New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-06-05
ATWORK AMONG THERUINS
PEOPLE RECOVERING FROM THEIR DESPAIR
AT JOHNSTowN.
REGISTRY OFFICES OPENED FOR THE sURvIv.
oRs-UsING DYNAMITE ON THE HEAP OF
DRIFT AT THE BRIDGE,-THE SEARCH
FOR CoRPsEs SEEMINGLY AN
ENDLESS TASK
ENDLESS TASK.
[Br TELEGRAPH TO The rwDUSRl

ENDLESS TASK
[Br TELEGRAPH TO The rDBUNEl
JohnStown, Penn, June 4-There has been a
slight Improvement in the condition Of affairs
in this unhappy town to-day The people have
in a measure recovered from the prostration and
bewilderment caused by the terrible blow which
they received. There have been to-day, for the
first time real signs OF activity, and desire 10
repair as much as possible the work Of the flood.
Men have not stood about helpless and composed,
but have lent hand To the work OF clearing
awny the mountains of wrecltage which choke
up the lower streets Women have gone from
the streets 10 their homes and have attempted
TO make them habitnblc. The railroad men are
making efforts TO open up the roads Commun-
cation by rail with Pttsburg is more regular, and
provisions and clothing are being brought in.
In the mass Of drift across the river fires still
burn sullenly, but have gone down enough to
allow men TO make search for bodies 1t is
dreary waste of black and smoking timbers, COW
erng hundreds OF people who were burned TO death,
some Of them only few feet from the shore.
The charred tmbers stick up like dark grave
stones.
Higher up on the blum stand the immense iron
works crumbling and tottering, their foundations
the valley from this spot, there is level stretch,
beyond the patch Of black where the fire was.
Behind this are the heaps OF driftwood made from
the homes OF three villages and OF this town, lying
OF thr base OF the higher lands and back OF oil
that, further up the river tumbling structures
Of all kinds houses thrown on their sides or
turned com plsfclV over and the ruins OF several
bridpS
When night comes fires arc seen dotting the
cxpanse OF dcsolaton, now blazing up, now dying
low the abandoned bivouacs OF the enemy There
comes across the intervening space the sound OF
loud hammCring and falling rails, the work Of men
rebuilding the railroads that connect the PROSTATE
town with the outer world, beyond the circle OF
mountains. There is II monotonous booming at
the bridge, where men are blasting away the
gorge that the ruins Of the burned houses may 20
down and the ri.cr be cleared. At the edge OF
the town the scntinels are pacing out their yigls
guarding the living and krcpng marauders from
the bodies OF the dend
The confusion and the endless string OF an
noyanccs cnuSed by relief committees from ont Of
town. who have been unable 10 do any good. and
lave in many cases proved 20 be "A nuisance. viii
probably hc done away with after today. The
Citizens Committee held a meeting this evening
and elected james B. Scott Dictator 1t had been
police and guardians wns entirely insufficient and
the Mayor called upon Governor Beaver for troops.
Adlurant-General Hastings said that hr would
hhye the town properly Garrisoncd and
guarded tomorrow morning One % the o1lcers
OF the town said that money and provisions, not
men, were needed. There have been 500
visiting committeeman 20 he supported by the
local committee, and provisions have been exceed
ngly scarce.
The l4th Regiment arrived here at 7:3o p n
There is no longer any trouble about the rohbing
Of bodies. The prompt action taken by tho poo-
pie against the wretehes caught stealing per- |
sonsl property from dead people put check 10
such practices Great alarm is felt about the
sanitary condition OF III" neighhorhood General
Hastings WAS asked 10 issue orders regarding
precautions against sickness and disease arising
from the horrible condition Of affairs, caused by
the decomposition Of bodies
Arthur Kirk OF Pittsburg, who began blast
ing at the bridge this afternoon 70 clear up the
gorgr, estimates that the ruins are on the average
fifteen feet deep They arc 200 feet IN length !
md 400 feet in width and Mr.. Kirk says that 1t
NAY take weeks To do the work thoroughly, as
the mass II formed OF pieces OF iron, locked and /
twisted together, telescopcd houses and inter
tvined tmbcrs They work up from the bridge
through the crntrc OF the mass, so that the cur
rent may work away the inner edges.
AZ the places for registering only 5000 names
have been entered in the registers books at noon
to-day, out Of $4,000 people. From this some
pcople arc now saying that over 10000 people
have been lost Thosc who are inclined to be less
hasty, however, say that this is an eNhggeratlon,
rs many people would not tak, the trouble -
register, IL they or their families were IN dis
trcss. Few estimates to-day have been lower
than 5000, others running between that and
$1,000.
Tents have been erected in almost every avail |
able place, and the people who have been stripped
Of everything they owned faring much better |
There is a constant and growing demand for sup
plies at the relief stations. At Camp Hastings
alone where tents have been erected, over 800
people were taken care Of to-day, and there
is less suffering than there has been on previous
days There are not enough tcntn however 10
supply the wants OF the people. and IL will he
Impossible TO find shelter for the homeless for
some time yet