Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-06-05
APPALLING CALAMITY.
thousands of Lives Lost by Water and
Some by Fire.
$11, 900, OOOoF PROPERTY DESTROYED

S11, O0O, OOOO PROPERTY DESTROYED
TOWNS SWEPT AWAY BY THE RAGING TOR.
RENT.
The heavy rains and the bursting of a
dam caused on Friday evening and night
last one of the greatest calamities to the
people of J"hnstown, in Pa, and Other
towns in the same Valley that ever afflicted
any people. The food swept away towns
and drowned thousands of men, women,
and Children whose dead bodies were
strewn along the stream for many miles.
Many on ths wrecked houses in thu water
were burned. When the houses were
lodged against the bridge, an upset stove
set fire to the house and this commnnicat.
ed it to others, and many were burned tc
death in the midst of the food. The
scenes witnessed were heartrending. II
seems that the citizens of that town had re-
ceived warning time and again from morn
ing to nooo, but they did not heed them,-
to believe that there was any
danger that the dam would give way. We
have space only for a few extracts from the
accounts o. reporters from different points
From dstpassshh -aas dated New Florence,
) uuIEe lst. wa quote the following
Show can anybody tell how many are
dead?" said railroad engineer to me thi:
morning: L have been at Sang Hollow
with my train since II o'clock yesterday
and have s-en fully 500 persons lost in the
flood"
G. W. E3ah. brave railroad employee,
saved sixteaa lives at Ninevah. The most
awful calm nation of the awful night was
the roasting of hundred or more persons
in mid dpr'!. The ruins of houses, out
buildings, aud other structures swept
against tho new railroad bridge at Johns
town, and from an overturned stove Or
some such cause the upper part of the
wreckage ought fire. There were crowds
of meD, w,;nen, and children on the wreck
ago and cir screams were soon added to
the awful chorus Of horror. They were
literally roasted in the food. Soon after
the fire banned itself out other people were
tbro IN az asst the mass. There were some
fifty people in sight when the ruins sudden
ly parted e:1 broke up and the unfortun-
ates we're ssept under the bridge into
pitchy da kuess. The latest news from
J ohnstown s that but two houses can be
seen in til own. 1t is also said only three
houses re;',ain in Cambria City. At
O. clock tn.. more bodies had been recover.
ed from t:,a wreck and another sighted
About 4 900 lives were lost. Tho loss OF
property is ,bout $11, OOO,O 900.
Oh, tha I. rcor and infiuite pity Of it all,
What journey has been that of the last
hour. S..sllen corpses lay here and there,
in piles of crossties or on the river bank
among TIE >reenery. 1t was about 9 O'Clock
when the GrIt passenger train since Friday
came to the New Florence depot with its
load of eager passengers. There were no
idle travellers, but each had mission.
Here and thsre men were staring out of the
windows 1i.h red eyes, and among them
were toughi 'okiug Hungarians and Italians
who had list friends near Ninevah, while
women mero weeping on all sides Two OF
the passea gers on the train were man and
his wife from Johnstown. From every
newcomer and possible source of iuforma-
tion she SOU Iht news. "Ours is big new
brick" sAii she, "with brown front, :"
but her llv' g brown eyes moist aud red
lips trembi' g. 'It's three-story house,
and don't think there's any trouble, do
you?" sha 4. ksd me, and without waiting
for my aGss ar she continued with a sob:
"There a'e ny four children in the house
and their unise, and guess father and mo-
Their viii go pver to the house, don't you2"
In few urnents all in the Car knew the
story Of tia pair, and many plying glance
vas cast q. hem. Their house was one of
the FIRST IN -. Just before reaching Sang
HOLLOW, tns and of the main line of the
Penrsylv railroad, is an 49, signal
tower, aud the men in it told stories OF
what they s.w SO piteously l could not list
Gu to half of it aud command nay feelings.
Here are some little odds and ends they
told me Of: A beautiful girl came down on
the roof OF = building which was swung in
near the tower. She screamed to the oc-
cupants to save her, and one big, brawny,
brave fellow walked as far into the river as
he could and shouted to her to try to guide
herself IN to shore with piece OF plank.
She was pucky girl, full of nerve and ca
ergy, aud stood up on her frail support in
evident CON nand-in evident obedience to
the command of the operator. She made
two OF thee bold strokes and actually
stopped thu course of the raft for au in.
slant; then it severed and went out from uu.
der her. Shs tried to swim ashore, but il
a few minutes she was lost in the swirling
water. Something hit her, for she lay or
her hack, with her face pallid and expires
sionless. Man and women, by dozsns, il
pairs, and singly; children, boys, big and
little, and wee babies were there among
the awful confusion of water, dro rning
-gasping, Struggling, and fighting desper
ately for life. Two men on a tiny raft sho
into the sw fest part of the current. They
crouched stolidly, looking at the shores
while between them, dressed in white anC
kneeling, With her face turned heavenward
was girl six or seven years old. Sh,
seemed stricken with paralysis until sh'
came opposite the tower, aud then sh,
turned her f;.ee to the operator. She wa
SO close they could see the big tears on he
face. The helpless men on shore shouted
to her to keep up her courage. she resum
ed her devuut attitude, and disappeared un
der the trees of a projecting point shor
distance below. "Do you see that firing
of trees?' said the operator, pointing to thu
place whore the little girl had gone out o
sight "Well, we saw scores of chlldrel
swept in there. l believe that when thu
time comes they will find almost hundred
bodies of children there among the bushes
Just above New Florence is the town o
Ninevah. 1t was here that found the frs
charnel house AID nineteen dead were here
the larger portion of whom were women
Here it was that the awful work of tn,
freshet could be realized. What have beef
fertile farms look like WORKOUT brickyards
Great trees have been twisted and torn lik,
weeds, and the broken househould goods o
hundreds of houses line the shoras fol
miles. Thieves of the vilest sort, thos,
Who steal frnm the dead and unfortunate
have been busily at work robbiug th'
trunks and boxes and articles of furniture
and there is nothing worth taking left ex
cept lumber. Every now and then ghast
ly outlines could be seen in the water beins
swept down che stream.
SANG Hollow, Pa, June 1.-The frs
reports of the loss of life were entirely too
low. 1t is believed that fully 5000 persons
have persisted. Of these 700 or 800 wert
burned in the fiery furnace at the viaduct
Two thousand coffios have been ordered fol
bodies already rescued.
JoHN,TowN, Pa, June 1.-The accumu