The Irish standard., 1889-06-08
THE STORY OF THE FLOOD.
The Once Thriving City Of Johnstown,
Pa, Almost Wholly Wiped Out
of Existence.
MANY OTHER CITIES SUFFER,

MANY OTHER CITIES SUFFER,
Ten Thousand People Go Down to Death
The Miracle Noted at Cam
bria City.
The heavy rains in the mountains of
Pennsylvania caused one Of the most
appalling calamitles, on the evening OF
May 81, ever known in America, and
one of the greatest in the history of the
world. A little after four o'clock the
great dam at Johnstown, that state,
broke, and mighty volume of water
came rushing down the course of the
little stream that winds through the
village, sweeping everything in its path.
Houses, bridges, trees-every obstacle
in the path Of the irresistible torrent
disappeared in an instant, or went
whirling down the boiling malestrom.
In an instant hundreds of people were
struggling in the water, and the loss of
life is simply sickening. 1t is estimated
that not less than 1000 persons have
been drowned, and some place the num-
ber as high as 10000.
Johnstown, the center of the terrible
disaster, is the principal town in the
route of the great flood. 1t is located
in Cambria county on the Pennsylvania
railroad, 70 miles east of Pittsburgh,
and had, at the time of the last census,
population of 2s,4OO. 1t is a manu-
featuring town, and boasted steel works
employing 5000 men. The Conemaugh
river flows through the north part Of
the town, and Stony creek through the
south part. Across the Conemaugh
river was built the massive stone bridge
which so successfully resisted the flood.
The Conemaugh runs in northwest
erly direction at Johnstown, for about
10 miles and then suddenly defects to
the southwest and again to the north
west. The towns along the river chat
suffered most in loss Of life and prop
erty from the flood are Cambria, Sang
Hallow, New Florence, Conemaugb,
Furnace and Bolivar, the first-named
village being about 20 miles from
Johnstown.
Some distance below Bolivar the
Conemaugh empties into the Kiskin-
initas river, and a number of towns
upon the latter river suffered severely
from the flood.
In order to understand the nature of
the calamity it is necessary to describe
the respective locations of the reservoir
and Johnstown. The reservoir lies
about 18 miles northeast Of Johnstown
and is the site of the old reservoir which
was one of the feeders of the Pennsyl-
vania canal. 1t is 200 to 800 feet above
the level of Johnstown, being in the
mountains. 1t is about 81 miles long
and from to II miles wide and some
places it is 100 feet in depth. 1t holds
more water than any other reservoir,
natural or artificial, in the United
States. The lake has beeen quadrupled
in size by artificial means and was held
IN check by q dam 700 to .0oo feet vide.
It is 80 feet in thickness at the base,
and the height is 1l0 feet. The top has
a breadth of over 20 feet. Recognizing
the menace which the lake had to the
region below, the South Fork club had
the dam inspected once 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 May %, 80 and 81 in that section in
creased the volume of water in all the
small mountain streams which were al.
ready swelled by the lesser rains earlier
in the week. From the best informa-
tion obtained at this time it is evident
that something in the nature of cloud
burst must have been the elimination
Of the struggle of the water against the
A nameless Paul Revere now lies
somewhere among the nameless dead.
Who hs is may never be known, but
his ride will be famous in the history of |
J0hnstown. Mounted on grand, big
bay morse, he came riding down the pike
which passes through Conemaugh to
Johnstown like some angel of wrath of
Did, shouting his portentious warning:
Run for your lives tothe hills" "Run
TO the hills!" The people crowded out
IF their houses along the thickly settled
streets, awestruck and wondering. No
body knew the man, and some thought
he was maniac and laughed. On at a
leadly pace he rode and shrilly rang out
his awful cry. In few moments, how
3ver, there came cloud of ruin down
The broad streets, down the narrow al
eys, grinding, twisting, hurting, over
turning, crashing, annihilating the
weak and the strong. Itwas the charge
II the food, wearing its coronet OF ruin