Morning journal and courier., 1889-06-05

|
 used. We will employ small cartridges fol
 shattering heavy timbers occasionally, but
 that is all"
 MT. Kirke has scheme afoot of great i'm. portance to the thousands exposed to the
 danger of pestilence from drinking Allegheny
 river water. A reeking menace to life and
 health lies in the bed of the Conemaugh fol l 300 yards above the Pennsylvania bridge. l When the drift accumulated against the Ad- amantine structure hundreds (some say thou
 sands) of bodies were pinioned under
 the debris. It extends across the 1 river 400 feet and twice that distance up ! stream. Blasters have been at work all af- | ternoon near the stone bridge. MT. Kirke has decided that the bodies will not rot before half of them can be reached in this manner
 and hence his new plan. When the waters i surgsd against the big stone bridge and were | repelled they formed @ vent at the bank | which had been washed away. The wreck age piled up against the bridge and the flood was turned into the new channel it had made thus leaving the old bed a receptacle
 for drift. The water has been running through it's new channel ever since. But the plan is to build wall along the old river course turn the water into the drift and thus flush 1t out. This is monster scheme, but Mir. Kirke thinks the esrth-wau can be thrown up by tomorrow evening. A large force of men are to be put to work upon it at once.
 KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS FUNDS. At a meeting of the Johnstown commando cry, Knights of Pythias, held here this after noon, E. G. Grouse, secretary, was appoint ed to receive funds. All Knights funds will, therefore, please be sent to MT. Grouse at Johnstown.
 WORK AT THE MoRaUEs. Six improvised morgues are in Johnstown, and in these bodies are held until decompo- sition renders it unsafe to keep them longer. These temporary places for the dead are in churches, schoolhouses, the largest being the fourth ward shoolhouse where blanks have been laid over the desks and the remains placed there. When corpse is dug from the bank 1t is taken to the ante-room of the school where it is placed under hydrant and the muck and slime washed off. With the clash of knife the clothes are ripped off and an attendant searches the pockets for valua- ! bIes that would lead to identification. Four men leave the corps on a table and \ 1t is thoroughly washed and an embalming ! fluid injected. With other grim bodies the corpse lies in large room until it Is identi- ! fled or becomes offensive. In the latter case ! it is hurried to the large grave that will hereafter have monument over it bearing \ the legend "Unknown Dead" The number of the latter is growing hourly, because pesti- ! lence stalks abroad in JohnstoWn, and the | bloated, disfgured masses of humanity oRn- | not be held much longer. Bodies of stalwart ! workmen lie beside the remains of dainty | ladies, many of whom are still decked with costly earrings and and jewels on the fingers. Rich and poor throng these quarters and \ gaze with awe struck faces at the masses of | mutila.ions in the hope of recognizing a | missing one, so es to accord the body de- ! cent burial.
 ! SAMPLES oT THE SAD SCENES. l A wealthy young Philadelphian named \ Ogle recently became engaged to Johns bo welded in the middle of June and both parties were preparing for the wedding. The | lover heard of the terrible flood, but know | ing that the residence of his dear one was ur
 in the hills, felt little fear for her safety. To
 make sure, however, he started for Johns l town, arriving today, Near the Fourth
 street morgue he met MT. Diehl. "Thank God you are safe, {" he exclaimed, then added ! ssis Carrie wellf'
 ! wave came, was the mournful reply; then ! the father beckoned the young man to enter | the chamber of death. A moment latter MT Ogle was kneeling over a rough bier and was ' kissing the cold white face. From the life.
 less finger he slipped ring and in its place put one of his own. Then he stole quietly ! out-one of the thousands made to mourn by
 the bursting of the South Fork dam.
 "Mamms, mamma" cried child. She ! had recognized @ body that no one els, | could and in a moment the corpse was tick ! eted boxed and delivered laborers to who bore
 it away to join the long funeral procession ! A mother recognized baby boy. "Keeo it few minutes," she said to the under l taker in charge. Soon she returned carrying
 in her arms a little white casket
 Then she hired two men to bear it to ceme
 tery. No hearses are seen in Johnstown I Relatives recognize their dead, secure tn I coffins, get them carried the best way the,
 can to the morgues, and thon to the gray
 yards. A prayer, some tears and a few nor ! of the dead thousands are buried in mother | earth.
 A frequent visitor at those horrible place
 is David John Lewis. All over Johnstown h | rides 8 powerful gray horse and to each on you seen my sistersF"
 Hardly waiting for a reply he gallops away
 either to seek entrance to 8 morgue or to rid
 along the river. One week ago MT. Lewis
 was worth $65 ,0O0, his all being invested in
 large commission business. To day he own
 the horse he rides, the clothes on his back
 that is all.
 l A SEMBLANCE OF MARTIAL RULE.
 l To-day Gen. Hastings revived comment
 very unfavorable to Gov. Beaver by ordering
 out the Fourteenth infantry. Chairman
 Moxham, of the citizens committee. i
 quoted as saying that there would have beel
 a popular uprising against the failur
 of the governor to provide mili
 tary protection had not the commu
 nifty been so heavily weighed dow
 with it's woes. Vain appeals have been fol
 lowed by protests, and later protests gay l why to strong demonstrations of indignation l against the inactivity of the governor. Bat tery B was first brought up from Pittsburl
 and 1t was during its stay that regard fo
 law was shown by a certain element. Tn
 Fourteenth regiment is on the ground to
 night and there Is 8 semblance of martia l rule ip the Conemaugh valley.
 THE INSURANCE coMPANIEs' LOSSES. PHILADELPHIA, June "A representativ of the Mutual Life of New York stated to ) day that that company would lose s442, ,o0 I by the Conemaugh disaster. A large mum , Der of the policies were held by employees o . al Life of this city it is said will lose $1O0l 900 in the city of Johnstown alone. II THE EyOHNsTOWN HORROR. , The Fate of she Passengers of she Xxx press Train-Three Hundred MOT : Bodies Found Opposite N1nevah. False and Sensational Stories Ab0u II Lynching-A List of the Identife Dead.
 JoHNsTowN, June At is now defnitel | hot of Iaosf from twaOfv fo fort