Bismarck weekly tribune., 1889-06-07

TRIBUNE: FRIDAY, JUL
sideredb dbhaky early last spring and many in
creasing leakages were reported from time
to time. According to people who live in
J0hnstown and other towns on the line of
the river, ample time was given to Johns
town folks by the. railroad officials and by
other gentlemen of standing and reputa-
ton. In dozens, yes hundreds OF cases,
this warning was utterly disregarded and
those who needed it early in the day were
looked upon as towards and many jeers
were uttered by lips that are now cold
among the rank grass beside the river.
One poor nameless woman who looked
with sightless eyes at the gray clouds
from slimy bank Of meadow just below
New Florence, wore smile that perhaps
had its birth in that spirit of sswho's afraid
which had such awful results. An awful
mud-bedraggled, ghastly burden was 1t
that came in among the meadows,
and yet there was look of peace upon
the features that brought tears to the eyes
Of rough men who found her, and who
fastened the body by short string to a
post. There has grown up bitter feeling
among the surviving sufferers against
those who owned the lake and dam. ard
damage suits will be plentiful by and by.
1t is impossible to tell what the loss of
life will roll up, but at 9 o'clock the coro-
ner of Westm0reand county sent mes
sage out saying that 100 bodies had been
recovered at Ninevrh, half way from here
to Johnstown. Sober minded people do
not hesitate to say that 1900 is moderate.
j. w. Esch, brave railroad employe,
saved sixteen lives at Nineyoh. The most
awful elimination OF the awful night was
the roasting of hundred or more persons
in mid .tlood.' Ruins of houses,
out buildings and other structures swept
against the new railroad bridge at Johns
town, and from an overturned stove or
some such cause, the upper part of the
wreckage caught fire. There were crowds
of men. women and children on the wreck,
and their screams were soon added to the
awful chorus of horror. They were liter
ally roasted in the flood. Soon after the
fire burned itself out, others were thrown
against the mass. There were some fifty
people in sight when the ruins suddenly
parted, broke up and was swept under the
bridge into pitchy darkness. The Associ-
ated Press now has the only wire between
New Florence and Pittsburg and has it
connected with it's main circuit. Details
are mea9re, but will be furnished at the
first moment possible.
SANG Hollow, Pa, June 1-At 1890
the first train passed New Florence east.
1t was crowded with people from Pitts
burg and other places en- route to the scene
of disaster. 1t was a heartrending sight
and there was not dry eye in the train.
Mothers mourned for their children, hus-
bands paced the floor and wrung their
hands in mute agony, fathers pressed their
faces against the window panes in their
endeavors to see something, they knew not
what, that would tell them in measure of
the dreadful fate 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 vii
liagers. who were out along the banks.
Swollen, awful corpses lay here and there
in piles across trees or along the river
bank among the tangled rye. Twas about
9 O'Clock when the first train since Friday
came to New Florence, crowded with its
load of passengers. Two passengers on
the train we're man and his wife from
Johnstown. He was quite dignihed and
more or less self-possessed. She was
petite, anxious and tried hard to control
her feelings. From every new conner and
possible source of information she sought
news. ''Ours is big, new brick house,"
said she, with brave effort, but with loving
brown eyes and lips trembling. 'sIt is a
three story house and don't think there
is any trouble, do you?" she said to me,
and without waiting for me to answer, she
continued with: "There are my four chill
dren in the house, and their nurse and
guess father and mother will go over to
the house, don't you?" In few moments
all those in the car knew the story of the
pair and many plying glance was cast at
them. Their house was one of the first to
go. a
New FLORENCE, Pa, June 1.-The loss
of life Is now placed at 1000, with q prop
erty loss of about $1l, 100000. c. w. Hop
penstall of Lincoln avenue, East End,
Pittsburg, distinguished himself by brav-
cry yesterday afternoon. He was pas
senger on the mail train which had to turn
back at Saug Hollow. AS the train passed
the point where the water was full of
struggling people, woman and child float
ed in near the shore. The train was
stopped and Hoppenstall undressed,
jumped into the water, and in two trips
saved both mother aed child. just above
New Florence is the little town Of Nine
yah. 1t was here that I found the first
charnel house; 100 bodies were here, the
largest proportion Of whom were women.
Here it was the awful work of the freshet
could be realized. What have been fertile
farms look like worn out brick yards.
Great trees have been twisted and torn like
weeds, and broken household goods of
hundreds of houses lines the shores for