The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-06-05
AT NEW FLORENCE.
Bodies Found Strewn Along the Shore
Stories of Survivors.


Stories of Survivors.
NEW FLORENCE, June 1.-The gray morning
light does not seem to show either hope or
mitigation of the awful fears of the night. Il
has been hard night to everybody. The
weary,everworked newspaper men who have
been without rest an5 food since Yesterday
afternoon, and the operators who have handled
the messages are even now preparing for the
! work of the day. There has been long
wrangle over the possession of q special train
for the press, between rival morning paper
men, and it has delayed the work of the others
who are anxious 70 get further east.
Even here, go lar from the washed out towns,
the horror is in our midst Seven bodies have
been found on the shore this town, two
being in q tree-a man aud womau-where the
tide had carried them, The country people
are coming into the news eenters in large num-
bers, telling stories OF disaster along the river
banks in sequestered places.
John Mccartney, a carpenter, who lives in
Johnstown, reached here about O'Clock. lie
left Johnstown at 4:S0 o'clock yesterday, and
says the scene when he lett was indescribable.
The peOple had been warned early in the morn
ing to move TO the highlands, but they did not
heed the warning, although IL was repeated
number of times up to | o'clock, when the
water poured into Cinder-st. several feet
deep. Then the houses began rocking 10
and fro, and finally the force of the current
carried buildings across streets and vacant lots
and dashed them against each other, breaking
them into fragments. These buildings were
freighted with the poor wretches who so short
" before had laughed at the cry of danger.
Mccartney says in some cases he counted as
many as fifteen people elngng 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
then they could stand il 40 longer, so they hur.
ried away. The husband feared his wife would
go crazy before he could drag her away, and
they left the flooded districts and went inland
along country roads until they reached here.
Ii is said to be next to impossible TO get to
Johnstown proper, to-day, IN any manner ex-
cept by row boat. The roads are cut up so
that even the countrymen refuse to travel over
them, even in their rouyhest vehicles The
waters are now receding here as rapidly as they
rose last night and as the banks uncover the
dead are showing up, Already nine dead
bodies have been picked up within the limits
OF this borough since daylight. None of them
have as yet been recognized. Five of those
found are women. One lady, probably
twenty-five years old and rather handsome,
had clasped in her arms a babe about
six months old. The dead body of young
man discovered in the branches of huge
tree. which had been carried down the stream.
All the orchard crops and shrubbery along the
banks of the river have been destroyed. The
body of another woman mas inst been discov-
cred in the river here. Her foot was discov-
cred above the surface o. the water. rome
was fastened about it and il is now tied to
tree awaiting assistance to land il.
John l.. Webber and his wife, an old couple,
and Nike Metzgar and John Forney. were res
eued near here early this morning. They had
been carried from their home in Cambria City
on the roof OF the house. There were seven
others on the roof Of the house when il was car.
ried Off by the angry waters, They were all
drowned. They are unknown to Webher, they
having drifted onto the roof from floating
debris. Weber and wife were thoroughly
drenehed, and were almost helpless from ex-
posure. They were unable to walk when taken
from the roof at this place. They are now at
the hotel here.
NEW FLORENCE, June i.--TheFsf&snit of
yesterday was as singular as il was fatal. II is
now very evident that more lives have been
lost because OF foolish incredulity than from
ignorance of the danger. For more than year
there have been fears of an accident of just
such character. The foundations of the dam
were considered to be shaky early last spring,
and many increasing leakages were reported
from time to time, according to people who live
in Johnstown and other towns on the
line of the river. Ample warning
was given to the Johnstown folks
by the railroad officials and by other gentlemen
of standing and reputation. In dozens, yes
hundreds, of cases this warning was utterly dis
regarded, and those who needed it early in the
day were looked upon as towards, and many
ieers were uttered by lips that now cold
among the rank grass beside the river. One
poor, nameless woman who looked with sight
less eyes at the gray clouds from the Shiny
bank of meadow just below New Florence
wore q smile that perhaps had its birth in that
spirit of who's afraid?' which has had such
awful results.
An awful, mud.bedrabbled, ghasty burden
was it that came in among the meadows, and
vet there was look of peace on the features
that brought tears to the eyes of the rough men
who found her, and who fastened the body by
a short string to post. She had work-a.
day life, poor creature; her hands were rough,
her face thin and worn and her hair was
streaked with gray, as the stormy sky just
Whether incredulity or foolhardin ess num-
bers its food victims by scores or by the hum
dreds no one yet knows and il will be many
days before the writing up on tombstones aud
the tracing OF the unknown dead are ended.
There has grown up bitter feeling among
the surviving sufferers against those who owned
the lake and dam. and damage suits will be
plentiful by and by.
The dams in Stony creek, above Johnstown
broke about noon yesterday and thousands OF
feet of lumber passed down the stream.
II is impossible TO tell what the loss of life
will roll up, but at o'clock the coroner of
Westmoreland county sent message out say
ing that 100 bodies had been recovered at Nine
yah, half way from here to Johnstown.
Sober-minded people do not hesitate to say
that 1900 is moderate. Property loss will be
over eleven million.
''How can anybody tell how many are dead"
said a railroad engineer this morning. II have
been at Sang Hollow with my train since IL
fuli
persons lost in the flood" j. W. Esch, brave
railroad emplOye, saved sixteen lives at Nine
yah.
THE PASSENGERS ESCAPED.
They Took To the Hills and All But q Few