davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

SCENE IN A JoHNSTowN MoRGUE.
ton as to responsibility the first 70 realize
what was coming were Engineer H. NJ Ben
nett and Conductor S. W. KeltZ, of an extra
freight train that was lying at South Fork
when the dam broke. Suddenly they heard,
above the sound Of falling rain, roar COM
ing down the valley and soon saw a huge
wall of water-'it looked 80 feet hight
rushing on them with the speed of a race
horse.
With loud cry to waken the men in the
caboose ct the rear, but in vain, they de-
tached the engine aud rushed down the valley.
Looking back they saw the train dashed 10
fragments before the food. Theirs was an
awful race for life, the flood gaining rapidly.
With lass than half minute to spare they
reached high grade, checked the engine,
Jumped TO the hillside and climbed 10 safety.
Then they saw a curious sight; the watery
volume had driven houses and trees before it
TIL they were maSsed SO tightly in the narrow
gorge as TO form a moving dam; a compare
lively small amount OF water passed through
1t, but the awful force behind drove it on,
rolling II over and over till it was ground 10
splinters and scattered in the wider section
below.
The next witness, and perhaps the one best
situated for comprehensive view, was an
Intelligent boy, named Charles Luther, who
stood on commanding point and saw far
np and down the valley. BE, too, tells OF
the curious dam formed in advance of the
food, nladeup of houses and trees. ''On they
came" he says, like the hand OF giant
clearing of his table. High in the air would
be tossed log or beam, which fell back with
crash Down the valley it moved ana
across the little mountain city. For ten
minutes nothing but moving houses was sven
and then the waters came WITH a roar ana
rush. This lasted for two hours, and then it
began to flow more steadily"
But there was another audit NAV be said
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

submerged, was caught by lightning roo 20
which he chung for two hours, and escaped
Mrs. Ann Williams took refuge with many
others on roof, and all were swept OF but
her. James McGanagh got his wife safe to
land and went back for his daughter. When
within ten feet of shore she suddenly ex-
claimed, ''Good-by, father" and at once ex-
pired One man with wife and two children
on rude raft fioated near enough to a bridge
to have rope thrown to him. Finding they
could not be saved with him, he threw off the
rope, waved a farewell to those ON shore. and
went down with his family to death. People
on the hills below the bridge witnessed many
similar examples Of heroism and self sacri-
fee
The men in the signal tower at Sang Hol-
low relate that beautiful girl foated down
on the roof of bui ding which was swung in
near the tower. She screamed to the oper-
ators to save her, and one big, brawny, brave
fellow walked as far INTO the river as he could
and shouted to her to try to guide herself into
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30
EW7K2D ~;
SAVE ON FIpsTt

These men, says The News, were black
tights and were capable Of giving first class
exhibition Of contortions on the sloppy earth.
They appeared TO be quite handy at the trick
of tying their legs in bard knot while In the
pursuit of a festive grounder. That man
Faatz, at the first pillow, is off and on with
the frequency OF a terrier swapping at root
When Mr.. Arson. a man who used TO play
with the Chicagos years ago, long before
they won the pennant, if any readers mind
has the time to retrospect that distance, when
he came forth no ono ran out with a bucket
containing the fatted calf's blood 70 smear
o, tho r1lhbar die
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

jority said it was only the old cry Of wolff"
which they had often heard, and remained
to be overwhelmed.
''By noon," says Mr.. Parlke, Everybody In
the valley knew, or should have known, Of
their imminent danger.
''Three hours later my gravest fears were
more than realized 1t is an erroneous idea,
however, that the dam burst. 1t simply
moved away The water gradually eat into
the embankment until there was nothing left
but frail bulwark of wood. This finally
split asunder."
OF the observers IN Johnstown all were too
thoroughly engaged TO note anything but the
nearness of death; but a few from the ad-
jacent heights saw the whole calamity, and
OF all these the story of none is more pathetic
than that Of Mr.. William Scheerer, the young
banker Of Newark, n J. He was in the last
car Of the train that left Pittsburg that morn
ing and reached Johnstown at 10 a. N. There
was long delay. The rain was falling in
torrents; the streets of the town were already
flooded; people were going about In skiffs and
calling gayly to each other at the rare sport
of such an occasion. At Conemaugh there
was another long delay. None of the passen-
gers felt uneasy, though they saw the food
in the creek rising rapidly. Suddenly the
porter rushed in, deadly pale, and cried out
that there was danger. AT the same instant
the engine gave long and loud screan-the
next instant it was overturned into the
stream
With one impulse the passengers rushed
out on the side opposite the stream. There
was q hill near, but gully between. Three
ladies were with him; one lost heart at the
gully, turned back and was drowned. The
others reached the hill and saw the train
swallowed up. In five minutes more the
whole valley was roaring sea, and the group
on the hill, drenched and almost breathless
from the rain, looked upon thousand deaths.
The first thing they particularly noted
was the race OF a man m a two horse wagon.
He came tearing down the towns main street,
flashing his horses, with the food close behind.
1t was an awful race for life, and the man
won by scarce a second. One car had be-
come detached. On its roof were two men
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

given these Borrowing ones when tho train
first halted And there on the railroad plat
form lay los corpses. At this news and this
sight a long, loud wall of grief and horror
swept through the train, and many women
sank fainting to the floor. AS the train reached
Sang Hollow crow sailed out into the very
middle of the boisterouS stream, and darling
down peered into the swift waters. The
crow then few away and disappeared, but on
the next wave the body of small child APP
peared. A wild shrek went up from the hor
rified passengers, and full 100 voices shouted
to a number of men who were standing on the
river bank, and before the dead body floated
100 feet further it was overtaken and taken
from the river.
And all this time the great mass of wreck
age lodged against the bridge was still burn
ing, though many entangled in it were still
alive Tie fire began soon after the first
house lodged, probably by the upsetting of a
stove. As soon as engines could be got to
the spot many streams OF water were turned
on it. though, after it was certain that it con-
tanned no living being, the physicians urged
that it be allowed to burn. 1t was wedged
so tight that dynamite had to be used TO
break it UP, and weeks must elapse before it
is all removed.
1t were vain task to attempt recital Of
all the brave deeds done in that time of
terror. Edward Dick, O young railroader,
swan into the torrent and rescued an old
man He had barely taken breath when be
saw Mrs Adams, of Cambria, and her two
children in floating dwelling; be plunged in
and though an artery in his left wrist was
cut and he was greatly weakened by loss Of
blood, be saved them all. George Shore, an
other Lockport swimmer, saved man after
desperate struggle with tie waves. John
Decker, pugiiist of local note, saved a
woman and boy, but in a third attempt
was struck by log and severely injured.
The blackne.s Of this cloud Of woe has
silver lining From every part OF the country
generous contributions in money, clothes and
provisions have poured in, and lavish
stream of benevoisnce is now doing all that
is possible 70 efface the ruin made by the
s<u.-n of Nav 81
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

shore with bit of plank. She was plucky
girl, full of nerve and energy, and stood upon
her frail support in evident obedience to the
command of the operator. She made two or
three bold strokes and actually stopped the
course of the raft for an instant. Then ii
swerved and went out from under her. She
tried to swim ashore, but in a few seconds she
was lost in the swirling water.
Saddest Of all was the sight of little chill
dren, both dead and living, floating past
dashed to pieces Of furniture or planks, and
in few instances actually In cradles On
one little raft were two men, and between
them, dressed in white and kneeling with her
face turned heavenward, was a girl six or
seven years old. She seemed stricken with
paralysis until she came opposite the tower,
and then she turned her face to the operator.
She was so close they could see big tears on
her cheeks, and her pallor was as death. The
helpless men on shore shouted to her to keep
up her courage, and she resumed her devout
attitude and disappeared under the trees of a
projecting point short distance below.
As a glance at the map will show, the river
runs southwest to Johnstown, then northwest
to a point just below Nineveh, then southwest
and west; there are many minor turns, and
where the water turned into the woods and
fields and formed local eddies, and under each
of these the deposited mud and sand are very
deep and actually thick set with corpses. The
view, therefore, as the first train came up the
valley, taking the towns in inverse order to
that in which the flood struck them, was ove
of rapidly increasing horrors. First corpse
appeared here and there on the platforms
where the humane finders had laid it, then
they appeared by dozens, and soon the whole
muddy fat between the train and the river
appeared dotted with swollen corpseS. And
this train was loaded with frantic people,
looking for, yet dreading to find, their near
and dear ones among the dead.
'Conemaugh is laid low, Cambria City gone,
Johnstown utterly demolished and not a house
remains in Colville" Such was the message
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30
below the bridge.

THE places where cross lines are to be seen are
the parts that are utterly destroyed not leaving
dozen houses standing, except at the place shown
the dark square, where dozen or SO of dam
aged buildings stand Youngstown borough proper
occupied about the space bounded by the railroad
and the two rivers and contained practically all
the business blocks and fine residences Of the
ethyl
The survivors Of each town in the path of
destruction have different story to tel, as
the observers saw the flood from different
points of view. First are the few residents
In the cottages by the tated reservoir. Next
is South Fork, the hamlet where the food
entered Conemaugh creek Below that Min
sral Point, Conemaugh and Woodvale were
completely swept away; then the flood, driv-
ing before it a mass Of rolling houses and tim
Der, broke Ia full force on Johnstown, swept
1t to ruin and lodged all this accumula ted de-
bris Of destruction against the great railroad
bridge. And that Judgment Is probably re-
sponsible for one-half the deaths; for of those
who had free course to float, whether below
or above the bridge, a majority were saved.
In the whirlpools created by the water seek
g an outlet under the bridge, and in the
crush of timberS, the stouteSt swimmer Jared
as the weakest chfld-it was death to ALL
Below the bridge lie Cambria City, Sheri-
dan, Cooperdale, Sang Hollow, Conemaugh,
Furnace and Nineveh in tho order named,
and it Is q curious fact, but quite natural,
that tho people or those towns realized the
fun force of the calamity sooner than those
In and near Johnstown. They had awful
proof of it. Think of being suddenly reused
by the roar of u coming flood, of fleeing 10
tho hillside and looking down upon valley
filled by raging torrent In which hundreds
of corpses were visible, whirled about and
mangied against floating timber, and on the
surface OF which hundreds Of people on logs,
planks and RATS were vainly screaming for
help. Then was illustrated that strange
truth that man Is seldom 50 weak in great
emergencies as he would naturally expect to
be; while few were completely unnamed,
very many felt their nerves strung to the
tension of steel and did and dared most no.
bly,. Many boy, many en- humble man
proved that day that the material of hero
was in him.
Perhaps the cleareSt view Of the calamity,
in historical order, may be gained by taking
the testimony of the first witnesses at each
point as the food moved, and then the view
ut that point after it passed. Aside from
the residents at the reservoir who seem re-
luctant to speak there is an important ques-
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30
on the rubber die.

Nothing Of the kind The sunken chested
man slapped the spheroid mildly, Contortion-
ist Faatz skated out from first Like a monkey
on a stick, made grab. and then saated back
again, leaving ugly tracks in the mud The
history OF one such Is the history Of all. That
was the way the game WIS played Pfefer
smote the ball sicksning smash, and its
directotre skirts went sweeping over the wal.
That was the first run
The Infants followed shortly after with an
Ill gotten score, born Of an error and q two
base hit. They appeared not to be over wei
acquainted with Hutchinson, the gentleman
Arson secured for the occasion 70 occupy tEs
box For that matter O'Brien was a sur-
prise to the homo team. Catcher Sonu,srs
made friends with him right In the start, but
the rest acted as though they were afraid Of
hurting his feelings The game hung On with
nothing extraordinary occurring Until In tie
tenth inning. when Farrell hit for a bass aud
Sonmers followed with his second double.
that gave Chicago her winning run
TIE team didn't do much but stand cro<
legged In the hed and watch Hutch strike
out the snemy or ssoop over and pluck up
the gTounders from tie und holes AZ his feet
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

plants, who came IN droves without lHimOrr.
Mr. Cato is a man OF high standing and
great influence in the community. is a MEM
Der Of the harbor board and of the town
council, and displays great devotion to his
duties as American consul, which position be
has held for years, although he has never
seen America 1t may seem q curious anon
ally that the United States should be repre-
sented by an Englishman, but Mr. Cato is
highly recommended by Capt J. ". Siber,
the consul general at Cape Town, and do
not believe better representative could DO
found.
Lest this should excite the cupidity Of some
Office seeker ! may as well add that the enol-
uments and duties of the position are merely
nominal, as American ships are as rare as
American citizens in that quarter Of the
globe. c. C. Hunt.
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

cred Thrss very
caT7sgzs facts sssati
cut poznineuuy:
There saz a wide
sre@i oonzylrz1,
rzuy 1Sozs b.
lag s@gazsd Ia Il.
al Tie Asts5ls zrs
Arranged with slak,-
crate iI<zzisy.
and &c: IL rsiscsz-
Yiai 3. to very LA.
rsro1gA VsDs sta-
yaGsy q us i<>Es
Il 6LspoS43z q tis
body. Tss-s 10 =
g.
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

before night, and
set thirty Italians
to work making a
sluice; but tn ey
were too late. See
ing that the dam
must soon go, he
mounted a fast
horse and galloped
down the valley,
warning all he saw
sand telegraphing
Efrom South Fork
} station to Johns
town. Some hun
dreds fed to the
I'M Il -
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30
Improved Circumstances

Pater-You children turn up yozr noses
ct everything Oh the t-b,e- When was
boy was glad 70 get enough dry bread to
eat.
To,nmy-Say, pa, you're having much
better time Of it now you ore living with Is,
mint yovl-Ggip.
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30
TAKEN FROM REAL LIFE.

Account OF a Recent Ball Game Played
In Chicago.
The Aztec artist of The Chicago News tspe-
cially handed DOWN has succeeded in sketch
ing some admirable pictures of the Chicago
ball team when on q recent occasion they re-
turned to Chicago and rested on their laureis,
which process, it may be added, made them
very tired They met the men from Euclid
Avenueville which is small town located
near the Ohio boundary line
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30
CRoNIN MYSTERY.
Almost Every Day Brings a
Fresh Revelation.
PICTURES OF TWO PRISONERS.

Three Men Badly wanted-Ths Man Wiz
Called the Doctor Out, the Man WHO
Rented the Cottage and the Man Who
Started the Canada Story.
The murder Of DR.. Cronin and the search
for the aSsassins continue an absorbing topic
In the daily papers and among al those spe-
cially interested In Irish affairs. One by ons
the mysteries surrounding il are being clear
ed up, and the order in which tho facts are
brought to light has all the logical sequences
of the best written drama First the man
was missed, then the trunk was found and
the movements of those who handled II trac-
ed; then followed In thsir order the discovery
OF the body and OF the house where the muir
der was committed, the facts rs 20 the men
who rented the house, the parties likely to
know something about 1t, !" the arrest OF two
men as conspirators and finally the discovery
of DR.. Cronins clothes Three men ara now
being sought with all dnigence-the man who
called Dr. Cronin from home on the night Of
the murder, the man who rented the houss
where he was murdered and the man who
"inspiredn the kilograms from Toronto. Can
ada, to the eject tina. the doctor had been
seen there after his disappearance from Chi
cago.
acknowledgements illustrate question long
and vahsmently discussed in criminal pro-
pedure, and add much strength 30 the claim
that publicity is. ON the whole. much better
than the secrecy which detectiv. ordinarily
strive to secure. Tho people" as the COM
mon phrase goes, are always anxious 20 have
murder punished; let them know the facts
and every eye is open, every ear Is ON the
alert to note the smallest traces or catch tho
slightest whispers indicating guilt Every
reader unoonsciously becomes q detective; hs
turns over In his mind everything he can
remember about very man he knows
whose character Is suspected Every man In
Chicaro and vicinity who was away from
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

is supposed that he has not been asked to re-
sign, it is thought that pressure has been
brought 70 bear 20 induce him 20 do 50.
Professor Russell was bora az Walpole,
Vt, in ISIS, and was graduated from VIII
Jams college in 1877 In 1880 Yale gave him
the degree Of B. D.
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

ship. It is under
stood that be has
moro hberal- views
on theolosicatqu@
tons than bis CO.
workers In the fac
uity, and has in
CURED their dis
pleasure SO far as
TO be designated by
them Is q thinker
of the advanced
school. Tie stu
d e nts, however,
stand BY Professor
Russell While IL
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

Wy n tst1t y
gal r-zalt: 10 NATTER Z fae actual p-si>es<.-
tors have esosped from ths eozSt<y, asoss
who cnrsetera.ed WIN tAszn caa Is cozyscss&
Il murder u:sder TIA limb lag o. % coz
s,arary. Tins were ;ks ssFsz A14rch-<ss
savscsci, taozSh tAs zsEa -So t1-sS Us
bomb ccubeis=s szcspsd frc<a ia corzay-
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30


his usual resorts on
the night OF the
murder may rest as
surei that some enc
is thinking about
that fact and desir-
GUS Of kno W in &
where he was IL
one such man is not
above suspicion, his
acquaintance COM
pare otes an i
draw conclusions,
and talented, In
d e d, m ust the
roC1le be who can
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30
DEATH BY FLOOD ANDFIRE
THRILLING STORES OF SURVIVORS
OF THE JOHkSTOWN DELUGE.

Train Mems Rae for Life-The Boy Who
Saw 1t AIl-TiH Scheerer's Strange Ex-
perience-Psthetic Case of Mrs. Fem.
Husband and Seven Chill dren Lost.
The civilized world Is still amazed and
horrifed st the magnit3fs of the Johnstown
disaster
The little Conemaugh now ripples over a
bed OF mud and sand, a shallow stream of
clear water and it is almost impossible for
the observer to realize that but few days ago
q raging, turbid food filed the little valley
almost to the house tops. Over all the fat,
where mud and sand have been deposited to a
depth of several feet, many hundred corpses
still lie buried, hundreds, thousands more
were consumed N the burning drift, and for
forty miles down the valley, on every fat, in
every thicket, drift and shallow, the eddying
waters laid the dead OF the $4,000 people
4 wing in the valley above the railroad bridge,
not more than q, 900 are yet accounted for
though, doubtless, many more will be found
alive-and many hundreds moro were lost
helOyE the bridge
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

without undue renectlon-a FAR more heroic
witness. This was Engineer John G. Parke,
one of the heroes of the valley He said early
Friday morning that the dam would give way
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

jams" sasd Mr1 glAkker, II -tsA se@=
yoz 70 70 .o~n today you wo1l4 SOP s1d
match tiese rfbhoE-s.T
Clara" rrya4st Ms. S.AAker, 'Ayoa 90 ssd
ls. ne say here as4 rzto3 to hAeyy. -
C.ozk Ed sssss s.e~ssg
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

~Ezys yea aay p4r-Iexizr oi.,se< IN inA1ss
around haEer s4trs tie eoctfzr.n~ & pes
b.sfseinx II ks I6ser vso wasa Or ssy
~Y- Dr. vsz :hs rruzrs r-rsy
VEL vkz. Ia NJ
-Iras 70 SN&ss Ey re1s.orx, sad tas,
VII ssrrr rAszk II loakszs to rsvssss
.Asss L. any wngf xstrs ,"-Ds-ca Fss<
p-ess
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

E-szs~ss ySs-A--Yozr tztAe< as<==s -sr-
rid aSo<z. scz<sstnz ;>z<gs%
Ewez: Gtri-Tea Poe< - s~s 80 Hzany
bzEzrz esr~A
Latte Erosse--1hs4s AIT e. Hss ed
s-.s-aszs iS.e ~ Aox hs bcn<A. 6sfs- es<=-a-.
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30
Professor Russell, of Yale.

a theological storm IS passing over Yale
college, Professor John E Russell, who
since 1855 has held the chair Of Biblical the
ology, is said to have resigned his professor
Wichita eagle., 1889-06-30

fen to discussing 1t and the politician x1ruarsun
in America. As this was . subject We both
knew very little about we soon exhausted it
and the bottle. Then Mr.. Cato opened
bottle Of Cape Smcks" Of ancisnt vintage
and long series OF Cape "reminiscences OF an
equally musty flavor, including some very
thrilling incidents of pioneer life forty years
ago, when the land was in the hands Of the
Beers and Katfirs, and the bush about Dur
ban was q fayorite browsing place for ele-
Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-07-01
santa monica,s Beach.

w. t. Spillman has leased the water
front, and, under the management OF
Frank r. Ellis, is cleaning up the beach
and erecting bath. houses, pavilions and
other buildings that will be commodious
and inviting to the thousands of visitors
who come to the seaside. Arrangements
are also being made to accommodate a
thousand campers, if 30 many should de-
sire to pass a few weeks or months on
the ocean front. Water is being piped
along the base of the bluff, and the beach
has been divided into 25foot lots for
each tenter, who will be charged a small
rental of $5 month, which money will
be mainly expended in paying for the
water and such sanitary arrangements as
will be necessary to keep all the prem
ises clean and inviting.
A broad road, with an easy grade, is
now being made down to the beach, and
another driveway is to be graded along
the base of the bluff, from the wharf to
the cafion, which will enable one to en-
Joy pleasant drive along the water front
at any stage of the tide.
1t is the intention to enlarge the ac-
commodations as fast as they are needed,
so that all who come to the seaside may
enjoy themselves in whatever proper
way they may see fit. AS the time is
limited, there will be no attempt at costly
preparation or imposing display. But
there will be a constant effort to provide
such accommodations as will render ones
stay at the seaside a delightful recrea
tion.-T Outlook.