Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-07-12
MIR. DAVIS THRILLING STORY
OF the Wreck of the Day Express.

The following account of the flood by
Mr.. Swift Davis, of Safe Harber. Mr..
Davis said: " The Express left Pittsburgh
on Friday morning at 8 o'clock, and ar
rived at Conemaugh three hours later. My
wife and three children were on the first
section as were also Miss Paulson and
Miss Bryant, whom l was introduced to
and asked to take charge of. Soon after
we arrived at Conemaugh portion of the
railroad track next to the river had been
washed away. On the next track was an
open freight train, one car of which was
full of lime. Our section, the parlor car,
occupied the third track, while the second
section had a position on the out
side next the hill. The rain was coming
down in torrents, and i felt little uneasy
knew about the South Fork dam above
us and felt the danger of it bursting. l
held consultation with my wife about
the advisability of getting out of the train,
but it was raining so hard, and she not
being well we decided that if anythiag
happened we would have warning enough
to flee to the hills, then talked to the
Pullman Conductor and asked him what
he thought of the danger. He said he did
not know, but would go over into town
and see if he could learn anything.
About four o'clock in the after
noon we heard an engine coming
towards us with lightning nAe rapidtiy
and whistling wildly. 1t WAS lie warn
ing. l then threw up my window and
saw the water coming. l pirEcd up my
two oldest children, and told.my wife to
follow with the baby. When | got to the
door l looked around and cav my wife
without the baby. " Where's the baby 2
said |. The conductor has it, she replied.
:" 1t was all could do to save my wife
and two children, then, even if the baby
had to perish. We went oat the front
end of the car and climbed over the sec
ond section, shot over a plank and then
ran up the hill half mile, where l put
my wife and one child, and then with my
daughter Kate went out to search for the
baby and the Misses Pauson and Bryan.
Ny daughter found the baby in another
house and took it to her mother. | then
continued my search for the two young
ladies. | met the Pullman conductor and
asked him what had become Of them. He
told me that Miss Paulson and Miss Bryan
had been saved, but | remaiued up all
night looking for them, but to no avail
Between five and six o'clock IL the even
ing the lime in the freight rain caught oB
fire from the heavy rain upon it. The
freight cars burned and the hre communi.
Gated to the second section, setting fire to
The Pullman sleepers.
y don't suppose the water was one
minute behind the engine that gave us
The only warning, for when 1 looked out
the window | could see it rolling down
upun IL. The passengers Who got out of
the rear end of the car had to wade
through water up TO their knees, but we
lil not get in high water at all. In less
than five minutes after we crossed the
plank | have spoken of the water was
fully ten feet above it, The water struck
the train, think, from the side, and
knocked the baggage car and one passen-
ger coach off the track. y coal tipple
tumbled down upon our en- cine and left
us a passage for over Il minute. This,
| believe, is what saved our lives.
The cars that were knocked off the
track rolled over, and | saw two men
climb out of the window, go down twice
and come up, and finally disappear. The
fire on the train was eXtinguished during
the early part of the evening but lgnited
again about O'clock in the morning.
Miss Virginia Maloney, of Elizabethtown,
n. j., and cook employed by the Nc
Collough party were all who remained
in the parlor car during the flood and
were taken out as soon as the water re-
ceded. Had we all followed their exam
pie and remained in the Pullman cars
the tale would not be half so hard to tell.
We would have all been saved, Miss Ma
loney it was who told me of the fate Of
Miss Paulson and Miss Bryan. She said
that when the engine whistled, the two
young ladies ran to the door, looked out
and came back for their wraps. TheI
they went to the door again and jumped
into the raging torrent. That was thu
last seen of them. Miss Maloney said sh'
would rather take the chances and remain
in the car. She did so and was saved
The Pullman conductor handed our bab!
to Mr.. James Dunn, of Chicago, who ca
ried her safely up the hill to the hous
where she was found by my daughter"
A Johnstown Show.
On the road in great shape, Three o