Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-04
CRAZY WITH GRIEF.
Survivors of the Flood Almost In
sane with Anxiety.
A MoTHERS'S PlTIFuL STORY
Her Little Children Set Adrift One
by One.
A REVOLT AGAINST SCIENCE
The Bodies Of Loved Ones Shall Not
Burn.
THOUGHT TO BE A MIRACLE
A Flower Decked Statue of the Virgin
Mary Escapes the Angry Flood
Unscatbed-An Loafers
Must Leave.
THOUGHT TO BE A MIRACLE
The Terrible Aftermath.

Inc JcrrtDIe AItermaUn.
JoHNsTowN, Pa, June 3.-This morning
opens up dark and dreary. Great drops Of
rain fall occasionally and another storm
seems imminent. Everyone feels thankful
that the weather still remains cool and that
the gradual putrefaction of the hundreds of
bodies that still line the streams and lie hid
den under miles Of driftwood and debris is
not unduly hastened. The peculiar stencil Of
decaying human flesh is plainly perceptible
this morning to the senses as one ascends the
bank of stony creek for half a mile along
the smouldering ruins of the wreck and the
most skeptical now concede the worst and
realize that hundreds-aye, perhaps thou
sands-of bodies lie charred and blackened
beneath this great funeral pyre. The
searchers wander wearily over this smoking
mass, and as occasionally sudden shout
comes over the waters, the patient watchers
on the hill realize that
ANOTHER CHASTITY DISCOVERY
has been made. From the banks many
charred remains of the victims of the flames
and floods are plainly visible as the receding
waters give up their dead. Beneath almost
every log the blaclkened beam of glistening
skull or the blanched remnants of ribs or
limbs mark all that remain of human beings.
Since 10 o'clock last night the fire engines
have been busy. Water has been constantly
playing on the burning pile. AT times the fire
seems extinguished, but the fitful flames sud
denly break out afresh in some new quarter
and again the water and flames wage fierce
combat.
The chief sensation of the morning has
been the united remonstrance of the physi-
clans against the extingushment of the
burning wreck. They maintain philosophy
hot 10 fha vio
less. that hundreds, if not thousands, of
bodies lie beneath this mass of burning ruins.
ut would be BETTER" they say, 'to permit
natures greatest scavenger-the fanes-to
pursue his work unmolested than to expose
to further decay the
HORDE OF PURIFYING BODIES,
which lie beneath this debris. There can be
hut cne result. Days will elapse before
the rubbish can be sufficiently removed to
permit the recovery of these bodies, and long
ere that every corpse will be q putrid
mass, yielding forth those frightful stenches
of decaying flesh THAT in a crowded commun-
ity like this, can give but one result-dread-
fuf typhus. Every battlefield has demon
strated the necessity of hasty interment of
the decaying bodies, and the stencil that al
ready arises is the forerunner of impending
danger. Burn the wreck.
BURN THE WRECK"
A loud cry of Indignation arose from the
lips OF the vast multitude, and the warnings
of science were lost in the eager demands OF
those who sought the remains Of near and
dear friends Hose was again turned upon
the kissing mass and rapidly the flames
yielded to the supremacy of water. II is al
most impossible to conceive the extent of the
smoking ruin. The area of eight
tnn oh thn IL
covered to depth of four feet with shattered
houses, borne from the neighborhood o.
Johnstown, and in each of these houses it i.
estimated there is from ono to twenty oi
twenty-five people. This is accepted as the
data upon which to estimate the number tina
perishcd on this spot, and If the data is COR
rect, the bodies that lie beneath these ruins
must run well up into the hundreds il not thu
thousands
There is no telling how many bodies hav,
been lost Acknowledgement Hastings, who
has charge of everything, stated this morn
ing that he supposed there were at least ., U0
people under the burning debris. But tht
only way to find out how many lives wer,
lost was to take census of the people nov
living and subtract that from the census be
fore the food. Said he: I'm my opinion
there are anyway from four thousand to eigh
thousand souls lost"
MILITARY MISTARE
Battery B of Pittsburg arrived in this cit
this morning under command of Lieutenau
Sheppard, who went to the headquarters o.
Adjutant General Hastings in the tower +
report The general asked him who sen
him and he answered:
~ was sent here by the chamber o
commerce.
l.NN NNall 20 otn 10 that thnra n,,1,
four people who can order you out, viz: tn
governor, adjutant general, major genera
and commander Of the second brigade. Yo,
have made serious serious breach of dis
ciplne, and my advice to you is to get bacl
to Pttsburg as soon as possible, or you ma
be mustered out of the service. am sur
prised that you should attempt such an ac
> without any authority whatever"
This seemed to settle the matter, and tn
battery started back to Pittsburg. In justic
to Lieutenant Sheppard il might be state
that the order was issued by the governor
Governor Hastings stated, afterwards, tina
the sending of soldiers was like
HOSTING A RED FLAG,
and IL would tend only to create trouble. II
said everything was quiet here and it vas a
insult TO the citizens of Johnstown TO sen
soldiers here at present.
The Washington infantry came in over tn
Baltimore 4 Ohio road, anu when Captai
Shannon reported to General Hastings, tina
gentleman said there was 40 need of the so
diers' aid, ana II aay were needed he woul,
order out the state guard.
A train OF Ave cars came from Cumber
land, Md, this morning. loaded with prC
visions, and thirty men to help clean up tn,
debris. At the general undertaking room
men were at work and about sixty coffin
containing bodies OF unknown people wer
piled In the station aud on the platform.
Until to day General Hastings has had hi
headquarters on the east side of the river
but this morning he came over 10 the burr
ing debris, followed by about one hundre