New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-06-06
SWEPT BY FLOOD AND FLAME
LIVES LOSTIN THE OIL REGIONS
OH. CITY, TITUSvITLE AND OTHER Penn
SYLNANIA TOWNS VISITED BY A
GREAT CALAMITY.

MEATH list MAY EXCEED l5o-NEARLY 100
BODIES RECovEKED-OlL FLOATING ON
ROARING STREAMS CATCHES FIRE.
AND THE FLAMES SPREAD IN
ALL DIRECIlONs-PiTIrUL
SCENES OF RUIN-Ar.
PEALS FOR AID
Pittsburc, Penn, June 5.-The oil regions Of
Pennsyv ania were visited to-day by "a disaster oil
fire and water that is only ecpsed in the history
Of this country by the memorable food at Johns
town Just thrte years ago. IL Is Impossible al
this hour, midnight, TO give ANYTHING like an
accurate idea of the loss of life and property. AZ
chaos n gns throughout the devastated region
and terrible conagration still RACES in on
CITY. II is safe to say that not less than 10"
live. have been lost Nearly 100 bodies have
already been recovered and many people are still
missing. The number may far exceed 80. but
this is regarded as a conservative estimate
The property loss will reach far into the mill
ions At Titusvie the loss is estimated a'
81, 900, 900; Oil City. $l,j00,oo 900; Cory. 500
600: Meadvillc. SljO,OOO, and surrounding coun-
try probably million more.
For nearly a month it has been raining through
out Western and Northern Pennsylvania alncS'
incessantly. and for the last three or four oaFS
the downpour in the devastated regions has been
extremely heavy The constant rains had con-
,erted all the small streams into raging torrents
50 that when tie cloud-burst came this morhlh-
The streams were soon beyond their boundaries
and the great body Of water came sweeping uo""
Oil Creek to Titusvillc. which is eighteen miles
south of its source.
The lower portion of the town was soon mum
dated The flood came quickly that the people
had not time TO reach place oil safety Inv
water soon swept number Of oil tanks down the
s,rcam and in some way they were ignitcd III
less time than it takes TO tell the story the fam
spread to the surrounding buildings, and before
they could be subducd five blocks had been burned
The oil from the scores Of broken tanks ran
into the creek and was ignited by hoating deofls
Tn few minutes the creek ab!aze from
shore to shore and as the flames were carried GOWN
the stream death and destruction followed IN their
wake. Everything inflammable took fire, ana
bv the time the fire reached Oil City all the
bridges between the two points were consumed.
Oil City is eighteen miles from Titusvillc The
towns alcnc the creek are Boughton, Miller Farm
Pioneer. Petroleum Centre, Rynd Farm, Rouse
Vile and McClintockville. housewife has aoou'
200 inhabitants and the other towns about 2oo
each. Oil Creek flows through narrow gorge
ali the way. and as the towns are mostly situated
IN the hills it is hoped there was no loss of life
Communication has been cut oil from these places
however, and nothing is definitely known.
Oil City. Penn, June 5.-The most appalling
calamity in the history of Oil City fell upon II
,odav resulting in destruction of life ana
property which as yet can only be approximately
estimated. Thus far forty livess are known 10
he lost hundreds Of people are missing ana /"
is believed that the loss of life reaches seventy
five or more.
Az half-past IL o'clock this forenoon large
proportion Of the population OF tile CITY ""'
distributed along the banks and bridges oi ''c
Allegheny River AMI Oil Creek. watching the rise
of the Aood in both streams. The chief cause oi
the rise of the latter was clondburst a""''
litusVjlle last nlgnt, WIi'h i''""' :"
Of MANY lives at Ttusyille. At the time mch
toned this forenoon ominous covering oi VII
made it's appearance on the crest OF the ho"'
roo,,ino down the Oil Creek Valley and thc
d,u-oro,,s ,vaves Of gas from distlac and benzinc
could he seen above the surface OF the stream
pcople began slowly TO fall back from the nTi'eeS
.rd the creek. but they had hardly begun to do
40 when AN explosion was heard up the stream
.,.h;oh ,v.s ranidly followed by two others, and
the entire creek and for hundreds OF Ieeo ou
each side seemed one secthng mass OF name "H'
s,,oke The ,anic-strcken crowd shrickcd mady
4, ,h.;r efforts 4, escape Women and children
,roro ,ramnlcd under foot and about twenty were
scvcrclv bruised and had to be picked up oy
te,v of,tbe cooler heads and carried out OF harh
way.
nj, Crecl, is not usually more than foot deep
a, this point. where it cmptics into the Allegheny
piver and is about one hundred yards wide
Drectlv AZ it's modth is the iron bridge OF INV
NewYork. Pennsyivania nrI Ohio RnlrCad An"u'
two squares further up the stream is the iio"
and wooden bridge Of the city connecting '"'
Third Ward with the city proper. On the ea'O
side of the creek IS Trinity Methodist Cnurch OH
one side OF Ccntr-st, and The Derrich
Office and Oil Exchanse are opposite. Across 'nc
creek and built up from the waters edge "crc
Oh. bo,e, md LIVERY stable OF J. T. Reinbold and
the furniture house OF Paul Sons lhese ""i''
incs were built on narrow strip between '"c
crecl, and the hills which rise precipitously I'M
mediately back Of them.
AN ENGINE STARTS THE FIRE.
About half a mile from the postofice northwaro
from here on the Western Ncw-iork ana re""S'
Il.A NTH crasolne SfaIl0-