The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1890-06-06
MADE MAD BY RLuNpERs.


A Bit of Human Driftwocd from the
Great Johnstown Flood.
was going up Broadway the other day
with brave physician Of Johnstown, Pa,
one OF the heroes who, oblivious of the fact
that majority of his relatives had been
swept away to horrid death, and that
slower but no less horrid death by pestil-
ence menaced all who remained in that ten
mile charnel house, did not desert the
stricken vale of death.
'Helo:'' he said. "There goes Abe Muir
ply. haven't seen him in many day."
He pointed to Il poor, broken down, de-
jected figure of Il man, who, with head bent
and muttcring lips, was slowly shuff1ing
up the street.
"Johnstown man?" asked
"Yes''
"Victim Of the foodS'
mo; victim of the undertakers-like
many another
"Is he mads'
Crazy as bedbug."
---.,, a-----4 -. i.--,---. .,u1 >, ..,.~
harvest of death took place Johnstown was
simply paralyzcd for means to house and
identify its dead before burying it. At first
there was no attempt, or only the slightest,
at identification. Pittsburg sent a raft Of
volunteer nndertakers and the first and
only thought was to get the bodies under
ground and save the living from pestilence
But i'll time the thing was supposed to be
organized, and men were paid to properly
handle and register the corpses and care
for their valuables as fast as they were
brought to light. The way in which this
work was done was shameful in the eX-
treme. Not only were there wholesale rob
berries of yaluabes from the bodies Of the
dead-that is, the known dead-but the
records were mixed up in manner 10
10 tfah ham. # ,rly IAN, l,,,;
women and children for men, and then the
numbers, as il seemed, were all put in
II hox and shook up, SO that it becamea
lottery to find your loved ones, even after
you had found description which was
reasonably sure to hit the case
well, sir, poor Abe Murphy suffered.
All his family, a wife and six children,
went down in the flood, and he has only
been able to find ono child living, and he a
big Ounce Of boy. He worked like good
fellow at the time of the flood, saved sew
eral lives, and afterward turned In with d
will to help to gather the harvest Of bodies
and do other labor which called for strong
arms and u willing heart. Only now and
then he would knock off work and 70 look
ing for his own among the dead. He was
II big, strong fellow, and even the agony Of
his grief showed no signs of turning his
head, But there came time when he he
gan to search among the lists describing
the dead and their supposed location, and
after awhile he came upon the description
Of his favorite daughter which was 50 full
and accurate that there could be no mis-
take about it. 1t bore a certain number i'll
one OF the cemeteries. Procuring the
necessary authority and filled with hone,
he went and had the grave bearing this
number opened and what do Won think
they founds The body of q full grown
man. The cemetery officials sought long
and earnestly to find the child and many
graves were disturbed. But there seemed
fate against it. Only Gabriel's trump
will make that child come forth and
answer Il am here
Later he had II similar experience with
another child, and then with his wife. The
latter, though, was merely n case Of care
less describing Of mistaken surprising
on the part Of Abe. But it was Ill the
same to him by this time. His tortured
mind had crossed the ragged edge of rca-
son, and everything in the way of disay-
uointment only atlrlctl to Ills insanity, until
it became incurable. What he suffered no
man knows. lie got to haunting the ccnl-
eterics and the dead houses until he be-
came n nuisance and finally the medical
staff. assisted hy the Red Cross funds, took
linn away and put him into mcrcful con.
iineincnt. He is now harmless and shows
no desire % go back to Jollnstowu, and, as
he has u bit Of property. he is allowed his
liberty. His son is working on /, farm ii,
the west. The father has no interest in
him New York Herald