New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-06-04
NO REDUCTION IN THE ESTIMATES OF THE
LOSS OF LITE-AN ACRE OF DEAD BODIES
AT KERNvILLE-THE DAM At SOUTH
FORK FOUND TO BE BROKEN
SUPPLIES NEEDED.
rpY TELEGRAPH TO THE rnrsUNEI'
SUPPLIES NEEDED

have stood about the streets unmindful of the
wet. They seem like sheep, frightened beyond
action or thought The women repeat the same
words TO themselves, again and again, while the
men slip about in the thick coat
Of slime which covers every part OF
the town. over which the food spread
with a sullen, almost Indifferent air. The town
is wrctched, and It could scarcely have been more
completely destroyed. The food usually left no
trace OF buildings, fences or trrcG. When II at-
tackled them, they were carried away and swept
along TO make great heaps against the banks.
Tonight these piles of wood smouldering
and sending up dismal clouds of smoke. Men
nnd women are wandering aimlessly about the
town, and the work Of the food is shown by the
lack Of Bfc everywhere and the submiSsiveness
end quictudc Of the people One Ges no violent
demonstrations Of grief on any side. Hardly Is
any morbid curiosity shown when body is fshed
from the watrr md dragged ashore. It is car
rird unuoticed up 20 one OF the improvised
morgues and prepared for burial, in case it is
not identified
The work OF identifying the dead goes on
slowly and already the three morgucs are filed
Many people crowd the buildings and Anxiously
walk between the long rows Of forms, but IL
is seldom that one Eecs any one recognize in the
fcaturrs Of the dead those Of wife or child, whom
he is seeking. Before windows. in almost every
block, at sundowu, were long strings of women
and children, receiving tea coffee, bread and
sugar, carefully wei ghed out To them. The town
" po, erty-ssrieeh. and there Is much suffering.
Some 500 people are oamped hack Of the plsce,
glad II they have enough "a cover thrir heads At
few houses regular meals 20 be had either by
the family or by strangers. There arc butcher
shops, no grocery stores, nothing 10 be purchased
and what they find 10 cat. Since
the lynching OF two men for robhing those who
had been drowned, there has been stationed
at every street corner and in the centre OF every
public WAY, a sentinel with his musket and
bayonet. No one may 60 beyond certain lines
without a written permit and the town is prac-
tically under martial law. II seems like village
sacked by the enemy and then guarded BY soldiers
against whom the villagers mako no protest
The appearance OF the town is difficult to de-
scribe. great slash hns been made in It's heart,
and the place whore business houses and factories
stood on the morning OF the disaster now looks
like the bed Of a river. The spot which is the
centre Of attraction is the wreck Of tho stone
bridge People come there and look by the honr
at the spot where hundreds Of people, carried down
by tho water on their houSetops, were pinned in by
the wrecks closing up behind, and in this trap
were burned to death when the heap caught fire
The water has receded now, and the ruins lie
the bhckencd heap OF timbers are the ashes OF
those who were buried with the bridge.
Estimates Of the loss OF life vary greatly. II
is diricult to find any one living here who places
the number Of killed at much less than 5000.
while some figures run up 10 two or three times
that number There is one argument however.
which seems 70 point 10 the fact that thousands
were killed Numbers Of bodies are found day
after day. They are taken from the river, ono
after another, and still the number found daily
does not diminish
As for the loss 10 the town, few peo-
pie attempt TO estimate IT, 1t has been
they say, ruined. while onc-third its people
were instantly wiped from the face of the earth.
The search for the dead must go on for days
Kernvllc will lie the place where most Of the
bodies will be found The water has fallen so
much that 1t Is possible TO get at the bodies
However. all the bodies have to be dug out Of
the sand and it causes no end Of work. 1t Is
thought that most OF the bodies that will be
found nt Kernvile are under large pile Of
drift, about an acre in extent Here over 1000
corpses were found to-day; in the morGue
at Johnstown bodies were reported at the rate Of
one about every three minutes. OF all the great
number Of dead those recognized are probably
net above 500.
All doubt as to the fact that the retaining
VAL at South Fork was broken and the lake is
now mere muddy cavity, was set
At rest to-dny. Several persons visited the spot
where the lake had been. High and dry stood
the buildings OF the Fishing Club, beside hollow
that looked like the crater of extinct volcano.
break hundreds of feet in length showed
where the water had left it's bed. The little
station Of South Fork, Just below the lake, was
s,gept away so completely that not u stick or
tree remains,
People are Sdn In need of the nccessarIes OF
life. and await with what patience they can the
comiuR Of supplieS An equally important de-