The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-06-13
THE JoHNSToWN FLOOD.
Water Subsidies !on Scenes of Desolation-
a Tale Of Woe Told in Bitter Tears.

Water Subsidies ION Scenes of Desolation-
a Tale of Woe Told in Bitter Tears
From the New York Worldl
JoHNsTowN, Pa, June 81 am now
writing on slab of friedrich in lit
4 Gle windowless stone house, gazing
down through a gap in the wall at the
wreck of a city of 10000 people. 1t is
not ruin; it is desert! A wide area
of river sand, obliterating the street
lines, is cut into islands by half dozen
roaring streams. This desert has an
oasis Of wreckage in the centre and is
fringed with debris of human bodies.
Here and there are piles of burning
boards and smoking ruins. Men with
stars in their breasts ale looking for
and finding bodies-900 to-day, it is
said; but no one can tell exactly, as the
81 refiefand search has not yet
properly organized. The salutation
She citizens no longer is - Good
esag but 'tHow many have you lost?'
gMany of the houses in what remains of
thiseity have been turned into hospit-
ais. Every large building left on the
high banks is a morgue-twenty dead
houses in all. It is utterly impossible
to estimate the number Of the dead.
The Citizens Committee which has
been formed can give no information.
They say that $4,000 people lived in
this valley hereabouts, that the city is
wiped away and SO they conclude
that at least. one-third, 10000 people,
have been swept to death. They con-
not tell now how many bodies have
been recovered.
Your correspondents have witnessed
many scenes of suffering, but nothing
like this. It can only be told by tears.
There is suffering everywhel;-lack Of
food, of clothing and, for present, Hot
exactly lack of organization, but of
eager workers among the people them
selves. They seemed dazed and help
less. Strong men sit on the hillsides
with dry, eallous faces and gaze down
blankly on the valley. There is some
attempt made at keeping q police lines
butt is necessary to issue passes to near
" every one who asks. that they may
look in the ruins of former happy
homes for the bodies of their beloved.
THE LOCALITY FOR A DISASTER.
Johnstown was the arena of an am
phitheatre of high hills-mountains al
nlost-shutting he- on all isdes save
where the rivers had cut their way
! through them, giving views of higher
and still higher hills away in the dis
tan.aa--Threugh one OF these gorges
comes down the Conemangh, a small,
contemplate stream, and through an
other, the Stony Creek. These water
courses met on one side of the arena
and Aow off through another gorge till
they fall into the Allegheny, miles
away. Johnstown lies Between thean-
gle formed by their confluence, and a
string of little boroughs were its sub
urbs, stretching up and down the
three valleys.
THE LAKE OF DEATH.
Away back up the Co4emaugh gorge
was the reservoir, in reality lake
three miles long and from eighty to
one hundred feet deep. The recent
rains had raised all the streams far
above the highest point ever reached
before. On the memorable Friday
afternoon all the unemployed people in
the city was standing on the banks of
the two streams watching the rising
torrents. It was 4.30 O'Clock. There
was roar up the Conemaugh, a great
white wave, crested with wreckage,
was seen coming and before there was
a chance to flee almost it was upon the
city. The dam of the reservoir had
given way and the three-mile lake, with
the impetus of a nine-mile flow, swept
over the city. This great wave parted
as it met a mass of brick buildings.
One stream flowed on with the Cone
1naugh and the other tore diagonally
across the town and entered Stony
Creek. Thus was formed the oasis of
wreckage in the centre of the plain.
This is probably an old story in New
York, but The World correspondent
has not heard anything recently of the
nd Stside world. The condition of this
y;tPwn is what arrests attention. The
tiesought of why Or how the accident
N ,cnrred does not amount to much in
s1oe case of the crying sorrow and the
,syoe on all sides.
Is DEATH EVERYWHERE.
os To give the reader an idea of how
Echeap human life is felt to he in the
presence Of this calamity, it will do to
say that just as the former paragraph
was being written the body ofa woman
was exposed to view in some burning
debris hear by on which a company
! OF Pittsburg firemen are playing water.
There is quite a crowd near by, but
only a few persons, possibly five, 60
over slowly to look at it. She was
picked up and borne away to a pile
where two other bodies are lying
awaiting their turn to be carried to the
morgue. On all sides coftins are seen.
They are piled up in the yards before
school-house high up on q hill. On
the way into the city, across the noun
tain, no less than sixteen farmers wag-
ons were met, bearing 3 rough brown
stained box. These were friends OF
those who have homes as far East as
Bedford, fifty miles away in the noun