Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-06-06
SIMPLY APPALLING.
Deluge in the Conemaugh an Kis.
kiminetas Valleys in
Pennsylvania.
Towns Swept Away and the People
Hurried to Death on the Breast
of the Dreadful Rush
of Waters.
A Tale or Death and Destruction that
Makes One stand Aghast in Com
templating Its Fearful
Magnitude.

/ A Tale OF Death and Destruction that
Makes One stand Aghast in Com
templating Its Fearful
Magnitude.
Johnstown. Pa, Washed Away by a Flood.
PITTSBURGH. Pa, June la Green's
burg (Pa.) special to the Times says:
Ths banks of the Conemaugh river are
overfowed for miles, and the whole coyin-
try is de1uged with water. The Pennsyl-
vania railroad all along the river from
Johnstown to New Florence is washed
away, and travel is entirely suspended.
At Sang Hollow, the operator in one of
the railroad towers counted eighty-seven
dead bodies floating down the river on
the driftwoOd. The river rose so rapidly
that all the operators in the towers be-
tween Sang Hollow and New Florence
had to flee for their lives. The bridges
| at New Florence, on the Pennsylvania
| railroad, and Coketown. on the West
| Pennsylvania, were carried away.
Houses, Furniture, etc, are being carried
down the river. The latest report is that
Johnstown is entirely submerged, and
the roofs of but two houses are visible,
while it is still raining and the river ris-
ing at very rapid rate. The cause of
the food is attributed to the bursting of
a water-spout and the breaking of the
South Fork reservoir which covers an
area of one square mile and has had
twenty feet Of water in it.
The latest news is that Johnstown is
now gone.
Destruction and Loss of Fife Along the
| Kfskfminetas.
PITTSBURGH. Pa. June Reports from
along the Kiskiminetas river, into which
the Conemaugh empties, are most dis
tressing. The river near Salisbury is
filed with wreckage, and number of
persons were noticed clinging to such
| timbers as would bear their weight.
! At Blairsville men are stationed on the
bridges and banks in the hope of rescu-
ing some Of those who are being carried
down the stream. The volume of water
is unprecedented. The iron bridge con-
Meeting Blairsville with Blairsville Inter-
section has been carried away, and with
it train of heavily LOADED cars standing
upon the bridge to hold it in place. This
was the largest and strongest bridge on
the West Pennsylvania road. It is
| thought that all of the West Pennsyl-
vania railroad bridges will share a SIM
liar fate.
All Of the towns in the Kiskiminetas
valley are expected to be submerged.
Among them are Livermore. Salisbury,
Apollo. Leechburg and Ayenmore, hay
ing populations OF from eight to ten thou
sand each. The Inhabitants along the
river have been warned. but are almost
panic-stricken at the idea of their great
loss of property, which is inevitable.
Later reports from Coketown are to the
| effect that the entire town is submerged,
and mum Der of lives have been lost at
| that place.
Fifteen Hundred Lives Lost in the VAL
les of the Conemaugh.
BOLIVAR, Pa, June 1.-The water is
| higher here than was ever known, and
two-story houses, barns, stables, whole
forests of trees, out-houses, smoke
houses, railroad bridges, county bridges,
RATS, inverted skiffs and driftwood by the
score, from all of which imploring hands
were held out to those on the banks, will
ing, but impotent to help, have foated
| down the swollen torrent of the Cone
| maugh. Information received Is meager,
but for the most part accurate.
At Lockport, two miles east, more than
twenty people have been taken from the
| food. The first great rush of water
reached here at seven O'Clock last even
ing. This came from the bursted dam
above Jamestown. 1t came like afrenzied
whirlpool, and before the people could
realize it they were in it's grasp. Forum
ately, the people living on the low Lying
ground escaped. At half-past seven
O'Clock great pile of drift wood was
swept along, and from it shrek upon
shrek for "help, help for Gods sake"
came. The Mortified spectators on the
shore saw three women, to one of whom
were clinging two children, neither of
whom was apparently more than an in
FAINT. The rapidity of the current and the
position of the raft on the stream, to-
gether with tho lack of facilities for res
cuing. precluded the possibility of even
thinking of the matter, and the raft
passed out of sight, the screams Of the
women and children blending in their
pleadings for aid long after the raft was
around the bend.
The stream then became thic]kly strewn
with men, women and children, clinging
to all sorts of temporary means of saliva
ton, and two men and woman chung
madly to the tops of huge trees, the men
emulating the females in their shrieks for
help that it was not possible to give.
Just at dark a lad was noticed clinging
to log. James Curry secured long
line and ran to the river bank. The moose
of the lasso fell over the boys neck and
shoulders, and moment later the
drenced, poverty stricken little fellow
y
stored, and stated that his name was Ed
ward Harsten, thirteen years of age. He
had lived with his father and grandfather
and mother in Cambria City, part Of
Johnstown. At four O'Clock their home
had been caught in the volume of water
let loose by the bursting of the dam.
They had all climbed upon a mass of
driftwood, and were carried along. Their
raft went to pieces against a bridge pier,
and he had not seen his relatives since.
but thought they were 'downed.
A man rescued in the river here who
was swept away from j ohnstown says
positively that no less than fifteen hun
dred lives are probably lost in the valley
of the Conemaugh. This point is twenty
miles below Johnstown, and the work of
rescuing men, women and children
sweeping down the river has b>en stead
lily forwarded all night
Mr.. Rhoades, agent at Blairsville In
tersection, saw q woman floating by on
the roof Of house. With arms out
stretched. she called in the most piteous
tones to save her. ss'Oh, my Godp she |
cried, save, save, save me- I caught the |
name of Lucy above the roar Of the food. |
Just ahead of the house we could plainly
see cradle floating with babe in it. |
The child seemed to be sleeping, but more |
than likely was dead"
A little after two O'Clock an engineer of |
the Pennsylvania railroad saw three men |
drown at the railroad bridge in Johns |
town. At that time the water was fully |
fifty feet deep.
Graphic Story Of the Disaster.
PITTSBURGH. Pa, June LIS. j. Heron, |
solicitor for the Times, left Johnstown at |