New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-06-05
HUNDREDS DROWN.

q Horrible Calamity Befallsa Town
in the Allegheny Noun
tains.
GEEENsBURG, Pa, May 3I-A report has
Just reached here that the greatest portion
OF JohnstoWn has been flooded and hundreds
of lives lost At Blairsville Intersection a
reliable courier states that /. 500 lives are
lost Houses are floating about and the
people who are flee are panic
stricken and are fleeing to the
mountains At point near New Florence,
elghty-hve persons have been seen floating
down the river on drift wood One report
comes that but two roofs Of the houses in
Johns:own can be seen. The Covetown and
the New Florence bridges have been
washed away, and all the buildings along
the Conelnaugh, between New Florence and
Johnstown have been. carried away. The
railroad towers have been abandoned by the
operators. The flood at Johnstown has re-
suited in an awful catastrophe 1t is said
that the reservoir above the town broke
about o'clock this evening, and the i'm
mense volume of water rushed down to the
city, carrying with it
DEATH AND DEsTRU CT1GN
Houses with their occupants were swept
away and scores, probably hundreds, of peo-
pie were drowned. Thelatest reliable infor-
nation received from Johnstown comes
through Pennsylvania railroad officials,
who aver that over two hundred
dead bodies have been counted
floating down stream at YOUNGSTOWN alone,
while along the line many additional lives
have been lost. It is asserted that there are
but two houses in Johnstown proper entirely
above the water line Johnstown is com
pletelv submerged and the loss of life is in
estimable. Houses are going down
the river by the dozens, and people can
be seen clinging to the roofs.
At Cakeville, a village OF several hundred in
habitants, the houses are almost entirely
covered, and great MANY dwellings at
Blairsville are submerged Scarcely dwell
ing in the vicinity OF Sang Hollow can be
seen. The bridges at Bolivar and Nineva b,
it is reported. have given away and that at
Salisbury it is feared
WILL BE CARRIED AWAY.
People here who have friends in the flooded
district are eagerly waiting fo~ news at the
telegraph office Great uueasiness prevails
The river at Livermore is rising, and great
destruction will follow. The telegraph wires
are down absolutely for fix or seven
miles below the immediate scene of the dis
aster, and being in an unavoidable shape fol-
three or four miles distant. 1t was at least
7:3O o'clock before an accurate outline OF
the effect of the tidal wave could be learn ed
The chief officials of the Pittsburg enc
of the main line of the Pennsylvania
railroad received most Of their first
information from the signal tower al
Sang Hollow six miles west of JohnstoWn
A boy was rescued by men in the sigma
tower of the railroad company His name
is unknown, but he said that with his father
mother, brother and two sisters he wa
swept over the breast of the new stone rail
road bridge at JohnsLown; that it capsized ;
few seconds later and they
.,.a WERE ALL DROWNED
so far as he could tell The railroad opera
or officially reports that before dark they
were able to count l19 persons clinging t,
buildings, wreckage, or drowned and float
ing in the current If this information is tt
be credited, the damage in the tow1
proper must be in the nature of clear
sweep As early as l o'clock the alarm wa
sent to Johnstown that there was DANCE
from the dam. The railroad officials wer
notified, and in a very short time began t
carry people from the town to places o
safety on regular trains and hastily i'm
provised rescuing trains Supt. Pit
cairn. of the Western division of tn
PENNSYLVANIA railroad, was on his way t
South Fork and was notified of impending
trouble Supt. Pitcairn promptly tool
charge of the railroad and of the work, AM
began the double duty of clearing tracks AM
sending all possible aid to those in danger
His prompt work and intelligent comprehen
sion of the danger and his strenuous eff ort
no oil RI HI ~ /
SAVED MANY LIVES.
In order to unde rstand the nature of thi
calamity, it is necessary to describe the re
spective locations of the reservoir at Johns
town The reservoir lies about two aud {
half miles northeast Of Johnstown and
the site of the old reservoir, which was on
of the feeders of the Pennsylvania canal
II is the property OF number o
wealthy gentlemen in Pittsburg, who formet
themselves into the corporation the tit]eo
which is the South Fork Fishing and Huntin.
club. This sheet of water was formerl.
known as Coremaugh lake. 1t is from 2O'
to 800 feet above the level of Johnstown. be
ing in the mountains. tits about three an.
half miles long and from a mile to mil
and a quarter in width, and in some place
it is 100 feet in depth. 1t holds more waite
than any other reservoir, natura
or artificial, in the United States
The lake has been quadrupled in size by ar
titicial means and was held in check by
dam 700 to 1000 feet wide. 1t is 80 fee
in thickness at the base and the height i
ITO feet The top has breadth. of over y
feet Recognizing the menace which the lax
bad to the region below the South Fork clu