Evening journal., 1889-06-04
WATERS SUBSIDE.
But They Leave Behind Them q
Scene of IndeScribable Woe.
J0HNST0WN is NO MORE.
The Conemaugh Valley Swept Clean
by the Torrent.
DANGER OF PESTILENCE.
A Mass OF Putrefying Bodies That May
Breed Disease.
vULTUREs IN HUMAN FORM.
Rifing the Dead Bodies for Relics and
Booty.

The Town Is Under Martial Law-Armed
Men Patrol the Streets and Have Or
ders to XIII ANY Man Found Stealing
from the Dead-The Awful scene at the
Railroad BrIdge-Acres OF smolderIng
Are Lodged-Twenty-tw Hundred Bod
les Have Already Been Rocovored-Nln-
eyah City of the Dead.
JoHNsTowN, June 1.-THE time has not yet
come 70 write the story of the disaster that
has turned the sparkling Conemaugh that
rippled 80 pleasantly through the beautiful
valley into river of horror in valley Of
death. No man, nor any corps Of men, with
every facility that can be devised, will ever
be able to write a story that shall fully tell
Of the awful visitation that has made the
valley one vast charnel house, twenty miles
long and half mile wide, and that has
stained the bright mountain stream color
that not all the water that can flow between
now and eternity can ever wash out. With
the facilities for obtaining information, and
for sending it after it Is obtained, that are the
best that can be had here now, it is impossi-
bic to give more than vague idea Of the
awful desolation that is universal from Cone
maugh dam to far below Johnstown. To write
a column is but to glance at the subject. To
write a page would be but to skirt lightly
over its points and a whole issue would
not contain a summary of all there is to
tell. This much alone is certain, that, what
ever has bean written is too weak to ade-
quately convey an idea Of the extent of the
disaster, and that the horror Of the calamity
is bound to increase daily for some time yet.
Explorations cf the valley beyond Johns
town has but just begun. On tins account
not even a good estimate Of the total number
of Ives lost can be made.
The Survivors Are Destitute.
The loss Of property will be far up into the
millions, but no one thinks Of that The tale
of the dead is bad, but the tale OF the living
is bad, too, and it must have attention.
There are as many of them as Of the dead, and
they are hard pressed for food clothing and
all the necessaries of life Their necessity
will continue, not for a day, not for a
week but for months They are as destitute
of all that goes to support life, except the
bare breath in their bodies, as are the very
dead whose half nude bodies line the
banks of the Conemaugh for miles
| Their ordinary means of earning a live
| lihood are gone, with the rest Of the town,
| tut there is abundant work for every one.
| But there must be money to pay the work
men. Food for the immediate necessity Of
the people in Johnstown itself is coming in
from every side, and there is enough to re-
| leve their wants What the situation is for
| people further up the valley is unknown here,
| but their plight must be serious. Clothing
enough for the absolute necessity Of the time
is also coming in, but the people cannot bt
maintained in idleness for long, and money
to set them to work and keep them at work
is absolutely necessary. The committee
in charge has concluded at the very
outset to give the least possible amount
Of charity and the most work They
ask for money first and most, and their char
acter is such that there need be no hesitation
about sending it in generous abundance
There is work in cleaning up and rebuilding
to last every able bodied man here for si1
months, and it will be at least a month before
any considerable amount Of money can be
realized from their labor. The generous heart
of the country is depended upon to furnish
the means Of keeping these men at work for
at least that long, for no one can tell yet how
great will be the task Of recreating the town.
The Scene Of the Disaster.
Johnst0wn, seen from the bluff opposite
the railroad tracks, at point just above the
Pennsylvania railroad bridge, is as though
the North and East rivers were high bluff.
instead Of channels lower than the land, and
the lower end Of Manhattan Island was a
deep valley, ending in a massive stone bridge
| with half a dozen low arches at the point OF
the battery. Johnstown lay in the valley
as lower New York lies on the island. al
about the place where the postoffice stand;
in New York il stands in the valley here. II
leaves on the left wide gap. On the right
1t seem to close the valley completely, bui
really there is another gap reaching of
at about right angles to the first one
Streams run through both these raps
and unite just right at the bridge
On the side of the high bluff ON the left III
in the air, ran the Pennsylvania railroad
until it crossed the bridge Through the bot
tom Of the unseen valley, at the right. en-
tered the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
Through the gap at the right the Conemaugl
river flows. Stony creek enters through III,
other gap Johnstown filed all the triangular
space between the two bluffs and the mount
an, and stretched out up the gap on either
side. The houses in the gaps are mostly
built well up the mountain side In the tri
angular plain, nearly or quite as large a,
New York below the postoffice. All the
houses were on level little above that OF the
streams Some we're built on made ground.
Some distance up the gap on the left OF the
, mountain, to one facing it from the bluff
above the bridge, more mountains rise, ap
parently completely closing the gap. In
reality the gap here turns off to the left
The Course of the Death Dealing Torrent
It was with an impulse to the right side o.
the mountain, therefore, that the great mas
of water came down the Conemaugh river
The straight drive Of the food struck against
a high buff and was turned south toward thu
bridge 1t was mass OF water with from
forty feet high anG an eighth Of mile wide
l.s Esioc.tY was 80 gre i that iis ais. SWEEP
did lt.ls damage q ei-Aer side. 1t had n,