The Penn's Grove record., 1889-06-08

house formerly stood and where he sup.
posed the bodies lay. The 6renen, rec
ognizlng his feelings, played the stream
on the place for several hours tins
morning, and at last the rescuers got to
the place the old man said his house
formerly stood, II know the bodies
are there. and you must find Them"
On vent the rescuers after this
plea. When at last one of the men
picked up a charred skull, evidently
that of a child, this stirred the olo
man up and he exclaimed: "That is
my child. There lies my family; 60
on and get the rest Of Them"
The workmen continued and in a
few minutes they came to the remains
OF the mother and three other children.
The heads were completely burned off.
but there was enough of their clothing
left to recognize them by. What was
left was picked up and placed In
collins, the old gentleman following
closely the men who were carrying the
collins.
YOUNGSTOWN, June 5.-An earnest
effort was made to-day to get some
definite information as to the total
number OF persons whose lives YER
lost in the recent flood and Its attend.
ant horror Of fire at the PENNSYLVANIA
Railroad bridge. The further the in
gully was presented. however, the
more uncertain the ascertainment OF
any authentic figures became. There
has been no general system OF keeping
records, and when it is remembered
that the loss of life began six miles
above Johnstown, and extends 20
miles below in a path ranging from
lG0 feet to a mills In width, it will be
seen how difficult it would nave been
to adopt any such system in so
| sudden an emergency. Dead bodies
have been found floating in the rivers
into which the Conemaugh emptles as
far west as Pittsburg, and without
doubt many Of them still lie buried In
the stream or are lodged under the
debris and sand.
The whole territory in which these
dead bodies have been located is of 30
vast an extent, coming under the
notice of SO many different authorities,
hat no complete record could have
been kept, especially in view Of the fact
that it Was deemed eypedient In many
places to remove the remains from
sight forever as quickly as possible.
AN ACTUAL COUNT IMPOSSIBLE,
An actual count of the dead Is abso-
lutely impossible. The streets oil
Johnstown to-day are covered in many
places houses high with sand and rub.
Dish and building meterial and house,
hold utensils, In the midst of which
auman remains are being constantly
discovered. When these bodies are dug
out, II they are in the immediate vicln-
.ty of Johnstown, they are removed
" one OF the five places that
aave been temporarily utilized as
norgues. The best conducted OF
Dnese IS under the direction Of the
Rev. J. d.. Bea!e, u. D., pas,
.or of the Presbyterian Church, VIII,
las a force OF 10 men washing TIT
lemains, embalmlng them and arranf
ny them Oh hastily constructed beiIcin
tUr purposes Of Identification IT,,
Jod. es at THIS mulgue that are ul!ea
ded viii De buried within a reasolas..
.Ine, with d due reg ard Ior tbs pi,
;duGiOns that ale Ueing taken 10 prt-
erve health. Up TO nOon to-day IL
bodies have veen received at this place
! Those that are Identified are buried,
those not yet claimed are buried al
Grand View Cemetery and Othei
points, the graves being marked
SO that relatives who desire "
do so may hereafter locate ant
remove them. The morgue under
DR.. Beale's charge Is in tn,
Fourth Ward School House. There is
another under the charge of a Commits
tee of Pittsburg undertakers in til.
| Presbyterian church; another at the
| Pennsylvania Railroad station, where
| bodies are embalmed to be sent to the
| Prospect School House, and another al
! Conemaugh. From the latter place
known bodies are being buried in tb.
old Catholic Cemetery. at Diebert's
soap factory, South street. Kernvllle,
which Is the south side Of JOhnstown,
dead bodies are also being cared for In
large numbers.
Tie total number Of bodies found iu
and around Johnstown is about 5000.
These, of course, do not include about
as many more that have been reported
rs found and buried from various points
along the Conemaugh from Nineveh
down to Johnstown. AT none of the
Johnstown morgues, however, was 1t
believed that the number of dead would
| oe less than 5000. The great number
Of missing are referred to as foundation
for the belief that 5000 would be even
a small estimate of the total number
lost.
The faces and bodies of the recovered
dead, in almost every instance, are
torn, bruised or battered in such a way
as to plainly indicate their utter help.
lessness against the tidal wave. A
single glance at the fifteen acres Of
twisted iron pipes, battered locOm0-
tives. disjolnted machinery, ruined
houses and tremendous wooden poles
resting against the Pennsylvania Rail-
road bridge, the representation in bulk
of q great percentage of the life and
property in JohnstOwn, COnemaugb
and other points down the Conemaugh
anu stony SIteh, conveys tho iuod w
the on-looker of an immense cage
which became a charnel house, CATCH
ing in its meshes thousands OF human
victims.
Where Johnstown's principal stores
stood last Friday are now pitched 1901
tents, and before tomorrow night this
number will probably ba doubled.
Under this shelter are accommodated
the members of the militia and the
thous.nds of workmen who are trying
TO ciear the streets of this wrecked
city. Over 5000 men are thus EN-.
P'oyed in Johnstown proper, about
1850 of these being the regular street
hands employed by Contractor Booth
and Flynn, of Plttsburg, the Others
being volunteers.