Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-06-12
JOHNSTOWN, PA.
More news from the Scene of Calamity.
JoHNsTowN. June 4tb

JoHNsTOwN, June 4th.
What is need here to-day more than any
thug else is grave-diggers. This mornin
hundreds of bodies we're lying around AM
there was no one to dig the graves. Thi
morning at least fifty funeral procession
passed the Associated Press Headquarters
1t was not an unusual sight to see two O
three coffius going along one after another
followed by a number of mourners, all il
the same family. 1t is impossible to seeur,
wagons or conveyances of any kind, con
sequently all funeral professions are OF
foot.
LOST FOURTEEN RELATIVES.
William Gaffney, insurance agent at thi,
place, had very pitiful duty to perform
this morning. On his fatber's and wife's
side he lost fourteen relatives, among then
his wife and family. This morning he gol
a man to take his deceased relatives to the
grave and he had the mournful duty Of
digging his wife's and children's graves
and burying them. In speaking of the
matter this morning he said: 81 never
thought that I could perform such sac
duty, bnt bad to do it and l did it" Nc
one has any idea of the feelings of mar
who acts as undertaken, grave-digger, and
pall-bearer for his own family. The saddest
sight to be seen on the river-bank this
morning was the case of Mr.. Gilmore,
who has lost his wife and family of five
children. Ever since the calamity this old
man has been seen on the river-bank look
ing for his family. He insisted on the fire.
men playing stream of water on the place
where the house formerly stood, and where
he supposed the bodies lay. The firemen,
recognizing his feelings, played a stream
on the place for several hours this morning,
and at last the resouers got to the place
the old gentleman said his house formerly
stood. 81 know the bodies are there, and
you must find them" On went The res
ouers after this plea. When at last one
of the men picked up charred skull, evid-
ently that of a child, this stirred the old
man up. and he exclaimed, ''That is my
child; there lies my family. Go and get
the rest of them The workmen continu
ed, and in few minutes they came TO the
remains of the mother and three other chill
dren. The heads were completely burned
off, but there was enough of their clothing
left to recognize them by. What was lefS
was picked up and placed in coffius, the
old gentleman following closely the men
who we're carrying the cofias.
.OO u. III nDS iuE
body of some poor victim is taken froEa the
Getrts, and the town, OF the remnant of it,
to write with accuracy, is one vast charnel-
house. The scenes at the extemporized
morgue are beyond the powers Of descrio-
tion in their ghastiness, and the means
and groans Of the suffering survivors, toss
ing in agony with bruised and mangled
hodies or screaming in delirium of fever
q ihnu taaua from
hospitals, make even the stoutest- hearted
quail with terror. Nearly 1900 bodies
have already been recovered, and as the
work of examining the wreckage progress
es conviction grows that the magnitude of
the calamity has not yet been approximate
ed.
HUSBAND RURIEs HIS WIFE.
Thomas Williams lost his wife and fami-
ly He recovered his wife's remains and
took them up a mountain, where he dug a
grave and buried them himself He said:
"This is the most terrible thing have ever
done. but when I buried them all has been
done"
UNDER THE DEBRIS.
Reeking menace to life and health lie in
the bed of Conemaugh lake for 800 yards
above the Pennsylvania railroad bridge.
When drifts accumulated against this strue
ture hundreds-some say thousands-of
bodies were pinioned under the debris. It
extends across the river 400 feet and twice
that distance up the stream. The awful
story of how it caught fire and burned for
three days. roasting pinioned victims and
filing the valley with the sickenipg odor of
burning flesh, has been related. The plan
now is to build wall along the old river
course, turn the water into the drift, and
thus hish it out. This is a monster scheme,
but Kirk thinks the earth wall can be
thrown up by tomorrow evening. A large
force OF men are to be put to work upon it at
once.
HAVE YOU SEEN MY sIsTERse
A frequent visitor at the morgues is
David John Lewis. All over Johpstown
he rides a powerful gray horse and to each
one he meets whom he knows he exclaims {:
"Have you seen my sisters?" Hardly wait
iug for reply hs gallops away either to
seek iugress into morgue or to ride along
the river banks. One week ago Lewis was
worth $50, 900, his all being invested in a
large commission business. To-day he
owns the horse be rides, the clothes on his
bach, and that is all.
RoBBINe CoRPsEs.
Anagro man and woman we're found to-
day in the act of robbing corpses. They
pretended to be. at work searching the
debris, but the man was seen to hand a
gold watch to tho woman. Both were ar.
rested. The woman's pockets we're found
to be filled with watches and jewelry.
There were several rings that were bloody.
Fingers had been cut off Of the dead for
gold.
BLOWN UP BY DYNAMTNITE.
Today dynamite was used to blow up the
wreck at the bridge ia order to allow
water to pass into the main channel and re-
lieve the lower part of Johnstown proper.
Nearly two Thousand men are employed in
different parts of the valley clearing up the
ruins and prosecuting diligent search for
the undiscovered dead. Three hundred
more bodies have just been found opposite
Nineveh. This makes seven hundred
bodies found at this point. Pneumonia
pect Hall.
JOHNsTowN, June 9Th.
The beat estimates this moruing on The
loss nf life On the registry of the living, and
unofficial poll, puts it at from $4,000 to 10,
0O0
Advices from Phillipsburg, Centre coun
ty. report the loss of life there very great
and that 243 bodies have already been re-
covered.
The work of clearing up the wreck ant
recovering the bodies is now being conduct
ed more systematically. Over six thous
and men are at work in various portions o
the valley, and each little gang of twenty
men is directed by foreman, who is un
der orders from the general headquarters
AS the rubbish is gone over and bodies
aud articles of value recovered, the debri
is piled up in one high mass and the torcf
applied. 10 this the valley is assuming
devastated condition. In twenty fou
hours more every mass Of rubbish will prob
ably have been searched, and the inves
LEGATIONS will be confined to the smokin,
wreck above the JohnstoEn bridge.
At Johnstown station on the east sside O
the river everything was quiet, yet con
siderable work is being done. This is th'
chief comm'ssary station. and this morn