The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-06-06
OIL CITY'S HORROR.
Forty-SiX Bodies Recovered
and One Hundred Dead
in T1tuSVi1le..
UNBU RNED DISTRICTS THREATENED.
The Loss In Property Millions
Families Hungry and
Homeless.
UNBU RNED DISTRICTS THREATENED.

OIL CITY. Pa, June 6. 1S92.-At two A.
NJ. today forty-slx bodies of victims of
yesterdays fire ani flood have been re-
covered in Oil City. but it is impossible TO
give an accurate estimate of the to tai loss
of life.
There has been communication between
this city aud Titusville since six o clock
last evening. The loss of life there is said
to exceed one hundred.
A tank owned by the Pennsylvania Re-
fining Company, on Seneca street. is in
danger of exploding at this writing. 1t
contains $4,000 barrels of oil, and if it
catches fire will wipe out the entire
end of the town.
TITUSvILLE. June 6.-The Queen City
Tannery of L. Beebe & Sons has caught
fire and danger threatens the unburnt
district. Never in the history of Titus
willie has such scene of desolation pre-
sented itself as was unfolded to the gaze
this morning.
AT the presept writing it is estimated
that fully 100 persons have been either
drowned or burned to death. The money
loss will run from 1,500. 900 to s2000.0o0
An idea Of the amount of territory COW
cred by food and fire can be obtained
when it is stated that over two miles were
| destroyed. This includes railroads, fac
| tories. refineries, private dwellings.
Fully one-third of the business and
resident portion Of this city was mass
of charred en1bers last night The streets
| were filled with crowds of wet, hungry,
hopeless and despairing men, women and
| children, most OF whom had lost loved
| ones and all their property. The water
still flooded the streets and the sky was
| black with smoke from the burning re-
| hneries, cooper shops, radiator works,
| hotels, furniture factories, freight de-
| pots and dwellings.
AT sPARTANsBURG.
The dam at Spartansburg, seven miles
above IitusviIle, burst under the flood
pressure caused by the late heavy rains
on Saturday night, and very soon the
| waters of Oil Creek were rushing through
| the streets in the lower part of the city
with seeming resistless force, while from
| house to house windows and driftwood
| piles located directly in the midst of the
| torrent came beseeching walls and
screams of anguish and distress from the
| helpless victims all impiorlng aid.
Brave men with boats and ropes bat
| tied manfully against the terrific cur
rent and hundreds of captives were
| brought safely to land, while others per-
ished.
THEN THE FIRE.
| Five persons, all males, were seen to
perish while grasplng piece OF
| spectators who were looking on
| with bated breath, unable to render the
| slightest assistance, were led to believe
| that the sufferers would safely reach land
| a neighboring tank of oil exploded in
close proximity and in moment the
| doomed men were enveloped in flames.
1t was two o'clock Sunday morning
when the explosion occurred.
The fire-box of the boilers at the city
water and electric light works had been
quickly flooded at the start. thus throw
| ing the city into almost total darkness
and rendering the hydrants at once use
| less for fire purposes. Notwithstanding
| this state of affairs. the danger to the citv
was underrated, no one having the slight
est IDEA that the ravages being made by
| the hood were TO be quickly augmented
by terrors of fire.
But suddenly dull, heavy explosion
was heard. and Immediately a heavy
stream of flame, fully 200 feet in height,
pierced the inky darkness and threw "A
glaripg light over the vast expanse of
waters.
The Crescent Oil Refinery of John
Schwartz & Co., located close to the
northern bank of the creek, in the East
End, was in flames.
A PITIFUL SCENE.
A particularly pitiful scene. before the
fire swept everything, was witnessed at
one point. A mouner, with her babe
clasped to her breast with one hand.
while with the other she cung to a piece
of plank, foated by.
The piece of wood dlifted with great
force directly towards the Dunkirk, Ale
gheny Valley and Pittsburg depot,
around which the water was rushing
at depth of five feet. So swift had been
the current that a large hole had been
washed under the platform of the station.
As the mother and babe reached this
point the suction was so great that 1t
drew them in and they disappeared from
view.