J

H" Transient Advertisements,INCLUDING

WANTS, TO LETS, FOR SALES. ETC., FORISSUE ' "

-.

BV ne nanus" ,"POETY-FOUBT-H. IXEAIt

HORRORS lif HORRORS.- ..- j? j.

FiK

.o waters

Irf-ity-i- f Jotam?t MT I"

'MciHSiswiujisfl'"ft?

'gjggrr

MSM -

UM"J)I ofSoufflP.ork

1- - Mt

i .1 "" 11 1

..i j iI I

EF ITS

iSor of .Are Seen's J - .miT: '

'CJ is --.Some of tlie Scenes Work

r- r.- - .1 i i tT" ?each the Scenalof DesoIalioE and All

f W People

. uciawu m

kSim'iiuiuaiiujii - .- - w- -

-- .,

, Ihe whole world ttinorning, -

i?- - i,.--.

All the people wio have'Tes to read Jorlears to near tne mournim-message- , asjtniesfrom press to monthto '

month, will asthcy bcgmto j

realize the dire disaster that r ias befallen!

one ofUhe most beautiful rcgigns in all the

"Western JPennsylwriii ' .,"Wlen the rsraiews f tW Johnstown1

horror came, it teemed such a pity that fair

fields and proud possessions of great extentlrad - suffered devastation by a flooa from a

florely little mountain lake, whose clear

depths were henceiorward to be missed by

many a worshipper at one of Nature'ssweetest shrines.

That was the thought of property perish-

ing; and it was a deep, an earnest symyathy

the thought aroused.

J The Awful Details.Swiftly, succeedinjr this first flash of

camc the more areaaful. f?pttlcr.r.r. .. . """,elM'Jana in cumuiatiTe lorm. Xioss ot

life had been sustained. It might, the first

reports said, amount to a dozen or more

who had perished.

"Ere this sorrowful intelligence had been

half heard in the office of The Dispatch,shortly before 7 o'clock last evening, two ofthe best and quickest descriptive writers of

the staff had been detailed to go forthwith

to Johnstown, and telegraph back all about

the disaster.

"But there are no trains," said one of themen, "and will be none for several days."

"Then hire a special one of the railroadcompany, and at once," was the reply, accompanied by the necessary cash.

And thus these two reporters (accompanied

by those of one other enterprising journal)got at least two hours the start of a quartetfrom two other papers which required thatlength of tfme to realize that even the abovemeager reports were full of columns of

Mont Important KewiMeanwhile The Dispatch had also sent

its staff already in Somerset,toward the scene of disaster, 28 miles away,

in a carriage. And thus it was ahead ofothers, and in better shape than they, thatthis journal began to get its news from acalamity inestimably worse than anythingabove intimated had even hinted at.

At 2:30 o'clock this morning abulletin from Bolivar signed bya dispatch man nays a floaterrescued from the Conemaugh insists

' that at least 1,500 persons have perished atand sear Johnstown in the flood that floated

him thither from that city, and that onlytwo Johnstown dwellings could yet be seenstanding.

The details of the disaster follow, and willcontinue to follow in later editions.

OYEE A LITS LOST.

A Johnstown Miib Who was Beicsed 8y1.300 Fersos Drowned.

rTBOH A SIAIT CGERESrOSDElrr.

Boliyab, Pa., Jlay 31. A man rescuedin the river here, who was swept away fromJohnstown, says positively that not less

than 1,600 lives are probably lost in theYailey ot the Conemaugh.

Women nnd Children Swept Away Shrieks, Blend With the Sullen Uoar of tho

Element A .Boy IinsMcdOat of the Flood.

inrraojt a stjjw cozaisrosDEjrr.jBomvab, Pa., May 31. The water is

hicher here than was ever known, and two-stor- y

houses, barns, stables, whole forests ottrees, outhouses, railroadbridges, county bridges, rafts, inverted itsskiffs and driftwood by the acra are rushingpast, from all of which imploring handswere held out to those on the banks willingbut impotent to help, and the instability oftracks east of this place renders the onlyinformation to be got of a fugitive nature, isuutior vne most part very accurate.

M&V v

ad Uli Vi l L "!ft i

fYYi

ill 4j 1

ypjpeiI'epit Awayi. 2 'Tv rt

LIVlSilM LOST.

Broken byiwplleii.StreanL

d:M'IffiiieiisevTolTiniB Fater

SWiLEOWS EIERITHDfG 1EA0E

- Sours Hundreds People Floating Along,

SlifiPlnTiorT7riV

IndescfibaWeTkej

;Wamed,iT)ateTectHally-&miIiaTl- V

.jflein.uireiess-ioCJiK- ig.

shaddersjsnd-sigb-

.".7.f1- -

publicandfrbmstandappallei

'

correspondent,

THOUSAND

;SCENES"oF10BBOE.

smokehouses,

- TttVt

t,:r

St.

!.. " fr ". . .- -dfKesCne All PoiMs-- so Trains AMa'to

.: t .a:OtheiwDirect Commmiicftuon Gar Off-T- he

With4 Their Dao:er Had Made

iHnrs ci.teecaestKBpuTar, liOCtporc

.- .-

in. .

tjhti

t At Tiockport, two miles east, theaorefavor-blean- d

more than 20 persons have beentaken, from the floods --

' The FIrt .Great' Hnth of WaterJwas observed this evening at 7 o'clock, and

his .calse from tie-burs- t dam, just abovepbhnstown. It came like" a frenzied whirl-pool, and before the people could realize itt$ey were in its 'grasp. Fortunately, coolseads and resolste hands were on the alert

and before any of the people livingtmthe low-lyin- g ground were caught, allWere taken out in skiffs and in the arms ofSum-boot- and coated men to the highground. Their furniture was also largelysaved, so that the loss will fall upon housesalone, and such live stock as was carriedout of the stream.

So terrible was the iorce of the currentthat the county, bridge over the Conemaugh,apparently a most substantial structure,withstood the rush of waters and the batter-ing of logs for a few minutes, but finally itlet go and its parts were cast out into theriver, and part of the debrii already chokedthe waters. As early as 7:30 o'clock a greatpile of driftwood that tie-wh-

irl of watersthemselves imported into fee drift was sweptalong; and fromlt " "

Shriek Upon Shriekfor "help, help for God's Bake!" came. The

.horrified spectators on the shore saw threewomen, to one of whom were clinging twochildren, neither of whom was apparentlymore than an infant The rapidity of thecurrent and the position of the raft to-

gether with the lack of facilities for rescu-ing, precluded the possibility ofeven thinking of the matter, and the raft passed out ofsight. The screams of the women and chil-dren, blending in their pleadings for aid,were heard long after their craft was aroundthe bend. The stream then became thicklystrewn with men, women and children,clinging to all sorts of temporary means ofsalvation, and two men and a woman clungmadly to the tops ot huge trees, the menemulating the females' in their shrieks forhelp that it was not possible to give.

Saved From the Wreck.Just before dark people living on the

north bank of the Conemaugh, oppositeBolivar Junction, noticed a lad clinging toa log that the force of the current had car-ried over into the river nearest to them, andJames Curry conceived the idea of lassoinghim. A long line was hastily procured, anda man ran along the bank, ready to throwhis rude lasso in an opportune moment Thenoose fell true to its aim, over the boy'head and under his arms, and the feat wasgreeted by cheers from a hundred throats,and in a moment the drenched, rjovertv- -stricken little fellow was handed to thebank, and for a minute-wa- s not a dimin.,utive, but a real great big hero.Motherly hands soon took him fromthe men who were almost devouringhim, and soon warm food and clothing hadrestored him to his wonted composure, andhe was ready to tell his story. He said hisname was Edward Earsten, 13 years of ageand he had lived with his father and erand!father and mother in Cambria City, a partof Johnstown. At 3 o'clock the house hadbeen caught in the volume of water letloose by the bursting of the dam, and 'hisfather and his uncle had climbed a massof driftwood and had been carried out intothe channel of the Conemaugh, and forsome time they ran along without' advent-ure. Finally their raft struck an obstruc-tion and went to pieces, his father andnncle finding lodgement on one section ofit, and himself clinging to a log, whichfinally ran into another mass of driftwood.He saw nothing more of his relatives, anddoes not know whether they are alive ornot.

SCENE OF THE FLOOD.

Something; Abont Johaitown and ItsTho Conemanah Taller,

Its Froaperone Borooahs andGreat Iron Works Curl- -

oas TepogTnphlestFeatnrea.

Jo'stown, until overtaken by the disas-ter ot yesterday! was one of the most flour-ishing and prosperous manufacturing towns

the State. It had a population of over8,000 in 1880, and has grown rapidly since.Probably the number of inhabitants at thepresent date is twice as large. It has notbeen incorporated as a city, but is still gov-erned under a borough charter. Including

populous suburbs, which are really apart of the town, several if them beingseparated from it only by imaginary lines,Johnstown lias nearly, if nt quite, 35,000inhabitants.

Its site is picturesaue r j beautifnl infact the natural scenery o; the entire county

perhaps unsurpassed 1 1 the State. Theaineaaugh Yailey, at J hnstownis but i

vSF.lir:' 7?ff-

;ITTSBtJKG;BkTimi5AT; 'iHJNE 1, 1889 TWlEVEfew nuiared"'feeC,!n.widtl!; ttemonntailsextending close iijS.to. tn.erivi

borough ACoaetealai), jtiUvfterCaabrS',. drawee,'? jEsSt '"Cosemaugh,"Fraaklk, Coepr9dlc .and Weodale,-- are!all'grpTfip g 4i&ees. iJonnsipwn ,prfer IsMtnateditao'yo'iiaatfcocfthe Cenemaugh,'river aid Stony creek, of the.citylying on the west side jS, latter stream.

ThetT'o;SamtojUfeEM,t -

Its leeaUon in the sit, JKickeip.wl-ing'- s

Indian towsjwhe're 'tfeei whites beganto settle nearly 190 yeaw age. The town iswell paved; has electrtt lihts, streetcarsand a fine svstem dr water' work .J If contains iaany handsome, business blocks' arid ,j

Biiasu fesiucaces xy in jjariiKuiarijjJiciAfor the number md excellence pf" its,1

churches, aearlya down-differen- t ienomi-.-natio-

betas represented; and many- - ofthem'havlng veryfine'and costlyxdinces.

For many' 'sears uthe town was.the connecting point, between railroad. and'canal transportation. As far back j 1831,

the Portage Bailroad, ascended iKe. easternslope of the Allegheny Mountains' ty fiveinclined planes, up which cars were, 'drawn,by stationary engines," and desceifdlpgthe '

western slope in ihe same 'way, connected jfdonnstown witn tne main line of enn--jsylvania improvements. This great achieve- -'

ment, as it was then considered, was super-seded later by the Pennsylvania Bailroad,which enters the' county of Cambria throughthe Gallitzin tunnel and leaves it at theborder of Westmoreland and Indiana conn-tie- s.

Johnstown is also the terminus of tueSomerset and Cambria branch of the Balti-more and Ohio, running 'from Bockwood onthe Cumberland division to Johnstow'n.

Tho Conemnngb Xforseihoe.One of .the greatest natural, curiosities of

tie Stateis, found in the-- vicinity of Johnssqinsv" The .Conemaugh, after descendinglrom, the mouQtain:and.receiving"th'e watersof the South Fork, finds its course arrestedby a hugeiecTge' of rocks, and, .tnrning toihe right, passes for miles around an ele-vated plateau, and returning within a stone'stErow.prhe place

"of diyergence,:pprsuesits way unchecked", Other very. .attractive.;and curious 'features .arefound. .

The greatest iron and steel marrafact'uringcompany, lnJhq.TJnited"State the CambriaIron, Company has .its works in Johnstown.In their .numerous blast furnaces, theirBessemer steel works, rolling, mills andmines they'employ thousands, of meq. TheJohnstown wirksare of jast extent, cover-ing over 60 acres; with a network of railroadtracks nearly '40 miles' in total length. Theannual .product of the works runs into themillions; and half the population of Johns-town is dependent, directly or indirectly, ontheindustrv.

The Gautier Steel Works, located in theupper part of the town, and under themanagement of the Cambria Company, areamong the most extensive and best knownin the country The Johnson street railwaymill, manufacturing steel rails for streetrailroads, is situated in one of the newsuburbs and is one of the important industrial establishments ot the valley.

DEAT&AflD DESOLATION

The Terrible Warning' Came Too IrateHosses Tossed Abont as Corks on

the Ocean The Death BateAmounting to Thousands.

It was stated at the office of the Pennsyl-vania Uailroad, at an early hour this morn-ing, that the deaths would run up into thethousands rather than- hundreds,-a- s was atfirst supposed. From private dispatches re-

ceived, it is said that the stream of humanbeings that was swept before the angryfloodswas something most pitiful to behold.Men, women and childrenwere carried alongfrantically shrieking for help, but theircries 'availed them nothing. Iiescue wasimpossible. Husbands were swept pasttheir wives and children were borne rapidlyalong, going at a terrible speed to certaindeath before the eyes ol their terrorized andfrantic parents. It was said at the depotthat it was impossible to estimate the number whose lives were lost in the flood. Itwill simply be a matter of conjecture forseveral days as to who were lost or whoescaped.

Dispatcher Culp received several tele-grams last night, detailing the flood. Therecent heavy rains had swollen the old canalreservoir at South Fork, on the Conemaughriver, and fears were entertained for 'itssafety,

Warned to No Porpoie.The basin contained water measuring two

miles across by five miles inlengtb, and was70 feet deep in the deepest place. The peo-ple of Johnstown were warned of its poss-ibility of bursting during the morning, butvery few, if any of the inhabitants, took thewarning seriously. Shortly after noonthe dam gave way about fivemiles above Johnstown and sweepingeverything before it; burst upon the townwith terrible force. Everything was car-ried before it, and not an instant's time wasgiven to seek safety. Houses were demolished, swept from their foundations andcarried in the flood to a culvert near thetown. Here a mass of all manner of debrissoon lodged, and by evening it had dammedthe water

Back Into the City,over the tops of many of the still remainingchimneys. A dispatch to Dispatcher Culp,received about 11 o'clock last night, saidthe blockade at the Johnstown bridge wasthree-fourt- of a mile long and 40 feethigh, and was all on fire. The extent ofthe damage could not possibly be estimated.

The Pennsylvania people are exertingevery energy to save both lives and property,but as yet little or nothing can be done.

Assistant Superintendent Trump, of thePennsylvania, is at Conemaugh, but theofficials at the depot had not been able toreceive a line from him up until as late as2:30 o'clock this morning. It was said alsothat it will be impossible to get a trainthrough, either one way or the other, for atleast two or three days. This applies alsoto the mails, as there is absolutely no wayof getting the mall through.

IN BEDFOED COUNTY.if

The BJien Waters are Sweeping; Ercrrthlng;Before Them Immense Damage to

Property on Every Hand Pro-hibition Enforced by

Cold Water.rSFZCZAL IXtEOBAM TO TH1 DISPATCH.!

Bedeoed, Pa., May 31. Not since theflood of 1847, so say the oldest citizens of tothe county, has Bedford had such a flood.The rain up to this writing has been con-stantly falling.for the past .24 hours. Thismorning, families living in the western partof the town known as the "Texans," werecompelled to move out of their houses atnoon. Cattle, hogs and sheep were seengoing down the river. Traffic and mails areall at a standstill, but one mail leaving here

y. New iron bridges, recently erectedby the county, have been swept away. AtCessna station, eight miles north, 200sheep were lost. At Everett, eight mileseast, traffic was carried on all day by theuse of flats.

ff iashley, proprietor of theLs Place Hotel, has just telephoned that hewas compelled to.close his hotel, the water the

tsSj v K5j7 - s 'F'Tv 7Bt- I ' ' -

.- 7, 4 1W&&

3

iTtrip'iisbarrfo Therailroad bridges between Bedford and Cum-

berland have jbefl damaged! to suob anreacted 'Bedford

)fmxn.4tA dAnt.holH&A-lAa- wfJ4- fklanprin- -w ,anw Krvwt iiriv" g,Iteftde&t Meyera'lelCon. an engine this morn-ing aai is.huag up.sosaewhere between here

land HyVdmaafnot5 being able to gei eitherway.. The river-is?ti-ll rising rapidly andfearswe" entertained for persons living alongthe river betweea- here and Huntingdon.A.party of, commercial men tried to reachJSyisratt by coach, this evening, bat; were.compelled' to return, as in the roadaffcrleav-ing.Bldfordt-

water 'was running over thetops of-- fences;- Gardens in the western part

ioti the town have all been ruined. Severalifine t'raut ponds near the town have gone.with

--Word ebmefthat the lanre iron bridee atKEverett is in danger. The damages tobridges alone in the county will reach$50.000. At present it is Impossible to near.estimate' the' damages to property. " It isimpossible at this time to get any news bytelephone-alon- g the river, as people arelooking for safe quarters to spend the.nightiMr. Doty, manager of the Springs" hotel,!said to vour reporter that it was imnossible'to estimate the damage done to the Springsproperty At present it looks as if Bedfordiwouiu je buui oui irom roe uuiae wonujfor several days yet, as all of the railroadbridges that are not already down are moreor less damaged.

FE0M THE 0THEE SJPE.:

iAJl Coramnnlcntlon Swept "Away Ui&31llcs

West of Altoona 4H of the TralaiFrom the East Are Held.

There The Report. InThat Direction.

Philadelphia, May 31. All the wiresof the Pennsylvania Kailroad west fof Wil-jnore,

a section of the Pittsburg Srvi&m, 25miles west ot Altoona, have be4)-dow-

since morning, and consequently ihe in-

formation in regard to the destruction ofthat place is very meager. TSnough hasbeen learned, however, 'to- - indicate that therush of water is, the worst ever known in

ha't section.At Broad street station thqfollowingbulle-ti- n

for the information 'of. travelers was'posted about 8 o'clock: "On account' of theunprecedented storm prevailing In theWestern part of the State, the lines Syest ofAltoona have been damaged; 'to whaf extentcannot be "ascertained until' the water sub-sides.. The storm is still raging; and it isthought no trains will be, passed ntil Sun-day." '"

The Chicago limited express, which, leftNew York at 9 o'clock this morning, thefast line, leaving there at the same hour,and the train leaving that city at 8 o'clocklast-nigh- t are all laid up at Altoona. At

10-3- 0 ht a dispatch was received byGeneral Manager Pugh, dated "iVilmore,from the conductor of the East-boun- d

New Xork and Chicago limited, whichleft Pittsburg at 7 o'clock this morn-ing, saying the train was safe andthat all were well on board. Mr. Pugh in--ihicu uum uiu uuu we umiveu was iaiaup somewhere west of Xllleys. The con-ductor reported that tha bridge at SouthFork was washed away and expressed theopinion that all the bridges between SouthFork and Johnstown weuld be, swept away.The Chicago and New York, day expressand all other d, trains are sup-posed to be laid up between Cresson andPittsburg.

Wnen JVlr. Pugh was shown a, copy of thedispatch from Pittsburg" announcing thebreaking of the dam. nearri'Johafxwn, hesaid that this repeat fwnsknlcd.n-- : dispatchreceived Wilmorer-to-cfi- t, Asichstated that a man had reported to the Penn-sylvania Bailroad operator there that, theSouth Fork dam had broken and the waterhad carried away the "coal tipple" andtelegraph tower at South Fork station, andalso a portion of an east-bou- freight train.The telegraph operator who was in thetower managed to escape, but several of thetrain hands are reported to have beendrowned. The conductor of the east-bou-

New York limited express who reported thesafety of his train, also said that a reporthad reached him of the breaking of thedam. He said nothing about the damagecaused thereby.

General Manager Pugh was out of townearly in the day, and he said ht thathe could not understand what was meantwhen he received dispatches announcingdamages to the tracks at Lilleys. "Such athing has never been heard of before," saidhe "and nothing short of a waterspout couia nave caused such damage.Lilleys is a little mining town of about300 or 400 inhabitants. For the water torise high enough to obstruct the passage oftrains is unprecedented. A dispatch justreceived by me says that the water is rush-ing over the tracks at a height of at leastfive feet above the road bed. nnrl thU t rcould be brought about by nothing short ofa waier spout.- - j. nave no doubt, if ouroperator at Song Hollow said he saw thebodies from Johnstown floatinrfdown theriver, as reported in the bulletin, that it istrue, as his tower is located right on thebank of the river."

FLOATING PERSONS,Both Dead nnd Alive, Whirl Down the

Hirer Past the Horrified Citizens ofIJInlriTllleJ-Enllro-ad Bridges Swept

Away People Imprisoned InTheir Second Stories.

rSriCULLTSLIORAlI to THE DISPATCH.!Blaiksyille, Pa., May 31. The flood

in the Conemaugh river at this point is theheaviest ever known here. At this hourtherailroad bridge betweea here and Blaiis-vill-e

intersection has been swept away, alsothe new iron bridge at Coketon, half a milebelow. It is now feared the iron bridge atthe lower end of this town will go beforemorning.

About 7 o'clock a living woman and deadman, supposed to be her hushand, were seengoing under the railroad bridge. Theywere seen to come from under the bridgesafely, but shortly disappeared and wereseen no more.

A great many families lose their house-hold goods. The river is running full oftimber, houses, goods, etc. The loss will beheavy. The excitement here is very great.The, river is still rising. There are somefamilies below town in the second-stor- y oftheir houses and can't get out. It is feared

the water goes much higher the loss oflife will be very great. The railroad company had 14 cars of coal on their bridgewhe,n it went down, and all was swept downthe river.

All manner of things are floating downthe river, furniture, doors, windows, sash,etc. The town bridge has just sucoumbed

the seething cauldron, whose maddeningroar can be heard a. long distance. Thewater is still rising, and it is thought theWest Penn Kailroad will be without asingle bridge in the morning. The cries ofthe woman who went down was heartrend-ing. She was floating on something notdiscernable, and her cries were heard untillost in the deafening roar. It is reportedthat a man went down with the Blairsvillebridge while he was adjusting a headlight.

MILLIONS OP MONEY LOST.

The Storm lias Swept the Kanawha ValleyClean of Lumber.

Charleston, W. Va., May 31. Aheavy rain began falling here at noon yes-terday and continued until late last night,

.which caused a flood in the .tributa-- ofKanawha river. The Chesapeal

. j.iij'

Ohio Bailroad bridge over Cabin creek wascarried, away, and booms in Elk and Coalrivers.swept away and millions.of dollars'worth of timber and lumber and railroadties swept away. It is feared that a portionof the city will be submerged. The riversare still rising. The thermometer regis-ters 48.

ALONG THE POTOMAC.

The Hirer Was Never So Bisk no NowThe Baltimore and Ohio and West

Virginia Central BlockedDamage to Iiife and

Property.Piedmont, W. Va., May 31. The de-

struction by the flood resulting from lastnight's storm jn this vicinity is terrible, andthe loss will scarcely fall short of ?250,000,and may greatly exceed that figure. Thenorth bank of the Potomao is higher thanever before, the nearest approach being 27years ago, when the loss was tremendous.The Baltimore and Ohio track is blockadedin half a dozen.places and there can be notraffic before if then. The West"Virginia Central track is from five to eightfeet under water formiles, and many bridgesand trestles are down or badly damaged.

The destruction of private property isvery great. Crops are ruined everywhere.and houses, barns, fences, lumber, etc;, areswept away. Btttone loss of life is reported,and that was of a child. There are manyrumors of other losses of life, but as yet nocertainty attends them. Numerous narrowescapes are reported.

KNOWING ITS TEEE0ES.James V. Long and Members of the CInb

Tell Abont that Lake In the ClondoOrigin andExtent of It Length

and Depth of the Dread- -'

fal Dam."Good heavens! Is it so that the dam has

br6ken?" exclaimed James V. Long, lastevening when a Dispatch reporter toldhim of the disaster at South Fork.

"Well," he continued, "it is not unex-pected to me, nor to many members of theSouth Fork Fishing Club. It has alwaysbeen a sword of Damocles, not" only to themembers of the club, but to others. Thepeople of Johnstown have always fearedit. Time and again the dam has been ex-amined and every timeit was pronouncedsafe; but no one knew when it would break."

Mr. Long is State Commissioner of Fish-eries, and is a member and for years wasSecretary of the Western PennsylvaniaSportsmen's Association. It was from, thelatter organization that the Sonth ForkFishing Club sprang. All the originalmembers of the fishing club, and nearlyevery one who is a member now, belongs tothe Sportsmen's Association.'It was about 1879 that the South ForkClub was formed. Colonel Buff, now dead,was the principal promoter ofthe scheme ofpurchasing the property on the fsouthbranch of the Conemaugh, which gavepromise of affording the means for sport thatmany members of the club desired. ColonelE. J. TJnger, M. B. Suydam, Walter

and one or two others took an in-

terest in the matter and the property wasoougnc

, Size and Location.The property consists of between 600 and

700 .acres, and is located about nine milesabove Johnstown.

"

The. great dam was builtia form a reservoir for the old Pennsylvaniacanal. The dam has a base of 300 feet inthickness at the bottom, gradually narrow-ing to a width of about 0 feet at the top,and is 75 feet high, and from 800 to 1,000feet long. The main portion was formed ofthe heaviest and most solid stone masonry.The lake formed by the reservoir is actuallyabout 2)4 miles long, but is generally calledthree miles, and has an irregular width,varying from one-ha- lf to three-quarte- rs of amile. The greatest depth of water is 90 feet,and over a considerable portion ge

depth is CO feet.When the Pennsylvania Bailroad Com-

pany bought the old canal and constructedalong its line the great highway ot rails thereservoir was no longer needed. The manyages of land which formed the bottom of thelake had originally been meadows, andwhen the lake was no longer needed themeadows reappeared as the water wasdrained off from the bottom.

The Lake Made Over.-x

In that condition the ground lay formanyyears. The Pennsylvania Bailroad Com-

pany didn't need it and sold it to a Mr.Beilly, of Altoona. The magnificent dam,whieh cost over (200,000 to build, was notdisturbed, and Mr. Beilly conceived theidea of once more making the lake. It was,through his efforts that the property wasbrought to the attention of Colonel Buff andthe others already mentioned.

The property was bought by the SouthFork Fishing Club from Mr. Beilly. Theexact price paid none of the members of theclub who were seen last night could sav.

'The club was formed on the basis of a mem-bership limited to 100 persons, the sharesbeing placed at $500 each and each memberbeing required to own two shares before be-ing entitled to the privileges of membership.

Nearly 20,000 was expended in puttingthe dam in thorough repair, in addition tomoney spent in other improvements. Thenarrangements were made for the erection ofa hotel and cottages. Every member whodesired to put up a cottage within sixmonths was allowed a plot of ground 100feet square.

There are now about 60 members of "theclub, of whom .16 have cottages. Com-mencing from the lower end of the lake,and going to 'the-head- , the cottages Btand inthis order:

A Magnificent List.L D. W. C. Blddle. 9. J. J. Lawrence.2. M. K. Moorhcad. 10. Mrs. a O. Hussey.8. P. C. Knox. The Hotel.4, J. H. Llppincott. 11. Calvin Wells.6. James w. Brown. 12. Dr. Rankin.C Louis Irwin. 13. William Mulllns.7-- Charles J. Clarke, 14. C, B. Shea.o. jh. u. Buydam. 15. Joseph Home.

la. Walter McCllntock.From the foregoing names, everyone of

which is so well known in Pittsburg that itwould be superogatory to tell who theindividuals are. it will be seen that themembership of the clnb is confined to thewealthy and prominent residents of the twocities.

The present officers of the club areColonel E. J. TJnger, President; Colonel J.J. Lawrence, Vice President; Louis Irwin,Treasurer; E. A. Meyers, Secretary, Forseveral years Colonel Bufl was President,and Jdhn A. Horner, cashier of the Bankof Pittsburg, was Secretary and Treasurer,

iTHE LAST TEAIN IN.

The Pacific Express GotTbrongk.bat It WasFive Hoars Late,

The Pacific express was the last "train infrom the .East, and arrived at 5 o'clock, itsschedule time being some five hours earlier.Passengers on it were transferred at Sheri-dan, where the train was abandoned, nnd,after a difficult transfer, wereat Johnstown and sent on to this city. Theywere the last passengers' from the EaBt Themail express ease was sent out at 1 o'clockyesterday ntime,ibut. got no further than'Bolivar'.where..itow:isiand no attempt

PAGES.

has been made to send out any others, norwill there be, so Superintendent Pitcairnsavs, for two days.

The road is clear as far as Latrobe, andlocal trains will be run to that point only.

THE AWFUL FEAE OF IT.Gloomy Forebodings of a Disaster Years

Ago A Warning Unheeded A LakeArtificially Slade ofla Pon-d-

Fearful Height of aWeak Dam.

"We were afraid of that lake," said agentleman who had lived in Johnstown foryears; "we were afraid of that lake sevenyears ago.

"No one could see the immense height towhich that artificial dam had been builtwithout fearing the tremendous power ofthe water behind it. The dam must havehad a sheer height of 100 feet, thus forcingthe water that high above its natural bed,and making a lake at least three miles longand a mile wide out of what could scarcelybe called a pond.

"I doubt if there is a man or woman inJohnstown who, at some time or other,hadn't feared and spoken of the terribledisaster that has now come. I remember sixyears ago, when I worked in the Gautieroffice, we used to talk ofwhat we 'would doshould that terrific body of water break itsweak barriers and sweep down the valley,and I remember, also, we all decided itwould be so sudden and so strong that anyeffort to escape would be fruitless.

"People wondered and asked whv thedam wasn't strengthened, as itcertainfy hadbecome weak, but nothing was done, andby and by they talked less and less about it,as nothing happened, though now and thensome wonld shake their heads, as if con-scious the fearful day would come sometime, when their worst tears would betranscended by the horror of the actual(occurrence. '

"If it is true that dam has given way,then the idea or even the horfe of escape forhundreds would seem out of the question.We figured- out pretty clearly the actualnumber of barrels in, the immense reservoirthree miles long and one mile wide, with anaverage depth of 60 feet, and at the dam offully 125 feet.

"Just think if you can of the terrific rushof that ocean of water, roarine down thenarrow defile, then between the narrow hillshedging in the Conemaugh. No pen, andno words could describe the Irresistibleforce of that water rushing down upon Johnst-own, but a .few miles awav. Johnstown isin a sort of a hollow, between the two rivers,and that lake must nave swept over the cityat a acptn oi 4U ieet. it can't De. it is im-possible that such an awful thing couldhappen to a city of 40,000 inhabitants, andif it has, thousands have lost their lives,and men are to blame for it, for warningsnave Deen uttered a tnonsand times, andhave received no attention."

THE B. & 0,'S ESCAPE.No Through Trains From This City, Bnt

No Accidents Reported The TroubleIn West Virginia Jim Blaine

, a Heavy Loser.In reference to the washout on the Balti-

more and Ohio line, Chief Train DispatcherG. W. C, Day said last evening that themain trouble on that line lay between

and Cumberland, Md. The .com-

pany received word of the washout as earlyas 9 o clock yesterday morning. Thenews that they received (was 'to .theeffect that there had been severallandsides between those two points. Thiswas corroborated by of engine827 a short- time afterward covered withmud. The Baltimore and Ohio has aban-doned all through trains for the present, andpassengers and mail are being sent aroundby way of Wheeling and over the mainstem to Baltimore, there being no troublewhatever on that line between Piedmont,W. Va., and Cumberland, Md., the termi-nus of this division. The main stem of theroad from Wheeling is intact all the waythrough.

The company already has trains, men andplenty of timber on the cround ready to soto work, but Dispatcher Day could not tellwhether or not any work would be done lastnight, as it would be

Impossible to Tellwhat damage had been done to the tracks orroadbed "until the water goes down.

Mr. Day thought that the road had beenextremely fortunate in having escaped with-out accident, but as soon as the news of thewashout had been received, all West-boun- d

trains were stopped at Cumberland. It isbelieved that the Postoffice Department willallow the road to transfer the mail to themain line and have it come through by wayof Wheeling. ,

All the trouble on the Baltimore andOhio lies East of the Allegheny Mountains.West of the mountains everything is ingood shape. There is no trouble on theroad from the city, and all the West-boun- d

trains are running as usual.Hr. Day does not anticipate any serious

delay from the accident, and believes thatin a short while everything will be runningin regular order.

The Somerset and Cambria branch, of theBaltimore and Ohio, is also washed out andclosed to all traffic, the damage done to thisbranch is as yet unknown, bnt a squad ofmen mu ue sent aioug toe roaa to-a- totake observations and make any repairsppssible.

The C. Be P. and J. G. B.The Cumberland and Pennsylvania coal

road is badly damaged all along the linefrom Lonaconing, Md., to Piedmont, W.Va. What the extent of the damage hasbeen, or whether or not there had been anyserious accidents, could not be ascertainedat a late hour last night

Premier "Jim" Blaine will open his eyesrather widely this morning when he findsthat he is also a heavy Joser through thewashout. James has long been interestedin the West Virginia Central Bailroad,which has been one of his pet schemes. Butthe surging waters have no respect for per-sons, even though a Premie is interested.The West Virginia Central runs from Cum-berland, Md., to Piedmont, W, Va., andhas coasted ot lour or the hnest Iron rail-road bridges in the country. The washoutcame yesterday, and in a twinkline demolished the four iron bridges as (houghthey were but straws. The bridges willhave to be replaced at once, and as fouriron bridges are an expensive luxury,Jimmy's dividends this year will evince aninclination to shrink.

The Baltimore and Ohio people said lastnight that all damages to the road wouldbe put in complete repair as soon as practi-cable.

IT BELONGS TO PITTSBDEO.K

Posted Ones Unwilling to Ilelleve the Dread-ful Extent of Disaster.

Eager anxiety prevailed about fown assoon as the report of the disaster was re-

ceived. Especially was the matter talkedover at the Pittsburg Club, many of whosemembers "are personally interested in prop-erty, etc., in the region of South Fork.

W. J. Patton disbelieved the statementabout "Conemaugh Lake" had brokenloose. He said:

"The results of such a calamity cannot befully realized. Why, the whole of Johnstownmust be swept awav if (his is true, TheSouth Fork Pond, as, it is called, is threemiles wide, and its great capacity should Itbreak forth would inuudate the country formiles around."

Other members equally interested simplyejaculated words of awe, such as "Hor--

r-- ' - jz

ca.t&fx -- j':t"

'- - .. rJ : I

riblel" "Disastrous I" etc The "Pond" isthe property of the Pittsburg SportingClnb, and jr this reason the local interestmanifested is unbounded.

THIOTBBENT'S COUESE.

Ponredlfi'ft.aSBVcrIjen Dam Down a V.u&fOA.'lTn Tpozen Towns

Above'-- t v J

ablyExistence's,

ISFXCI- -L TXLXQKAUTOTHX DloiF,I.lDebet, May 3L The course of the tor

rent from the broken dam at the foot of, thelake to Johnstown is almost 18 miles, andwith the exception of at one point thewater passed though a narrowvalley. Four miles below the damlay the town of South Fork,where South Fork itself emptied into theConemaugh river. The town containedabont 2,000 inhabitants. It,has not beenheard from, but it is said that four-fifth- s ofit have been swept away.

Four miles further down on the Cone-

maugh river, which runs parallel with themain line of the Pennsylvania Bailroad,was the town of Mineral Point. It had 800inhabitants, 90 per cent of the houses therebeing on a flat and close to the river. It seemsimpossible at this time to hope thatany of them have escaped. Six miles further,down was the town of Conemaugh, and herealone was there a topographical poss-ibility for the spreading of theflood and the breaking of the force.It contained 2,500 inhabitants andmust be almost wholly devastated. Wood- -vale, with 2,000 people, lay a mile belowConemaugh on the flat, and one mile fur-ther down was Johnstown and its cluster ofsister .towns, Cambria City, Conemaughborough and Prospect, with a total popula-tion of 30,000.

On made- - ground and stretched alongright at the river's verge were the immenseiron works of the Cambria Iron and SteelCompany,

At 11 o'clock a railroad man says theloss of life will reach hundreds and possiblyover a thousand. The report of loss of thesetowns above cannot yet be confirmed.

COLOKEL IffiGER SAFE.

His Wife Staying With Friends In the EastEnd The Colonel at Hit Fa a WhatTony Keating Know

Mrs. TJnger, the wife of Colonel E. C.TJnger, is staying with G. C. Wilson, Esq.,on Bebecca street. East End. A Dispatchreporter went there last night to find outwhether the Colonel had sent any wordfrom South Fork, but nothing hadbeen heard. Mr. Tony Keating, whois a neighbor of the Wilsons, statedthat the Colonel had. been in Harrisburgduring the last week visiting some friendsof his. He left there on Thursday morningand arrived at South Fork in the afternoon.His intention was off there to visithis farm. Colonel TJnger's property com-prises about 200 acres of farming land.When the improvements were made on thelaKeJUr. unger gave nve acres of his landto the South Fork Club. His property liessouthwest of the lake, and mnch higher inthe mountains than the reservoir. Mr.Keating said that they had no anxiety onaccount of the Colonel, because it was hard-ly likely that the flood would reach him.

"From what I know about the country,"he continued, "it seems to me that the water,as soon as it broke, through the abutments,would rush through the gully which runsfrom South Fork station up the hill towardthe lake. The Cambria Iron Company'sworks, situated along the PennsylvaniaBailroad, I should judge will be completelywashed away, because the water wouldnaturally take its course toward that noint.It is a long time since I have been at SouthFork, but I remember the old reservoir well,and I know it used to supply the old canal,which ran from Philadelphia to Pittsburg,with water.

"No, we are not alarmed because ColonelTJnger has not telegraphed yet I do notsee very well how he could. You must con-sider that he is completely shut off irom allcommunication. You see his farm and thenearest telegraph station or the Johnstownpostoffice are now divided by the water andthe Colonel could not get away from hisplace I do not think that we shallhear until

HUMAN DEIFT.

Tho Awfal Bnmors Verified, bnt In VeryMeager Details.

Doubting people by the score throngedthe West Penn dispatcher's office last nightin quest of reports verifying the awfulrumors circulated on the streets.

They were meager, but true, and addeddouble interest from the indefiniteness ofthem.

No word could be received from be-

yond Blairsville, owing to the wires beingentirely useless, but from the latter pointnews enough was received to prove the vast-nes- 3

of the flood.Bridges have been swept away on the

West Penn, the county bridge and townbridge having gone down, while the Tun-nelt-

structure is hanging, practically, bya thread, and perhaDs is now carried off bythe tnrbulent and abortive waters.

The loss of life cannot possibly be ac-curately given, as many people were seenfar out in the stream, floating on rafts anddriftwood, hopelessly beyond rescue.

A woman and two children passed Blairs-ville, piteously appealing for help.hnt theywere swept away.

Several people were picKed up on the Bol-iy- ar

bridge.At Du Bois another large dam burst forth

at about the same time as the South Forkpond and the two bodies of water meetingwill most undoubtedly cause immeasurableloss of property and life.

By order, the men at the Blairsville shopswere, out to render assistance, with everyfacility at hand. They are doing good work.

0THBE Kims HATS B1SEN.

The Jnnlata and Susquehanna Are RagingOyer the Country.

Tteoite, May 3L The Juniata river hasoverflowed its bank at this place, and flood-

ed the entire southern portion of the city,causing great destruction to property. Peo-ple living in the flooded districts had to beremoved from their homes in wagons toplaces of safety. All the railroads center-ing in this place are greatly damaged, lirewater was never known to be so high at thisplace, i At Curwensville one man wasdrowned, and at Clearfield two young ladieswere drowned in trying to escape from theflooded districts.

The Susquehanna has overflowed itsbanks at Clearfield, and the entire place isunder water, and ail means of escape arecutoff. Many people have gathered in theCourt House and Opera House as a place ofsafety. It is still raining hard and thewaters are rising rapidly.

BAILBOADS WASHED OUT.

Great Damage to Property la Huntingdonand the Surrounding Country..

IBPZCULL TSXZOBAU TO TOX DISPATCH.!

Huntingdon, May 31. Incessant rainhere during the past 72 hours has over-flowed the streams to an unusual degree,

downpour being the heaviestknown. In consequence oi the washing

nu...:t Mw--.-- ..i. n...:..'IipiEll MWiiSdilME ItGuGiiCu

A. tho Bianoh. Offices of "XTIae

DlspatoliFor issue .up to 9 o'clock P. K.For list of branch offices In tha various dis-trlc-ts

see THIttD PAGE,

.""I

THREE CENTS

V-'

away of theHyndman bridge, on the Bedford branch of the Pennsylvania Bailroad, .'

and the undermining of the railroad bridge,at Mount Dallas, Bedford was to-d- catoff from intercourse with the ontside'world,-an- d

is likely to remain so for several days.The rise in the Baystown branch at Everettis so great as to submerge the nrin-- .cipal streets, compelling many families todesert. their dwellings.

The Juniata river here is made picturesque with floating buildings, timber, up-rooted trees and remnants of destroyed farmbuildings, with here and there carcasses ofhorses and cattle. Ten families in Ports-tow- n,

a suburb of this town, were drivenfrom their home3 this evening, and much oftheir household goods were washed away.The growing erain in the immediate vicin-ity ot Huntingdon is nearly all destroyed.and it is feared this will be the result allover the country.

FEOM ME. PITCAIBff.

The P. E. B. Snperlntendent Saya itFrightful He Suggests a Public

Belief Meeting In Tlits- -bnrg y.

It had been known that Superintendent.Bobert Pitcairn, ot the Pennsylvania Bail-road, had gone East, and, when tha firstreport of the disaster came to Pittsburg.itwas feared that he, Colonel TJnger andothers, believed to be at South Fork,had perished. Indeed, grave fears beganto be entertained also as to the)peril of a party of Pittsburgers whostarted for South Fork in the afternoon.The party includes Superintendent Pit-cairn, of the Pennsylvania road; JamesBeed, A. Q. A. Leishman, W. L. Abbott,Charles L.Tavlor, S.L. Schoonmaker and H.D. Smith. But, in all probability, theydidn't get for enough east before the floodto be any worse than frightened.

Superintendent Pitcairn, however, was allright, as the following startling, and proba-bly modified, telegram from him to all thaPittsburg morning papers, last evening,clearly indicates:

New Fxobks cb, May 31, 10:56 p. a..Editors Pittsbarg Morning Papers:

In going to the trouble, with water west ofLilly's, could not get farther than Sang Hol-low: our tracks west of tbls point are also ob-

structed. While at Sang Hollow over 100 peo-ple, men, women and children, passed there ondebris; seven were recovered at Sang Hollow,two at Conemaugh Furnace and two here.Only SI of the 100 and over passed here.From my supervisor, who was at Johns-town, I learn that Johnstown Is lit-erally wiped out. Onr track betweenJohnstown and Conemangh is filled with build'ings and drift 40 feet hich or more, which is onfire. All our tracks, as I hare said, are badly '

blocked between Sang Hollow and Johnstown.I fear there will be terrible suffering amongthose saved, which should be relieved as soonas possible. In the interest of humanitythink a public meeting should be called early

to send food, clothing, eta, to thesapoor people, which we will be clad Ao forward '

to Johnstown and neighborhood as soon as weget a clear track there. Kobebt Pitcairn.

ONE OUT OF MANY.

The Fact That the New Solid Bridge, GavaWay, Drives Hope From a Hus-

band and Father It ConldOaly Fail Under Fear-

ful .Pressure."Impossible," said James Stevens, ,'.'

slenderr'anxions --looking:. man," il raua

the reservoir has burst but we expected) VI have a wife, two' children, and' two sisters;

living On Union and Chestnut streets, andif that terrible dam has gone, I" have lostthem all.

"It is said the new Pennsylvania bridgewas swept away."

"Oh, my God!" said poor Stevens, turn-

ing even whiter still, "then Johnstown isswept away. That new bridge was as sub-

stantial as Gibraltar, and before it gaveway it must have backed the water up sohigh it flooded everything and everybody.It is ten times worse, a thousand timesworse, if it gave way, as you say, before thedam actually broke, for it means I have losthome, wife and family.

"Now," he said, "let ma tell you somethi-

ng-about Johnstown that might not beknown. I will probably walk the streetsuntil the actual truth is known, but I wantto say a word about the flood we expected'there years ago, and about the flood, that has1come at last

"The Conemangh river has been narrowed,and narrowed by the eagerness of man, until'sometimes its width could hardly be over ZS

feet The Pennsylvania Bailroad laid adouble track from the Gautier barbed wire,mill down to Johnstown station, about halfa mile, and narrowed the river so much thaCambria Iron Wqrks threatened to suathem, bnt nothing was ever done.

has been dumping and dumpinginto the rivers until a backwater set in, andthese narrow channels, aided by the splendidheavy abutments of the new PennsylvaniaBailroad bridge, must have forced water all 'over the town before the immense abut-ments gave way. .

"Then what must have become of all thaforemost people ofJohnstown? There were thaElders, Fnltons, Hamiltons, Ogles, Diberts,Huriberts, Weavers, McConaugheys, Tit-tles, Murpbys, and a thousand others livingright in the center of the greatest depression,and of course where the flood was deepestwhen it did come. But the. prospect ot whatthey and my wife and little children havabeen obliged to suffer seems enough to driveone mad, for it would be easier to have beenwith them."

THE LAST W0BDS.

The Girlish Johnstown Operator Talks ofBiting Waters, Then Comes a Silence."At 3 o'clock in tha afternoon," said

Electrician Bender, of tha Western Union,"the girl operator at Johnstown was cheer-fully ticking away that sha had to abandonthe office on tha first floor, because thawater was three feet deep there.

"She said she was writing from thasecond story and the water wag ;

gaining steadily. Sha was fright-ened, and said many houses aroundwere flooded. This was evidently beforethe dam broke, for our man here said some-thing encouraging to her, and she was talk-ing back as only a cheerful girl operator can,when the receiver's skilled ears caught asound on the wire made by no humanhands.

"The wires had grounded or the househad been swept away in the flood from that,lake, no one knows which now. Anyway.-at 3 odocs: the girl was there, and at 37we might as well have asked the grave tor- -

answer us." H7,ANXIOUS ALONG THE LIKE. !

Local Towns on the Qui Vive for News-Fro-

Representatives.The towns all along the Pennsylvania

Bailroad were at a fever heat last night si.meager news of the flood reached them- - At)Wilkin iburg a young man who lives atJohnstown rushed up to the telegraph office,and when told the news said: .

"My God I My father and mother lira'therel" v. . &.

He then commenced to figure from-ti- r

Willg'yK - jWSiMMM