Connecticut western news., 1892-06-09
BY FLAME AND FLOOD.
OIL CITY AND TITusVlLLE STRICKEN
 WITH DEATH.

A Dam Bursts, oil Tanks and Refineries
 Take Fire and the Great Flood Be-
 comes a Sea of Fire-over One Hun-
 dred Are Dead.
 TITUsvLLE, Pa, June 6.-Ttusville part ly shared the awful fate of Johnstown Sun day. Flood and fire have done their deadly work and fully fifty people were drowned or burned to death The loss by destruction of property will aggregate fully sl,5oo,0oO. All this loss is in this city, and the surround ing country has also been devastated. Early Sunday morning the huge milldaln, owned by Thomson & Eldred, and located at the little town of Spartansburg, seven miles above this city, suddenly burst. This body of artificial water was a mile and a half long and one-fourth of a mile in width and quite deep, and the great flood thus suddenly let loose made of this valley in the course of only few brief moments, roar ing Amazon. The sudden avalanche of water descended when most of the in- habitants were sleeping completely and at once shut them off from the higher DOT tions of the city.
 Fire Follows Flood.
 At ? o'clock a. m. dull heavy explosion was heard and immediately a heavy streak of lurid flame fully 200 feet in height pierced the inky darkness and threw a glaring light over the vast expanse of angry wa ters. At once the cry rang out from a thousand throats that the Crescent Oil re- fiuery was on Are. Never before did fire seem to spread so rapidly and in less than three minutes from the time the explosion was heard the vast plant was one sheet of seething flames.
 Then it was that terror reigned supreme Thousands of people rushed pell mell through the, streets, tumbling over and knocking each other down in their aimless endeavors to escape from what they ap- peared to imagine was the crack of doom.
 About one hour from the time the Crescent works caught, oil discharged from an over turned tank further up the creek reached the Crescent fire, where it at once ignited, and in a moment the creek was one vast sea of fire. This blaze spread to the Inter- national Oil works, owned by J. P. Thomas & Co.,, and they were soon in blaze Then came the large refining plant and soap fac tcry of Rice & Robinson, which the flames in short time reached and consumed. On sped the fire, destroying the Oil Creek re- finery and wax plant, the large furniture factory, store and storeroom of Casperson & Rowe, on South Franklin street, the Cullen hotel, the Western New York and Pennsylvania freight depot, and about seventy-five private dwellings.
 No tongue, no pen, no language can do juwtice to the scene of terror and confusion that prevailed in this stricken city as the sun went down last night. The illuminat- ing gas works, the electric light plants, the oil oil tar while the natural gas mains had been turned of at Oil City. This left Titusville without water, fuel or light, at least from the sources from which these necessities have been ac- customed to come. Parents and children stood by without the power to aid one an others struggles against the clutches of the flood, until eventually they went down to rise no more.
 The undertaking establishments of David son and McNitt were turned into temporary morgues. With the exception of the bodies of seven Hebrews and two children, all of the bodies so far recovered have been taken there. Many of the victims met death by burning oil, and their bodies are burned almost beyond recognition.
 List of the Dead.
 The list now actually found and known to be dead is as follows:
 William Cuppey, Fred Reide, Mrs. Mary Haehn, Mamie Haehn, Gertie Haehn, Clara Haehn, Peter Haehn, Mrs. Fred Campbell and two children; Oliver Edgar, Joe Spie. gels and two children; Frank Whalen, wife and child; F. Lemeres, Nellie Quinn. Mrs Furman and daughter (colored; Mrs. A. Jacobs, Della Rice, Mrs. Englisky and child !; Mrs. Jacobs and child; Goldie Cohn, eleven years old; Mrs. Jacob Singenheimer and seven children; Mrs. c. P. Caspeson, Mrs. P. Quinn, Mamie Quinn, John NJ. McFad- den and an unknown man. The dead