The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1889-06-05
ONLY ASHES LEFT.
Hundreds of Victims at Johnstown
Reduced to Charcoal in the
Great Funeral Pyre.
The Number of Unfortunates Caught
at the Great Bridge Never to
be Known.
Many of the Bodies Found Already De-
spoiled by GhouIs of yaIuablss-
Burying the Unknown

through the valley of Conemaugh. but n
ray of sunshine has yet lightened the seen
Of horror at Johnstown bridge. The SIX
Is still overcast with heavy clouds and th
sun rests behind the heavy pail as thoug
reluctant to view. the handiwork of his p.
tent elements For thirty-six hours q
IRE engines played upon the smoking ruin
above the bridge, but the flames woul
break out sfresh at intervals and seem
defy the subduing force of the watel
Nearly two thousand men are employed
different parts Of the valley tearing u
ruins and prosecuting the search for tn
undiscovered dead.
| The investigations are not without fruit
ful results, for the bodies of the charre'
victims of the flood and fire are discovere,
with undiminished frequency. 1t become
more and more apparent that not a singh
vestige will ever be recognized of the hun
ereds roasted In the flames above tn,
bridge. Since the last sentence was pennet
party of searchers unearthsd a charreC
and unsightly mass from the smoulderin,
debris within thirty yards of tie Asso
ciated Press headquarters. 1t required tn,
authoritative verdict of physicians TO dem
onstrate that the CHASTITY discovery was the
charred remains of a human being. Only
the trunk remained, roasted beyond al
semblance 10 flesh. Five minutes work re
vealed fragments Of a skull, that at once
disintegrated of its own weight when ex
posed to the air, no single piece being
larger than a half dollar, and the whole re-
sembling remnants of shattered charcoal.
Within an hour and q half a dozen dis
coveries in ways more or less horrifying
were made by the searchers as they rak ed
with picks and hooks in the smoking ruins.
So difficult Is IL at times TO determine
whether the remains are human beings
that 1t is apparent that hundreds must be
fairly burned 10 ashes. Thus the number
that have found last resting place be-
neat these ruins can at best never be more
than apprOximated.
h0xham, the iron manufacturer, mayor
pro tenn OF Johnstown, to-day is probsbly
the busiest man in the United States. Al
though for days without sleep, he sticks
nObly to his task. Hundreds of others are
like him, and men fall only from sheer
fatigue There are many who have not
closed an eye in sleep since they awoke
Friday morning. They are hollow-eyed
and pitiful-looking. Many lost near rela-
tives and friends Some of the unfOrtun-
ates who could not 90 to the different trains
CnuCdNOiCu W O9s&A IIOm
stores In Johnstown. One dealer was
charging 50 sack for flour. Suddenly the
crowd heard OF the occurrence, and several
desperate men went to the store and de-
livered flour gratuitously TO the homeless
flour at S1.50 q sack. He refused 10 give
any away, guarding his store with shot
gun.
The bodies recovered in Johnstown to-
day have been robbed by ghouls that flock
hn - krA h,t I.4.
had several hundred dollars in her posses
sion just after the disaster. but when the
body was recovered not cent was In her
pocket
The Huns attacked the supply wagon be-
tween Worthwhile and Cambria City to-
day. The drivers repulsed them, but they
again returned. A second tight ensued,
but after lively scrambling the Huns were
again driven away. After that the drivers
and guards OF supply wagons were permit
ted TO 90 armed.
Registers are being opened in Johns
town, and all the survivors are requested
TO register in order TO give information Of
their safety to inquiring friends.
Hour by hour the calamity grows. Every
now the body of some new victim
Is taken from the debris and the town is
one vast charnel house. The scenes at the
morgue are beyond descrip-
ton in ghastliness, while the moans and
groans of the suffering survivors, tossing
In agony with bruised and mangled bodies
or raving in delirium of fever in the nu-
merous temporary hospitals, make even
the stoutest hearted quail with terror.
Nearly 1000 bodies have already been re
and as the work of examining
the conviction grows that the
magnitude of the calamity has not yet
been approximated.
Conservatives estimates this morning put
the number of lost at 1000 and many men
Of calm judgment not wont TO exaggerate,
W no haVa hQQn the prnnud from tho
outset, place the number at 10 900.
The first relief train bearing thousands of
pounds OF provisions for the suffering and
two thousand coffins for the dead, passed
over the JohnstOwn bridge across an i'm
provised trestle,to the Johnstown depot this
For the first time railroad COM
has been re-established be-
tween the stricken city and the outside
world.
In the early morning hours, and up to
O'Clock, $50 bodies had been taken from
the ruins. Most of them are unrecognIza-
Bile, and they are being taken away and
buried as fast as possible. In vast num-
Der of cases the bodies are almost COM
hing of the kind frequently makes the
IDENTITY complete. What is needed now
more than anything else are gravediggers.
This morning hundreds of bodies were
graves. At least fifty funerals have
already passed the Associated Press
II is not an unusual
thing to see two or three collins
carried along one sfter another, and fol-
lowed by q number of mourners, all in the
same family. Ii is impossible to obtain
of any kind; consequently all
the funeral possessions are on foot Gen.
Hastings has ordered the Fourteenth regi-
medt to Johnstown 70 relieve the sherl ffs,
who are worn out He Is hiring ell the
men he can to remove the debris. The
contractors have q number of
men at work, and have placard calling
for 1000 men. The Cambria Iron works
Are already preparing to get their works in
nsces in operation at the end of the week.
Ii is not believed now that the fire in the
wreck at the bridge can be extinguished
for weeks The hand OF providence Is in
&. The suggestion made By physicians yes
terday that bodies not burned be allowed
10 be cremated in the interest of public
health, which aroused such storm of in
dignatlon among surviving friends, Is
viewed with more calmness today. There
ls growing sentiment that il Is after all
s9e Ges5 sSTtOn Of the problem
remove the stupendous mass by artificial
means, and in the meantime the putrefy-
ing remains of humanity buried therein
will be doling out pollution and death to
all the surrounding country.
Among the bodies recovered this morn
ing the following have been identified:
Mrs Henry r Smith, wife of the cashier
OF the lohnstown company, and infant;
Adolph Nathan, proprietor of the Johns
town company stores; Oliver Ackers.
Harry p. Gather, clerk of the Adams Ex-
press company; John T. Buchanan, DR.. w.
c. Bearn and wife, L. G. Smith, Mrs Thos-
Williams, w. Z Hoops, secretary OF the
Johnstown company; Chas- Marshall,
Squire Fisher and family.
Twenty-Five registry Offices for the living
were opened this morning. Up 70 noon
y 600 cut of $4,000 inhabitants before the
food have registered.
Three hundred more bodies have Just
been found oppos be Ntnevah- This makes
200 found at that point
Adjutsnt General Hastings this morning
stated be wished 70 positively deny the
stories published In certain newspapers to
the effect that there had been wholesale
lynehing and rioting here since Sunday.
News from Lock Haven
PHILADELPHIA, June 4-Superintend-
ent Petit, Of the Pennsylvania road. made
his way TO the edge of the city of Lock
Haven this morning. The principal citi-
-