The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-06-08
THE DEAD.


Johnstown and vicinity-While Thou
sands More Are Burned or Buried in the
Mud and Debris-Hungarians Caught
Robbing the Dead and Two Are Hanged,
Another shot and Several Driven Into
tho River and Drowned.
JoHNsTowN, PA. June 3-To say that
Johnstown is wreck is but stating the
facts of the case. Nothing like 1t was ever
seen in this country Where long rows of
dwelling houses and business blocks stood
forty eight hours ago, ruin and desoaton
now reign supreme. Probably fifteen hum
dred houses have been swept from the face
of the earth as completely as il they had
never been erected. Main street. from
end to end, is piled fifteen and twenty
feet high with debris, and in some in
stances it is as high as the roofs Of the
houses. This great mass of wreckage
ills the street from curb to curb,
and frequently has crushed the fronts of
buildings in and filed the space with re-
minders of the terrible calamity. 1t will
require several days yet to form definite
ldea as to the loss of life, but it will cer-
tainly reach thousands. Every hour
brings fresh evidences of the fact that the
disaster eclipses anything of the kind in
the history of the country and no one can
say what the final results will be. Every
hour or so the forces of men working on
the various heaps of debris find
number of bodies buried in the
mud and wreckage. 1t is believed
that when the flames are extinguished
in the wreckage at the bridge, and
the same is removed, that hundreds and
hundreds of victims will be discovered.
In fact this seems certain, as dozens of
bodies have already been found on the
outskirts of the huge mass of broken tim
ber. Reports from outside points are also
appalling. Up to 0 o'clock tonight 1870
bodies have been embalmed at Nineveh,
and there is n report that 200 more have
been discovered half buried in the mud
on an island between New Florence and
the place named. At the Fourth
Ward school-house over 10) victims
have been laid out for identifca-
tion. In many cases they have been
recognized. while in many more the tabs
bear the simple word "Unknown." Near
ly a thousand bodies so far have been col
lected. Former reports have not been ex-
aggerated. The loss of life is so rightful
that it is feared to tell the truth about it.
dren have perished in tho flood and flames,
and several hundred moro will die from
wounds and exhaustion. The people here
are apprehensive of pestilential epidemic
as the direct cause of the thousands of
bodies purifying in the river. The waters
of the Conemaugh are literally choked with
masses of putrescent humanity, the stencil
of which is so powerful that in places it is
impossible to approach within square of
the river. Just as the shadows began to
fall upon the earth last evening party of
thirteen Hungarians were noticed stealth
lily picking their way along the banks of
Conemaugh towards Sang Hollow Sus-
picious of their purpose, several farmers
armed themselves and started in pursuit
Soon their most horrible fears were real
ized. The Hungarians went out for plum
der. Lying upon the shore they came upon
the dead and mangled body of n woman
upon whose person there were a number of
trinkets of jewelry and two diamond rings.
In their eagerness to secure the punder the
Hungarians got into a squabble during
which one OF their number severed the
finger upon which were the ring, and
started on a run with his fearful prize.
The revolving nature of the deed SO
wrought up the pursuing farmers, who by
this time were close at hand, that they
gave immediate chase. Some of the Hun
garians showed fight, but being outnum-
bered were compelled to fee for their lives.
Nine Of the brutes escaped, but four were
literally driven into the surging river and
to their death. The inhuman monster
whose atrocious act has been described
was among the number of the involuntary
suicides. Two other Hungarians were
caught robbing the dead and were hanged
from a tree; another was shot.