Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1889-08-08
The Johnstown Disaster.

In all the newspaper accounts OF the
appalling calamity which overlook
Johnstown on Friday evening last
sweeping it from the face of the earth
as with the "besom of destruction"
utterly wiping out its business houses
and residences, and hurting nearly
eight thousand of its terrified inhabi-
tants into eternity with the suddenness
and the awfulne IS of a cyclone, no de-
scription tn t has come under our OBJ
servance, says the Atchison Campion,
has given the exact location and the
surroundings OF that Inflated town.
Johnstown, "a city Of about 10000
souls, lay scattered distance of about
a mile and a half along the narrow
basin or valley on the north side OF the
Couemaugh river, comparatively
narrow stream with rapid current,
entirely surrounded by mountains ris-
Ing precipitousy TO Il height varying
from 600 to | 200 leet. The valley oc-
cupied by the town is about one mile
in width. A few yards below the west
end OF the town "a mountain stream rs
large as IL good creek pours its waters
into the Conemaugh, forming juno
tion with it. About four miles east of
the town was an artificial lake or res
ervoir formed by daming the mountain
gorge, at that point II mile in width.
ibis lake was one mile wide, three
miles long, and with an average depth
OF water OF one hundred feet The
dam, built of stone and timbers, was
two hundred feet thick ut the base and
fully two hundred and fifty feet high.
Tor several years past it had been
known that this dam had been inse-
cure, and that there was danger OF its
! giving way. On the morning Of FRI
day last, the water began 10 break
through the bottom OF this m.
Word was at once sent TO Johnstown
and tie other towns along the valley,
! that the dam was giving way, and
that there was imminent danger of its
going out entirely. The rain contin-
ued TO pour down in torrents as it had
been doing for the twenty hours pre-
cedinG. At about five O'Clock in the
afternoon, with a roar aud crash that
was he I'D distinctly at Johnstown,
the dam went out, and that immense
| body OF angry, surging water-one
! hundred feet in depth, a mile in width,
and three miles in length-with terri
fic and irresistible force plunged down
the narrow mountain gorge and into
the river, lifting 1t 10 an unprecedent-
ed height, and sending it roaring and
sweeping with insatiate fury over the
town, carrying everything before it as
easily as the dust of the hous3-floor is
swept away by IL broom in the hands of
Il 81 mt.
Indifferent TO the warning that had
been given them. Needless Of the aw-
full te which awaited them, and which
might easily have been averted by re-
firing quickly TO the mountain sides,
within easy distance, the people. over
whelmed and paralyzed with fear,
panic-stricken and powerless to help
themselves, in one mbracing and
resistles5 sweep we're borne westward
into the boiling md remorseless wa
tiers of the Conemaugh, engulphed and
destroyed with no human power able
to rescue or save them.
Drowned as thousands OF them were.
crushed and battered TO death by being
hurled, as they chung to their floating
homes and other debris, against the
stone vi iduct that spanned the river TO
the west OF the town, and buried alive
as hundreds of others were by the
flames that consumed their burning
homes, the scene beggars all descrip-
tions: and, taken as a whole, it stands
out in its unique awfulness, as the most
appalling calamity that ever visited a
community in the history Of this or any
other civilized country.
There have been at different periods
OF the worlds history, great and de-
structive foundations caused by the
giving way OF dams. At Williams
burg, Mass, about fifteen years ago,
reservoir covering one hundred
acres broke through its dam, killed
one hundred people, and destroyed
1000, 600 worth OF property.
At Lorca, in Spain, in 1872, n reser-
voir swept away its dam. drowned
1000 persons, and destroyed $1,000,
600 worth OF property.
Near Sheffield, England. in 1864. a
reservoir dam gave way. drowning
$50 persons, and destroying 81, 800, 00O
worth OF property.
But neither of these disasters, nor,
indeed, all of them put together,
equals the loss OF life and the destruc-
ton of property caused by the horri-
BILE disaster at Johnstown.
Nearly 5000 persons, inside OF a
comparatively few minutes swept out
of existence, and nearly $4,000, 009
worth of property oblitered as effect
ually as il the earth had suddenly
opened and swallowed it up.
1t is such dreadful visitations rs
these that impress the mind with the
impotency and helplessness OF man
when antagonized by the forces oil
nature in their wild, N al sway.