Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1889-06-06


roar OF u cataract and the speed Of the
wind upon the fair city at tho foot of
the hills. Tho plain in which but yes
terday sat Johnstown, sits in the noun
tains like jewel OF a Queens diadem.
The great Gautier steel works
sat in this plane, and the city
below 1t, tho railroad tracks bound
ing II at the base OF tho mountains on
the north. Here is where tho trains
were standing when the tide water like
a catapult came down upon them with
such resistless force that heavy trains,
locomotives, Pullmans and all were
overturned and swept down with the
torrent and were lodged against the
great stone viaduct, along with forty
one locomotives from the Johnstown
round-house. Tho heavy machinery
and ponderous frame work of the
Gautier mill accumulated among tho
debris OF more than ono thousand
houses, furniture, bridges, lumber,
drift and human beings The low
arches OF stone viaduct cholScd up Inn
mediately and tho water backed over
the entire bend OF tho valley upon
which the city stood TO the depth Of
what from the water works indicate
about thirty-tiyo feet. In tho great
sea thus formed thousands Of people
were struggling for life,
JonNsrowN, Pa, Juno 3,-Ninovch
Is literally city OF tho dead The
entire place is filled with corpses. Az
the depot 81 collins are piled up and
boxed. On tho streets collins and box
cs cover the sidewalks. Tho under
takers have placed in their shrouds
1913 persons. At every place thoro
are dead strown around M thick as
flowers In u conservatory. Ex-Sheriff
Dick drove seven Hungarians into the
Conemaugh river Mt Kerwinvillo this
morning and kept them there until
they were all drowned. They had been
caught stealing from tho dead bodies
and looting private buildings. Sheriff
Dick says he will stand no nonsense OF
this kind, and will shoot, hang or
drown every Hun, in Columbia county
but that no will put stop TO their
en- mill, above the island, TO the bridge,
distance OF two miles, n strip OF ter
ritory nearly n half IA mile In width
has been swept clean, not u stick Of
timber nor one brick on top OF another
being left TO tell tho story. II is the
most complete wreck tho imagination
could portray. The number of drunk
en- men is remarkable. Whisky seems
marvellously plenty. Men are actual
ly carrying it around in pals.
YOUNGSTOWN, Pa, June 3.--Death,
ruin and desolation are but meagre
words applied TO Johnstown proper.
Weeping men, women and children are
ut all places looking for their dead.
From kearnsvillo to New Florence
bodies are being picked up every few
minutes. The first tour that has been
made through the southeast end OF
town was made this morning. About
500 men are working here clearing
away debris In order to make wagon
road for bodies to be hauled away.
The school house Is u morgue and In IL
are not less than $50 bodies, most Of
them unidentified. In this part Of
town is located the Irish Catholic
church and convent. A remarkable
story Is told about these sisters. The
mother Of tho convent saw the wave
coming, which she said was mountain
high. She at once called all the sisters
into tho chapel. When tho water
struck the building, it shattered the
entire structure and every room except
the one where the sisters were. The
room is still standing, but is liable to
fall almost any moment.
PrTsBURG, June 4.--John Mozart
ney, IA carpenter who lives In John
stown, reached New Florence. Pa,
about o'clock. He left YOUNGSTOWN Mt
4:30 Saturday, and says the scene when
he left was indcscribablo. The people
had been warned early in the morning
to move to the highlands, but they did
not heed the warning, although 1T was
repeated number OF times up TO
o'clock, when water poured into Cider
street several feet deep. Then the
houses began rocking too and fro, and
finally tho force OF tho current carried
buildings across streets and vacant
lots and dashed them against ono
another, breaking them into fragments.
These buildings were freighted with
the poor wretches who SO shortly be-
fore had laughed at the cry Of danger.
Mccartney says In some cases he
counted as many as fifteen persons
clinging to buildings. McCartney's
wife was with him. She had three
sisters who lived near her. They saw
the house in which these girls lived
carried away, and they could stand 1t
no longer, SO they hurried away. The
husband feared his wife would go crazy
before he could draw her away, and
they left the flooded district and went
inland along country roads until they
reached here.
A man named McAul, residing at
Verona, noticed a large piece OF drift
wood floating down. He was impclled
to go to IL, he could not tell why,
which he did In a boat. To his intense
surprise he found in the center OF 1t u
cradle, and in it a few months old
baby, which looked up into his face
and laughed. McAul took the child to
his house, where it is now well cared
for.
One poor woman's plight was so
piteous that even strong men wept.
She was sitting high and dry on n sub
stantial pile of lumber that was bear
ing her down stream rapidly. On
each side OF her lay little child.
They were still and made no cutlery, as
the woman clasped them close. As the
raft neared the bridge the spectators
saw that the children were dead. They
had been drowned. Therope was thrown
to the rigid woman, but she would
pay no attention TO 1t. ''Grab the
rope!" hundred voices shouted. The
unfortunate creature looked at the two
children and tried to arouse them, but
they had dropped into an eternal slum-
Der. 'Grab the rope' the crowd
again yelled excitedly, for the wreck.
age with its dead and living freight
was very nearly under the bridge. The
woman needed not the advice or the
voices. She looked indifferently at the