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SOMERSET, PA., MONDAY, JUNE 3, 18S9.
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AWFUL
CALAMITY.
)hnstown Wiped Out!
HE CAMBRIA IRON WORKS A
COMPLETE WRECK!
p "Old Fowler" Dam Calves Way Carrying
Death and Destruction Through the
C'oiiemaugh Valley.
oM 3000 TO 5000 PEOPLE REPORTED DROWNED
t
OaluTjny't Iuily llrrahl Extra. ,
be most awful calamity that has
, vi-itcd on the country for
occurred at Johnstown about
1 o'clock yesterday evening, re-
n; in the complete destruction
,at thriving city, aud the death
umlrcds of men, women and
hen. The old feeder dam,
: iu the davs of the old State
1 and used to supply the canal,
,o. For more than 30 years
:H ople of Johnstown have lecn
Jinj; the Invoking of this dam,
lone familiarity with the danger
robbed it of iu terrors, 80 that
k-luie came uKn the doomed
as unexpectedly as it was un-
!ued. This dam was more than
) feet in length and 75 feet in
at. Tlie immense body of wa
uhed with awful force down
narrow ravine in which runs
:li Fork Creek into the Conc
Au A!mot in a 3ash the space
eon the hills was filled with a
tig. seething flood, and a solid
" of water man v feet high moved
appalling rapidity on the fated
Houses in the course of the
1 were cracked like egg-shells,
their fragments in an instant
J a driftwood on the bosom
jc waters. AVh.cn the flood
k Kat-t Conemaugh the dwel-
i- and business houses along its
s were picked up like chips and
d downward ; house after houe
down in the prip of the giant,
each one as it fell acted as a
ring-ram to drive down its
Wire ; the bridges at East Con
di and the station were shot
their foundations, and the vast
- of drill, to w hich clung men,
on and children, dashed on
i they eucountercd the solid
1 arch of the V. 1L R. bridge ;
bridge served as a barrier for
J rift, and the ruins of house af-
't T ohm; were dashed against it un
iey w ere piled in a mass a mile
nirth : over the obstruction, and
:o Cambria Citv and Morrell-
. canviiij death and destruc
everywhere, ed the mad wa-
IHE TIMXHS OK MSASTER.
out one o'clock white-faced
Misers pushed through the
ts of Johnstown and screamed
irninir to the inhabitants of the
ied city to flee to the hiirhcst
ds. Through the valley of
manga spread the warning by
and messengers. Pcoi.le rush-
om their houses seeking safety
le higher grounds, but all were
able to get there. Horrible
ensued when the hill of wat
atne rolling with irresistable
igth. overwhelming the lower
of the town and sweeping
houses in the vast mass of
kage in which were hundreds
lpless human beings,
t points below, the bodies of
iies and the debris of their
-s came floating down iu full
view of the affrighted people along
the banks. Telegraphic advices
were received from Johnstown from
Miss IIorU'le,a lady operator there.
At 6 o'clock she w ired :
" Must li-are, the u-alcr it coming
(ft. lioott iiy.
This was the last word received
from the doomed citv.
FKIEXDS Df THE FLOOD.
The feeling of suspense that took
hold of the community on receipt
of the first rumors of the aw
ful calamity at Johnstown, has
grown and spread, until the whole
town seems under a pall. Scarcely
a family here but had one or more
of its mem)er3 living in Johnstown.
All d.iy long the streets have been
filled with ashen-faced people ask
ing for news from friends. Lar
gess Wclfley consulted a number of
the most prominent citizens in re
gard to calling a public meeting to
see what it was possible for our
people to do to relieve the suffer-
ing and destitution. It was thought
best not issue the call until more
definite news was received. Learn-
ing that the Daily Herald was
sending a reporter to the scene, the
burgess sent a request with him to
have any rcsjtonsiblc person he
could find iu Johnstown send word
as to what was best to be done.
The Somerset and Cambria Kail-
road is blocked aud all telegraphic
communication is cut off. All day
long telegrams have been pouring
in on people here from all pni'ts of
the country asking after friends
known to have been in Johustowu.
A later report from Lockport says
that the residents succeeded in
rescuing five people from the flood
two women and three men. Une
man succeeded in getting out of the
water. Thcv were kindly taken
care of by the people of the town.
A little girl passeil under tne
bridge just before dark. She w as
kneeling on a part of a floor and
had her hands clasped as if in pray
er. Evorv effort w as made to save
her but they all proved futile. A
railroader who was standing by re
marked that the piteous apjarance
of the little waif brought tears to
his eyes.
Mr. Robert Pitcairn, Supt. of the
Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsyl
vania Railroad, telegraphed to Pitts
burgh, as follows :
New Florence, May 31. 10 :5G
p. ii. In going to the trouble, with
water west of Lilly's, I could not
get further than Sang Hollow. Our
tracks west of this point are also
obstructed. While at Saug Hol
low over 100 people, men w omen
nnd children, passed there on de
bris; seven were recovered at Sang
Hollow, two at Conemaugh Furnace
and two here. Onlv forty-seven of
the 100 and over passed here.
From my supervisor, who was at
Johnstown, I learn that Johnstown
is literally wiped out. Our track
between Johnstown and Conemaugh
is filled with buildings and drift 40
font iii rh or more, which is on fire.
All our tracks, as I have said, are
badlv blocked between Sang
llol
low and Johnstown. I fear there
will lie terrible suffering among
those saved, which should be re
lieved as soon as possible. In the
interest of humanity I think a pub
lic meeting bhould be calleu eari)
to-morrow to wnu loou, ciouim
etc., to these poor people, which we
will be glad to lorwaru 10 .o.ni-
stown and neighborhood as soon as
we get a clear track there.
Robert Pjtcairx.
Spw.al to the PsJljr Hersld.
Pittsburgh, June 1. All hotels
and telearaim offices at Johnstown
nr ctlll inii:id:itd. So names of
missing persons yet received ; Cam
bria Iron Works complete wreck
estimated fullv two thousands lives
lost Dispatch.
Bprclsl to lb DsIiT Hcrmld.
r-TTsurRon. June 1. The dis
aster at Johnstow- is appalling be
yond desnption ; onr reports are so
meagre than we can give you noth
in"- definite before morning.
J. II.
Poftn:astr J. K. Coffroth, came in en
tlie 4 p. hi. train from Johnstown, lie
uvs that lie was standing on tne out
Bedford Tike near w here the 8. & C. It.
crosses; faw me miglitv rueli oi wa-
tercoming and ran up the abrupt "Green
II ill" ns f.ist as his egn would carry him.
From here tie had a full view of the aw
ful scene. The great volume of water
came rushing twenty feet high, pwooj.inp
everything before it. Building toppled
over like jwiper Ikx' and were carritd
by the current with frightful speed.
Thousand'of msn, women and children
were running for the hill on w hich lie
was standing, to encape from the terrible
death that waa bearing down on them
with lightning speed. Hun Ired were
overtaken by the anjrry w aters, and www
swept awav when within a few feet of
sufetv. The few men on the hill with
Mr. CunTrutli u.d every elLirt at their
command to assist the terror-stricken
people. Dozeus wen; helped out of the
water juct as they were about to be car
ried away by the resistless current. In
the course of a half hour the hundreds
of frame building" that had been swept
by came flouting up the Stonycreek,
their downward course having been
checked by the massive stone bridge of
the l'enn Ivania Uuilroad Company,
which tt'ted as a dam, and forced the
water back up the Stonycreek for a dis
tance of several miles.
Not a building in the new town of
Moxhara was left standing on its found
ation : all were Ooatinz about in tlie
swollen river. Almost every house con
tair.ed from two to a dozen people tnd
their shrieks for help were agonizing to
hear. On the side of one upturned build
ing were a man and four small children,
all on their knees praying for deliverance
from the terrible death before them. Their
appealing prayers could be distinctly
heard by those on the hill top, who were
powerlere to assist them.
All night long men, women and chil
dren, by the thousands, were running up
and down the river bunks, carrying lan
ters and humid. BC-arching for their
friends.
Mrs. Benford, her daughter and son,
Lou, of the Ilulbert House, arc thought
to be certainly drowned. Out of the forty-
two ron!e in their hotel only eiiflit were
saved. Among these are Postmaster Cof-
froth and Frank Benford, the manager of
the house. A daughter of John H. Hus
ton, of Somerset, was a domestic in th'ui
hotel ; nothing has been heard of her.
Col. John 1'. Linton, the most promi
nent attorney in Cambria county, and
liU entire familv. excepting 'Rube.' who
in in Somerset, are reported missing.
Clark Benford and w ife were carried
Iroai one building to another by the wa
ter ; both were saved
A passenger train on the P. It. U. from
tlie east came dashing around the curve
ju a few ro.ls from tin Johnstown sta
tion, and ran into the sea ahead. Aotn
ing has jet been learned of the train or
its paieng'r. All are fupposeJ to have
perished. Freight cars from the P- & C.
were carried down into the heart of the
tow n, and are rtill standing there.
"Will Endslcy and Potter Walter aought
shelter on the roof of the Hulbert House
when that building was swept from nn-
der them. They swam across the street
to the Leuther building anJ weresaved
Nothing has ln-en learned of Ferg Par
ker or Rurll Uhl.
A young son of John Kifer, of Somer-
mfL who is emt.loved in a Johnstown
livery stable, iaveJ hia life by holding
on to a horse, w hich swam to a place of
safety.
Milt Young, another Somerset man,
escaped.
Jack CoffrotU went overtothe Hulbert
House this morning, and assisted in re
moving seven bodies. He saw two wo
men taken from a lot of wreckage, still
alive.
Telegrams received from Hooversville
at 7 o'clock this evening, announce the
escape of Frank Mcl Kmald, " Tip " Parks
ami Charley Kidinger. M. H. Hartzell,
of Kockwood, when last seen, wag w ith
McDonald, in Johnstown. He has not
yet been heard from.
Mr. V. V. Knable the postal agent on
the S. fc C. R. It, gives a graphic descrip
tion of the flood and ileatlen.lar.t horrors."
He says: The waters were higher in
Johnstown yesterJay morning than ever
known before; the filling np of the banks
of the river make a spring flood an an
nual occurrence ;ski!fs were gjinglabout
the streets and extemporized rafts and
floats were to be seen on every side;
every one took it good naturedly and
made sport of it. Finding that the rail
road w as blocked and that there was no
chance of my getting out that day I
started up toward my rooms on upper
Main street. Plopping at Curt Camp
bell's drug store, I stepped in for a few
minutes chat. At dinner time Friday
the water had risen so that I could not
goto my hotel without a soak ing so I con
cluded to spend the afternoon w ith Mr.
Ca:npbell. Shortly before 4 o'clock I w as
at the door and saw the water come down
the cross street iu an almost perpendicu
lar wall twenty feet in highth ; buildings
were crashed like egg shells ; frame and
brick alike going dow n in the mad rush
of the torrent. The building in w hich
Charles .Griffith's Drug Store, the old
Frazier stand, wag one of the first on
Main street to go down ; building after
building on that side of Main street went
down until the ones left standing were
the front part of the Merchants Hotel,
Ben's saloon and John Stenger'a dry
goods store on tlie other side of the street.
tne upiier end ol the tenn isiock was
knocked out ; from there to, and includ
ing, John Thomas' store building every
thing, with the exception of a part of the
building is still standing ; from Thomas'
to Alma Hall not a building U standing,
and from Alma Hall to the river the on
ly buildings staudingaie the Club House,
and theMorrell house and I 'r. Lawman's.
On Clinton Street the Hulbert House,
Geis, Fosteri J linn's, and nearly every
other building went dow n. The B. A O.
station is left stand as a lone monument
on Washington SlreeL
TUe l ost Umce is still standing but la
badly w recked ; nee rly ail houses on the
river in Kernville were washed away ; it
was said that not a house was left stand
ing in Wood vale, and hardly a sign of
one in Conemaugh ; South Fork, Cone
maugh, aud Mineral Point, tow ns on the
bank of the stream bstween the dam
and Johnstown have not been heard
from and are thought to be totally de
Btoyed ; the destruction of human life
was terrible, there being probably sev
eral thousand people lost : the streets
were full of dead this morning ; I saw
seven at one point. Among the people
know n here at home w ho are supposed
to be lost are Mrs- II. M.Ogle and daugh
ter, Mrs. M. K. Hurst and grand-chil-
ilren ; Cyrus Elder's family, Virg. Elder.
John Shaffer, Charles Griffith, the Recks,
John Dibert and family, Scott Dibert,
Jacob Swank, Abel Young, Mrs James
Beuford, her daughters Maria and Mar,
and son Lou, Mrs. DeFranlz, Ed. Hef-
tley, from Stoyestown, Messrs. Eld ridge
i Young, Harry Rosenstcel, Henry Wor
den and family.
Tlie residence of Mr. F. W. Hay is
down, and his family unheard of. Only
five people escaped from the Hulbert
House. I did not hear anything of Ferg
Parker, but suppose he escaped, together
with Capt. Kuhn and wife, as they all
boarded at the Ciub Iloue. Foily-two
persons were saved at Gen. Campbell's
residence, but I did not hear their names.
The Mansion House was picked np and
carried by the back water out to the
Sandyvale Cemetery.
The Catholic church and parsonage and
Mr. Foster's house took tire last night.
and fire either was started or occurred
by accident in the debris gathered at the
railroad bridge lighting up the heavens
and adding additional ghastlimns to the
horrible scene. Hundreds of people
were compelled to stay on tho housetop
all night.
We are unable, owing to the lateness
of the hour, to publish the entire inter
view. Eu.
Mr. Jacob Zeijjler, who came fmm
Johnstown this afternoon, rays that it is
lieyond thp power of man to describe
the awful devastation. Whole sections
rf the town are toVily obliterated. The
trce!i in the npper part of the city ar
filled with frantic people searching for
loved oTies ; strong men weep nnd are
utterlv prostrated by the gigantic calam
ity. It was impossible at the time he
left to get into the lower part of the city.
HUNDREDSOFLI
YES
SWEPT FE0M THE FACE 01
THE EARTH.
A DAM GIVES WAY.
Carrying Death and Destruc
tion With It.
JOHSTOWXjPAVIPEDOUl
People Floating Down the Eivei
Shrieking for Help.
Some of the Scenes Indfwnbable Tlw
Work of Rmcim Going On 'o Train.
A Mo to Rearb tlia Smw and All Othoj
Direct Communication Cnt OAT As
Utnnce Asked for bjr Superintendent
I'itcaim. '
H.iEBlsnrRa, Juno 1. An extensivt
laud slide is reported at Lillys station.
The water is said to be ten feet over tht
Pennsylvania railroad tracks.
Bra l) dock. Pa., June 1. Telegraph
wires are down or unworkable twelvt
miles from Johnstown. News received
here by tho Pennsylvania railroad
officials corroborates the statements that
Johnstown is nearly wijied out. The
signal tower people at Sang Hollow
stato that up to 8 o'clock they had
counted 113 persons floating past on
wreckage, somo nlive and sonio dead.
They rescued a boy, name unknown,
who said he and hU father, mother,
brother and two sisters were swept away
w-ith their house. II 3 was washed oft
from the building, but tho others were
in it when it waa carried over tlie new
stone railroad bridge at Johnstown. The
hnx-te went to pieces then, and he thinks
all were drowned.
Tbe First Alarm.
The clarm of danger seems to hav
reached Johnstown about 1 p. ru. Tin
railroad officials at once began carrying
J l- ottt of town, '"8om on regnJar
trains, others on hastily improvised spe
cials. Superintendent Pitcairn hap
pened to be in the vicinity and took
charge of the work. Tlie water finally
came dc.w n like a tidal wave, sweeping
evcTTthing before it.
As Seen from Dollrar.
Bolivar, Pa., June 1. The water It
hither here tiian was ever known, and
two-story houses, barns, stables, whole
forests of trees, outhouses, smokehouses,
railroad bridges, rafts, inverted skiff?
and driftwood by the acre are rushing
past, from all of which imploring hands
were held out to those on the banks will
ing but impotent to help, and the in
stability of tracks east of this place ren
ders tho only information to be got of a
fugitive nature, but for the most part
very accurate.
At Lockport, two miles east, the con
ditions for saving the people are more
favorable, and more tlian twenty persona
have been taken from the flood.
The First Great Kusk of Water
was observed last evening at 7 o'clock,
and this came from the burst dam, just
above Johnstown. It came like a fren
zied whirlpool, and before the people
could realize it they were in its grasp.
Fortunately, cool heads and resolute
hands were on the alert to save, and be
fore any of the people living on the low-
lying ground were caught, all were taken
out in skiffs and in tlie arms of gum
booted and coated men to the high
ground. Their furniture was also
largely savKl, so tliat the kiss will fall
ujKin houses alone, and such live stock
as was carried out of tbe stream.
So terrible was the force of the current
that the county bridge over the Cone
maugh, apparently a most substantial
structure, withstood the rush of waters
and the battering of logs for a few min
utes, bnt finally it let go and its parts
were cast out into tlie river, and part of
the debris already choked the waters. As
early as 7:20 o'clock a great pile of drift
wood that the whirl of waters them
elves imported into the drift was swept
along, and from it
Shriek I'poa Rhrlek
for "help, help for God's sake!" came.
Tbe horrified spectators on the shore saw
three women, to one of whom were
clinging two children, neither of whom
was apparently more than an infant.
The rapidity of the current and the
position of the raft, together with tlie
luck of facilities for rescuing, precluded
the possibility of even thinking of the
matter, and tlie raft passed out of sight
Tho screams of the women and children,
Mending in their pleadings for aid, were
heard long after their craft was around
the bend. The stream then became
thickly strewn with men, women and
children, clinging to all torts of tempo
rary means of salvation, and two men
and a woman clung madly to the tops of
huge trees, tlie men emulating the fe
males in their shrieks for help that it
waa not possible to give.
AN AWFUL SIGHT.
People VTamed of Its FneatbUltr of Bant
ing, tut To Late.
PlTTSBrRa, June 1. It was stated at
tlie office of tlie Pennsylvania railroad,
at an early hour this morning, that the
deaths would run up into the thousands
rather than the hundreds, as was at first
supposed. From private dispatches re
ceived, it is said that the stream of bu
rn:! n beings that was swept before the
angry floods was something most piti
ful to behold. Men, women and chil
dren were carried along frantically
shrieking for help, bnt their cries availed
them nothing. Rescue was impossible.
Husbands were swept past their wire
and children were borne rapidly along
going at a terrible speed to certain deatk
before the eyes of their terrorized and
frantic parents. It was said at the depot
that it was impossible to estimate tht
number whose lives were lost in tin
flood. It will simply be a matter of coa
jecturc for several days as to who wen
lost or who escaped.
Dispatcher Culp received several tele
grams last night, detailing tlie flood at
Johnstown. The recent heavy rains had
swollen the old canal reservoir at Soutl
Fork, on tlie Conemaugh river, and fean
were entertained for its safety.
Warned to Tio Purpose.
Tlie basin contained water measurinf
two miles across by five miles in lengtl
and was seventy feet deep in the deepest
place. Tlie people of Johnstown wert
warned of its possibility of bursting dur
ing the morning, but very few, if any of
the inhabitants, took the warning seri
ously. Shortly after noon the dam gavt
way about five miles above Johnstown
and sweeping everything before it burst
upon the town with terrible - force.
Everything was carried before it, an
not an instant's time was given to seek
safety. Houses were demolished, swept
from their foundations and carried ii
the flood to a culvert near the town.
Here a mass of all manner of debris soot
lodged, and by evening it bad daminec
the water
. . . Brk Int Ctx.
over the tops of many of the still remain
ing chimneys. A dispatch to Dispatcher
Culp.received about 11 o'clock lost night,
said the blockade at the Johnstowt
bridge was three-fourths of a mile Ions
and forty feet high, and was all on fire
Tlie extent of tho . damagt
could not possibly be -estimated,
. At Ulnlrsvllle.
Blaiksville, Pa.; June 1. The ioci
in the Conemaugh river at this point If
the heaviest ever known here. At thi
hour the railroad bridge between here
and Blairsville intersection has bees
swept away, also the new iron bridge at
Coketon, half a mile below. It is now
feared the iron bridge at the lower end
of this town will go. About 7 o'clock
living woman and dead man, supposed
to be her husband, were seen going un
der the railroad bridge. They were aces
to come from under tlie bridge safely,
but shortly disappeared and were eeef
no more.
A great many families lose their house
hold goods. The river is running full of
.imber, houses, goods, etc. Tbe lose will
be heavy. The excitement here is very
great. The river is still rising. Then
are some families below town in the
second-story of their houses and eant
get out. It is feared If the water goet
much higher the loes of life will be very
great The raiboad company hid four
teen cars os coal on their bridge when rt
went down, and all was swept down tht
river.
Tbe Town of Sooth eerk VTIpod Oat,
Derrt, Pa., June 1. The town ol
South Fork, which contained about 2.00t
inhabitants, lay in the cours of the flood
which swept down from the broken dam
to Johnstown, and it is believed that
four fifths of the town waa carried
away. Four miles lower down is the vil
lage of Mineral Point, with 800 inhabi
tats. It seems difficult to hope that any
of them escaped. Six miles furthei
down was Conemaugh, with 8,500 peo
ple, but in this case the formation of tlx
country afforded some chance for es
cape. The town it ten was devastated.
Wood vale, with 3,600 peopte, lay still
further down. It suffered greatly.
From Wltllemsport.
WlLUAMSPORT, Pa., June 1. The
biggest flood since the memorial one of
1865 is now in ' progreea on the west
branch of the Susquehanna river. Hock
damage is reported from pointe north of
here, but communication of all kinds b
interfered with. Land slides are reported
all along the Pennsylvania roads north
of here. At Clearfield tbe water is ris
ing at the rate of one and one-half feet
per hour. A half dozen bridges have
been swept away and the etreete of the
town are overflowed. The people ars
going about in boats.
Silk Ban trnbrtUas, from $1.25 np.
Mas. A. . Vat.
f.
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