, 1889-06-06
THOUSANDS DEAD!.
Il IL Now Estimated that 5000
Lives Were Lost.
A Number Of Towns Devastated
or Swept Away.
The Loss on the COnemaugh
will Reach 911,OOO,OO0.
People are Hurled to Death In
Sight of Hundreds.
MiI~s ~ Dssslasien and Rui"s and Thou
sspss OF Families are H"meless
aud II Muugry--Reiiof Asked.

sAHo HoLLow, June 2-The 6rst &C.
counts sent out Of the Johnstown disaster
are far below the widest estimates placed
upon the eytept Of the calamity. and in
stesd Of 5000 or 5000 IL is probable that
tho list will reach 5000. II is now known
that two passenger trains and two osec'ions
OF an express on the Pennsylvania railroad
have been thrown into the naddened tor.
rent and the passengers drowned. These
trains we're held at Johnstown from II A.
NJ, and we're lying on sidinxs between
Johpstown and ConemauRh stations. The
awful torrent csme down the narrow de-
Hle between. q distance Of nine miller, and,
With fall of 300 feet In that distance.
sweeping away the villages Of South Fork.
Mineral Point, Wood vale and Couemaugb,
leaving but one building standing, n
wooden mill, where but an hour before
had stood hundreds, and dashin9 on with
the roar of cataract aud the speed Of the
wind upon the fair city ut tie foot bills on
the plain, on which, but yesterday sat
Johnston, set in the mountains like the
jewell 10 diadem. The great Gautier
steel works sat in this place and the city
was below 1t with railroad tracks bounding
u ct the base of tne mountains on the
north. Here is where the trains were
standing when the tide Of water like a cat.
apault came down upon them with such re.
sistless force that the heavy trains, loco
motives and all were overturned and
exept down the torrent snd lodged
against the great stone viaduct alo ny with
four locomotives from the J0hpston round
house. The heavy machinery and ponderous
frame work Of the Gautier mill accumula.
ted with the debris of more tnan u thou
ssnd houses, furniture, bridges, lumber,
DRIFT and human beings. and struck the
Tow arches OF the stone viaduct which Was
choked up Immediately, and the water
backed back over the entire level of the
valley upon which the CITY stood to n
depth of what from the water works indi-
cate about tbirty.-igbt feet. In the great
sea thus formed thousands OF people were
ltrugxl,nR for life. The scene to-day is
-0ne nf the most heartrending possible
for The Imagination of man to conceive,
The accumulated drift goraed up at the
vixduct TO the height OF forty feet, and
then took fire from the upsettinY of stoves
or lamps. There were strong men made
sick ut the sight. As tine flames cracked
and roarpd among the dry timber OF floating
houses, human bodies were seen piniOned
between house roofs, locomotives, iron
beams, freight, passe' ger. baggage. Pull
man and baggage cars The greedy flames
licking with haste heir diet of human
Hesh. Toe scene was horrible beyond de-
scription. From infancy few days old
to the wasted figures of age they we're
burned before the eyes Of the beholders,
and no rescue from their fate was possible.
Strong men turned away with agoniz-d
expressions and women shrieked ut the
horror Of the scene. The dead have been
computed ut not less than 5000, and the
number may even exceed this figure. This
seems incredible, but until the waters
the dead from this tremendous mass has
b en- done, 1t will be impossible 10 tell
bow many lives have been lost.
Tne A ,sOciated Press correspondent was
the Fret man to cross to Jamestown pro.
per, by means of q basket suspended from
q cable. Once over he found the scenes
magni6ed in :heir horror. Here were the
residences OF the little city's most veal.
thy and intelligent people. Here we're
found the bodies OF the most prominent
eltisens and those of their entire families.
ington slr.ets bad been swept clean aud
bare Of al buildings OF whatever char c
ter and their inhabitants seemed 10 have
fed into the streets ut the FIRST warning Of
the drummer and rushed to their deaths,
for those who remained in the houses had
an opportunity to hes 10 the upper stories.
When the houses were frame, they were
aoated from their foundations and many
were saved. The hote' Hubert. u
brick str ,cture, bad sixty-6ve
guests. and sixty-three of these were killed
by the falling in of the floors and walls.
Morrell, Llberiv schoolhouse. Alma Hall,
general stores and Offices OF the lion COM
psny. and ore other building are ali OF
probably 1000 buildings that have not
been iloat.d from their foundations or
caved in. The stone viaduct il forty feet
high from the river bend at low water. and
over this the water rushed in \ resistless
torrent. On this, or west side, is the
Bessemer rail mills OF Cambria Iron Com.
psny.. Although warned to flee to the
hillsides, many of the men, resting in
fancied tecurity loitered about the mills
and were engulfed instantly. To-day
their bo"ies were strewn along the Cone
miugh, Riskimintas aud AlleRhauyr vers,
or being caught ns efar down the Ouio
river as Rochester. Below the mills ia
Cambria, n snb.burrouRh. in which dts.
trict reside pr1bably 1000 people. Tine
scenes here are but a repetition of other
psrts at the food wasted city. In Saint
Coiumbis's church, q new structure which
was flooded to a depth of six feet In the
auditorium. the water had rec.ded and the
floor was covered with Shiny ooze TO the
depth of seven or eight inches.
On boards stretched along the top of
pews were thirt, bodies which had been
snatched from the stream by Father