The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-06
MANY LOST IN WATERSPOUT
GREAT DESTRUCTION WROUGHT
 NEAR OAKFoRD PARK, PA.
l immense Dam Gives Way and Gigan- tic Torrent of Water sweeps Down
 Upon Exeursionists-Twsn Known to Have Been Lost and some Say One
 Hundred Were Drowned.

|
 Greensburg, Pa, July 5-A water
 spout of immense proportions struck in
 the vicinity of Oakford Park at o'clock
 this afternoon and created a flood that
 caused great loss of life and property. l sons lost their lives, and rumors place the number of dead at more than one hundred, but up to a late hour tonight
 only a few bodies have been recovered.
 having been washed to the banks of the little creek that runs parallel with the
 park. Among those drowned are: Miss Gertrude Keefe, aged nineteen, of Jeannette.
 l Edward O,Brien, of Latrobe.
 Joseph Overly, of Indianapolis
 l Lucy Crum, of Jeannette.
 I Councilman John Light, wife and two children, of Greensburg
 | At 3 o'clock rain began to fall in tor
 rents in the vicinity of the park and it spread over territory covering probably l ten miles A half hour later the cloul-s
 burst occurred. The waters in the lake north of oakford park began to rise and
 Manager James McGrath. believing there was danger of final break in the great walls of the dam. hurried among. | the crowds of pleasure who had gathered under the roofs of the eat. ing stands, the dancing pavilion and other buildings in line of the water, and warned them to run to the hills. On
 both sides of the pleasure grounds are high hills, the park being located in a
 ravine about a fourth of mile wide
 and mile long. The people being pro-
 tected from the rain were 10th to leave
 the cosy places. and not until MT. Mc- Il Grath and his assistant. Charles E. Thomas, entered each building in turn I and simply drove the crowds out into i the rain did they realize that the man { agers were in earnest. A half hour af- l ter the buildings had been cleared of
 the people the waters mounted the wall of the dam, holding five acres of water, and within five minutes water seven l feet deep was flowing over the entire I length of 400 feet of the wall. The park I or ravine is studded with buildings | The merry go-round and other amuse- ment places were twisted about, and all
 but the dancing pavilion and lunch stand were Knocked from their founda- l tions.
 l The rain continued to fall in torrents, q and about o'clock forty feet of the I wall of the dam to the east gave way with an awful crash. The flood beat down the rayine with a roar that was
 heard for two miles. A half mile down, l at the junction Of the Greensburg and | Jeannette and the park car lines. the
 car barns are located. The entrance I gates to the park were lifted. and with I the force of pile driver the mammoth l posts were hurled by the waters against 4 the barn. Beyond was located the small l waiting room, and on the track was standing a car laden with people on I their way to Greensburg and Jeannette. The electric storm had rendered the 5l power south of here useless and the
 motorman was unable to move the car. The flood struck the waiting room, con- taining probably dozen people. A I number of them struggled to point of safety. The street car was caught and swept into the creek Among those who
 were washed into the flood were c. M.
 McClain. of Greensburg, Joseph Overly,
 Edward O'Brien and Misses Keefer and
 Crum.
 Young McClain is an expert swim 4 mer. and the cries for help from the two unknown women brought the young man to their side as they strug- I gled in the water. He grabbed them I about the waists and kept their heads \ above water as the three were carried in the direction of. Jeannette by the
 raging torrent. McClain held to the
 women for more than a mile and then
 exhausted and ready to sink to his
 death he released his hold and the
 women sank. It was with the greatest
 difficulty that he managed to get to : shore. It is believed that ten people
 who were in the car were drowned. !. Standing on the platform near the ,I waiting room were an unknown man
 and his wife. When the flood came the husband escaped, but the wife was car ried away. It was s o'clock when the
 first messenger bearing the news of the
 terrible catastrophe reached Greens
 burg. .Ss5.vsrss.
 The park is patronized by the people , of this town and .Jeannette and when the fact was announced that the dam i had given way and rumor said that
 from two hundred to three hundred people were drowned, excitement knew no bounds. { The shutting down of the power house by an electric bolt rendered
 the cars on the Pittsburg, McKeespori , and Greensburg railway helpless and r the fact that the roads and all lines tc the park were flooded, made it impossi. . ble to drive to the disaster
 There was but one way to get there for the thousands who had friends
 spending the afternoon at the park ant
 that was to walk over circuitous route covering distance of fully sever miles. Hundreds. of people who a nightfall missed members of their fam lilies at supper time hastened with Ian terms over the hills in search of theil loved ones. Late tonight many O. ! those who were first reported missing from Greensburg turned up here and i is now believed that not more thar four or five people of this place wen down in the flood.
 It is thought that with the various . outlets that the water will subside be - fore morning and that at least some O. F the bodies will be recovered. William