The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1889-06-06
ran DnAD.


Johnstown and vlcinity-while Thou
sands More Are Burned or Buried in tho
Mud and Debris Hungarian Caught
Robbing the Dead and Two Are Hanged,
Another Shot and Several Driven Into
the River and Drowned.
JoHSsrowN, PA. June 3--To say that
Johnstown Is a wreck is but stating the
facts Of the case. Nothing like 1t was ever
seen In thi, country. Where long rows Of
dwelling houses and business blocks stood
forty eight hours ago, ruin and desolation
now reign supreme. Probably fifteen hum
drsd houses have been swept from the face
Of the earth as completely as II 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 1t Is as high as the roofs Of the
houses. This great mass Of wreckage
flls the street from curb to curb,
and frequently has crushed the fronts of
buildings in and filled the space with re.
mInders Of the terrible calsmity. Il will
require several days yet to form definite
idea as to the loss Of life, but 1t will Ger.
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 q
number OF bodies buried in the
mud and wreckage. It Is believed
that when the flames are extinguishsd
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
outsk irts Of the huge mass Of broken tim
Der. Reports from outside points are also
appalling. Up to 0 o'clock tonight 1870
bodies have been embalmed at Nineveh,
and there is a 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 1O) victims
have been laid out for identifca.
tion. In many cases they have been
recognized. while in many moro the tabs
bear the simple word Unknown" Near.
ly thousand bodies SO far have been col.
lected. Former reports have not been ex-
aggerated. The loss Of life Is so ffightful
that 1t Is feared TO tell the truth about It.
Fifteen thousand men, women and chill
dren have perlshed in the food and flames,
and several hundred more 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 1t 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 toward, Sang Hollow. Sus.
picious of their purpose, several farmers
armed themselves and started in pursuit
Soon their most horrible fears were real.
lied. The Hungarians won't out for plum.
der. Lying upon the shore they came upon
tho dead and manglel body Of q woman
upon whose person there were number ot
trinkets Of jewelry and two diamond rings.
In their eagsrness to secure the plunder the
Hungarians got into squabble, during
which one OF their number severed the
finger upon which were tho ring, and
started on a run with his fearful prize.
The revolving nature of the deed sc
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 atrocous act has boen described
was among tho number of the involuntary
suicides. Two other Hungarians were
caught robbing the dead and were hangst
from tree; another was shot.