davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
Pennsylvania Visited by a Del
uge and Thousands of PeO-
pie Drowned.
A Bursting Reservoir Sweeps Several
Cities and Their Inhabitants Out
CT Existence.
Fire Adds It's Terrers to the Scene, and
Hundreds Perish Who Otherwise
Might Have Been Saved.
Human corpses as Plentiful as Logs b the
Hssckage Above the Pennsylvania Rail- !
!. road Bridge-3, 500 Recovered.

JoKNsTowN, Pa, June 1.-The reser-
voir above the town burst about p. m.
Friday, and augmented by the streams
already heavily swollen by the late rains,
rushed down upon this city carry
ing death to hundreds and mis-
cry to thousands. The waters are
now subsiding rapidly, but as yet it
is impossible to obtain anything like
exact information concerning the extent
of.the disaster that has visited this city
and the district surrounding. 1t is no
exaggeration to say that there are
mourners in every family. Thousands
are missing, it is certain that
Hundreds Have Been Lost,
and while many of those who are now
missing and who are mourned as dead
have doubtless been saved, the final
death roll will beyond doubt be of ap-
palthg length.
lis impossible to describe briefly the
suddenness with which the disaster
came. A warning sound was heard at
Conemaugh few minutes before the
rush of waters came, BUTT was attrib-
uted g some meteorological disturbance
and no trouble was borrowed because of
the thing unseen.
AS the low, rumbling noise increased
in volume, however, and came nearer, a
suspicion of danger began to force itself
upon even the bravest, which was in
creased to a certainty few minutes
later, when with a rush the mighty
stream spread out in width, and then
there was no time to do anything to save
themselves. Many Of the unfortunates
were
Whirled Into the Stream
before they could turn around. Men
women and children were struggling in
the stream, and it is thought that many
of them aever reached Johnstown, only
a NIT or two below. at Johnstown a
similar scene was enacted, only on a
much larger scale, as the population is
greater, and the sweeping whirlpool
rushed into a denser Lass of humanity.
The imagination of the reader can better
depict the spectacle than the pen of the
writer can give it. 1t was twilight of
terror, and the gathering shades of even
ing closed in on
A Panorama of Horrors
that has few parallels in the history Of
casualties. Even the thought of such a
thing as rescue was madness, and the
agony of the struggling, drowning VIC
TINS found it's response in the bosoms of
those who stood wringing their hands in
helpless horror, in view of their friends.
Now and then the waters would dash
against one side of the mountain and
then to the other side, carrying with
them their human freight, and this di-
version enabled those on the banks to
rescue many. 1t will be found that ON
this account many will be returned to
their homes and friends who are now ac-
counted lost. The list of dead is there
fore matter of conjecture, and will not
not be definitely known for many hours.
Searchers are out everywhere from
Johnstown to Blairsville.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
Trains Lighted by Electricity

and heated by steam are the latest Inn
provements for the benefit of its patrons,
adopted by the Chicago, Milwaukee and
St. Paul railway. The vestibuled trains
of this company, to and from Chicago,
ARE now equipped with the very finest
sleeping cars ever turned out by the Pull
man company. These contain twelve
sections and a drawing room and smok-
ing room; have three lavatories for gem
tlemen and three for ladies, supplied with
hot and cold water. The Gears are equipp-
ed with modern closets, and two of the
sections in each car are draped to secure
privacy when desired. The entire train
Is lighted by incandescent electric lights,
enabling the passengers to read the finest
print in any part of the car without diff
Guilty.
No such trains were ever before run in
h Northwest, and they are well worthy
the inspection of the public.
The prompt adoption of 'all improve
ments for the comfort and safety of the
travelling public by this great company
accounts for its high position in the esti-
nation of the people, and gives it the
bulk of their patronage, notwithstand-
ing the advent of old and new lines into
the field of competition.-St. Paul Pho
ueer Press.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
DEATH FOLLOWS THEM.
Those Who Escaped the Flood Nay Ia
Victims of Pneumonia.

Those Who Escaped the Flood May Fall
Victims of Pneumonia.
JoHNsTowN, June Cup the ragged
sides of Prospect hill, the same to which
several hundred terrified people. fled to
escape the flood last Friday night, your
correspondent scrambled during the
afternoon. He came upon pneumonia
scourge which bids fair to dofo num-
Der of the escaped Victims what the
flood could not. Death has pursued
them to their highest places, and terror
will not die. Every little house on the
hill, and there are hundred or two of
them, had thrown its doors open to re-
ceive the bruised and half-clad fugitives
on the dark day of the deluge, and every
one was now a crude hospital.
There had been pneumonia on the
hill, but only few isolated cases. Now,
however, several cases developed among
the tood fugitives, and-a local physician
said the prospects for a scourge are all
too promising. The enfeebled condition
of the patients, the unhealthy atmos-
phere prevailing the valley, and the
necessarily close quarters in which the
people are crowded render the spread Of
the disease almost certain,
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
WORK OF The TORRENT.

Loromo olives aud Rolling Mill Machinery
Carried Before the Resistless Flood.
The awful torrent came down the mar
row defile between the mountains, a
distance of nine miles, and with fall
of 800 feet in that distance, sweeping
away the villages of South Fork, Mineral
Point, Woodvale and Conemaugh, leav-
ing but one building standing, a wooden
mill, where but an hour before had stood
hundreds, and dashing on with the roar
of cataract and with the speed of the
wind upon the fair city at the foothills.
The great Gautier steel works sat in this
plain and the city below it, railroad
tracks bounding it at the base of the
mountains on the north. Here iswhere
the trains were standing when the tide
of water, like catapult, came down
upon them with such resistless force that
the heavy trains, locomotives and Pull
mans all were overturned and -.
Swept Down the Torrent
and were lodged against the great stone
viaduct along with forty-one locomotives
from the Johnstown round house, the
heavy machinery and ponderous frame
work of the Gautier mill, the accumu-
lated debris of more than thousand
houses, furniture, bridges, lumber, drift
and human beings. The low arches of
the stone viaduct choked up Immediately
and the water backed over the entire level
of the valley upon which the city stood
to the depth of about thirty eight feet at
: the water works. In the great sea thus
formed hundreds, perhaps thousands,
of people were struggling for life. The
scene now is one Of the most narrowing
possible for the imagination of man to
conceive. The accumulated drift gorged
up at the viaduct to height of forty
feet
And Then Took Fire
from the upsetting of stoves or lamps.
Then were strong men made sick at
the sight. As the flames cracked and
reared among the dry finder of the float
ing houses human bodies were seen
pinioned between the house roofs, loco
motives, iron beams, freight, passenger
and Pullman and baggage cars, the
greedy flames licking with haste their
Diet of Human Flesh.
The scene was horrible beyond des-
cription. From infancy few days old
to the wasted figure of age were burned
before the eyes of the beholders, and no
rescue from such q fate was possible.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
LATEST LOSS EsTlMAsEs.

Some Say it Will BE Not Over 5000,
While Others Place it Much Higher.
JoHNsTowN, Pa, June 5.-While the
total loss of life at Johnstown and the
surrounding boroughs of Cambria, Nor
reville, Kernville and Conemaugh will
never be known, yet fair attempt is
uow being made to ascertain it within a
reasonably fair limit. This is being done
through a bureau of registration which
has been established. Twenty. eight
agencies have been established within
the food districts and all survivors have
been notified to register themselves and
their families at once.
Up to Noon 5000 Persons
had registered. There were 90, 500 peo-
pie residing in Johnstown and the
boroughs named before the terrible
catastrophe. When the work of registra-
ton is finished it will be known about
how many persons are missing. !, The
work is very carefully and thoroughly
done, special care being taken to prevent
Implications.
Loss yariously Estimated.
Superintendent Morgan. of the Cambria
Iron COMPANY. who is REGARDED as an ex-
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
Trust Illustrated.

A 3-year-old little girl boarded a
Kingston City horse car one day re-
Gently. She folded her hands compla-
comfy and looked solemnly about her.
When the driver reached the West Shore
railroad station he opened the door and
asked the girl where she was going.
Where me doin'? Why, to Willie am
Katie house, to be sure" was the an
swer. "Where do they liver" inquired
the driver. why, on know Katie an
Willie. Me want to go sere." The baby
told her name to the sorely perplexed
driver, and he carried her back and forth
on his route until a responsible party
took the child in charge and restored
her to her distracted parents, who were
seeking everywhere for the little wan
derer, who had gone off visiting ''aa
loney by my own telf," as the wee one
cunningly put it. Kingston Freeman. ,
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
LAUGHED AT THE WARNING,
No Loss of Life Would Have Resulted If
Timely Notice Had Been Needed

No Loss of Life would Have Resulted If
Timely Notice Had Been Heeded.
SOUTH FORK, Pa. June At was
John &. Parke, an excellent civil engi-
neer of Philadelphia, who first saw the
danger that threatened the valley by the
bursting of the dam. Early Friday
morning he discovered that the waters
would have to have an additional outlet
or the dam would give way. Hastily Sc
curing force of 80 Italians he set to
work to prepare another sluice. In half
an hour his purpose had been accom-
plished, but still the water continued to
rise. Giving orders to his men to cut
another outlet, Mr.. Parke jumped on his
horse and started at breakneck epeed
toward the village below. AS he rode
he warned the people on every hand of
their danger. Soon hundreds of families
were fleeing to the hills-f for safety.
Reaching South Fork station he tele
graphed the warning to Johnstown.
Some needed the warning; others laughed
of If
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
AUX CENTRE srEARns COUNTY MINNESOTA THURSDAY JUNE 1889

ceprlonaIIy IeveI.headed man, has re-
turned from tour of the entire flooded
district. He declared that only about
$4,000 people are now alive, where 20 500
lived and had their being before the
flood. Adjutant General Hastings main
tains that the death list may not exceed
5000, and of this number he thinks 3 1000
bodies will never be recovered. Mr.. Nc
Connaughy, the chief of the bureau of
registration says that he is convinced
that the number who persisted is fully
100000. .....
Three hundred more bodies were found
during the afternoon opposite Nineveh.
This makes 100 bodies found at that
place.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06

strong men turned away with agonized
expressions and women shrieked at the
horror of the scene.
Even Greater Than at Johnstown.
Kernville has only a house or two as a
monument to its former respectable pro-
portions. Cambria City is not even
ghost of its former self, while all along
the line of the torrent the isolated houses
OF hundreds are without occupants. The
relief provisions for Jobnstown must be
extended to these other places as rapidly
as railroad transportation facilities can
be furnished. The towns named all lie
between Johnstown and South Fork
dam, whose bursting caused the disaster.
At Woodyale the dead bodies of hun
dreds are lying in the debries relatively
as numerous as they are in Johnstown.
At Conemaugh the same condition of
things prevails. The scarcity of the
living at both places makes the recovery
Of bodies very slow work.
THE GREAT FUNERAL PYRE.
Nothing Has Ever Equallad the Scene
Above the Pennsylvania Railroad
Bridge.
JoHNsTowN, June 3.-The magnitude
of the horror increases with the hours.
1t is believed that not less than 1900 of
the drowned found Judgment beneath
the mass of debris in the triangle of
ground that the Conemaugh cut out of
the bank between the river proper and
the Pennsylvania railroad bridge.
There was the greatest funeral pyre in
history.S The victims were not upon it,
but were parts of its horrible constitu-
ton. Whole. houses were washed into
the apex of the triangle. Hen coops,
pig stys, stables, the refuse of the gut
ter, the contents of sewers, whole lum-
Der yards, boom upon boom of logs, COM
posed the mass. When the upsetting of
a cook stove ignited the mass and the
work of cremation began, it was costly
sacrifice to the demon Of the flood, be-
ing
A Literal Breast of Fire.
The smoke arose in huge funnel
shaped cloud, and at times it changed to
the form of an hour glass. At night the
flames would light up this misty rem
nant of mortality. The effect upon the
living, ignorant and intelligent, was the
same. That volume of smoke, with its
dual form, produced feeling of awe in
many that was superior in most cases to
that in the awful moment of the storms
here on Friday afternoon. Hundreds
stood for hours regarding the smoke and
wondering if it forbode another vista
ton direr than its predecessor.
The Five Under Control.
The fire in the drift above the bridge
is under control and is being rapidly
smothered by the Pittsburg firemen, in
charge of the work. About 7 o'clock
a. m. crowd of Battery B boys dis
covered family of five people in the
smoking and burned ruins above the
bridge. They took out father, mother
and three children, all terribly burned
and mutilated. The little girl had one
arm torn off.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
NO STATISTICS TELL IT.
The Sorrow and Misery Caused by the
FIood-One Case in Many.

Inc SOTrOW ana misery SAuseu Dy thd
FIood-One Case in Many.
JoHNsTowN, Pa, June "a pretty,
pale, little woman told part OF her story
to-day, as she nervously clasped or I'M
clasped her hand and cried in quiet,
heart-breaking way. Her name was
Mrs. Fem. On the afternoon of the
flood Fem went to the butchers and
passed out of this short history in the
waters. When the food came into the
Fem house the mother gathered her
chicks in the parlor and told them not to
be afraid, as God ives there and would
guard them,
Up Came the Torrent
and they went to the second floor. and
again the mother talked of hope and
babe them be of good cheer, for papa
heaven rest him-would come soon in a
boat and take them away. Up, up and
up rose the water, and now the family
were forced to the top story. The rooms
were very low and soon the heads of the
mother and children were beating against
the ceiling. "Mother,n said the eldest
child, girl, wouldn't it be better to go
outside and die in the open ARP eyes,
DEAR" said the mother, we'll make a
raft and all ea down taGether," She
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06

.vugnC ner own ana her ennurens VIZ
to the window and opened it. She
caught piece of plank and
Put the Eldest Child on It
with hasty kiss and ''God bless yoa."
Then she let it float away into the dark
ness and the roar of waves. Six times
were these frail barks freighted with
precious cargoes and argosies of pious
trust. The children were frightened,
but obedience was part of their creed,
came the turn of the last child, Bessie,
the four-year-old. One can fancy what
it meant.
The Last aud Dearest
There was scarce breathing space in the
room now, and if haste was not used
death would come there at once. On a
broad plank, Bessie was fastened secure
ly and was kissed, as had been the others.
81 loved them all; oh. I loved them ALL"
said the mother; "but / had two kisses
for Bessie, for she was Toms favorite
and was such good child. She put her
arms about my neck and said: "You
know you said God would take care of
me always, mamma. Will he take care
of me now? I told her he would
and she need not fear, and
Then She Was Carried Away.
'Tm not afraid, mamma she called out,
and heard her, although could not see
her-and that's all; except that the roof
was torn off and 1 floated off on it, and
some Italians saved me at Kernville, six
teen miles from here"
And the children, Mrs. Fem? Ihope
they all escaped"
HEOu have fnuDd two IF tbap, daaI
Bessie and George, and there's not a
mark on Bessie's face, and oh am SO
tired.
They're All Gone,
every one, eight of them, and I am 60
ing home to Virginia after all these
years to rest and try to think"
Only one mother of the hundreds; only
one Of the multitude.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
ANOTHER TERRIBLE FLOOD.

PhillipsburG, Pa, Wiped Out-Nearly $50
Dead Bodies Already Recovered.
JoENsTowN, Pa, June Gan over
land message reports great loss of life at
Phillipsburg, Center county. 1t is said
243 bodies had been recovered up to the
time Of the departure Of the courier.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
Death by Electricity Cruel.

BUFFALO, June 5.-Counsel for
kemmler, the condemned murder, will
appeal on habaes corpus proceedings for
a review of the verdict on the ground
that death by electricity is cruel and I'M
usual punishment and therefore uncon-
stitutional.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
Fears for Lock Haven.

PHILADELPHIA, June 5.-There is great
anxiety because of the fact that no news
is obtainable from Lock Haven. There
are reports of disaster in that locality,
but telegraph communication has been
cut off since p. m. Friday. Lock
Haven is a place of $4,000 inhabitants,
and is badly situated in case of flood.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
The Gray-HIattl,ews Nuutials

WASHINGTON, June 5.-Justice Gray,
of the United States supreme court, and
Miss jeanette Matthews, daughter of the
late Justice Matthews, were married at
the brides residence last evening. A
large number of distinguished guests
witnessed the ceremony.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
RECOVERED 1900 BODIES.
And the Awful List Will Mount Up
Over 5000, Without Doubt,

And the Awful List Will Mount Up to
Over 5000, Without Doubt.
YOUNGSTOWN, Pa, June 4.-The devel-
opments of every hour make it more and
more apparent that the exact number of
lives lost in the Johnstown horror will
never be known. "All indications point
to the fact that the death list will reach
over 5000 names, and in my opinion the
missing will reach 5000 in number"
declared Gen. d. II. Hastings last night.
At present there are said to be 1900 re-
covered bodies. The great difficulty ex-
perienced in getting correct list is the
great number of morgues. There is no
central bureau of information, and to
communicate with the different dead
houses is the work of hours, At 6
o'clock in the evening the 630th body
had been received at the Cambria City
Depository for corpses.
Bodies Are as Plentiful as Logs.
only the swirl of the waters put the
bodies under and logs and boards on top
in the general stacking up of the animate
and inanimate. The rigidity of arms,
standing out at right angles to the
boated and bruised bodies, shows that
death in 80 out of 100 cases took place
amid the ruins, that is, after the wreck
of houses had closed over them. DR..
D. e. Foster, who has been here all day,
is of the opinion that most of the victims
were killed by coming in violent contact
with objects in the river, and not by
drowning.
Three Hundred Moro Discovered.
= JoHNSTOwN, Pa, June 4.-Three hun
dred bodies were discovered during the
afternoon in the sand at Kernville, near
the mouth of Sandy Greek. There were
no collins there at the time and the
bodies had to be laid on the ground.
Most Of the rescuing party have been up
for two days, yet they work with
determination that is wonderful. Engine
Company No. Is, of Pittsburg, which is
playing a stream on the fire at the stone
bridge has it now almost extinguished,
and the task of getting at bodies under
the burning debris will soon be COM
menced in earnest. Undertaken Elan
merry states that bodies are coming in the
morgue at the rate of one every three
minutes.
The Yield of an Acre.
JoHNsTowN, Pa, June A corn
patch of about an acre in extent at
Nineveh was dug over by volunteer
force and 13S corpses were recovered.
The manner in which the CHASTITY find
was made was purely accidental. "A man
walking over the field kicked at a clump
of MARYLAND: overturned it, uncovered a
woman's face. This indicated a rich
find, and the people around were called
in to assist with the results above stated.
This increases the listof dead in Nineveh
to $50. The new dead were found under
about four feet of alluvial deposit.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
Gen. Lew Walapsis Wife Among the
Missing.

INDIANAPOLIS, June 5.-Mrs. Wallace.
the wife of the author of ben Hur"
was on one of, the trains caught in the
Conemaugh valley. She has not been
heard from and herefriends are anxious.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06

PETsBURG, June "a message ask
/ ing for an extra session of the legisia-
ture, which was sigued by every mem
Der of that body from Allegheny county,
was sent to Governor Beaver, but at this.
writing no reply has been received.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
ADVERTISING RATES;

81 Z 4al - = .
entertainments in double 6lumns, double
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jl$iness cards. five lines. one year, $780,
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t. .. Il .eSs tGan an inch viii be charged aS
,\n' lent advertising must be paid in
=
~-nents in the local notice column
,s3e Tor each inset ton.
s"cments of marriages and deaths
80 s..sd zee; but obituary notices, except
'-s'~c.ti cases. will be charged At advertis-
IaIES
.,ai notices VIII be charged at IS cents
-. r'.lp i,T inc first assertion, and ST. cents
,cil Subsequent in Jertton. All legal no
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Al accounts payable quarterly,
ia connection with the paper, we have
i'iri"''G aSsoi tment OF jobbipg material, and
'''' repaired 70 execute all kinds of printing
IN - ~ lie unsurpassed.
The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-06-06
IN NAMELESS GRAVES.

The Work of Interment of the Johnstown
Victims Commences.
Delay is no longer possible. The de-
composed corpses viii inevitably breed
pestilence if longer exposed to the air.
At the first break of dawn this morning
orders were issued to push preparations
for the gigantic burial with all possible
speed. Where there is no reasonable
hope for Identification the bodies will be
buried at once. 1t is probable that by
evening there will be at least 5000 new
graves in the valley, many of which will
be unmarked for all time.