The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-06-08
THE YOUNGSTOWN HORROR.

L ne tbIdIlily dt JOuuSlONh, i a., vi l. -
day of last week was indisputably the
most appalling this country has ever wit
messed The great Chicago fire exceeded
il in the destruction Of property, but was
attended with no loss of life. The Charles
ton earthquake, with Its 300 slain and des-
tructlon of $5,O0O,00O worth of property,
was trne TO it. Comparisons with ii can
only be found In such oldworld disasters
as the breaking of the dykes in Holland In
the 10th century, or the later, terrible In
undations In India and China. Even the
great battles of our civil war fell far short
of it In the destruction OF human life. The
highest death rate of any battle-like that
of Gettysburg or the Wilderness-was new.
er above 10 per cent. in killed and wound.
ed, while the loss in the $4,000 population
of the Conemaugh Valley within the range
of the flood is at least 30 per cent and In
property must reach $1OO,OOO,0OO.
The Conemaugh Valley is one of the
wealthiest districts In Pennsylvania. TWEEN
ty miles west of Pittsburgh the great
Pennsylvania X. r. leaves the Valley of
the Allegheny and takes that of the Con-
emaugh, pursuing 1t for some rs miles TO
the very top of the Allegheny mountains.
On It's route were several cities Of over
10000 inhabitants, numerous large villages,
and as the region abounds In iron ore and
coal, it was dotted all along with iron and
steel works, some of them the largest In
the country.
The ravages of the aood extend over
this valley from II miles above Youngstown
to Florence, % miles below-in all dis
lance of over forty miles, along which
more than half the houses are destroyed
and scarcely one is left uninjured.
The immediate cause of the disaster was
the breaking of the great dam at South
Fork, II miles above Johnstown, This
dam was originally erected-16O feet long
and 90 feet high-to provide a reservoir as
a feeder for the old Pennsylvania canal.
After II ceased to be used for that purpose
the dam and adjacent property were pur-
chased by a company of wealthy men In
Pittsburg, and converted into fish pond,
but the modest little canal reservoir fell so
far short of their ideas that they enlarged
the dam to length of 500 feet and a
height Of 100 feet, being 30 feet thick at
the base, tapering TO % feet at the top.
The little pond, a few hundred feet wide
and half mile long, was thus enlarged
into lake at least mile wide, three miles
long, with an average depth of 60 feet
That such an immense body of water,
hanging some 40 feet over the cities of
Cambria and John5town, restrained from
overwhelming them only by frail stone
wall, was regarded as menace, goes with
out saying; but as for ten years or more, at
every recurring spring flood, the people
we're warned of the danger of the dams
these warnings had became an
Did story, so that when, on Friday morning
If last week, the people at the dam sent
word to Johnstown that the dam really was
breaking, and they had better take to the
lills, though standing in foot of water in
he streets, the warning was laughed at.
About $3.50 o'clock in the afternoon,
however, the dam broke. II broke with a
errifc crash, like a volley of heavy artil-
cry and at one swoop 30 feet out of the
enter from top to bottom, went crashing
lown the valley. 1t moved like wall of
water 30 feet high, spanning across the
alley, preceded by dust-like spray, and
very house, every tree, in Its way was
orn down like 50 much rubbish; even
luge boulders were rolled along like mar
lies.
The first town to suffer was South Fork,
miles below the dam-with 1000 popu-
of which were wiped
ut in a minute. Then came Mineral
Point, miles below, with 800 population
entirely blotted out. Next East Cone
laugh 12 miles below, with $500 popula-
ion, total destruction; next WoOdvale,
900 people, a total wreck with other small
er villages. Two heavy trains on the
pennsylvania II. r. which had left Pitts
urgh that morning, on reaching Johns
)wn before noon, learning that there were
7ashOuts on the road further east, were
next to the hill between
ohnstown and Conemaugh station As
he wall of water came in sight of these
he alarm was given and many passengers
Dok TO the hills, but others stubbornly
tuck to the cars, Only two or three of the
ront cars, however, were carried down, the
theirs remaining on the track, and al
hough the passengers who chung to them
ot badly ducked, it Is ascertained that
ut 4 of the 800 passengers on those trains
we're lost.
The flood then struck Johnstown. To-
Yards the lower end of the town the Con.
maugh is crossed by the Pa. II. r. on a
eavy, immovable stone bridge with three
r four arches. Against this all the hous-
S, trees, and debris from above, as we'll as