Morning journal and courier., 1889-06-01
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. AN AWFUL DELUGE, Hundreds of Lives Lost in
 the Turbulent Floods. PENNSYLVANIA A SCENE OF TERROR The Seizure of the Matte
 Winship.
 THE SUICIDE OF REV. DIR. GAGE. The Steamer Bear Will Sail for Behring's Sea.
THE SUICIDE OF REV. DIR. GAGE.
HUNDREDS OF LIVES LOST.

ed and hundreds of lives lost. Houses are floating about and the people who are free are panic-stricken and are fleeing to the mountains.
 At point near New Florence eighty-fve river on driftwood.
 One report comes that but two roofs of the houses in Johnstown can be seen. The Covetown and the New Florence bridges have been washed away and all the buildings along the Conemaugh between New Florence and Johnstown have been carried away. The railroad towers have been abandoned by the operators.
 PITTsByRG, May 31.-A reservoir above Johnstown is said to have broken through the food and swept away many houses in the town, drowning scores of persons. There is no communication with Johnstown, but a telegrapher in the Pennsylvania railroad tower at Sang Hollow, twelve miles this side of Johnstown, says that at least 75 dead bodies have foated past.
 The wires are all down and no trains are running east of Blairsville, which is about 25 miles west of Johnstown.
 There is no way to get to the scene of the disaster and full particulars can hardly be obtained to night, although every effort is being made to do so. There will be no trains through to the east before tomorrow.
 The reservoir lies two and 8 half miles northeast of Johnstown and is the site of the old reservoir which was one of the feeders of the Pennsylvania canal. It is the property of a number of wealthy gentlemen in Pittsburg who formed themselves into corporation, the title of which is the South Fork Fishing and Hunting club. This sheet of water was formerly known as Conemaugh lake. It is from 200 to 300 feet above Johnstown, being in the mountains. It is three and half miles long and mile and a quarter in width, and in some places it is one hundred feet in depth. The lake has been quad rupled in size by artificial means and was 700 to ,ooo feet wide. It is 90 feet in thick. ness at the base and the height is no feet The top has 8 breadth of over twenty feet. Recognizing the menace which the lake had to the region below, the South Fork club had the dam inspected once 8 month by the Pennsylvania railroad engineer, and their investigation showed that nothing less than some convulsion of nature would tear the barrier away and loosen the weapon of death. The steady rains of the past AS hours increased the volume of water in all the small mountain streams, which were al- ready swelled by the lesser rains early in the week. From the best information obtained at this time it is evident that something in the nature of 6 cloud-burst must have been the culmination of the struggle of the water against the embankment.
 PHILADELPHIA, May 31.-At the office of the general manager of the Pennsylvania rail road 1t was stated tonight that all the wires of that company west of Wilmore, 8 station on the Pittsburg division 25 miles west of Altoona, has been down since 8 a. m. and that consequently information in regard to the break west of that place is very meagrs. Enough has been learned, however, to indi- cate that the rush of water is the worst ever known in that section. At Broad street station the following bulletin, for the infor- nation of travellers, was posted about eight o'clock this morning:@
 On account of the unprecedented storm prevailing in the wes tern part of this State, the lines west of Altoona have been dam aged, to what extent cannot be sscertained until the water subsidies. The storm is still raging and it is thought no trains will be passed until Sunday.
 The Chicago limited express, which left New York at Q o'clock this morning, the fast line and the train leaving that city at 8 o'clock last night, are all laid up at Altoona. At 1O:30 tonight @ dispatch was received by General Manager Pugh, dated Wilmore, from the conductor of the eastbound New York and Chicago limited, which left Pittsburg at ' o'clock this morning, saying the trsin was safe and that all were well on board.
 MT. Pugh inferred from this that the linn ited was laid up somewhere west of Lilly's. The conductor reported that the bridge at South Fork was washed way and expressed the opinion that all the bridges between South Fork and Johnstown would be swept away. The Chicago and New York express and all other east bound trains are supposed to be laid up between Cresson and Pittsburg. When MT. Pugh was shown copy of the Associated Press despatch from Pittsburg announcing the breaking of the dam near Johnstown, he said that this report con- frmed despatch received from Wilmore to- night which stated that a man had reported to the Pennsylvania railroad there that the South Fork dam had broken and the water had carried away the "coal tipple'' and tele- graph tower at South Fork Station and also a portion or an east bound freight train. The operator who was in the tower managed to escape, but several of the train hands are reported to have been drowned.
 The reservoir or dam at South Fork which is said to have burst with such terrible re- suits is described by gentleman acquainted with the locality in which it was situated to be an immense body of water formerly used as 8 water supply for the old Pennsylvania canal.
 It has been owned for several years by a number of Pittsburg gentlemen who used it as fishing ground.
 P1rTsBURGH. May 31.-A special from Ty- rone says:
 The Juniata river has overfowed it's banks at this place and flooded the entire southern portion of the city, causing great destruction to property aud the streets. People living ins the flooded districts had to be removed from their homes in wagons to places Of safety. greatly damaged by the floods. The water was never known to be so high at this place. At Curwensville one man was drowned, and at Clearfeld two young ladies were drowned in their efforts to escape from the flooded 
 The Susquehanna river has overhowed it's banks, and the entire place is under water and all means of escape cut oil. Many peo, pie have gathered in the court house and opera house as place of safety. This even- ing it is still raining hard and the water is rising rapidly.
 LArRoBE, Pa, May 31.-The Associated Press train from present appearances will not be able to run nearer than SIX to eight miles of that part of Johnston where the flood was worst.
 BRADDocKs, Pa, May 31.-The telegraph wires are down for six or seven miles below the immediate scene of the Johnstown disas- ter and in unavoidable shape for three or four miles more. The chief officials of the Pittsburg aud of the Pennsylvania roads re- ceived most of their first information from the signal tower at Sang Hollow six m1leS west or JOQQbtONA. 0e s.1o a boy was rescued by men in the signal tower his father, a mother, brother and two sisters he was swept away in the light frame house, which was their home. He was washed away from the building, but the other members of the family were in 1t when it was swept over the breast of the new stone railroad bridge at Johnstown; that it cspsized few seconds later and they were all drowned so far as he could tell.
 The railroad operator officially reports that before dark they were able to count ll9 per sons clinging to buildings or wreckage, or drowned and floating in the current. AS early as o'clock an alarm was sent to Johns- town that there was danger from the dam. The railroad officials were notified and in 5 very short time began to carry people from