Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-06-07
CURRENT AFFAIRS.
Thousands Drowned
In a Terrible Flood in Pennsylvania
A Mountain Reservoir Breaks
Carrying Devastation and Death
THROUGH A VALLEY OF $4,000
INHABITANTS.
Moderate Estimates Place the Loss Of
Life at 5000,
hut II May Reach Many More than
This.
Hut IL May Reach Many More than
This.


THE CALAMITY IS WITHOUT PARALLEL IN
MODERN TINES
The bursting of an immense reservoir in
the mountains of southwestern Pennsylva
mia last Friday afternoon caused the most
dreadful disaster which this country has
ever experienced, and one which, of its
kind, is without a parallel in history A
body of water so large that it is difficult for
the mind to form an idea of its size poured
down "A narrow valley which contained II
population of more than 80, 900 souls. Pub
| lie and private buildings, factories, railroad
bridges, and all the works Of mems hands
were swept away like card houses, and the
most moderate estimates place the loss of
life at 5000, with possibility that the fig
ures may reach 1000 to 5000 more than
this The fact undoubtedly is that the full
extent Of the loss of life will never be known,
for in many cases whole families were lost
and hundreds of bodies must be buried un-
der the debris aud the deposit of mud,
where they will never be recovered
The scene of this dreadful visitation was
the Conemaugh valley in Cambria county,
and the most wide spread ruin was wrought
at Johnstown, Il busy manufacturing city
Of some 5000 or 10, 900 population, with out
lying suburbs carrying the total population
to 2j,OO0 The reservoir lake, which is
elsewhere described was 300 or 400 feet
higher than Johnstown, and a stream called
the South Fork was its outlet into the Cone
maugh river "a few miles above Johnstown
At the junction Of the South Fork and the
Conemaugh lay the town of South Fork
and between this and Johnstown were tn,
towns of Mineral Point, Conemaugh anC
! Woodvale. The Stony Greek joins the
Conemaugh at Johnstown, and below
Johnstown on the river are Cambria, Cone
maugh Borough, Cooperdale, Sang Hollow
Verona, Ninevah, New Florence, BOLIVIA
and Blairsville. In dry weather the Cone
maugh is shallow stream which may b'
crossed on the stepping stones. 1t is on
of the tributaries of the Allegheny river
its waters flowing past Pittsburg, which i
distant from Johnstown 100 miles by wOte
and 20 miles by land. The main line o
the Pennsylvania railroad passes from Al
toona across the mountains down throug
South Fork, Johnstown, Cambria, Bolivar
and so on to Pittsburg.
The spring rainfall in that section ha
been very heavy. For 80 hours before tn
final catastrophe the rain had poured il
torrents, and all the streams were swollel
to full banks. Saturday morning a dan
broke on Stony Creek, letting a large quan
tity of lumber and wreckage down into tn,
Conemaugh at Johnstown, and in the after
noon came the final catastrophe. The i'm
mense dam up in the mountains, confininl
body of water 81 miles long by / Wild
and of great depth broke away, and dowI
the narrow valley poured the water in
solid wall, sweeping everything before it
Warning was given when the dam begai
to topple but it was either too late or tn
danger had become so familiar that tn
warning was unheeded, The towns o
Woodvale and Conemaugh were wiped ou
as completely as if they had never existed
and when the flood reached Johnstown
rushed through the streets 20 to 40 feet il
depth, working ruin almost as complete
Dwellings and other buildings were swep
away by hundreds, and their occupant
were drowned or carried down on the de
bris or crushed and mangled in the ruin
by the thousand Some idea of the spec
of the mighty current may be gained fror
the fact that dead bodies were found float
ing in the river at Pittsburg, nearly 10
miles away the next morning,
To add to the awful horror of the seen
the ruins and wreckage, piled 60 feet hig
against the piers of the Pennsylvania raj
road bridge, and containing the bodies {
hundreds, both living and dead, caugf
fire, and added the horrors of death by fiji
to those of death by flood
With railroad bridges and road bee
swept away, telegraph lines destroyed, an
all the confusion consequent on such terr
BILE scenes, it is impossible to give a con
plete and detailed account of the catastr
phe, or to present an accurate estimate {
the loss of life and property, but we pr
3 sent herewith summaries of the most in
portant and apparently reliable despatche