The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1889-06-07
A FRICHTFUL CALAMITY.
Ten to Twelve Thousand Persons Perish.

HIE'NifAHE tNAN'f'iNASR
$ this country's history happened
: Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on til
5 night OF May 3lst, which for 10:
! of life aud attending terrors stand
u%nequalled as the most frighliu
this continent ever witnessed
Whole villages and cities hay
been altogether or partly sweep
out of existence in the twinklin!
OF an eye-Johnstown being EN-
tirely obliterated from the face o
the earth with nothing to mari
the site where ii once stood but
distorted bodies and the wrecks OF
dwelling houses, factories, etc,
CHASTITY monuments Of Gods power
II is hardly to be expected that a
weekly newspapert0 give anything
like IA detailed account of a catas-
trophe OF such vast magnitude as
The II of which we write, but as
briefly as possible give the cause
and probable results Of the unpar-
allied disaster.
Johnstown is in Cambria county,
on The Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road and the Connenaugh river.
Two and halt miles northeast of
the town is a reservoir owned by
a rich fishing club. 1t is the largest
reservoir in The United States, be.
81 miles long and from one to
me and.a- hall miles wide. It's depth
n some places is 100 feet. 1t was
leld in check by a dam from 700
o 1000 feet wide. The mountain
streams had become swollen by
unprecedentedly heavy rains
If late and the reservoir burst, the
water sweeping down in a mad
orient and effacing The towns in
he valley. In the course Of The
tream We're these towns: South
FORK, population 5000; Mineral
800; Connemaugh, $500
Voodyale, 2C00; Johnstown and
lster towns, 10000.
Ft
The reservoir had been consider
d insecure for sometime and the
eople warned Of the danger and
le extreme likelihood that the re,
9rvoir would break, but as they {
ad been warned OF previous oc. {
lsions Of danger from the same :
)nrce and no accident occurring :
ut little attention was paid TO the ,
Isl warning and only a small pro- ,
0rtion of this large population
1t their homes, and il is estima- {
d that from len TO twelve thou j,
nd human beings persisted and I
e valley about Johnstown is one .
Isl charnel house. +
The most awful elimination of '
e awful night was the roasting :
a hundred Or more persons in +
idflood. The ruins of houses, f
Itbuildings and other structures h
Iept against the new railroad d
idge at Johnstowu, and from an
'erturned stove or some such e
use the upper part OF the wreck y
.e caught fire. There were crowds
men, women and children on II
e wreckage ard their screams g
ere soon added to the awful cho. 81
5 of horror. They were literally h
asted in the flood. Soon after a,
e fire burned itself out others
IRE thrown against The mass. st
lere were some fifty people in :,
,ht when the ruins suddenly =.
rted, broke up and were swept q
der the bridge into pitchy dark al
IS. lie
1t is useless to attempt TO de- y
1be all the horrible scenes Of ~
5 awful visitation of Providence /; of
IS worse than the most fertile ne
aginatlon can picture-death, W
struction and gloom pervades ~
rigion /; and to add to the hor- no
5 already depicted fiends in hui ce
n shape have and are robbing Sc
dead Of their v~aluables, ears tri
| fingers have been cut from1he ga
Id in order TO secure their Jew he
Y.
thousands upon thousands are da
the scene, some looking
relatives and friends, others I.
Ough morbid curiosity and some n
the purpose of plying their III
propensities. Contribu-
rs of every character are ng
ring in from all over the coun- ,;a
TO relieve the sulferings of the to
ng and bury The dead, both of tht
.ch r being done as fast as the str
.umslances will allow. en-
lay God spare this country from sne
r Witnessing another such dire hd'