Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-06-06
APPALLING CALAMITY.
Johnstown, Pa, Instantly Swept
Away by a Flood.
The Greatest Catastrophe in the Country's
History-Fifteen Hundred Lives Lost
BY the Bursting of a Reservoir
Terrible Scenes.

PITTSBURGH. Pa, June IA sudden
freshet in the North Fork river, east of
Johnstown. Pa. in the Allegheny mount
aims resulted in an awful catastrophe.
Last evening, according 10 reliable
courier. !, 800 lives were lost. The reSer-
voir broke about five o'clock and the i'm
mense volume of water rushed down to
the city, carrying with it death and de-
struction. Houses with their occupants
were swept away and hundreds of people
were drowned
Up to nine p. m. information received
about the Johnstown~ catastrophe came
through Pennsylvania railway officials
who averred that over 200 dead bodies had
been counted floating down stream from
Johnstown alone. while along the line
many additional lives have been lost
1t was asserted that there were but two
houses in Johnstown proper entirely
above the water line.
A special train bearing Pennsylvania
railway officials and large number of
newspaper men left this city for the scene.
Telegraphic communication was entirely
cut off.
W. II. Hays, superintendent of the Sec
ton of the Pennsylvania railroad covered
by the flood, teegraphed last night to
Superintendent Pitcairn as follows: The
destruction is terrible. The dam at
Johnstown is gone between the bridge
and tower West of Johnstown at some
points the tracks are entirely carried
away and road bed gone. The river for
three-quarters of a mile above the bridge
is filled with buildings and driftwood
forty feet high, and is on fire, burn in g
furiously, and is entirety beyond our con-
troll. l can not estimate the amount of
damage. l walked over last night from
Johnstown to Sang Hollow, four miles.
Johnstown is literally wiped out"
Superintendent Pitcairn, who was at
New Florence, sixty-five miles east of
Pittsburgh. telegraphed that over one
hundred men, women and children passed
Sang Hollow clinging to debris. Seven
were rescued at Sang Hollow. two at
Conemaugh Furnace and two at New
Florence. Only forty-seven of the hun
dred and over pa ssed New florence. The
loss of life and property was terrible.
A special from Bairsville station on
the Pennsylvania railroad says: John
Barton, a freight engineer, saw three men
and a woman struggling for their lives in
the Conemaugh river just below Johns
town. The Western Union office in
Jamestown was swept away at four
O'Clock yesterday afternoon. The water
in Cambria City, where are located the
Cambria iron works is thiIty-five feet
deep and rising"
OTHER TOWNS PROBABLY GONE
PITTSBURGH, Pa, June 1.-The course Of
the torrent from the broken dam at the
foot of the lake to Johnstown is almost
eighteen miles, and with the exception of
one point the water passed through mar
row V shaped valley. Four miles below
the dam lay the town of South Fork where
the South Fork itself empties into the
Conemaugh river. The town contained
about 1000 inhabitants. 1t has not been
heard from, but it is said that four fifths
of it has been swept away.
Four miles further down on the Cone
maugh river, which runs parallel with the
main line of the Pennsylvania railroad,
was the town of Mineral Point 1t had
800 inhabitants, 80 per cent. of the houses
being in fiat close to the river. Itseems
impossible ut this time to hope that any
of them have escaped.
Six miles further down was the town of
Conemaugh and here alone was there a
typographical possibility of the spreading
Of the flood and the breaking of its force
|
be almost wholly devastated.
Woodville, with 3. COB people, lay mile
below Conemaugh in the fiat, and one
mile further down were Johnstown and
its cluster of sister towns-Cambria
City and Conemaugh borough. with a
total population of 10000. On made
ground and stretched along right at the
river verge were the immense iron works
of the Cambria Iron and Steel Company,
who had S. 900, 900 invested in their plant
Besides this there are many other large
industrial establishments on the ba nix of
the river. how badly damaged can not be
estimated.
THE CAMBRIA CITY HORROR.
| DERRY Pa, June AT Cambria City
there are probably dozen houses in what
was thriving manufacturing town forty
eight hours ago. No estimate can be
formed of the amount of damage. but the
probable loss of life is terrible. There are
at present 500 lives known to have
been sacrificed and hundreds of peo-
pie are homeless. The cold raw
weather of this morning is particularly
severe on those who are without
shelter and no means of relief at hand as
the trains can not reach here from either
west or east Every thing possible is be-
ing done for the sufferers. Communion
ton with the outer world has been cut off
and only temporary accommodation can
be had. Some place the damage to prop
erty at from So 900, 900 to SIS 900, 0O0 but
until the excitement Gains down it is i'm
possible to form any correct estimate.
The latest man from Johnstown brings
the information that scarcely house re-
mains in the city. The upper portion
above the bridge has been completely sub
merged. The water damned up against
the viaduct the wreckage and debris
| finishing the work that the torrent had
failed to accomplish. The bridge at
Johnstown proved too stanch for the fury
of the water. 1t is heavy piece of
masonry, and was used as viaduct by
the Pennsylvania canal Some of the top
stones were displaced.
The story reached here a short time ago
that a family consisting of father and
mother and nine children were washed
away in a creek at Lock Haven. The
mother managed to reach the shore, but
the husband aud children were carried
out into the Conemaugh to drown. The
woman is crazed over the terrible affair.
After night settled down on the mount
aims the horror of the scene was enhanced.
Above the roar of the water could be
heard the piteous appeals from the I'M
fortunates as they were carried by. To
add also to the terror a brilliant illumina-
ton lit up the sky. This illumination can
be plainly seen from this place.
A message received from Sang Hollow a
few moments ago states that the light
comes from a hundred burning wrecks OF
houses that are piled up on the Johnstown
bridge.
At Lockport Edward Dick. a young
raiIroader, rescued an old gentleman, a