The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-06-05

force of twenty-four fremen just brought
up to relieve those who have been working
so heroically since Saturday. Morris Nj.
Mead. superintendentot the Bureau OF f.lec-
tricity. headed a force of sixteen sanitary
inspectors from Pittsburg. who are doing
great work among the dead.
Superintendent Kirk, of the Pittsburg
Dynamite Company, set at rest the reports
some terrible upheavels by dynamite. I'VE
will not attempt to loosen the wreckage by
dynamite" said he. ut is full of dead
bodies, and they would be terribly mangled
If nlo&y dynsmts smi sTs 9ssd Me sSa4erns S
heavy timbers occasionally. but thatis all"
But Mr.. Kirk has scheme .afoot
that is as momentous as it is
cheering to the thousands below Johns
town who had been exposed to the danger
water. A reeking menace to life and
health lies in the bed of the Conemaugh for
three hundred yards above the Pennsylva-
MIA railroad bridge. When the drift ac-
structure. hundreds-some say thousands-
OF bodies were pinioned under the debris:
1t extends across the river four hundred
feet and twice that distance up stream:
The awful story of how it caught tire and
victims and filling the valley with The sick
ening Odor of burning flesh, has been re-
lated. But the flames tired of their work
too soon. They had burned the top OF the
huge pile and left the foul sediment to act
as a sieve for the Conemaugh. Hundreds
of half-hurned cOrpses were taken Oft the
place, but every timber held others where
the strongest of machinery would be re-
quired to reach and liberate them. Blast
the 80 stone ne d bridge. Mr.. Kirk has
has decided the bodies will rot before half
OF them can be reached in this manner
and hence his new plan. When the waters
surged against the big stone bridge and
the embankment which had been washed
away. The wreckage piled up against the
bridge and the food was turned into the
new channal it had made, thus leaving the
has been running through its new channel
ever since. But the plan now is to build a
wall along the old river course, turn the
water into the drift and thus flush it out.
This is a monster scheme, but Mr.. Kirk
thinks the earth wall can be thrown up by
tomorrow evening. A large force of men
are to be put to work upon it at once.
"Noone will ever know the real horrors
OF this accident unless he saw the burning
people and debris beside the stone bridge"
remarked Rev. Father Trautmein. 1.-The
horrible nature of the affair cannot be real
lied by any person who did not witness the
scene. AS soon as possible after the first
great crash occurred, / FASTENED to the
bridge. A thousand persons were strug-
Gods sake to release them. Frantic hus-
bands and fathers stood at the edge of the
furnace that was slowly heating to cherry
heat and incinerating human victims. Ev-
tives, and raved, cursed and blasphemed
until the air appeared to tremble, No sys-
TEN, no organized effort release the pent-up
persons was made by those related to
to, that place: go. get her out; for Gods
sake. get her out" referring to some loved
one they wanted saved. Under the circum-
stances, 1T was necessary to secure organl-
zation. and thinking was trying to thwart
their efforts when / ordered another point
to be attacked by the rescuers, they ad-
vanced upon me. threatened to shoot me or
dash me into the raging river. One man
who was trying to steer float, upon which
his wife sat on a mattress, lost his hold.
and in a moment the craft swept into sea
of flame and never again appeared. The
agony of that man was simply heart
rending. He raised his arms to
heaven and screamed in his mental
hair and moan like one distracted. Every
effort was made to save every person accessi-
BILE, and we have the satisfaction of know
ing that fully 200 were spared from crema-
the dead body of q relative. A force of men
attempted to extrioate her, and succeeded
in releasing every limb but one leg. For
three hours they labored. and every mo-
ment the flames crept nearer and nearer: L
was on the point several times of order
ing the men to chop her leg off. 1t would
have been much better to save her life,
even at that loss than have her burn to
death. Fortunately it was not necessary,
but the young lady's narrow escape from
mutilation or death she will never realize.
Jacob Schmidt is a hero, If there was
ever one. The prOdigies of valor he per-
formed were sufficient to entitle him to
fame. He braved death thousand times.
DA al lWo wifi fho of oxy,v
fellOw-creature. In one way it was fortunate
the report got abroad that Father Gavin
escaped from his house to the hills, for his
friends would have been anxious about
him. He was hemmed in by the waters
and forced to go to the second story. where
he remained for hours. not being able to
get down and out. The miracle that the
people insist happened in the church in my
charge was certainly remarkable thing.
Skeptical people insist that while the
water was the highest the sisters climbed
into the windows and decorated the statue
of the Blessed Virgin as it was found. But
the lmpossibility of this is so apparent
that it requires no contradiction. Person
ally, try to explain everything peculiar
through natural causes, but this thing is
unexplainable. The circumstance has re-
solved itself into an affair of the greatest
magnitude maj dean among OF g the people hereaboutss,
to satisfy their curiosity, skepticism or
love for the supernatural"
About o'clock this evening the charred
body of young woman was uncovered a
short distance above the stone bridge. On
her finger was found a slender gold ring,
on the plate of which were engraved the
initials TX. j. B." She wore a striped
wOolen dress and a black underskirt. The
body was taken to the Fourth ward school
house.
Several yellow flags were noticed sti, k
ing up from the black wreckage above the
stone bridge. This was a new plan adopt
ed by the sanitary corps to indicate at
what points bodies had been located. As
| it grows dark the flags are still up, and an
other day will dawn upon the imprisoned
| remains. People who had lost friends and
supposed they had drifted into the fatal
| place, peered down into tie charred mass
| In vain endeavOr to rec cgnize beloved
! features
DISCLOSURES OF TBE ssORGUES.
How The Bodies Are Prepared for Burial