The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-05


hlblted that dauntless courage which is
born of resignation. Mothers coolly sacri-
feed themselves to the fury of the food
or fire to save the lives of their children
and loved ones Not infrequently some
pale-faced woman ciinging with her child
TO hoating debris, realizing that support was
too frail for two, would be seen to lift her
debris and with hasty kiss, bidding fare
well to all that bound her to the world, sink
beneath the waves
HERO FROM A FOUNDRY.
Edward c. Willis, young foundryman
OF Cambria, q years old, whom no one ever
suspected of p. s;sing more than ordinary
courage, when tia flood was at its hight,
and paople were floating down the rushing
torrent in hundreds, rushed to his boat
and senseless to the pleadings of his wife
and relatives, showed his frail craft out into
the angry current. Gliding alongside the
floating roof upon which woman and two
children were kneeling with blanched faces
ana stony stare. he Skillfully eVaded OBJ
structl ms that every minute threatened to
crush his craft, and, lifting the terrorlzed
creatures to his boat, shot across the cur
rent back to the bank. A shout of ap-
plause swelled from the throng that lined
the bank; but, unmoved by the paudits
young Willis repeated the perilous Journey
seven times until twenty-five lives had been
saved by his indomitable energy. The next
day. when most of Johnstown was still
under water, Willis ascended the stream to
the desolate city and again distinguished
nlmselt by many acts of heroism and
endurance. tribute too great cannot be
paid to his noble character; but, after all
among the heroes that these strange scenes
developed he is only one of many.
JoHNsTowN's SKELETON.
The water receded last night almost as
rapidly as it came, and behind it remains
the sorriest sight imaginable Before the
windows of the Associated Press head
quarters lies the great skeleton of dead
Johnstown. Great ribs of rocky sand
stretch across acres of mud; acres
of wreckage; acres of unsteady, totter-
ing buildings; acres of unknown
dead; acres of CHASTITY objects, which
have been eagerly sought for since Friday.
acres of smoky streaming ruin, acres Of
sorrow for somebody lie out there in the
sunshine. There is every prospect that the
heat will become intense now and the effect
OF 1t will be awful to think of. Hundreds
OF bodies are lying along the river banks
and under the piles of big timber, and
trouble will come from there because they
are hard to find and harder to dig out
FIRE AS A scAvENaER.
Out In the center of the river on the 'ex-
treme edge of the mass which rests against
the bridge, Pittsburg firemen have a stream
playing upon the wreckage. They are lit
orally in the middle of river putting out
a fire. Bonfires are burning everywhere.
Fire is the agent employed to help the COM
mittees get rid Of the refuse and broken
wood. By means of fire the Cambria Iron
Company has cleared most of the lighter
lumber, and will soon be able to work on
the heavier piles. The completion of a tenn
porary track and bridge, which permits the
passage of trains over the river has been a
blessing, as it allows the men to work much
faster, and to get tools and materials closer
at hand.
BURYING THE UNIDENTIFIED.
This was the day set aside by the citizens
committee for the burying of all the un-
identified dead that have been lying In the
morgues since Sunday at 10 o'clock. This
morning the men who were in charge OF the
burying started to work, and have been
busy all day. There are no pathetic scenes
at these burials- The men who have been
hired to do the work seem TO do it Just as
matter of business. The bodies are being
inferred in the cemetery nearest the place
where they were found. About
noon a procession OF about fifty
up the hill above the railroad. There
was not mourner present, and the sight
was CHASTITY one to behold. 1t will take
several days to bury the bodies now in the
different grave yards, as there were few
graves dug until this morning, and no i'm
plements to dig with. However, large
detachment of men arrived from Pittsburg
this morning, and they were put to work
at digging graves Immediately. Alto
gether about 300 bodies we're taken to the
different cemeteries this morning.
Tlr00 hnn0rad mora h0diaQ haua haap
found opposite Ninevah to-day. This
makes 100 bodies found at that point.
THOSE LOST ON THE TRAINS.
1t is now definitely settled that at least
from twenty to fcrty people were lost on
two sections Of the day express that left
Pittsburg at o'clock Friday morning and
the JohIstown accommodation that was
about to leave Johnstown that afternoon.
There have been numerous and conflicting
reports about how many trains were caught
in the food, but from the most reliable
sources it has been ascertained that three
trains were caught by the water Edward
Mccullough of the Westmoreland Coal
Company was among the passengers on the
day express last Friday morning.
He states positively that there were
two sections Of the day express and the
Johnstown accommodation caught in the
food. Said he: 'It is my opinion that at
least twenty people were drowned from the
trains, in fact l can count that many my
self. And the death rate may go as high as
forty. There was one parlor car and three
sleepers On the express, and several other
cars. We did not know of the flood until
about thirty seconds before il was upon us.
We heard the whistling of the engines, and
all who could ran to the hills The rail-
road company have some names of the
missing. but refuse positively to give them
out until they are certain the people have
been drowned
NO WHOLESALE RIOTING.
Gen. Hastings in an interview this morn
ing, stated that he wished to deny the
stories published in certain newspapers to
the effect that there had been some whole
sale lynching aud rioting here since Sun
day. Said he: "These reports are utterly
devoid of truth and will only injure the
papers that published them. Anyone here
knows that there is no truth in these state
ments, but people away from here have no
means of obtaining information only
through the newspapers / think there is
enough truth to tell here without publish
ing false and sensational stories.n
The burned wreckage against the bridge
at Johnstown is being blown up by dy a.
mite to allow the water to pess in the main
channel. Many skeletons and fragments
of bodies have been found. Opening this
channel win take the overflow from the
lower part of Johnstown proper.
At II o'clock this morning the first relief
train, bearing thousands Of pounds of pro-
visions for tue suffering, and 1000 collins