River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1892-06-09
PENNsYLvANiA.s WOE.
Further Details of the Awful Disasters at
oil City and TitusvIlle-The Number of
Dead Nearly 500.

Further Details of the Awful Disasters at
Oil City and TitusvIIle-The Number of
Dead Nearly 500.
Or. CITY, Pa, June As each hour
passes horrors add to horrors. Not
only were the first reports of Sunday
disaster not exaggerated, they were not
large enough. Constant additions are
being made to the death list. Eighty
seven are now accounted for and the
search is not half finished. Mayor
Hunt estimates the death loss in Oil
City alone at $50, but these figures bid
fair to be too small
There were between $50 and 500
houses destroyed, besides the various
hotels, works and manufactures. While
the financial loss is hard to estimate at
this time it Is certain to reach 81. $50, 600,
or even go beyond that figure.
Over 800 homeless people are being
taken care of, and the Presbyterian
church is being used as a temporary
house. Heartre nding and pitiful sights
meet one everywhere and tales of hero
ism and desperate fights with the two
destroying elements are heard.
At leve hour sixty-seven bodies had
been taken from the ruins. Those
who are acquainted with the locality
where the greatest damage was done
say the loss of life must reach at least
$50, and many put the figures at 200.
The number of bodies recovered gives
no fair estimate of the number lost.
Cnbounded gratitude is felt and ex-
pressed by the relief committee here
over the unsolicited and generous sub
scriptions and offers of aid from out
side persons The committee has in
hand over 200, and the answers TO
inquiries received will swell the sub
scriptions to double this sum. Already
there lave been requests for aid
from 500, and this number is slow
ly being swelled. This by no
Der of suffers, as many of them
have friends here who have provided
for them. Among the cities which have
either sent subscriptions or made in
quiries relative thereto are Pittsburgh,
New York. Toronto, Buffalo. Phil adel-
phia, Rochester, jamestown. Syracuse,
Albany, Harrisburg, Altoona, Erie,
Cleveland, Columbus. Sandusky, Chica-
go, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Mime
apolis, st. Louis, st Paul, San Francis
co, Denver, Baltimore, Washington.
One of the heroes who gave his life
for that of others was William l.. Stew
art, of Siverlyville, a small village
about a mile up Oil creek. When the
disaster occurred Stewart ran TO his
home in Siverlyville and dragged
boat TO the waters edge. He
braved the death that moved on the
waters. and was one of those who
helped to save the west side victims.
For an hour he helped to drag people out
Of the houses on the bank of Oil creek,
and bore them in his boat to safety.
A great wave of naphtha APP
preached over Stewards head, a
a house cracked and in an instant he
was engulfed in a mass of mortar and
flame. he died at his post almost in
the very act of snatching lives from the
raging elements. His body was fear
fully battered and burned. He leaves a
wife and two children.
john 0'Leary, whose life and his
mothers were blotted out, had just as
,umed the position made vacant by the
death of Messenger Metz, who was
killed in the railroad disaster at Foster
/ A few days ago. When the flood and
FIRE struck the O'Leary home John tried
TO save his mother, who was almost Sc
years of age, but, failing, he calmly
sat down by her side and mother and
son faced death together.
TITUsvLLE, Pa, June T.-Peop e are
just beginning to realize the extent OF
the awful calamity wrought by fire
aud flood upon this city. The scene
Of desolation is terrible. Soon after
daylight appeared the sight OF
men carrying dead bodies through the
streets on stretchers became so com
mon as to occasion no surprise. AT
the present writing it is estimated that
fully ESQ persons have been either
drowned or burned to death. The
money loss will run from 81 goo,
300 to 81, OOO, 600 An idea of the
amount of territory covered by the
food and fire can be obtained when it
is stated that over miles of property
were destroyed. This includes rail-
roads, factories, refineries, and private
dwellings, etc.
A total of fifty-five bodies had been
recovered up to 1890 o'clock p. IN. The
work of searching for the dead is still
being prosecuted with the utmost vigor,
as the weather is beginning to grow
warm and the odor of the charred re-
mains of human flesh and animals is
beginning to pollute the air.
ERIE, Pa, June Sunday evening
Clark's milldam at Union City burst
and wall of water swept through the
town, carrying thirty houses from their
foundations, and, while many persons
were hurt, none lost their lives. Hun
ircds of horses and cattle were
drowned. The damage viii reach not
less than 500, 600. The towns of Gar
land, Pittsfield. Columbus and many
other places are under water.
oil City was incorporated as a borough in
1859, aud as a city in 1870 II has thirteen
churches. three public schools six banks, TWO
Ill refneries, mandatory of engines, Of en-
gine boilers, barrel factory and other indus
tries
TitusviUe is on on creek and on the Allegheny
Valley railroad and is the terminus Of the Duu-
Kirk & Allegheny Valley ard Union s. Titus
vile railroads. II is 90 miles south OF Dunkirk
ana about - miles east of Meadville. 1t is the
most populous town OF Crawford county. 1t
has nine churches, several banks, opera
house and a high school, hotels, printing Offices
wells. oil refineries, steam sawmills large iron
works, which produce engines, boiler tubes and
other machinery, and manufactures OF barrels,
wagons and Of tools for working oil wells
Great Damage at MeadviIIe.
IT. De- z