Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-06-06
APPALLING CALAMITY.
Jamestown, Pa, Instantly Swept
Away by a Flood.
The Greasest Catastrophe in tho Country's
: HIstOry-Fifteen Hundred Lives Lost
BY the Bursting Of q Reservoir
Terrible Scenes.

: HIstOry-Fifteen Hundred Lives Lost
BY the Bursting of q Reservoir
Terrible Scenes.
PITTSBURGH, Pa, June IA sudden
freshet in the North Fork river. cast of
Johnstown, Pa, in the Allegheny mount
aims resulted in an awful catastrophe.
Last evening, according to a reliable
courier. 1,b00 lives were lost The reser-
voir broke about i've o'clock and the inn
mense volume OF water rushed down to
the city. carrying with it death and de-
struction. Houses with their occupants
were swept away and hundreds of people
were drowned.
Up to nine D. m. information received
about the Johnstown catastrophe came
through Pennsylvania railway officials,
who averred that over 200 dead bodies had
been counted floating down stream from
Johnstown alone, while along the line
many additional lives have been lost.
It was asserted that there were but two
houses in Johnstown proper entirely
above the water line.
A special train bearing Pennsylvania
railway officials and large number of
newspaper men left this city for the scene.
Telegraphic communication was entirely
cut off.
w. H. Hays, superintendent of the Sec
ton of the Pennsylvania railroad covered
by the flood, telegraphed last night to
Superintendent Pitcairn as follows: 1.-THE
destruction is terrible. The dam at
YOUNGSTOWN is gone between the bridge
and tower. West of Johnstown at some
points the tracks are entirely carried
away and road bed gone. The river for
three-quarters of a mile above the bridge
Is filled with buildings and driftwood
forty feet high. and is on fire, burning
furiously, and is entirety beyond our con-
troll 1 can not estimate the amount of
damage. / walked over last night from
Johnstown to Sang Hollow, four miles.
Johnstown is literally wiped out"
Superintendent Pitcairn, who was at
New Florence sixty-five miles east of
Pittsburgh, telegraphed that over one
hundred men, women and children passed
Sang Hollow clinging to debris. Seven
were rescued at Sang Hollow, two at
Conemaugh Furnace and two at New
Florence. Only forty-seven of the hum
dred and over passed New Florence The
loss of life and property was terrible.
A special from Blairsville station on
the Pennsylvania railroad says: "John
Barton, a freight engineer, saw three men
and a woman struggling for their lives in
the Conemaugh river just below Johns
Town. Inc w 0SCorn Union OIuC0 III
Johnstown was swept away at four
in Cambria City, where are located the
Cambria iron works, is thirty-five feet
deep and rising"
OTHER TOWNS PROBABLY GONE.
PITTSBURGH, Pa, June 1.-The course OF
the torrent from the broken dam at the
foot of tho lake to Johnstown is almost
eighteen miles, and with the exception OF
one point the water passed through mar
row v shaped valley. Four miles below
the dam lay the town of South F ork where
the South Fork itself empties into the
Conemaugh river. The town contained
about 1000 inhabitants. It has not been
heard from, but it is said that four ifths
of it has been swept away.
Four miles further down on the Cone
maugh river, which runs parallel with the
main line of the Pennsylvania railroad.
was the town Of Mineral Point It had
300 Inhabitants, 80 per cent of the houses
being in a fiat close to the river. Itseems
impossible at this time to hope that any
of them have escaped.
Six miles further down was the town of
Conemaugh and here alone was there a
Typographical sibility of the spreading
Of the flood and the breaking of its force
1t contained $500 inhabitants and must
be almost wholly devastated.
Woodville, with 2. coo people, lay a mile
below Conemaugh in the fat, and one
mile further down were Johnstown and
its cluster of sister towns-Cambria
City and Conemaugh borough, with a
total population of So 900. On made
ground and str etched along right at the
river verge were the immense iron works
of the Cambria Iron and Steel Company
who had S. 900. 900 invested in their plant
Raoi1 nc ofh 1ur.r
industrial establishments Oh the bank o.
the river. how badly damaged can not be
estimated.
THE CAMBRIA CITY HORROR.
DERRY Pa, June AT Cambria City
| there are probably a dozen houses in wha
was a thriving manufacturing town forty
eight hours ago. No estimate can b.
| formed of the amount of damage. but the
probable loss of life is terrible. There ar,
at present 500 lives known to hav'
| been sacrificed and hundreds of PEG
pie ara homeless. The cold raw
weather of this morning is PARTICULAR,
severe on those who are withou
shelter and no means of relief at hand a
the trains can not reach here from eithe
west or east Every thing possible is be
| ing done for the sufferers Communica
| ton with the outer world has been cut of
and only temporary accommodation cal
be had. Some place the damage to prop
erty at from $1e 600, 900 to $15, 600, 900, blu
until the excitement calpps down it is i'm
possible to form any correct estimate.
The latest man from Johnstown bring
! the information that scarcely a house re
| mains in the city. The upper portion
| above the bridge has been completely sub
| merged. The water damned up agains
the viaduct, the wreckags and debri
| finishing the work that the torrent ha
failed to accomplish. The bridge a
Johnstown proved too stanch for the fur
| of the water. It is heavy piece O
masonry, and was used as a viaduct b.
the Pennsylvania canal Some of the to
| stones were displaced.
| The story reached here a short time ag
that family consisting of father an
mother and nine children were washe
away in a creek at Lock Haven. Th
| mother managed to reach the shore, bu
| the husband and children were carrie
out into the Conemaugh to drown. Tn
| woman is crazed over the terrible affair
| After night settled down on the mount
| aims the horror of the scene was enhanced
| Above the roar of the water could
heard the piteous appeals from the un
| fortunates as they were carried by. 7
add also to the terror q brilliant illumina