Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1892-06-10

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blazing houses beyond, thousands of peo-
pie began to pour into the city from all
directions, and there were fears that there
might be work of plunder.
THIS MAN SAW 1T.
Probably the first person to arrive IN fltts-
burg that evening from the scene.oi the Hood
was 7. c. Crouan, of Shelburne, Mass,
who is agent for an eastern machinery
company. He was at OH CITY IN the
morning but on account OF the hlgh waters
returned to Pittsburgh.
II cannot tell You of the situation at
Oil CITY in a manner that will come at all
accurately describing it" said Mr.. Cronan.
s.No pen can write or tongue can tell OF
the terrible scenes. | have heard of ohns-
town flood: ! have read descriptions OF
awful catastrophes, but in the valley OF on
creek there is an awful sight that can hard
lv be surpassed. | was at the Arlington
hotel and intended TO proceed further north
today. Last night rain fell heavily and
continuously around Titusville and. on CITY,
but not with so great volume at the laOleI
place. Early this morning, some say
O'clock. the rain increased at Titusyllle
from a heavy pour almost to cloud ouISI,
What happened there | am unable TO tell;
what [ say Of Oil City l saw. From as
early as Z or 8 o'clock in the morning
many Oil City people assembled on the
bridges and along the banks OF Oll creek.
The passenger bridge below Arlington
hotel was especially crowded. The creek
was running like a torrent full to the very
banks. and in the water were stacks ana
stacks of drift.
Occasionally from the watchers on the
bridges the cry would be sent up that
body was coming. woman and baoy
went by i'm iull view. | saw them ana
don't know how many more were seen
But that is not the worst. About IL
O'Clock, in company with .trayellng man
from New York. left the Arlington to go
TO the northern end of the city where we
had been told houses were submerged. In
roing up the street it occurred to me
that the postoffice would open at noon so
we turned tow ard that building. When
we were almost opposite looked IN a store
window, and noticed that 1t was ~ minutes
To IL Just then there was terrible eN-
plosion that shook everything, ana IN the
sh ortet space there: came another ana
another and two more, and 1t seemed TO
me the very ground We stood on quaked:
Over the creek black smoke, dense and
heavy, was raising and spreading, II seemed
from one end of Oil City to the other;
Then swinging over the town, IL looked
like pail Here and there in the smoke
could be seen vivid flames shooting up and
about, giving an awiul tlnge tothe picture.
There was the odor of burning OIL and IN
the dense smoke that arose from II seemed
the people would surely suilocate.
"Almost as one person, when the first
crash came the people rushed Tor the high
ground, and | among them. On the
bridges they rushed every way, trampling
some and throwing others down. To add
to the horror several teams that had been
about the Arlington hotel and the Pc
troleum exchange dashed up the street and
across the bridge Here, il is said, many
persons were injured.
AS the smoke raised ] saw that the whole
creek was on fire and had communicated
to the houses on Seneca street, IN the Third
ward, which is on the west side OF the
creek. The whole street was soon in
flames On the east side, Oil City proper
the fire department was at work ana did
good service in protecting buildings. The
greatest loss was on the west side. Seneca
street is the main thoroughfare there. Al
the time of the explosion almost all the
people were sitting on their front porches
looking at the flood For them there was
only one way of escape and that small
uuTf TyacS u-- rsle louses min rises almost
perpendicularly, so that there could be
iound no means OF escape. just around
the foot Of the street, which at that time
was partly under water Is aroad that leads
into a rayine and back Of the hill. There
the people could have gone. but the chances
are that only few did so go
think there must have been fully 100
livcs lost IN the fire and food in the Third
ward alone There may not have been
that many, no body knows and will not
until each family counts its members.
When matters quieted little ! iound the
cause of the explosion. Above oil City
about three quarters of mile were strung
in a row along the waters edge five big
beuzmc tanks The creek had undermln-
ed them. actually lifted them from their
foundations and carried them away. At
the oil City boiler works the first one came
IN. contact with the boiler and Engine
house and exploded. The others followed
quickly
The river ragged furiously, the burning
oil sending up great yolumeS ol smoke
and running along even faster than at ilrst.
The debris was partly burned and II there
were any bodies floating along tnen they
will surely never be accounted for. ON
railroad bridge below the loot brl dge u
train of coal cars was placed to hold it in
position. When the explosion occurred
several Of r1le cars were set blazing and the
firemen turned their attention TO them.
They pat the fire out.
~ never want TO see such sight as
saw from the hill we ran TO when the eX-
plosion occurred. ] saw once the pictured
destruction of Pompeii with all the red
fire that could be gwen. That was nothing
in comparison to the real sight OF this
morning. / thought of Sodom and Go
morrah, and that coupled with the fact IL
was Sunday made the experience thrilling.
In the Third ward people thought it was
the end of the world; some sank down on
their knees and prayed and others ran
frantically about, thoroughly crazcd by
the sight"
At Oil City, up 10 Monday evening, G7
bodies had been recovered, Of which 40
had been identified. Among the bodies
identified was that Of Sheridan Wick, a
son of Henry Wick, aud brother Of l.. 9.
Wick of Butler, who had n lumber yard
there, he was Knocked down by the cxplo-
sion and drowned in shallow water near
the bridge. Megsrs L. II Anderson and
u. Miller went to Oil City Monday and
returned with Sheridan's body. Ho was
buried Tuesday afternoon.
Fully ten thousand strangers were in
the town that day looking for relatives or
drawn lHtIe Dy tuilpHIN9s Ali h1y b''l'
were taken from the charred ruins and
carted or carried 90 the improvlsed
morgues in City Hall or on the South
Side.
The Mayor ordered the closing Of all sa
looms, and the arrest Of all suspicious char
actcrs.
Wade IuliugB tells q touching story OF
William Terwilligcr, who l. among the
missing
Terwilligcr, too was out saving people
from the rocking houses. lie was on the
water when the explosion came Ilc i'm
mcdately dived into the river. The oil and
water were safer than the poison ed air
Now and then his head came up the sur
face for mir
Diving and rcappearing, but by grit, Ter
williger gained the shore and landed at
last His, back, arms and head were
burned lie said he saw 30 or 40 women
in the water through which be passed
Since his landing on the shore, after his
fight for life under water and oil, he has
not been seen and IL now seems that he
went back second time 10 help those
weaker than himself and met n hcro's
death.
At Titu5ville, Monday evening fifty four
bodies had been recovered, and the csti-
mated number Of dead was one hundred.
Some remarkable deeds of horoism were
recorded aud incidents rccounted One
man, who was out of town at the time Of
the disaster came home To find his wife and
three year old boy burned. but found his
9-months- old baby in an alley unhurt.