The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-06-06


the river.
and the water started down the mountain
side sweeping before it the trees as it they
were chips and powders were rolled down as if
they were marbles. The roar was deafening.
The lake was emptied in an hour and a half.
Ali the water, he said, was now out. The
railroad is in a terrible condition. At some
points holes 20 to 80 feet deep were washed in
the tracks. On his way down he stopped at
Mineral Point, where 10 houses were washed
away and several lives lost. At East Cone
maugh 80 houses were carried away by the
flood. The loss Of life is large at this point.
A Hero.
A EAMELEss PAUL REVERE.
A nameIess Paul Revere lies somewhere
among the unknown dead. Who he is may
never be known, but his ride will be famous
in local history Mounted on grand, big,
bay horse, be came riding down the pike,
which passes through Conemaugh to Johns
town, like some angel of wrath of old, shouting
his portentous warning, "a Run for your lives
to the hills! Run to the hills!" The people
crowded out of their houses along the thickly
settled street awe-struck and wondering No
body knew the man, and some thought he was
a maniac and laughed. On at quick pace he
rode and shrilly rang ont his awful cry. In
few moments however, there came cloud of
ruin down the broad streets, down the narrow
alleys grinding twisting, hurting. overturn-
ing crashing, annihilating the weak and the
strong 1t was the charge of the food wearing
its corOnet of ruin and devastation, which grew
at every instant of its progress Forty feet
high, some say, 80 according to others, was this
sea, and it travelled with a swiftness like that
which lay hidden in the heels of Mercury. On
and on rushed the rider and on and on rushed
the wave. Dozens of people took heed of the
! Tngf MI
rider; it was an unequal contest. Just as he
turned across the railroad bridge the mighty
wave fell upon him, and horse, rider and bridge
all went out into the chaos together. A few feet
further on several ears of the Pennsylvania
Railroad train from Pittsburg were caught up
and hurried into the cauldron.
Incarceration.
THE DOCTORS WANT THE BODIES BURNED.
The chief sensation has been the united re-
monstrance of the physicians against the ex-
tinguishment of the burning wreck. They
maintain with a philosophy that to anxious
searchers seems heartiess, that hundreds, if not
thousands, of hfeless and decaying bodies
lie beneath this mass of burning ruins. :" 1t
would be better," they say, " TO permit natures
greatest scavenger-the fames-to pursue his
work unmolested than to expose to further decay
the horde of pHtrefying bodies that lie beneath
this debris. There can be but one result, days
GENTLY removed to permit the recovery of
these bodies, and long ere that every corpse
viii be putrid mass, yielding forth those
frightful emanationS of decaying human flesh
that, in a crowded community like this, can
give but one result-the dreadful typhns.
Every battlefield has demonstrated the neces-
sity of the hasty interment OF decaying bodies,
and the stencil that already arises is a forerun-
ner 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 sci
ence were lost in the eager demands of those
that sought the remains of the near and dear
The hose was again turned upon the Kissing
mass and rapidly the flames yielded to the SUI
premaey of water 1t is almost impossible TO
conceive the extent of these smoking ruins.
An area Of eight or 10 acres above the dam is
covered TO depth of 40 feet with shattered
/ houses borne from the residence center of
! JohnstoWn. In each of these houses it is esti-
mated there were from one to 20 or 25 people.
This is accepted as data upon which to estimate
| the number that persisted on this spot, and if
the data be correct the bodies that lie beneath
these ruins must run well up into the hum
! dreds, if not the thousands.
| As yet there is no telling how many bodies
have been lost. Adi't-Gen. Hastings, who
/ has charge of everything, has stated that he
/ supposed there were at least 1000 people un-
1 der the burning debris, but the only way to
4 find out how many lives were lost was TO take
a census of the people now living and suhstract
| that from the census before the food. Said he
Sin my opinion there are anywhere from 1000
4 to 900 souls lost"
| Some Of the stories that are told by sur
yiyOrs of the food are simply marvellous. One
/ of the heroes was Engineer John G. Parl1e, who
rode along the valley of the Conemaugh and
| warned the people of their danger He rode
laf he Qf
| the means of saving many people.
Measures for Relief.
WHAT THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY ARE
DOING.
The disaster has caused offers of relief from
/ London, Berlin, and other points in Europe
/ New York yesterday subscribed $4,000
In Philadelphia over quarter of a million
dollars in cash was raised. Beyond that an
4 immense quantity of clothing and other goods
/ were forwarded.
There is great demand for oil. The Stand
ard Oil Company has already shipped carload
and they are sending more Supervisor Foley,
of the Somerset and Cambria Branch Railroad,
was the first man To enter Johnstown after the
| flood. lie walked over Is miles to get there
He found heavy freight train on the Balti-
more & Ohio carried off the track and lodged
in the cemetery mile away. In the fats at
Conemaugh q engines have been counted bur-
sent of collins and two carloads of proyis-
! ions, and contributed s., 000 Salisbury raised
$500 in money and shipped car of eatables.
Three hundred bodies were lying on the
sand at Kernville at o'clock on Monday after
/ noon. The sight was one that cannot be de-
scribed, and is one of the most distressing ever
| witnessed. A crowd of least 500 were gathered
around endeavOring to find the bodies of some
| friends or relatives There were no collins
there at the time, and the bodies had to be laid
! on the ground However 500 collins are on
the way there, and the undertakes have sent
for 500 additional ones Kernville from now
| on will be the place where many OF the bodies
| will be found. The water has fallen so much
that il is possible to get at the bodies. How
| ever, all the bodies have TO be dug out of the
sand, and it causes no end of work
Fall Of the Wall Of Water.
HOW THE FLOOD LOOKED AT THE START.
JoHgsTowN. PA. June s. 1s89-Mr. Grouse,
proprietor of the South Fork Fishing Club
Hotel. says:
"When the dam Of Conemaugh Lake broke
the water seemed to leap scarcely touching the
ground. 1t bounded down the valley, crash