Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-06-03


BER OF LIVES LOST IN THE DELUaE AND FIRE.
JoHNsTowN, Pa, June 3.-The dark disaster
OF Friday, with its attendant terrors, thrilled
the universe and drew two continents closer
together in the bonds Of sympathy that bind
humanity to man. The midnight terrors of
Ashta5ula and Chatsworth evoked tears of
pity from every freside in Christendom; but
the true story Of Johnstown, when all is known,
will stand solitary and alone as the acme of
mans annihilation by the potent forces to
which humanity is ever subject. The menacing
clouds still hover darkly over the valley Of
death, and the muttering thunder that ever
and anon reverberates family in the distance
seems the sardonic chuckle of the demon Of de-
,e.'.,roA a. ne pursues his way to other lands
anI other homes. But
THE MODERN DELUGE HAS DONE ITS WORST
for Johnstown. The waters are rapidly subsid-
ing; but the angry torrents still eddy around
Ararat and the winged messenger of peace has
not appeared to tell the pathetic tale of those
who escaped the devastation Of Friday. 1t is
No e. uackneyed utterance to say that no pen
can adequately depict the horrors OF this twin
dlsaster-holocaust and deluge; the deep emo
tons that well from the heart of every specta-
tor find most eloquent expression in silence
the silence that bespeaks mans recognition of
his subserviency to the elements and impotence
to avert catastrophe. The insignifcance of
human life is only fully realized by those who
witness such scenes as Johnstown and Chats
worth and Ashtabula, and to those whose men,
ory retains the picture of horror the dread ex-
perience cannot fail to be fitting lesson
Great drops of rain fall occasionally and
another storm seems imminent. Every one
feels thankful, though, that the weather still
remains cool, and that the gradual putrefaction
of the hundreds of bodies that still line the
streams and lie hidden under the miles of
driftwood and debris is not unduly hastened.
This morning the peculiar stencil Of decaying
human flesh is plainly perceptible to the senses
as one ascends the banks of Stony creek for q
half mile along the smouldering ruins of the
wreck, and the most skeptical now conceive the
worst and realize that hundreds aye, perhaps
thousands, Of bodies lie charred and blackened
beneath
THIS GREAT FUNERAL PYRE.
Searchers wander wearily over this smoking
mass, and as occasionally sudden shout comes
over the waters the patient watchers on the
hill realize that another ghastly discovery has
been added to that long list of revelations that
chill every heart and draw tears to the eyes Of
pessimists. From the banks many charred re-
mains OF victims of flames and food are plainly
visible to the naked eye as the receding waters
reluctantly give up their dead. Beneath al
most every log or blackened beam glistening
skull or blanched remnants of ribs or limbs
ma oil hat -
dreams. Since 10 o'clock last night the fire
engines have been busy. Water has been con-
stantly playing on the burning ruins. At times
the fire seems almost extinguished, but
FIrFUL FLAMES BREAK OUT AFREsH
in some new quarter and again the water and
flames wage fierce combat. The chief sensa-
ton of the morning has been the united remon-
STRANGE of the physicians against the extin-
guishment Of the burning wreck. They main
tain with philosophy that to anxious search
ers seems heartless that hundreds, if not
thousands of lifeless and decaying bodies lie
beneath this mass of burning ruins. 1T would
be better" they say, Ito permit Natures great
est scavenger-the fames-to pursue his work
unmolested than to expose to further decay the
horde of putrefying bodies that lie beneath
this debris. There can be but one result,
Days will elapse before the rubbish can be
sufficiently removed to permit the recovery Of
these bodies, and long ere that every corpse
will be a parted mass, yielding forth those
frightful emenations of decaying human flesh
that in a crowded community like this can give
but one result-the dreadful typhus. Every
battlefield has demonstrated the necessity of
the hasty interment of decaying bodies,
and fhao xIoxo lx,o l. g.
runner of impending danger. Burn the wreck;
burn the wreck"
LOUD CRY OF INDIGNATION
arose from the lips of the vast multitude, and
the warnings of science were lost in the eager
demands Of those that sought the remains of
the near and dear. The hose was again turned
upon the kissing mass and rapidly the flames
yielded to the supremacy Of water. 1t is almost
impossible to conceive the extent of these
smoking ruins. An area Of eight or ten acres
above the dam is covered to o depth Of forty
feet with shattered houses, borne from the resi-
dent center of Johnstown. In each Of these
houses it is estimated there were from one to
twenty or twenty-five people. This is accepted
as data upon which to estimate the number
that perished on this spot, and if the data be
correct. the bodies that lie beneath these ruins
must run well up into the hundreds, if not the
thousands.
FROM FOUR TO FIVE THOUSAND LOST.
As yet there is no telling how many lives
have been lost. Adjutant-General Hastings,
who has charge of everything, stated thismorn-
ing that he supposed there was at least 1900
people under the burning debris, but the only
way to find out how many lives were lost was
to take census Of the people now living. and
subtract that from the census before the food.
Said he. I'm my opinion there are anywhere
from 1000 to 5000 souls lost"
Battery B, Of Pittsburg, arrived in the city
this morning under command Of Lieut.. Shep-
pard, who went to the headquarters of Adju-
tant-General Hastings, in the tower. The gem
eral had just got up, and as the officer ap-
preached the general said: "Who sent you
here?"
II was sent here by the chamber Of COM
merce," replied the lieutenant
"Well, / want to state that there are only four
people who can order you out, viz The gov
ernor, adjutant-general, major-general, and
the commander Of the second brigade. You
have committed serious breech of discipline,
and my advice to you is to get back to Pitts