Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-11
IT TOOK TREES,
Lifting Them Right Up
Bodily and by the
8 Roots and
CLEARING A FOREST.
The TeIegrapher at Mineral
Point Signal Station
Relates
HOW EVERYTHING FLOATED
rFRoM A STAFF CORRESPONDENT

JoHESTowN, June 10.-A walk down the
sadly demoralized Pennsylvania Railroad in
this section still proves instructive 1t indi
Gates that the company will be busy for some
time to come repairing the four-track line
washed out by the flood for many miles, This
walk was taken by your correspondent this
morning, from South Fork station down to
Johnstown, distance of nine miles.
South Fork bore the brnnt of the first rush
of the msddened waters and the appearance of
the place is desolate in the extreme. Here the
valley along which the pent-up waters came
tearing down, conyerges on that of the Little
Conemaugh, along which the Pennsylvania
Railroad tracks ran, and opened into wide
plateau, shut in by the hills, excepting at the
narrow gorge through which the road found
exit to resume its way across the Conemaugh
creek at about three-quarters of a mile from
the station. The only betrayal of the fact of
railroad having extended in this direction
across the acres of rocks sand and debris. is
found in the partly embedded and twisted
rails which are seen here and there. The huge
iron girders which supported the road across
the Little Conemaugh are visible out of the
sand, and train of IL freight cars is landed
high and dry up on the side of the hill at
and locomotive 4S6. which grimly withstood the
shock of the torrent. bears witness on its smoke
stack Of the height of the food.
A Contrasting Picture.
Walking along the track, with the morning
sun lighting up TO best advantage the neutral
tints of the rolling mass of verdure which
clothed the valley and caused the lazy-morning
: and quiet water of the stream to glisten and
y Simmer and dance under its rays it was hard
1obelieve that, but a few days before, the
Messenger of Death had sped along. and in his
wake the seething mountains of water had SO
recently furnished the most startling contrasts
and comparisons of the century.
At Mineral Point seven miles from Johns
town, where, as your readers know, q houses
were swept away and l6 people drowned, the
food again interfered with the alignment of
the rails washing out the bed and lifting ties
and rails out of position.
At Mineral Point signal, mile from the sta
tion, all vestiges of railroad were completely
obliterated- The P. r. r. operator had a
graphic story to relate. Said he:
1t was the grandest and most terrible sight
ever saw. was seated at the table when heard
noise like the rumbling of thunder interspersed
with short, sharp reports like musket shots, grad
ually becoming louder and then deepening into a
roar impossible to describe. l jumped to the
window, and, as did so. saw huge wave Of
water coming round the curve in the valley yon-
der watched IL for moment, dazed-like, won
%ns5 ~ meant f aggway ana t then m all at
reservoir let loose. / Just stopped moment to
tick of word of warning to COnemaugh, and
then cleared like flash for the platform there
Athe platform Of coal chute). was just in time.
The next instant the water was along, and, as YOU
see. somewhat staggered the box: but the bend
beyond there broke the force of the shock and
onlyCthe SIDE waters struck 1t. 1t was mighty
Pr2hd thing to look at. The huge wave rolled by
JSrning over and over and
Boiling Up in the Middle
in yellow. foam with seething cracking sound
and reminded me of boiling soap, only on larger
scale than had ever seen before. In the middle
ii was quite high-fully 50 feet, guess--and it
slOped of to each side, like hog's back
All along there, where you now see nothing but
yellow sand and clay and rocks, was thick forest
of hemlock and pine and oak and some Of the trees
at the trunks must have been three feet thick; but
my! these were whipped up like straws, and
turned over and up and under by the water and
flung about as If they feathers in the current
of some mountain brook.
Then houses, and some of almost everything you
can think Of, were borne along and, on the top
OF house, saw a man clinging and calling out
TO me; but couldn't hear him, for the noise.
was talking to a man up here at Mineral Point
about the height Of the water, and he tells me
that judging by the height of a tree in his gar
oen, over which he could see the water from his
house. it must have been 75 feet high up there
don I know whether they ever got that mes
bAke az NOuemdugn.
From Mineral Point signal 70 Conemaupb
deep cut-four and a-half miles from Johns
town-the aspect of the valley is quite changed
and very much for the worse The course of
the stream has been changed, and between the
points mentioned gang of Italians in charge
OF an Altoona contractor, are preparing the
miniature wilderness for the temporary line.
The cut is made through spur of the hills
round which the creek winds its course On
the east side no bridge was before necessary,
as the Conem2ugh pursued the even tenor of
its way altogether to the left: butit now sweens
round the valley to the right, and runs across
the cut and about 10 feet below the level of
the old rail bed. On the west the stream was
spanned by
An Iron Girder Bridge
In asingle span; but now, looking across the
valley from the cut, the rails and ties hanging
loose on the embankment are seen. from
distance of three-fourths the span of the Allie.
gheny at Sixth street bridge. From the edge
of the cut one looks down a sheer descent of
about 20 feet, and the creek flows fully so feet
below the level of the cut Thus it
will be seen that the heavy embankmenr
which extended from the cutting to
the bridge has been entirely demolished.
The water mark on the sides of the cutting
shows at about y feet above the rail bed.
which suggests that the torrent through and
along the valley must have been over 20 feet
high, or deep, as it may be expressed. From
this point for half mile westward the track is
undisturbed, and an engine and coach-in
which select party were making a special
trip, it is said to enjoy a days fishing in the
lake, that which caused such woeful devasta-
tion-are here isolated. The fine four-track
road, partly built of masonry and partly cut
out Of the solid rock, which ran from Johns
town out to this pont-a distance Of over three
miles-is completely destroyed: at places so |
sure has been the demon of destruction in his
wild whirl along the alley of Death as not to
leave the width of a single track intact.
The railroad people are making strenuous
exertions to get single line through to South
Fork. and they express hope to have it in
running order inside two weeks but this would