Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-08-07
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Ths spectacle Of . burning oll.tauk ls
one me easy % forget. VISIT bllloSs ~
smoks, ilks clouds nj bls,k Ivory, rnll
hlssIuE upwards. The mAsscs Of thick
punerut vapos sprawl and tumble over
oos another. 'i'ircugh tlsese, llks q
shuttle through loon, dart swim ar
rows Of e.. NJ yellow smoke. wl~a
oes Of the big OlI-nncsIes lie Long Island
City waa bsrnins years sgo the s''"ke
hid the suu for lsOsrs.
TIA most destructive prtrslcum nre In
the history Of thls country t,s'k place At
Titusviils aud Oil City, i'snnsy ivania,
on sunday, June 8, lsD1. strangely
enough 10 Legan whh nOo>i. a dam
that had been built 1t spartansbure,
abovc Titusvillc, brOkr, sWd nlil'ons of
gallons of Mater ruslsesi down upon the
city. Tl~ food came ri night, snd ils
,,copIs were al aslsrp. Tie dam had
iseli hack lake 0De-sluartsr of mile
wlde and mile aud halt hong. 1he
people Of iitasville fought hard Tor tisrsr
lives, aud ti,crc wrrv many darling
rvscues. Nevertheless, more thsa any
persons we're drowned. when iln noosi
was at lie worst . new horrOr wns
added. Tank sfter tank of letroleuni
caught IRE aud burst with awful rozrs.
TIE hrc ran along the food, aud sweps
away whole blocks of wO0sicn houses.
liuw many men Abd women acre Killed
has never bseu found out.
rrom TItussille the Hood swept down
OIL Creek. tbs usually tiny strcAiIl
swelle,i 10 . mighty river. ~ dawn tbs
Inhabltants of OH City del from THEFT
beds, only 10 he caught In the rushing,
swlriiug waters. Many poor people
ll,sL on the lower ievels, and ti'e r've'
rsn around their portion OF the city In
the shape of = bent bow. Block aftei
block was submerged. Such bosts ~
could De hs,tily found ~ere used 10
tAkIug men aud women and children
FROM the upp wlulossof ti~lr house.
As vet theirs hal been no hrc nj Ol
City. Hut hundreds of thousands Of
gallons of crude petroleum., kerosene
Distilled uaphths. and benIlne ~erc noat.
Ing down the Hood. MANY tanks had
b~vn burst by drilling logs. trers
houses, etc. v.st qasn'ifIes OF 80
hoyrrrsi sbov~ thesc inhsmmsble sfnfis
some gay that = careless spevts'or w
hls p'pc snd dropis,i the nam'ne mAic'
into tho strcs,n. and others ssy thai
spark from q locomotive started the nre
| Al Ill events nearly thu While sariae'
Of the water hurst iaio h.mc In tn
to inkilne of an eye. More than twent,
men Who siood on b'lie~s g,slnR at u'
nood wer- Killed by lnhslins the sur
rounding flames.
wilns Stuart, james Isogers. Jane
Usrkin., q. \. Terwilllser, John Cor
don, and sam Terwllllecr were oat u
i.oats rr.cuins people from the noode'
houses. In an Instant tbcse heroes
Tho had deliberately chcsen tn rrnsiI
AZ work slibough they knew their peril
~erc surrounded by rosfinE nsmes
They dove overheard and swsm de~I
under the burplns surfscs, coming q!
now snd ihen ~ heat s~sy the nrr viii
their hands, and brrstbc Tor moment
Then they sgsIn plunged under sn'
made for the shore, ooe hundrest yard
away. How many times they thus roe
and sank no oee knows. Only job
Gordon snd sam Trr~illIger reached th
land. The Others ~err burned an
drowned. They ~err all ~ brave hrroe
ss any soldiers thst ever lived.