The Portland daily press., 1889-06-03
ALONG THE RAILROAD.
Passengers Leap from the Cars for
Safety-BuryIng the Dead.

JoHNsTowN, Pa, June 2.-Conductor Bell
of the first section of the day express east,
laid up at Conemaugh on the night of the
disaster, said. today: 'The first and second
sections stopped side by side at Conemaugh
Friday afternoon on account Of washout at
Lilly. The second was next to the hill and
the first on the outside. Suddenly saw a
wall Of water, 30 feet high. We barely had
time to notify the passengers, nearly all of
whom fled up the hillside. One man with
his son returned, and was drowned. Two
cars went down in the current. l do not
know how many persons were drowned. We
saw two on the top of cars. The water set
fire to a lot Of lime, and two Pullman cars
we're destroyed. All the passengers left the
train before the cars caught. There were 100
persons n on my my sect section The Chicago limited
From Johnstown to, Mineral Point Tower
the Pennsylvania road bed has been COM
pletely swept away. For a quarter Of mile
the road Is uninjured. Then comes another
complete wreck to point above South Fork.
number Of freight and passenger cars are
lying in the river bed under the debris of
Johnstown at the stone bridge. The towns
OF Woodville and Conemaugh Borough, above
of the earth as IL they had never had an ex-
istence. OF .Woodyille's population Of 1900
souls barely half dozen have been account
ed for.
The exhuming of the dead at Johnstown
has only begun. Eleven carloads of finished
coffins and 80 undertakers arrived today.
The work OF interment began this afternoon
and will rapidly progress under the direction
OF specially organized force. Directly
across the river in Indiana county are 315
bodies lying in the open air unattended. The
probabilities are large majority of the
VICTIMS WILL NEVER BE IDENTIFIED,
and will fill nameless graves. During the
day several persons made tour of what Is
left Of Johnstown. Here and there bodies
were seen lying in the ruins. Near the
edge Of the ruins at the stone bridge, the de-
cayiDg body of stout colored woman was
lying like the uncared for remains of an ami
NAL. Six blackened skulls protrude from
the wreckage just above the east end of the
bridge. Among the lost are Harry Rose, dis
trict attorney for Cambria, Mrs. III. M. Ogle,
one OF the best lady telegrapher operators of
the city, and for 25 years manager Of the
Western Union Office here, and for 20 years
Associated Press agent.
Special police are numerous and the regu-
lations are so strict that even the smoking Of
a cigar Is prohibited. The bodies dug out Of
the flats lie in the station until coffins can be
obtained. They are then buried unidentified
on Prospect Hill. James McMillen, vice
president of the Cambria iron Works, re-
ported drowned, is safe. The upper Cam
bria mill is totally wrecked, and the lower
mill damaged SO that the machinery and
buildings are useless. The mills will be re-
built. The Gautier wire works are com
pletely destroyed. They will be rebuilt.
They were owned and operated by the Cam
bria Iron Company. The estimates of the
losses of the Cambria Iron Company are
from $2,000,000 to 81, 100000. and but little Of
this can be recovered