The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-06-15
THE GREAT CALAMITY.
Fun taor Details OF the Johnstown
Horror.
Terrible scenes in the Valley of Death
Thousands OF Bodies Buried in tho
the Debris of tho Ruined City-A
Iestilence Feared From the
stencil of Deoomposing
Bodies.

YOUNGSTOWN, Pa, June 4.-Death, ruin ant
desolation are but meagre words as applied
to Youngstown proper. Weeping men, womer
and children are at all places looking TO,
their dead. From Kernsville to New Flor
ence, bodies are being picked out every few
minutes. The first tour that has been made
through the southeast end of the town was
made Monday morning The school house
In the southeast part Of the town is now
morgue and in it are notless than go bodies
lost of whom are unidentified The street al
shc foot of the hill Is patrolled by citizens
with loaded muskets. Without pass from
eeneral Hastings it 10 impossible 10 get "a
The morguc. About 500 men arc working
here, clearing away the debris in order to
make wagon road for the bodies to be
hauled away from the morgue. In front of
the school house is posted list of the dead.
In this part of the town is located the
Irish Catholic church and convent. A re-
marlSable story is told about these sisters.
The mother of the convent saw the wave
coming, which she says was mountain high.
She at once called all the sisters into the
chapel. Here the dozen nuns began to pray
as they possibly never prayed before for
protection from the water. When the water
struck the building it shattered the entire
structure and every room except the one
where the sisters knelt in prayer.
Around this part of the city the flood ap-
pears to have been the worst. Trees fully
five feet at the butt were uprooted and are
lying in the places where the streets at one
time were. Here more bodies are being
found than at any place else so far, but it is
thought the loss of life in the burning debris
must be terrible.
Since ten o'clock Sunday night the fire
stan t1rrr, ,1ov val fI,ah h,,,,,
ing ruins. At times the fire seems almost
extinguished, but fitful flames suddenly
break out afresh in some new quarter. The
sensation OF the day was the united re-
monstrance of the physicians against the
extinguishment of the burning wreck. They
maintain that hundreds If not thousands Of
ifeless and decaying bodies lie beneath this
mass of burning ruins "It would be bet
ter" they say, "to permit natures greatest
scavenger-the fames-to pursue his work
unmolested than to further decay the horde
Of purifying bodies that lie beneath this
aebris There can be but one result. Days
will elapse before the debris can be suff-
mently removed to permit the recovery of
these bodies and long ere that every corpse
will be putrid mass, yielding forth those
frightful emanations of decaying human
desh that can give but one rcsult-the
dreadful typhus Every battle field has
demonstrated the necessity of the hasty in
terment of decaying bodies, and the stencil
that already arises is a forerunner of the
impending danger. Burn the wreckr'
A loud cry of indignation arose from the
lips of the vast multitude and the warnings
OF science were lost in the eager demands of
those who sought the remains of friends.
The hose was again turned upon the kissing
mass and rapidly the flames yielded to the
10 al INN 10
the extent of these smoking ruins An area
Of eight or ten acres above the dam is COW
cred to depth of forty feet with shattered
houses borne from the resident center of
Johnstown. In each of these houses it is
estimated there were from one to twenty
five people This is accepted as data upon
which to estimate the number that perished
on this spot, and if the data be correct the
bodies that lie beneath these ruins must
number hundreds, if not thousands.
JoHNsTowN, Pa, June4.-About eleven p
m. Of Thursday, May 30, the storm burst
upon the city of Johnstown and continued
until IL 80 a. m. Friday. At eight a. m. the
torrent began to pour into the city from the
creeks and rivers. At ten a. m. there was
no outlet for the people. The first message
from the lake at South Fork was received
ut ten a. m. Friday, that the dam was weak |
enlng. But the people, or the few who |
heard the report, laughed to scorn this mes
sage, saying they had heard such news be-
fore The second came at II 80 a. M. Itwas |
to the effect that the dam was likely to burst |
al any moment. AT 2:30 the final message |
was received, advising the people to flee to |
the mountains for their lives, as the dam |
must surely burst within the hour.
The messages were held by a few officials |
about the railroad, who neglected to sound |
a al Loft hot
time the water had reached the second story |
of some of the dwellings in the lower part |
of the city. All bridges had been swept |
away by the avalanche of water pouring
through the city. The warnings, which
were received in ample time for all to have
escaped, were sneered at and cast aside as
being an old story At $3.50 the whistles
and bells gave warning that the dam had
broken, but then it was too late. There
was roaring sound, and before the people
could realize the danger the water was
upon them in mass, carrying every thing
before it. Had they taken the warning in
the morning from the messages received,
thousands of lives would have been saved
Yesterday a corn patch of about an acre
in extent at Nineveh was dug over by vol
unteer force and 1873 corpses were uncov-
cred. The manner in which the CHASTITY
find was made was purely accidental. A
man walking over the field kicked at a clump
of garland; overturned it and uncovered
woman's face. This indicated rich find
and the people around were called to assist, y
with the results above stated. This in
creases the list of dead at Nineveh to 230.
The dead were found under about four feet
of alluvial deposit
PITTSBURGH, June 4.-There have been be-
tween 1000 and 5000 coffins sent or ordered
to be sent from Pittsburgh. OF these 1900
were sent yesterday morning. At noon an
order was given for 1000 more. The relief
committee has receiveda telegram from the
New York and Brooklyn Caslhet Company
offering two car loads of caskets and all the
help necessary to handle them. Only the
caskets are being sent to Johnstown, as the
force of undertakers has no time to handle
rough boxes. Another firm has shipped 400
casliets and 500 shrouds. The statement
that there is coffin famine is untrue. Two
car loads of caskets shipped from Cincinnati
were sent to JOhnstown on the Baltimore 81
Ohio road yesterday.
The secretary of the South rork Fishing
Club stated yesterday that the club had not
filed an indemnity bond and that no COM
plants had ever been made about the safety
Of the dam by any of the Johnstown citizens.
HARRISBURG, Pa, June A message was
received at the Pennsylvania railroad sta
lion at this point yesterday from Williams
port stating that a meeting had been held in I
that city during the afternoon at which the
was authorized to be issued to the l
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