Point of Rocks that were not under water. The -Methodist Church had water in its second story. The two hotels of which -the place boasts, the American and the St. Charles, were full of water, -and any stranger in town had to hunt for something to eat. - -Every bridge in Frederick county, Md., was washed away. Some of these -bridges were built as long ago as 1834, and were burned by the -Confederate and Union forces at various times in 1864, afterward being -rebuilt. At Martinsburg, W. Va., a number of houses were destroyed. -Little Georgetown, a village on the Upper Potomac, near Williamsport, -Md., was entirely swept away. - -Navigation on Chesapeake Bay was seriously interrupted by the masses of -logs, sections of buildings and other ruins afloat. Several side-wheel -steamers were damaged by the logs striking the wheels. Looking southward -for miles from Havre de Grace, the mouth of the Susquehanna, and far out -into the bay the water was thickly covered with the floating wood. -Crowds of men and boys were out on the river securing the choicest logs -of hard wood and bringing them to a safe anchorage. By careful count it -was estimated that 200 logs, large and small, were swept past Havre de -Grace every minute. At that rate there would be 12,000 logs an hour. It -is estimated that over 70,000,000 feet of cut and uncut timber passed -Havre de Grace within two days. Large rafts of dressed white pine boards -floated past the city. The men who saved the logs got from 25 cents to -$1 for each log for salvage from the owners, who sent men down the river -to look after the timber. Enough logs have been saved to give three -years' employment to men, and mills will be erected to saw up the stuff. - -Not within the memory of the oldest inhabitants had Petersburg, -Virginia, been visited by a flood as fierce and destructive as that -which surprised it on Saturday and Sunday. The whole population turned -out to see the sight. - -The storm that did such havoc in Virginia and West Virginia on Thursday -reached Gettysburg on Saturday morning. The rain began at 7 o'clock -Friday morning and continued until 3 o'clock Saturday. It was one -continuous down-pour during all that time. As a result, the streams were -higher than they had been for twenty-five years. By actual measurement -the rain-fall was 4.15 inches between the above hours. Nearly every -bridge in the county was either badly damaged or swept away, and farmers -who lived near the larger streams mourn for their fences carried away -and grain fields ruined. Both the railroads leading to the town had -large portions of their embankments washed out and many of their bridges -disturbed. On the Baltimore and Harrisburg division of the Western -Maryland Railroad the damage was great. At Valley Junction 1000 feet of -the embankment disappeared, and at Marsh creek, on the new branch of the -road to Hagerstown, four divisions of the bridge were swept away. - -But at Pine Grove and Mount Holly perhaps the greatest damage was done. -The large Laudel dam, which supplies the water to run the forge at Pine -Grove furnace, and which covers thirty acres of land, burst. It swept -away part of the furnace and a house. The occupants were saved by men -wading in water up to their waists. Every bridge, with one exception, in -Mount Holly was swept away by the flood occasioned by the breaking of -the dam which furnished water for the paper mills at that place. - -The water at Elmira, N. Y., on Saturday night was from a foot to a foot -and a half higher than ever before known. The Erie Railroad bridge was -anchored in its place by two trains of loaded freight cars. The water -rose to the cars, which, with the bridge, acted as a dam, and forced the -water back through the city on the north side of the Chemung river, -where the principal business houses are located. The water covered the -streets to a depth of two or three feet, and the basements of the stores -were quickly flooded, causing thousands of dollars of damage. The only -possible way of entering the Rathbone House, the principal hotel of the -city and on the chief business street, was by boats, which were rowed -directly into the hotel office. On the south side of the river the -waters were held in check for several hours by the ten-foot railroad -embankment, but hundreds of families were driven into the upper stories -of their houses. Late in the evening, two thousand feet of the -embankment was forced away, and the water carried the railroad tracks -and everything else before it. An extensive lumber yard in the path of -the rushing water was swept away. Many horses were drowned, and the -people living on the flats were rescued with great difficulty by the -police and firemen. - -A terrible rain-storm visited Andover, N. Y. All the streams were -swollen far above high-water mark, and fields and roads were overflowed. -No less than a dozen bridges in this town were carried away, and newly -planted crops were utterly ruined. The water continued to rise rapidly -until 4 o'clock. At that hour the two dams at the ponds above the -village gave away, and the water rushed wildly down into the village. -Nearly every street in the place was overflowed, and in many cases -occupants of houses were driven to the upper floors for safety. Owen's -large tannery was flooded and ruined. Almost every rod of railroad track -was covered and much of it will have to be rebuilt. The track at some -points was covered fifteen feet with earth. - -At Wellsville, N. Y., the heavy rain raised creeks into rivers and -rivers into lakes. Never, in the experience of the oldest inhabitant, -had Wellsville been visited with such a flood. Both ends of the town -were submerged, water in many cases standing clear to the roofs of -houses. - -Canisteo, N. Y., was invaded by a flood the equal of which had never -been known or seen in that vicinity before. Thursday afternoon a -drizzling rain began and continued until it became a perfect deluge. -The various creeks and mountain rills tributary to the Canisteo river -became swollen and swept into the village, inundating many of the -streets to the depth of three feet and others from five to seven feet. -The streets were scarcely passable, and all stores on Main and the -adjacent streets were flooded to a depth of from one to two feet and -much of the stock was injured or spoiled. Many houses were carried away -from their foundations, and several narrow escapes from death were made. - -One noble deed, worthy of special mention, was performed by a young man, -who waded into the water where the current was swift and caught a baby -in his arms as it was thrown from the window of a house that had just -been swept from its foundation. - -The Fire Department Building, one of the most costly blocks in town, was -undermined by the flood and the greater part fell to the ground with a -crash. The town jail was almost destroyed. - -The inundation in the coal, iron and lumber country around Sunbury, -Penn., occasioned much destruction and suffering, while no less than -fifty lives were lost. The Susquehanna, Allegheny, Bald Eagle, -Sinnamahoning and Huntingdon Railways suffered greatly, and the losses -incurred reach, in round numbers, $2,000,000. In Clearfield, Clinton, -Lycoming, Elk, Cameron, Northumberland, Centre, Indiana, McKean, -Somerset, Bedford, Huntingdon, Blair and Jefferson counties the -rain-storm was one of unprecedented severity. The mountain streams grew -into great rivers, which swept through the country with irresistible -fury and force, and carried devastation in all directions. - -The destruction in the Allegheny Valley at and near Dubois, Red Bank, -New Bethlehem and Driftwood was immense, hardly a saw-mill being left -standing. - - - - -Transcriber's Notes - -Corrections - -The use of larger or small capitals for "P.M." and "A.M." varies and -have been left intact. Several apparent errors were noted, but have been -allowed to stand, and are included in this list. The spelling of -'Pittsburgh' frequently omits the final 'h'. Both variants are retained. -Variants in other place names are retained as well. - -An apparent confusion on p. 279: "_Fonda, N. Y., June 5._--The people of -Johnstown, N. Y...." is retained. Fonda and Johnstown N.Y. were and are -neighboring communities. - -In lists of contributions, missing or incorrect punctuation has been -rendered consistent. - -The following corrections were made where the errors are clearly -inadvertent. Several instances of possibly nonstandard spelling have -been noted with 'sic', which have been retained. - -p. viii | 13[7] | Completed page number. - | | -p. 17 | Franks[]town Turnpike | Missing hyphen at page - | | break. - | | -p. 43 | here and there[.] Each | Added stop. - | | -p. 97 | [']To the hills | Added single quote. - | | -p. 101 | as soon as [we] were in it | Added 'we'. - | | -p. 129 | The Pitt[t]sburg lady | Removed extra 't'. - | | -p 135 | so we [we] did not pay much | Removed redundant 'we'. - | | -p. 149 | especially the [woman], fainted. | sic - | | -p. 151 | that were intrusted to us.["] | Closing quote added. - | | -p. 177 | and Mary, nineteen years." | Added missing quote. - | | -p. 182 | SITE OF THE HU[R]LBURT | Elsewhere spelled - | | Hurlburt. - | | -p. 204 | the Hotel Hurlbu[r]t | Elsewhere spelled - | | Hurlburt. - | | -p. 224 | train was on a sid[]ing | Missing hyphen on - | | line break. - | | -p. 225 | to[-]day | Missing hyphen added. - | | -p. 287 | amounted to $687,872[,/.]68 | Comma replaced with - | | decimal. - | | -p. 294 | Thomas Garner & Co[.] | Period added. - | | -p. 297 | Saugerties[,] N. Y., $850; | comma added. - | | -p. 301 | debris / debris | Both the accented and - | | unaccented spellings - | | are retained, here and - | | elsewhere. - | | -p. 306 | nine hundred men [a]t work | Added missing 'a'. - | | -p. 317 | was discovered w[h]ere anybody | Added missing 'h'. - | | -p. 319 | there was ample water t[e/o] cover | Corrected typo. - | | - | amount of water i[n/t] contained | Corrected typo. - | | -p. 320 | ninety million cubic feet[.] | Added missing '.' - | | -p. 321 | Ho[u/a]ng-ho | Changed to agree with - | | other instances. - | | -p. 322 | But the b[r]each grew | Corrected typo. - | | -p. 327 | A large rock was split assunder | sic - | | -p. 328 | and caused great dam[s/a]ge | Corrected typo. - | | -p. 329 | the Danube again o[u/v]erflowed | Corrected typo. - | | - | its turbulent waters i[u/n]to | Corrected typo. - | | -p. 332 | At Whitehall, [N.G./N.Y.] | Corrected typo. - | | - | one hundred and nin[e]ty feet | Corrected typo. - | | -p. 358 | Baltimore and Ohio Rail[a/r]oad | Corrected typo. - | | -p. 377 | turned in[]to them by people | sic - | | -p. 407 | Allegehenies | sic - | | -p. 414 | draughty as a seive | sic - | | -p. 434 | ever beat our time[.]" | Added '.' - | | -p. 458 | [Caniesto/Canisteo] river | Corrected typo. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Johnstown Flood, by -Willis Fletcher Johnson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD *** - -***** This file should be named 41271.txt or 41271.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/2/7/41271/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, KD Weeks and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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