Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-06-12


that the reports about robberies and thiev
ing were very greatly exaggerated.
AN EYE WITNESS OF THE TERRIBLE SCENE
in and about the stone bridge of the rail
road during Friday night and Saturday
states that nothing in art or literature car
even partly delineate the horrors of thai
night after the ruins had taken fire. Dore's
wonderful imagination would be at fault
were he to attempt to depict anything SC
fearful in it's accumulation of horrors Al
all times during the night the moans and
shrieks of souls in fearful torment could be
heard about the roar of the flames and the
booming torrent which thundered by. All
through Friday night the horrid din Kept
up. AS late as Saturday morning the
shrek of woman's voice amid the ruins
was heard, and the spectators on shore
were horror stricken to see a woman's
white arm and shoulder amid a pile of
ruins, on which the flames were rapidly en-
oroaching. For several moments the arm
swept the air, the hand clutching cOnyul-
sively at space, then broad sheet of flames
swept down toward it, and the most tear
ful scream of mortal agony that ever thrill
ed the air arose. Then all was silent, and
the wave of fire swept on, cracking as if in
glee at what it had done.
| THE DEATH-ROLL INCREASES.
Conservative men are of the opinion that
the number of people destroyed will reach
from 12. 900 to Is 900. This view of it is
based on many fragments of evidence OBJ
tanned from over 100 citizens carefully Sc
lected from as Intelligent men and women
as could be found. They were chosen from
as many occupations as possible and from
cooiaI olaesoc Tbav xrara osI1ad
| to estimate the percentage of loss to total
population, to tell how many people of
their acquaintance have disappeared, how
gatherings of the residents on the streets
and in public places compare with the same
| in former times. These statements of fact
and estimates were proved as far as could
| be, and calculation shows list of from H.
| coo to Is 900.
THE CHILDREN DESTROYED.
| It must be remembered that a very large
proportion of this loss is made up of chill
dren. How strikingly frequent is the refer
ence in the death-list to ''Mrs Jones and six
children; Mrs. Smith and five children" In
the morgue little ones lie in dozens where
adults are in half-dozens. There is and has
bean great difficulty in recovering the bodies
of children. Being lighter and smaller,
they have often been swept into out-of- the
way recesses that are almost inaccessible
aud are more easily carried away. A very
great proportion of the children have been
swept down the river and their bodies
driven in under overhauging banks, under
thickets, and in other places where there
is only a spare population and where search
is not carried on in careful and organized
manner. As an illustration Of this, Just
above New Florence some fragments of
clothing were in the full view of party on
the river hank. Hundreds of people passed
ths place for three days looking for bodies,
bus thought it was only shreds of worthless
clothing they were looking at. Finally
| somebody pohad at the rags with stick,
and swirl in the current brought two
year old babe to the surface. The drift OF
opinion among intelligent men-phy sicians,
engineers, and railroad meE--is that from
/, 900 to 1900 Of the bodies will never be
found.
This morning 1,100 men arrived here in
charge of Philip Flynn, Hon. William
Flynn arrived later and took charge of the
work, and at II o'clock they had succeeded
in doing more work ct clearing away the
debris than has been done here before
Flynn has offered the men special induce
ments, but will make them work. Seventy.
Eve carpenters and twenty carloads of pro-
III.
This morning another delegation of work
men came up from Braddocks. Each man
had pick, shovel saw, or some other i'm
plement on his shovlder and was prepared
to go to work Immediately. Adjutant- Gen
eral Hastings has requested the Associated
Press to state that these are the kind Of
men that are wanted here and too many
cannot be sent.
At IL o'clock this morning General Has
tings sent tho following telegram to Gov.
ernor Beaver:
"Fully 1900 men are at work clearing off
the debris. Bodies are now being rescued
in large numbers. The Citizens Commit
tee is organized and the working is systema-
tized. A detachment of twenty of the Four
teenth regiment was detailed last night to
guard the supply trains. Provisions are
pouring IN and it is difficult to take care of
them. There is no suffering from want of
food or shelter. Contributions of money
are more desirable than anything else."
TOUCHING APPEAL,
A gray-haired woman was amoug the ap-
plicants fer clothing at the distributing de.
pot of the Pennsylvania depot this morning,
and an outfit was made up and given her,
but after examining the dress she approach
ed the agent in charge and asked if she
could exchange it for black one. 81 have
lost all my family" she added by way of
| apology, as tears streamed down her wrin
kled faca, and would like to have black
dress if / could get one. My husband and
four children are in that awful pile by :he
stone bridge, and l am alone now" Miss
Clara Barton, the head of the Red Cross
Corps known all over the world arrived
here this morning, and will at once assume
charge Of all the female relief corps. All
day long corpses were being hurried below
the ground. The unidentified bodies were
grouped on high hill west of the doomed
city, where one epitaph must do for all
that word Unknown There are hundreds
of these graves already, and each day will
increase the number.
Fires are raging over the tangled graves
of hundreds, and partial cremation of many
bodies is inevitable. Others are becoming
so blackened by their contact with the
debris or through putrifcation that skel-
eton would show as much resem blance to
persous in life as they did in death.
Wherever one turns melancholy view of
coffins is met. Every train into the city
was laden with them, better ones being gen.
orally accompanied by friends of the dead.
Notwithstanding the fact that nearly ev-
cry prominent city in the Uuited States is
raising funds for the relief of the Cone
maugh sufferers, the wants of the homeless
and afflicted are far from being alloViated
Thousands of people are homeless, and in
these devastated homes thousands have lost
their all.
Labor and manufacturing of nearly every
kind is at stand-still in the valley, and
weeks and months must elapse before the
Cambria Iron-W " orks and other industrial
institutions can possibly resume and give
employment to the thousands that depend
on them for support.
Even at the present time, five days after
the world was first thrilled by the news of
the great disaster, there are hundreds of
hungry people in the Conemaugh Valley
who have no certainty Of breakfast to-
morrow.
/ LABORERs AT WORK.
Four thousand laborers, under the gen.
eral supervision of W. ]. Jones, of Brad