Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1889-06-06
THE FLOOD OF DEATH.
Fifteen Hundred Lives Lost at
Johnstown, Pa.
Immense Destruction of Property
Tho Details of the Terrible
Calamity.

A flood OF death swept from the ALLIE
gheny Mountains on the afternoon Of
May Slst A dispatch says: Almost
the entire city or Johnstown is swim
ming about in the rushing, angry tide.
Dead bodies are floating about In every
direction, and almost every piece Of
movable timber is carrying from the
doomed city corpsos of humanity drift
ing with the raging waters, God knows
where. The disaster overlook John
town about 6 o'clock. As the train
bearing the Associated Press cores
pondent sped eastward the reports at
each stop grew more appalling. At
Derry were n group of railway officers
who came from Bolivar, the end of the
passable portion OF the road westward.
They had seen but u small portion Of
the awful food but enough TO allow
them to imagine the rest. Down
through the pack-saddle came the
rushing waters. The wooded heights
of the Allcghonies looked down in
solemn wonder at the scene of the most
terrible destruction that ever struck
the romantic valley of Concmaugh.
The water was rising when the men
left AZ 6 o'clock at tho rate of five feet
an hour. Clinging to improvised
! RATS, constructed in the death battle
from floating boards and timbers, were
agonized men, women and children,
their heart-rending shrieks for help
striking horror TO the breasts OF the
onlookers. Their cries were OF no
avail, for carried along ut railway
speed on the breast Of this rushing
torrent no human ingenuity could de-
Wise means Of escape. With pallid
face and hair clinging wet and damp
to her check. n mother was seen grasp
ing floating timber, while with her
other arm she held her babe. A special
train pulled in at Boliver ut 80 and
the trainmen were there notified that
further progress was Impossible. The
greatest excitement prevailed, and u
endeavoring to save the poor unfortu-
mates that are being hurled TO eternity
in the rushing torrent.
The tidal wave struck Boliver just
after dark, and In five minutes the
Conemaugh rose from six to forty
feet and the waters spread out ovor
the whole country. Soon houses be-
gan floating down, and clinging to tho
debris were men, women and children,
shrieking for aid. A large number Of
citizens at once gathered on the county
bridge, and they were reinforced by a
number from Garfield, n town on the
opposite side. They brought n num-
Der of ropes and these were thrown
over the boiling waters as persons
drifted by, in efforts to save some
being. For half an hour all efforts
were fruitless, until when ut last the
rescuers were about giving up all hope,
little boy astrido Il shingle roof
managed TO catch hold of one OF the
ropes. He caught it under his left
arm, and was thrown violently against
the abutment, but managed to keep
hold and was pulled on the bridge
amid the cheers of tho onlookers. The
boys name is Edward Hessler, aged 16.
After night settled down upon the
mountains the horror Of the scene was
enhanced. Along above the roar Of
water could be heard pitcous appeals
from unfortunates, as they were carried
by. To add also TO the horror, bril-
liant illumination lit up the sky. This
illumination could be plainly seen for
many miles. A message received from
| Sang Hollow states that light come
from hundred wrecks of burning
houses that are piled upon tho Johns
town bridge. A supervisor from up the
road brings information that the
| wreckagc at Johnstown is piled up
twenty feet above the bridge. The
startling news also comes in that more
than a thousand lives have been lost.
1t is known, by actual count that 10
| people were seen floating past Sang
Hollow before dark. Forty-seven were
counted passing New Florence and the
number had diminished TO eight ut
Bolivar. This will give an idea of the
terrible fatality. Darkness coming
stopped further count, and IL was only
by the agonizing cries that rang out
above the rise OF the water that 1t was
known human being was being car
ricd to his death. The scenes along
the river are wild in the extreme. Al
though the water is q a lually subsid-
ing, still 1t dashes against the rocks
that fill the narrow channel OF the
Conemaugh, its spray is carried high
upon the shore, and as pieces OF houses
and wreckage strike these boomers,
it carries with it wildly the idea that
another poor unfortunate has met his
fate. Towns all along the line of rail-
road, from Johnstown west, have re-
ceived their visitations. Tho latest
bulletin reports fifteen hundred lives
lost.
LATER DISPATCHES.
SANG Hollow, Pa, June 1.-T5 p.
m. The reports OF the number drown
ed vary with each person asked for an
estimate OF the loss OF life. One man
said that he overheard Superintendent
Pitcairn saying that the number would
not fall far short of 5000. Others put
it at 5000 and down as low as 800,
anywhere between the two figures men,
toned. 5. H. Thompson, train mas
ter, said dead bodies are lying along
the banks Of the river between Sang
Hollow and Johnstown as thick as flies.
1t is the most terrible sight ever wit
messed. The natives forgot their
breakfast in the excitement and men
men could be seen running in every
direction, eating as they went. Every
train is crowded with people going to
the scene. Everybody has but one OBJ
jective point-Johnstown.
SANG Hollow, June 2, a. H.
The first accounts sent out of the Johns
town disaster are far below the widest
estimates placed upon the extent OF
the calamity and instead OF being
1000 or 5000, it is probable the death
list will reach 5000, many say 10000.
1t was not known that two passenger
trains and two sections OF the day ex-
press on the Pennsylvania Railroad
had been thrown into the maddened
torrent and the passengers drowned.
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