Wichita eagle., 1889-06-02
AT YOUNGSTOWN.
Awful Scenes Witnessed at the Inflated
City.

dead were the following: Mrs Cyrus
Elder, wife of the general superin-
tendent Of the Cambria Iron COM
pany, and daughter and many women and
children who could not be identified.
Police officials and others were rendering
all possible aid, but the number of the
dead seems greater than the number of
living. Cinder, Market, Main, Locust and
Washington streets have been swept clear
and bare of all buildings of whatever
character and their inhabitants seem to
have fled into the streets at the first warn
ing of the danger, and others rushed to
their deaths, for those who remained in
their houses had an opportunity to flee to
the upper stories. Where the houses were
frame they were foated from their founda-
lions and many were hotels. The Hotel
Hubert, brick structure, had siXty-five
guests, and sixty-three of these were killed
by the falling in of the floors and walls.
The Morell house. the school house, Aims
hall, general stores and offices of the iron
company and one other brick building are
all of probably 1000 buildings that have
not been forced from their foundation
or caved in The SlOnine house is forty
feet high from the river bed at low water
and over this the water rushed in a resist
less flood. On this, or the west side is the
Bessemer rail mills of the Cambria Iron
company. Although warned to flee to the
hillsides many of the men resting in
fancied security loafed about the mills and
were engulfed. Today their bodies are
strewn along the Conemaugh, Riskemintas
and Allegheny rivers and are being caught
as far down the Ohio river as Rochester.
Below the mills is Cambria, sub
borough, in which district resides 200 peo-
pie. The scenes here are bnt a repetition
of the other parts of the food wasted city.
In f1nn6 al orr
which had been flooded to depth of six
feet in the auditorium, the water had re-
coded and the floor was covered with
Shiny oOze to the depth Of seven or eight
inches. On boards stretched along the
top of the pews were thirty bodies which
had been snatched from the stream by
Father Thomas Darling and some of his
service.
AT Marrell forty-three bodies were laid
out waiting to be identified. Eight of
them were children; one that of child
which a physician said had been born
while the mother was fighting for her life
in the raging food.
AT Nineveh nine miles down the strem,
106 bodies, mostly women and children,
were laid out. Additions were being
made by wagon loads at time which
were being picked up on the meadows over
which the great tide had surged; many
were found with their hands clinging
tenaciously TO branches of trees, and shrubs
and in one case a young couple were found
locked in each others arms. Another case.
mother was found with child clasped
in each arm and held closely to her bosom.
There is no possibility of telling just who
has been lost, as thousands are missing.
The survivors, many Of whom tell of the
most thrilling escapes from collections of
debris, house-roofs, cordons and planks,
l. l., ~ h
paralization of their mental faculties from
the fright and horror to which they have
been subjected.
The number of people who are visible
from the forks are so few in contrast with
the population of the various little Dor
oughs which Were engulfed that tina
question. where is the people," is asked
ing that the disclosures yet to
come where the gorge collected
and which is now burning, over an acre,
are yet more CHASTITY. The awfulnesS OF
the scene defies language to depict, as 1t
does the imagination to conceive of. With
out seeing the havoc created no idea Caa
be given either of the area OF the desola-
ton or extent of the damage.
MORELOSS OF LIFE AT CONEMAUGH.
PHILADELPHIA June 1.-Information was
received about II O'Clock tonight at the
Office of the Pennsylvania railroad of
frightful disaster to two Of the through
trains from Pittsburg which have been
supposed to be safe at Conemaugh. As
sistant Superintendent Tendry telegraphs
from Johnston that the day express and
the mail train from Pittsburg bound east
were put on the back tracks
in the yard at Conemaugh, when the
flooded condition OF the main
tracks made it unsafe to proceed further.
When the continued rise of the water
made their danger apparent the frightened
passengers fed from the two trains to the
hills near by. Many in their excitement
threw themselves in the current aad were
1t is supposed that about twenty
lost their lives in this way.
When Superintendent Trump reached |
he Immediately gather |
I'd together the remaining passengers |
Of the two trains and had them conveyed |
TO Edinburg by wagon. The survivors ara /
now at that place. Mr.. Trump statedthat |
f the passengers had only remained where |
hey were instead of jumping into the water |
he terrible loss of life would have been |
avoided.