Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-06-13
OF IRON STREET

feeder of the Pennsylvania Canal, but latterly
the property Of club at Pittsburg ana used
for hunting and fishing. was unsafc ahd lnlshC
break. This made most OF the Passengers
uneasy, and they kept pretty GOOD
lookout for information. The porters
of the Pullman cars remained AZ ther
posts and comfortcd the passengers with the as
surance that the Pennsylvania Railroad Com
rany always took care OF its patrons. iew
gentlemen and some ladies and children qIlelIy
seated themselves, a.parently contented. Ohe
gentleman, who was i'll, had his berth made up
and retired although advised not " 90 so
Soon the cry came that the water IN the Teser- @
voir had broken down the barrier and was
sweeping down the valley. Instantly there was
a panic and rush for the mountain side
children were carried and women assisted
by few who kept cool heads. IL
was a race for life. There was seen the
black head OF the flood now the the
monster of destruction, whose crest
was high raised in the air and with this In view
even the weak found wings for their feet. NO
words can adequately describe the terror that
filled every breast, the awful power mani
tested by the flood The round-house had stalls
for twenty-three locomotives. There We're eignt-
cen or twenty Of these standing there AZ TINS
time. There was an ominous crash and the
round house and locomotives disappeared.
Everything in the main track OF the Hood WAS
first lifted in the air aud then swallowed up by
the waters A hundred houses were swept away
in n few minutes; these included the hotel,
stores and saloons on the front street, ana resi-
dences adjacent. -.
messed the awful devastation, they were moved
as never before in their lives They were power
less to help those seized upon by the waters thc
deepair of those who had lost everything except
I life and the wailing OF those whose relatives
/ or friends were missing filled their breasts Win
! unutterable sorrow. The rain continued TO iall
steadily, but shelter was not JnouBhJ OF. very
few messengers saved anything from the train
| SO sudden was the cry, Run for your lives; the
| reservoir has broken" Many We're Wltnou'
! hats and as their baggage was left on the trains
/ they were without the means OF relieving then
! unhappy condition. The occupants of the
houses still standing on the high ground threw
/ them open to those who had lost all and e
| the passengers of the train. During the height
/ of the food the spectators were startled by the
sound of two locomotive whistles from the very
midst of the waters. The engineers, with char
! acteristic courage, had remained at their posts
! and while there was destruction ON every hand
and apparently no escape for them, they sound
! ed their whistles. This they repeated at inter
vals-the last time with triumphant vtgor al
the waters were receding from the sides OF thei
locomotives. BY 80 the force OF the reservoir
waters had been spent on the village OF Cone
| mauqh and the Pullman cars and locomotive
the second section remained unnoved; I'M
was because they were on the highest and hard
The destructive current OF the reservoir foo,
had passed between that and tho mountain
while the current OF the river did not eat !
| away But the other trains had been destroyed
| A solitary locomotive was seen imbedded in tn
mud where the round-hous had stood.
Sne eaSe their thoughts to the
neighbors Of the city OF Johnstown. Here wa
centered the great steel and iron industries, tn
pride Of Western Pennsylvanla, the S@lIgrl iIa
were churches, daily newspapers, banks, ar
goods houses warehouses, and the comforl
able and well-built homes OF 1900 people
What was their fate? In the contemplation
the Irresistible force Of that awful Hood gather
ing additional momentum as IL swept ON toNar
the Gulf It became clear that the city must |
destroved and that, unless the inhabitants hn
telegraphic notice of the breaking OF the rese
voir they must perish. cry of horror went u
from the hundreds on the nn.aln.s'ee, AIN to, ~,
a few instinctively turned their steps towai
Johnstown The city was destroyed. "A
the mills furnaces, manufactures the man
and varied industries, the banks, the residence
Ali were swallowed up before the shadows
night had settled down upon the earth. VIM
of the inhabtantsp VINO can ten ,, WIN any &c &c
taintyP Those who came back bydaybreak sa
that from 5000 to 5000 had been drowned. O'
hope is that this Is an exaggeration, and VIII,
the roll is called most will respond. C IN the ne
sinks into insignihcance In this latter pla
they were already bringing in the dead {
stretchers. How many had been lost here,
Mineral Point, and at South Fork could not
told and may never be known. There were sol
: passengers and perhaps forty or nifty nha
ue-ts The loss Of property is enormous. u
crack of the railroad company is certainly
stroved for at least ten miles below South For
and all other property OF the company ON ON y
line The destruction of Johnstown's industri
\ will alone reach many millions. Then 70 U
j great sum add the value of the houses and pub
! buildings in that city and OF the villages a6o
and below it, and some idea can be formed OF
wealth obliterated by the food created by {
breaking of the reservoir
And this reservoir was maintained for
pleasure OF a Pittsburgh club, Upon the mou
j. tain was suspended n body Of water three mi
\, long one mile wide, and seventy feet deep
q the recreation Of a few ploasure-seekers. WI
4 would happen ~ there should be n break MI
have been imperfectly apprehended, since II
said that q bond OF only three millions had be
sxaeted from the club. What ere three rniiiio