The Republican., 1889-06-22
A Graphic Story Of the JohstOwn
Flood.

Alta, and sister of S. T. Jones, CASH
ier of the Garrett county Bank. 1t
was written at the special request of
the Kingwood Journal, from which
paper we take the liberty of copying
it,
/ arrived in Johnstown on the
morning of the 30th, in time to see
the parade on Decoration Day. 1t
threatened rain then. and rained hard
during the night.
The morning of May 3ist, found
the lower part of town under water /:
families moving to higher points, and
taking up carpets. expecting the wa
ter to come into the lower stories.
About noon the water was higher
than ever before. 1t began to rise
about A. NJ, and rose higher and
higher : but l felt no alarm, as my
Cousins house was higher than any
around US.
The people around US thought it
merely the overflow of the two riv-
ers. and remained in their houses. as
this had happened the two preceding
years.
The lumber booms burst on Stony
Creek and logs came down by the
thousands, carrying away bridges.
In the morning people were on
their verandas, talking across the
street, and not unduly excited. but
as the day went on, the water still
rising. alarm was felt.
About 4 P. NJ. men were heard on
the hills screaming, and We heard
the continued whistling of an engine,
and terrible noise. but we did not
know what was the matter.
Some rushed to their roofs. and
called out that it was the Gautier
Mills, and the first impression was
that it was an explosion of natural
gas. We rushed to the attic and
saw. in long line following the Con-
emaugh river, cloud of smoke and
dust, and heard a noise too terrible to
describe, of crashing rushing and
screams, but still could not tell what
it was but from the time we rushed
to the first floor to turn off the gas
and back to the attic, the water was
into the second story in our house !;
houses and trees went crashing by !;
houses toppling over, some on their
sides, some on end our neighors'
houses carried by, one house striking
another, crushing it into fragments !;
people clinging to whatever support
they could-to ends and roofs of
houses.
We clung to each other expecting
our house Though it was a large and
strong one) to 60 next. death staring
US in the face. Nothing could be
done. but to pray. There was no
possible hope of escape but through
the mercy of God. The horror of it
all no one can know, but those who
went through it. Many prayed that
day who had not prayed for years
before.
Some houses had travelled the
whole length of Main st. on one side
of the river and crossed the river
against strong current to Kernville.
Some moved from Woodyale to the
Stone bridge. and by the recoil were
driven back in an opposite direction.
1t could not have been more than
twenty minutes lit seemed hours)
from the time we heard the first
crash, until the waters began to re-
cede so slowly that we could scarcely
believe it, and our house was left
still standing in the midst of debris.
People fioated past us, but too far
away for US to reach them. We were
to help them.
Many people lost all presence of
mind. One girl on the roof across
from US screamed 80 dreadfully that
she unnerved every one that heard
her. She was with difficulty restrain.
ed from throwing herself into the
water.
Fire added to the horror. We could
see church steepIe in flames. 1t
soon burned down, and 1--WE afterward
the house next to it caught,
and Mrs. Morris Wolf. a friend of my
perished in the flames. She
had escaped the food to die bv fire.
Another very large fire burned all
night. This we learned afterward,
was the fire at the stone bridge. At
night it lit up everything around US
almost like day. 1t was across the
river, so we felt no alarm for our
selves. but were very uneasy for our
relatives and friends on the other
side. The place where their houses
should have stood was nothing but
wide waste of water, and below it
the fire.
Night came on and still raining,