The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-06-06
THE JoHNSToWN CALAMITY.

to-day 8 BANNER, Eacn mai an
Ingram brings additional tidings of thu
Aful disaster and the complete &C
t, whenever written, will be one Q
addest ever chronicled as occurin
christian land.
get an idea of the magnitude of tn
Eastrophe it must be understood tina
The flooded district includes the entlr
valley of the COnemaugh River, from
South Forks TO Blairsville, about thir ty
two miles. Dozens Of towns of from
1000 to 10000 population have beef
practically swept from the face OF tn
earth.
Johnstown, the scene Of the awful dis
aster, is situated on the Conemaugl
River, thirty miles southwest of Altoona
about thirty miles from the ia mou
Horseshoe curve and seventy-eight mile
to the east of Pittsburg, 1t is the eastern
terminus of the Western division of tn
Pennsylvania Canal. Picturesque noun
tain scenes surround the town, it benz
built down in the valley at the foot o
the tall Alleghanies. 1t had population
of about 10000. The mountains are ricl
in bituminous coal, limestone and fire
clay, The Cambria iron works at Ohns
town employed 800 men.
The dam, by breaking away OF which
the awful catastrophe was precipitated
had been built by the South Fork Club
of which Peter Herdic of Plttsburg Ii
the leading spirit, so as to be able, it wat
supposed, to withstand any kind of flood
and for the purpose of providing an ex
elusive spring water fishing resort. Foul
years ago there was trouble with it. A
large crack appeared in its western wal
and most of the water escaped; forum
ately it was in the dry season, and nc
serious damage was done.
The steady rains of last week increased
the volume of water in all the small
mountain streams, which were already
swelled by the lesser rains earlier in the
week. From the best information oh
tanned it is evident that something il
the nature of a cloud-burst must have
been the elimination of the struggle Of
the water against the embankment.
For miles along the course of the val
ley as far as the flood extended all the
signs Of human misunderstanding,
church, school and workshop-haye been
practically blotted out, The whole face
of the region has been changed almost
as if it had been ground by glacier oil
rent by some tremendous earthquake
In such mighty convulsion of nature a
strong man fighting for his life in the
torrent was no more than a grain oil
sand. and of the thousands of victims
whose lives we're crushed out by the
waters or crushed by the whirling de
bris which the flood bore before it, it is
probable that the forms of hundred,
were buried deep in the upturned river
tnI r,ha "a IF fhnGa fhnU InVpf
can never again behold them. So that
the number of bodies recovered, restored
to their friends and given Christian bur
ial may never begin to tell the entire tale
of destruction. Johnstown and the
neigh boring hamlets were a veritablt
hive Of industry. Coal and iron mines
and mills lined the valley for miles, sur
rounded by the humble but comfortable
homes of the workmen. Johpstowr
proper a thriving little city, had about
20, 900 inhabitants. Above and below i
in the valley stretched its suburbs, will
their thickly settled tenement houses
and crowded population. Most OF thu
victims must have been from the hum
bier walks of life-miners, workmen il
the iron establishments, small tradesmeI
and their famiies-but the fierce fl )oC
was no respecter of persons-it swep
away the well.to-do merchant, the clergy
man and the millionaire iron king al
well as the poor hungarian laborer
Death has spared no condition or clas
in the stricken community.
How terrible it must have been to NEE
with death by fire in the attempt t.
avoid death by water.
An awful feature of the calamity was
the burning Of a bridge at JUhnstowr
upon which about 100 persons had takeI
refuge in the hope of escaping the flood
The floating wrecks of houses drifteC
against it, fire from the stove ignited tn,
mass and the flames quickly sprelC
to the bridge, There was no escape
To abandon the bridge meant perishlnI
in the food. To remain was to suffer {
torturing death. Some chose the frs
method as the eaiser way TO die, though
the great majority chung to the bridge
in last desperate hope, until the flame
engulfed them.
Johnstown, like most places in tn
part of Pennsylvania, largely depends
on natural gas for heat and light. The
rush of the waters dsarranged the natur
al gas pipes, and the cOmbustibe fluid
pouring forth in great volume, igniteC
and fired the debris, burning the wrecks
of houses, and in some cases, it is feared
cremating the remains of victims.
1t will be some time before the loss o
human life can be even appropriated
with much certainty, Bodies wer
swept away-buried under debris-burn
to cinders. A month ago, census for
new directory showed exactly 20, 40
people claiming residence in Johnstown
Conservative estimate places the mum
Der of victims as from 5000 to 10000
the loss of propert IS estimated from
$25, 900, 900 to $75 coo, 900. The survivor
of the flood and fl imes are in pItiabl
condition, disease dangerously threaten
ing the entire region from the unburied
bodies that cannot be reached. Thos
who in merely comfortable cirJumstan
ces or with pleasant surroundings rea
the accounts of that awful calamity ma
we'll thank God that they were spare
the horrors of even witnessing the di:
tressing Genes through which others pal
sed.
THE FEARFUL FLOODS.
Though they were beyond all compar
son the greatest sufferers, the people {
the Conemaugh Valley were not tn
only sufferers by the Pennsylvania flood
The western branch of the Susquehann
river is raging, swOllent torrent. III
WG'er Monday was more than four fe,
higher than the high water mark Of tn
famous fl BOD of 1865, and it was carry
ing death and disaster to all whose live
and whose property were within i
hungry reach.
Every single bridge on the Susqu
hnna from Sunbury. in NorthumbeT
land County, to Clarified, in CIearfiel
County, has been torn down and carrie
away by the force of the flood. tt
town of Lock Haven is reported as bein
completely isolated and surrounded b
waters. Both there and at WILLIAMSON
immense booms of lumber worth ter
of thousands of dollars, have been broke
and carried away. At Milton the wat,
Monday was five feet deep in the street
But the direst disasted of all that hay
yet taken place outside that awful Con
maugh Valley occurred Monday at Wi
Transport, At that place come sixty
eighty persons were standing on Il
hitherto substantial Market street bridl
over the Susquehanna, watching vii
intent interest the turpId flood that su
ged and roared few feet below then
All at once the great, angry river 70
suddenly with one tremendous surg
A huge mass Of logs and driftwood cras
ed against the qulvering, jarring bridg
and the structure, with those who sto'
on it, went down beneath the rushiI
water. Few, if any, of those who we
on the bridge we're saved.
There were floods also in many par
of New York state especially the wester
The Potomic river has over-aowed
banks and a portion of the historic lol
bridge has been wrecked by the flOo
The telegraph system westward al
southwark from Washington is destro