Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-02
WHAT MR. SHAFFER SAW.

Y Il III
vrk.l. F,,,;,Ye, nm the Roofs of Houses Ga
Down in the FIOod-6hastly sights
i'm the Tree Tops-His Adventure.
Assistant Superintendent Martin TrumT
and Division Operator Shaffer, of the Penn
sylyauia Railroad, arrived in the city on 8
snecia, train about $50 o'clock last night
from the scene of the disaster.
Both gentlemen left here Saturday, or
board a special train of one coach and an
engine. to go to Lillys. They started al
$50 o'clock and got as far East
as one mile on the other side Of
Conemaugh, They were stopped upon order
from the telegraph operator that the food
was coming. They were fortunately caught
on a dry piece of track about one-half mile
long. On both sides of them the water was
over the rails. They could not 90 forward,
nor could they turn back. When notified
that the dam had burst and there was nc
hope of getting the train outof the difficulty,
Messrs. Trump and Shafer decided to
abandon the train and lett it there.
They then proceeded over the hill, above
Conemaugh, and followed the river down
from the latter point. They viewed every
part of the wrecked country, and left for
home at 10 O'Clock yesterday. In speaking
of their trip, Mr.. Shaffer said:
Much Worse Than Reported.
''I can safely say without any exaggera-
ton, that the newspapers have not nearly
done justice to the matter. Why, one man
can hardly comprehend the enormity of the
disaster. L have no knowledge of the num-
Der of people killed, but from all the in
formation 1 could obtain, 1 should say
that between 5000 and 5000 persons per-
ished. The station agent of the company
stated that fully one-third of the population
in the valley had been drowned.
''I stood at the foot of the hill above the
Johnstown bridge and looked down into the
place. The whole lower part of the town
was vast lake of water, with not vestige
of a house in sight The only houses to be
seen in the town are those that are on the
hillside
Everything has been clesn.d oIL OF the
town of Woodvale. The beautiful little
village has almost entirely disappeared as
if it had been followed up in an earthquake.
The only thing left in the town is the large
wooden mill. The houses were swept away
about as easily as could sweep a lot Of
checkers from table.
Families Go Down Together.
SIT was a common sight to see large
frame houses floating down the stream,
with the families perched upon the roofs
All at once the building would strike some
thing and turn over. The family, clasping
&Io
waters, and heavy beams and all kinds of
material would strike and crush the life out
of them. 1t was an sgonizipg sight to see
a mother clasping her babe to her breast, as
both were swept beneath the torrent
''In our walk this morning from Cone
maugh TO Johnstown, we came upon about
90 dead bodies lying on the bank of the
river. Most of them were mutilated and
bruised beyond recognition. The trees
along both banks of the stream reminded
one of clothes lines. Upon every limb
hung all kinds of clothing, which shook
and swayed with the wind at every breeze.
CHASTITY Objects in the Trees.
Between branches were thousands of
Ausehold articles, such as pictures books,
4efves, etc. While looking at them, one
4ould imagine that be could occasionally |
see the white and CHASTITY face of a corpse.
upon without a shudder, and never want
to see it again.
sit was the greatest miracle in the world
that we got across the dangerous spot before
the break occurred. There were five or six
feet of water in the lower part of the town
before the food came. 1t is folly to talk
about getting out of the path of it. You
might as well have tried to run away and
leave behind you one of our fastest passen-
ger trains The people who tried to
get out of the way were picked up
like corks in a gutter and dashed head |
downward in the current. The water was |
so swift that the majority of them would be |
hfeless if they rose to tine surface.
''It would be impossible to describe the |
transformation that has occurred to our |
property between Johnstown and Cone |
maugh. The whole track has been washed |
away so completely that we would have had |
trouble trying to locate the lines where the |
rails were laid. The steel has been torn and |
twisted in every shape by the rush of the |
waters"