St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-06-05

vised morgues are in JohnStowp. A
corpse is dug from the bank; 1t is
covered with mud; it Is taken to the
anteroOm of the school, where it is
placed under hydrant and the muck
and slime washed Off. With the slash
Cf knife the clothes are ripped open
and an attendant searches the pockets
for valuableS OF papers that would lead
to Identification. Four men lift the
corpse on a rude table, and there it
is washed and an embalming
fluid injected into the arm.
Then, with other grim bodies, the
corpse lies in larger room until it is
identified or becomes offensive. In the
latter case it is hurried to the large
grave. grave that will hereafter have
a monument over 1t bearing the legend
"Unknown Dead" The number of the
latter is growing hourly, because pesti-
lence stalks in JOhnStown, and the
blOated disfigured masses of flesh can
not be held much longer. Bodies of
stalwart workmen lie beside the re-
mains of dainty ladies, many of whom
are still decked with costly earrings
and jewels on the fingers. Rich and
poor thrOng these quarters and gaze
with awe-struck faces at the masses OF
mutilatiODs in the hopes of recognizing
missing one so as to accord
the body burial. A wealthy young
Philadelphian named Ogle recently
became engaged to a JOhnStOWn lady,
Miss Carrie Diehl. They were to be
welded in the middle of June, and both
parties were preparing for the cere-
mony. The lover heard of the terrible
flood, but knowing that the residence of
Iln fntf
little fear for her safety. To make sure,
however. he started for JohnStOwn, ar
irving to-day. Near the Fourth street
morgue he met Mr.. Diehl. THANK
God, you are safe," he exclaimed, then
added, sis Carrie well?' ''She was
visiting in the valley when the wave
came" was the mournful reply, and
then he beckoned the young man to en-
ter the chamber of death. A moment
later Mr.. Ogle was kneeling beside a
rough bier and was kissing the cold
white face. From the lifeless finger he
slipped thin gold ring and in its place
put one of his own. Then he stole
quietly out; one of the thousands made
to mourn by the bursting OF the South
Fork dam.
MAMMA, MAMMA"
cried child. She had recognized a
body that no one else could. In mo-
ment the corpse was ticketed, boxed and
delivered to- laborers who bore it away
to join the long funeral procession. A
mother recognized baby boy. keep
it few minutes" she asked the under
taker in charge. In few moments she
returned, carrying in her arms white
casket. Then she hired two men to
bear il to the cemetery. No hearses are
seen in Johnstown. Relatives recognize
their dead, secure coffins, get them car
ried the best way they can to the
morgues, then to the grave yards. A
the dead thousands are buried in moth
er earth. A frequent visitor at
these horrible places is David
John Lewis. Ali over Johnstown
he rides powerful gray horse, and to
each one he meets, whom he knows, he
eXclaims: Have you seen my siSters?'
Hardly waiting for a reply he gallops
away, either to seek ingress to mOrgue
or to ride along the river bank. One
week ago Mr.. Lewis was worth S60,000.
his all being invested in large COM
mission business. To-day he owns the
horse he rides, the clothes on his back,
and that is all. In the fierce waste were
buried five of his near relatives, his
sisters, Anna. Lizzie and Maggie. The
latter was married; and her little boy
and babe were also drowned. They
were all dearly loved by the merchant,
who, crazed' with grief, and mounted on
his horse, is conspicuous figure in
the ruined city. The flood and fire
claimed among it's victims not only the
living, but the dead. To-day hand
some coffin was found, half-burned, in
some charred wreckage down near the
point. Inside was found the body Of a
man, shrouded for burial, but so
scorched about the head and face as to
be unrecognizable. The supposition is
that the house in which the dead man
had lain had been crushed and the de-
briS partially consumed by fire. The
body is still at the Fourth ward school
house tonight, and, unless reclaimed
tomorrow morning, it will be buried in
the unknown field. l. K. Klein claims
the ditinction of being the only New
Yorker in Johnstown who
ESCAPED THE FLOOD.
and the honor of having rescued, or
assisted to rescue, sixty persons. His
base of operations was the Merchants
hotel, and his plan to lift persons from
the windows of houses swimming by.
Among those he saved was Rev. Phil
lips, who. as he glided by, was trying
to hold his wife and two children above
the water by means of table on which
he had placed them, and raj sed the load
to his head. The house swung against
the hotel, and stayed just long enough
for the rescue to be complete. Mr.. Klein
has been working hard to alleviate the
sufferingS of the victims. He criticised
the city council OF JohnstOwn for not
taking steps to prevent the vandalism
which, he says, is going on
night and day. According to Mr..
Klein and Chairman Moxham, of
the citizens committee, they aroused
several members of council to the need
of holding a meeting Saturday after
noon. Only eight members responded,
less than quorum. and the meeting
was adjourned until Monday. Still,
nothing was done, and Messrs. Klein
and MOxham, who had taken the re-
sponsibility of drafting in a special po-
lice force at their own expense, coll
cluded to call the citizens COM
mittee, which made Mr.. Moxham chair
man. Even then the police regulations
were inadequate until the Pittsburg
auxiliaries came. Chairman MOXham
tells of frightful desecration of the dead,
and of the looting of houses. On the
afternoon of the disaster he was work.
ing among the victims on the hill
side above Johnstown, when he
noticed a colored man hand a
colored woman a gold watch
and chain with the remark. "HOld my
watch for me; l am afraid will lose
it," The man was apparently working
industriously upon the wreck, and Mr..
Moxham did not think anything Of the
circumstance until he saw the negro
step up to the woman again, hand her
another watch and repeat his remark.
Suspecting something wrong, Mr.. Mox-