Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-06-03

the stream AT hearnsville and eighty-five above
the SILK Works. Chief Evans, OF the Pittsburg
Fire Department arrived this evening with en-
| glnes No. and 10 and several hose carts with
Iuli complement of men. A large number of
| rbtsoufg physicians came on the same train.
| A SOLID WALL OF WATER
Mr.. Grouse proprietor of the South Parl, Fish
| ing C!uD hotel, came to JohnStown this after
/ noon. He ssid that when the dam of Cone.
lnaugh Lake broke the water seemed to leap,
| scarcely touching the ground. 1t bounded
down the valley, crashing and roaring, carrying
| everything before 1t. For mile its front
seemed like a solid wall twenty feet high
| warning was given 10 the stricken citv Ii was
| snt from South Fork village by freight agent
;IeGhert- Nhen the great wall that held the
body OF water began to crumble at the top he
| sent a message begging the people of JonnstoWn,
/ FOR GOD 5 SAKE TAKE TO THE HILLS.
| He reports no serious accidents at South Fork
| kIchaFd Davis ran TO Prospect Hill when the
| water raised. As to Dechert's message he saws
Just llst Slch message had been sent down at each
| ing 50 often, proved useless that little attention
| was paid to " this time. II can't describe the
mad mad rush. he SAID. AT first it looked like
| dust. That must have been the spray. l could
| see houses going down before it
! LIKE A CIuLD'S PLAY-BLocKs
| Set on their edge in a row, and as it came
| nearer could see houses totter for a moment
| then rise, and the next moment were crushed
| Ike shells against each other.
Mrs. James Davis and her two daughters and
| son are nowhere to be found. al Woodyale
| iLleI6 WIS Il row Oh Drlck tenement houses 100
| ieet long and three stories high. 1t stood with
| its brOadside to the current. A few of the ten
ants hs d. but many went to their attics to watch
| the tiCcd. To-day scarcely the foundation of
| the row OF brick houses can be found
| Superintendent Kirtlsnd of the West Penn
! sylvanla Railroad arrived at $50 with carload
!; OF provisions from BlaiTsville.
| TOO MANY sIGHTsEEEs.
| prominent member of the Johustowr Safety
| Committee said to reporter this evening: For
| Gods sake, tell them at PittsbUrg ID stop the
| rush OF slghtSeers to this stricken locality
| There is enough here to last for weeks and the
morbid curiosity of these people can Just as well
| be gratified later on as now. These crowds has
| greatly embarrassed us to-day. The authorities
| must stop it."
| Adjutant-Gcneral Hastings and Mayor Sanger
| have assumed entire charge of Johnstown aud
vicinity, and strict discipline will be enforced
| from now on much as possible General
| Hastings headquarters are at the PENNSYLVANIA
Railroad depot.
| SUPPLY DEPOT ESTABLISHED.
| 4 supply depot is established at this point,
ana many needy people are being relieved. The
oodles that are dug out lie in the station until a
| collin can be obtained. They are buried nm
| Identified on Prospect Hill.
James McMilin, Vice-Presdent of the Cam
| bria iron works. III conversation this afternoon
| said: Il do not know what cur loss is. The
| upper mill is totally wrecked, and damaged be-
yond repairs. The lower mill i, damaged TO
| such an extent hat sll the machinery and
| buildings are useless. The mills Will be rebuilt
| Immediately"
| THE GAUTIER WIRE WORKS,
| Which was completely destroyed is owned and
! was was operated by the Cambria Iron Company.
| These buildings viii be Immediately rebuilt
| and put in operation soon as possible The
] loss at This point is complete. The land on
| which it stood is today as barren and deSoIeta
| as II 1t stood in The midst of the Sahara des IT.
| The Cambria Iron Company loses its great
| supply stores at this point.
| The Dartmouth Club, at which the eInployes
| Of the works boarded. was carried away in the
| flood. Il contained many occupants at the
| time,
| NONE OF WHOM WERE SAVED.
The estimates of the losses of the Cambria
| Iron Company given is from S2OOOUOO to 81, 500
| 0O) But little of This can be recovered
! Crossing the bridge VIII ch spanned the chasm
| dug by the waters between The stone bridge
| and Johnstown is an exciting task. Itisan mar
| row rope bridge. with slide and a series of
| irighttul tosse5 from side to side. run and
| ship in Il Storm and within two inches of vour
feet rushed the muddy waters of the Cone
maugh.
| a HEARTRENDERING SCENE.
! The scene at the ST. Columbia Catholic
| Church was awful. Forty or fifty bodies had
| been carried into it and laid on the muddy
seats Lying in row in this church were five
| children from two to six years old. No one had
| Identified them this afternoon. Their little
| curls were matted with mud. Their nostrils
| were, filled with sand and their eyes often COM
| pletely covered. No one had come to wash
| away the dirt from their tiny faces, nor the
| blood stains from their awful cuts and bruises
| Where are their parents?
| Another incident even of greater moment has
| Just been brought to notice At $50 this morn
| ing an old TailrOader who had walked from
Sang Hollow, stepped up to Lumber of men
| who were cOngregated on the platform at the
| station at Currantyi and said Gentlemen,
| had | a shotgun with me halt an hour ago |
| would now be a murderer, yet with no fear of
| ever having to suffer for my crime. Two miles
| below here l watched three men going along
the banks OF the river stealing the Jewels from
| the bodies OF the
| DEAD WIVES AND DAUGHTERS
Of men who have been robbed of all they held
| dear on earth"
lie had no sooner finished the last sentence
| than FIVE burly men were on their way TO the
scene of plunder, one with a coil of rope and an
| other with a revolver
| In twenty minutes they had overtaken two of
| their ylctlms, who were then in the act of cut
| ting pieces from the ears ana fngers from the
| hands of two d. ad women With reyolver
! leveled at the scoundrels, the leader of the
| posse shouted,
THROW UP YOUR HANDS
! Or I'll blow your heads off" With blanched
| faces ard trembling foImS they Obeyed the
| order and begged for mercy. Thy were
| searched, and as their pockets were emptied of
| their CHASTITY fluids the indignation of the crowd
| intensified and when the bloody finger of an
| infant encirced with two tiny gold rings was
| found among the plunder in the leaders pocket
| a cry went up
| LYNCH THEM LYNCH THE1Tr'
And without a moments delay ropes were
l
| ling to the limbs of trees in the branches of
| which an hour before were entangled the re-
mains they had decorated.
One had to cross the COnemauph AT a second
! point in order to reach Johnstown proper This
was accomplished by a skiff ferry The ferry
man elung to the rope, pulling the load over
| mud in which there is inferred the remains of
| human bodies. :.
( a DEsoLATE WASTE.
1t was once a handsome portj N of the town
/ n Tn11l h
| who has never seen the city can hardly inag-
| inc that houses ever stood where they did.
-Four streets which were solidly built up with
| houses have been swept away. Nothing but
| two-story frame house remains The walk up
| to the wrecks of the houses was INTERRUPTED in
many places by small branch streams. Occa-
slonally across the flats could be seen the re-
| mains of victim.
The stencil arising from the mud is sickening
to an extreme degree. Along the route was
| strewn wares of every conceivable kind
| Inc work of getting the bodies together for
| easy Identification was begun this afternoon on
Fairfield avenue, where there is large vacant
lot. At o'clock this was almost entirely COW
cred with cofins, while between them and
| STOPPING over them were scores of men and
| women. Although the number was short of 100
at o clock, others will come in, and there is no
| telling what the total will be.
on one rough box was a piece of paper with
| these words:
! THREE LITTLE CHILDREN
Tonight they were lifted out and all three
| placed in one coffin. The little bodies were al
most naked, and their faces bruised and cut.
THE wRECKAGE STILL BURNING.
| The Baltimore and Ohio tracks are now open
| but the fire in The wreckage has spread steadily
all day and the upper part of the drift is burning
tonight a fire engine is stationed on the
river bank and others will be gotten here by
the Baltimore and Ohio. The natural gas has
been shut off owing 10 the many leaks in Johns.
town. No fire is allowed in the city The walls
OF many of the houses are falling and their
J crash can be heard across the river where the
| newspaper men are located.
AN INTERRUPTED FUNERAL.
! funeral was being held al one of the Catholic
churches at the time of the flood. The congre-
CATION deserted the church and the body was
buried withithe building. A citizens commit
tee has issued a proclamation that all men who
are able to work must report for work or leave
the place. There is too much to do to support
idiers, and the committee will not abuse the
generous help that is being sent by doing so.
1t is impossible to describe the appearance of
Main street. Whole houses have been swept
| down this one street and become lodged
Wreckage is piled as high as the two.story win
dows. The reporter could step from the wreck
! into the auditorium of the Opera House.
The ruins consist OF parts OF houses, trees, saw
logs reels from the wire factory, etc.
! Many houses have their sidewalks and roofs
torn up, and one can walk directly into what
had ben the second-story bedrooms or go In