Pittsburg Dispatch from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 1

vSF.lir:' n-ipp-Yiir tsSj K5j7 'F'Tv 7Bt- I ca.t&fx -j' rJ I Transient Advertisements, INCLUDING WANTS, TO LETS, FOR SALES. FOR TO-MORROW'S ISSUE ''-C-. Should be la andsdM c-rouia ne nanus" BV POETY-FOUBTH. IXEAIt HORRORS lif HORRORS. j.

Irf-ity-if Jotam? 'MciHSi MSM i i i rt swiujisfl waters MT I I 1 11 1 'gjggr of SoufflP.ork Broken byiwplleii.StreanL Fater 1- -Mt "-Iff SWiLEOWS EIERITHDfG EF ITS 1EA0E iSor Sours Hundreds of People Seen Floating Along, 's SlifiPlnTiorT7riV CJ is Some of tlie Scenes IndescfibaWeTke Work r- .1 i i tT" each the Scenalof DesoIalioE and All -People uciawu kSim'iiuiuaiiujii w- Ihe whole -world shaddersjsnd-sigba tti norning, All the people -wio have'Tes to read Jorl ears to near tne mournim-message, asjtnies from press to publicandfrbm monthto month, will standappallei asthcy bcgmto realize the dire disaster that ias befallen! one of Uhe most beautiful rcgigns in all -the "Western JPennsylwriii "Wlen the rsraiews tW Johnstown1 horror came, it teemed such a pity that fair fields and proud possessions of great extentl rad 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's sweetest shrines. That was the thought of property perishing; and it was a -deep, an earnest symyathy the thought aroused. The Awful Details. Swiftly, succeedinjr this first flash of eedinjrthis first fli is more areaaful. camc the r.

elM'Jana in cumuiatiTe lorm. Xioss ot r.r. 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 of the 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 the men, "and will be none for several days." "Then hire a special one of the railroad company, and at once," was the reply, ac companied 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 quartet from two other papers which required that length of tfme to realize that even the above meager reports were full of columns of Mont Important Kewi Meanwhile The Dispatch had also sent its staff correspondent, already in Somerset, toward the scene of disaster, 28 miles away, in a carriage. And thus it was ahead of others, and in better shape than they, that this journal began to get its news from a calamity inestimably worse than anything above intimated had even hinted at. At 2:30 o'clock this morning a bulletin from Bolivar signed by a dispatch man nays a floater rescued from the Conemaugh insists that at least 1,500 persons have perished at and sear Johnstown in the flood that floated him thither from that city, and that only two Johnstown dwellings could yet be seen standing. The details of the disaster follow, and will continue to follow in later editions.

OYEE A THOUSAND LITS LOST. A Johnstown Miib Who was Beicsed 8y 1.300 Fersos Drowned. rTBOH A SIAIT CGERESrOSDElrr. Boliyab, Jlay 31. A man rescued in the river here, who was swept away from Johnstown, says positively that not less than 1,600 lives are probably lost in the Yailey ot the Conemaugh.

Women nnd Children Swept Away Shrieks Blend With the Sullen Uoar of tho Element A IinsMcd Oat of the Flood. rraojt a stjjw cozaisrosDEjrr.j Bomvab, May 31. The water is hicher here than was ever known, and two-story houses, barns, stables, whole forests ot trees, outhouses, smokehouses, railroad bridges, county bridges, rafts, inverted skiffs and driftwood by the acra are rushing past, from all of which imploring hands were held out to those on the banks willing but impotent to help, and the instability of tracks east of this place renders the only information to be got of a fugitive nature, uutior vne most part very accurate. -i ad i Uli fYY i I'epit Away 'T ill 4j 1 ypjpei a- FiK i. 2 LIVlSilM LOST.

Ttt TJ- St. fr dfKesCne All PoiMs-so Trains AMa'to OtheiwDirect Commmiicftuon Gar Off-The With4 Their Had Made iHnrs ci.teecaestKBpuTar, liOCtporc in. jhti At Tiockport, two miles east, the aorefavor-bleand more than 20 persons have been -taken, from the floods The FIrt Hnth of Water Jwas observed this evening at 7 o'clock, and his from tie-burst dam, just above pbhnstown. It came like" a frenzied whirlpool, and before the people could realize it were in its 'grasp. Fortunately, cool seads and resolste hands were on the alert to-save, and before any of the people living tmthe low-lying ground were caught, all Were taken out in skiffs and in the arms of Sum-booted and coated men to the high ground.

Their furniture was also largely saved, so that the loss will fall upon houses alone, and such live stock as was carried out of the stream. So terrible was the iorce of the current that the county, bridge over the Conemaugh, apparently a most substantial structure, withstood the rush of waters and the battering of logs for a few minutes, but finally it let go and its parts were cast out into the river, and part of the debrii already choked the waters. As early as 7:30 o'clock a great pile of driftwood that tie-whirl of waters themselves imported into fee drift was swept along; and fromlt Shriek Upon Shriek for "help, help for God's Bake!" came. The spectators on the shore saw three women, to one of whom were clinging two children, neither of whom was apparently more than an infant The rapidity of the current and the position of the raft together with the lack of facilities for rescuing, precluded the possibility of even think ing of the matter, and the raft passed out of sight. The screams of the women and children, blending in their pleadings for aid, were heard long after their craft was around the bend.

The stream then became thickly strewn with men, women and children, clinging to all sorts of temporary means of salvation, and two men and a woman clung madly to the tops ot huge trees, the men emulating the females' in their shrieks for help that it was not possible to give. Saved From the Wreck. Just before dark people living on the north bank of the Conemaugh, opposite Bolivar Junction, noticed a lad clinging to a log that the force of the current had carried over into the river nearest to them, and James Curry conceived the idea of lassoing him. A long line was hastily procured, and a man ran along the bank, ready to throw his rude lasso in an opportune moment The noose fell true to its aim, over the boy' head and under his arms, and the feat was greeted by cheers from a hundred throats, and in a moment the drenched, rjovertv- stricken little fellow was handed to the bank, and for a minute-was not a dimin. but a real great big hero.

Motherly hands soon took him from the men who were almost devouring him, and soon warm food and clothing had restored him to his wonted composure, and he was ready to tell his story. He said his name was Edward Earsten, 13 years of age and he had lived with his father and erand! father and mother in Cambria City, a part of Johnstown. At 3 o'clock the house had been caught in the volume of water let loose by the bursting of the dam, and 'his father and his uncle had climbed a mass of driftwood and had been carried out into the channel of the Conemaugh, and for some time they ran along without' adventure. Finally their raft struck an obstruction and went to pieces, his father and nncle finding lodgement on one section of it, and himself clinging to a log, which finally ran into another mass of driftwood. He saw nothing more of his relatives, and does not know whether they are alive or not.

SCENE OF THE FLOOD. Something; Abont Johaitown and Its 8nr-ronndlnca Tho Conemanah Taller, Its Froaperone Borooahs and Great Iron Works Curl- oas TepogTnphlest Featnrea. Jo'stown, until overtaken by the disaster ot yesterday! was one of the most flourishing and prosperous manufacturing towns in the State. It had a population of over 8,000 in 1880, and has grown rapidly since. Probably the number of inhabitants at the present date is twice as large.

It has not been incorporated as a city, but is still governed under a borough charter. Including its populous suburbs, which are really a part of the town, several if them being separated from it only by imaginary lines, Johnstown lias nearly, if nt quite, 35,000 inhabitants. Its site is picturesaue beautifnl in fact the natural scenery the entire county is perhaps unsurpassed 1 1 the State. The aineaaugh Yailey, at hnstownis but i few ttemonntails extending close iijS.to. tn.erivi borough ACoaetealai), jtiUvfter jEsSt "Fraaklk, Coepr9dlc are! all'grpTfip iJonnsipwn Is Mtnateditao'yo'iiaatfcocfthe Cenemaugh, 'river aid Stony creek, a-jwrtion of the.city lying on the west side jS, latter stream.

Its leeaUon in the sit, JKickeip.wl-ing's Indian towsjwhe're 'tfeei whites began to settle nearly 190 yeaw age. The town is well paved; has electrtt lihts, streetcars and a fine svstem dr water' work If con tains iaany handsome, business blocks' -arid Biiasu esiucaces xy in jjariiKuiarijjJiciA for the number md excellence pf" churches, aearlya down-different betas represented; and many- of them'havlng veryfine'and costlyxdinces. For many' 'sears uthe town was. -the connecting point, between railroad. and' canal transportation.

As far back 1831, the Portage Bailroad, ascended iKe. eastern slope of the Allegheny Mountains' ty five inclined planes, up which cars were, 'drawn, by stationary engines," and desceifdlpgthe western slope in ihe same 'way, connected jf donnstown witn tne main line of enn-j sylvania improvements. This great achieve-' ment, as it was then considered, was superseded later by the Pennsylvania Bailroad, which enters the' county of Cambria through the Gallitzin tunnel and leaves it at the border of Westmoreland and Indiana conn-ties. Johnstown is also the terminus of tue Somerset and Cambria branch of the Baltimore and Ohio, running 'from Bockwood on the Cumberland division to Johnstow'n. Tho Conemnngb Xforseihoe.

One of greatest natural, curiosities of tie Stateis, found in the- vicinity of Johns sqinsv" -The after descending lrom, the waters of the South Fork, finds its course arrested by a hugeiecTge' of rocks, and, to ihe right, passes for miles around an elevated plateau, and returning within a stone's tErow.prhe place of its way Other very. and curious 'features of-topography found. The greatest iron and steel marrafact'uring company, lnJhq.TJnited"State the Cambria Iron, Company has works in Johnstown. In their blast furnaces, their Bessemer steel works, rolling, mills and mines they 'employ thousands, of meq. The Johnstown wirksare of -jast extent, covering over 60 acres; with a network of railroad tracks nearly '40 miles' in total length.

The annual of the works runs into the millions; and half the population of Johnstown is dependent, directly or indirectly, on theindustrv. The Gautier Steel Works, located in the upper part of the town, and under the -management of the Cambria Company, are among the most extensive and best known in the country The Johnson street railway mill, manufacturing steel rails for street railroads, is situated in one of the new suburbs and is one of the important indus trial establishments ot the valley. DESOLATION The Terrible Warning' Came Too Irate Hosses Tossed Abont as Corks on the Ocean The Death Bate Amounting to Thousands. It was stated at the office of the Pennsylvania Uailroad, at an early hour this morning, that the deaths would run up into the thousands rather than- was at first supposed. From private dispatches received, it is said that the stream of human beings that was swept before the angryfloods was something most pitiful to behold.

Men, women and children were carried along frantically shrieking for help, but their cries 'availed them nothing. Iiescue was impossible. Husbands were swept past their wives and children were borne rapidly along, going at a terrible speed to certain -death before the eyes ol their terrorized and frantic parents. It was said at the depot that it was impossible to estimate the num ber whose lives were lost in the flood. It will simply be a matter of conjecture for several days as to who were lost or who escaped.

Dispatcher Culp received several telegrams last night, detailing the flood. The recent heavy rains had swollen the old canal reservoir at South Fork, on the Conemaugh river, and fears were entertained for 'its safety, Warned to No Porpoie. The basin contained water measuring two miles across by five miles inlengtb, and was 70 feet deep in the deepest place. The people of Johnstown were warned of its possibility of bursting during the morning, but very few, if any of the inhabitants, took the warning seriously. Shortly after noon the dam gave way about five miles above Johnstown and sweeping everything before it; burst upon the town with terrible force.

Everything was carried before it, and not an instant's time was given to seek safety. Houses were de molished, swept from their foundations and carried in the flood to a culvert near the town. Here a mass of all manner of debris soon lodged, and by evening it had dammed the water Back Into the City, over the tops of many of the still remaining chimneys. A dispatch to Dispatcher Culp, received about 11 o'clock last night, said the blockade at the Johnstown bridge was three-fourths of a mile long and 40 feet high, and was all on fire. The extent of the damage could not possibly be estimated.

The Pennsylvania people are exerting every energy to save both lives and property, but as yet little or nothing can be done. Assistant Superintendent Trump, of the Pennsylvania, is at Conemaugh, but the officials at the depot had not been able to receive a line from him up until as late as 2:30 o'clock this morning. It was said also that it will be impossible to get a train through, either one way or the other, for at least two or three days. This applies also to the mails, as there is absolutely no way of getting the mall through. IN BEDFOED COUNTY.

The BJien Waters are Sweeping; Ercrrthlng; Before -Them Immense Damage to Property on Every Hand Prohibition Enforced by Cold Water. rSFZCZAL IXtEOBAM TO TH1 Bedeoed, May 31. Not since the flood of 1847, so say the oldest citizens of the county, has Bedford had such a flood. The rain up to this writing has been constantly falling.for the past .24 hours. This morning, families living in the western part of the town known as the "Texans," were compelled to move out of their houses at noon.

Cattle, hogs and sheep were seen going down the river. Traffic and mails are all at a standstill, but one mail leaving here to-day. New iron bridges, recently erected by the county, have been swept away. At Cessna station, eight miles north, 200 sheep were lost. At Everett, eight miles east, traffic was carried on all day by the use of flats.

Ex-Sheriff iashley, proprietor of the Ls Place Hotel, has just telephoned that he was compelled to.close his hotel, the water 7, 4 3 'iHJNE 1, 1889 TWlEVE iTtrip'iisbarrfo The railroad bridges between Bedford and Cumberland have jbefl damaged! to suob an reacted 'Bedford dAnt.holH&A-lAaf wfJ4- fklanprin- I Krvwt iiriv" Meyera'lelCon. an engine this morning aai is.huag up.sosaewhere between here land HyVdmaaf not5 being able to gei either The rising rapidly and fearswe" entertained for persons living along the river betweea- here and Huntingdon. A.party of, commercial men tried to reach JSyisratt by coach, this evening, bat; were to return, as in the water 'was running over the -tops of- -Gardens in the western part ioti the town have all been ruined. Several ifine t'raut ponds near the town have gone tne-wrtcK. -Word ebmefthat the lanre iron bridee at KEverett is in danger.

The damages to bridges alone in the county will reach $50.000. At present it is Impossible to near the' -damages to property. It is impossible at this time to get any news by telephone-along the river, as people are looking for safe quarters to spend the.night iMr. Doty, manager of the Springs" hotel, to vour reporter that it was imnossible 'to estimate the damage done to the Springs property At present it looks as if Bedford iwouiu je buui oui irom -roe uuiae wonu jfor several days yet, as all of the railroad bridges that are not already down are more or less damaged. FE0M THE 0THEE SJPE.

--i iAJl Coramnnlcntlon Swept "Away West of Altoona 4H of the Tralai From the East Are Held. There The Report. In That -Direction. Philadelphia, May 31. All the wires of the Pennsylvania Kailroad west fof -Wil-jnore, a section of the Pittsburg 25 miles west ot Altoona, have be4)-down since morning, and consequently ihe information in regard to the destruction of that place is very meager.

TSnough has been learned, however, 'to- indicate that the rush of water is, the -worst ever known in ha't section. At Broad street station thqfollowingbulle-tin for the information 'of. travelers was 'posted about 8 o'clock: "On account' of the unprecedented storm prevailing In the Western part of the State, the lines Syest of Altoona have been damaged; 'to whaf extent cannot be "ascertained until' the water The storm is still raging; and it is thought -no trains will be, passed ntil Sunday." The Chicago limited express, which, left -New York at 9 o'clock this morning, the fast line, leaving there at the same hour, and the train leaving that city at 8 o'clock last-night are all laid up at Altoona. At 10-30 to-night a dispatch was received by General Manager Pugh, dated "iVilmore, from the conductor of the East-bound New Xork and Chicago limited, which left Pittsburg at 7 o'clock this morning, saying the train was safe and that all were well on board. Mr.

Pugh in- ihicu uum uiu uuu we umiveu was iaia up somewhere west of Xllleys. The conductor reported that tha bridge at South Fork was washed away and expressed the opinion that all the bridges between South Fork and Johnstown weuld be, swept away. The Chicago and New York, day express and all other "east-bound, trains are supposed to be laid up between Cresson and Pittsburg. Wnen JVlr. Pugh was shown copy of the dispatch from Pittsburg" -announcing the breaking of the dam.

nearri'Johafxwn, he said that this repeat fwnsknlcd.n-: dispatch received Wilmorer-to-cfit, Asich stated that a man had reported to the Pennsylvania Bailroad operator there that, the South Fork dam had broken and the water had carried away the "coal tipple" and telegraph tower at South Fork station, and also a portion of an east-bound freight train. The telegraph operator who was in the tower managed to escape, but several of the train hands are reported to have been drowned. The conductor of the east-bound New York limited express who reported the safety of his train, also said that a report had reached him of the breaking of the dam. He said nothing about the damage caused thereby. General Manager Pugh was out of town early in the day, and he said to-night that he could not understand what was meant when he received dispatches announcing damages to the tracks at Lilleys.

"Such a thing has never been heard of before," said he to-night, "and nothing short of a water spout couia nave caused such damage. Lilleys is a little mining town of about 300 or 400 inhabitants. For the water to rise high enough to obstruct the passage of trains is unprecedented. A dispatch just received by me says that the water is rushing over the tracks at a height of at least five feet above the road bed. nnrl thU could be brought about by nothing short of a waier j.

nave no doubt, if our operator at Song Hollow said he saw the bodies from Johnstown floatinrfdown the river, as reported in the bulletin, that it is true, as his tower is located right on the bank of the river." FLOATING PERSONS, Both Dead nnd Alive, Whirl Down the Hirer Past the Horrified Citizens of IJInlriTllleJ-Enllroad Bridges Swept Away People Imprisoned In Their Second Stories. rSriCULLTSLIORAlI to THE Blaiksyille, May 31. The flood in the Conemaugh river at this point is the heaviest ever known here. At this hourthe railroad bridge betweea here and Blaiis-ville intersection has been swept away, also the new iron bridge at Coketon, half a mile below. It is now feared the iron bridge at the lower end of this town will go before morning.

About 7 o'clock a living woman and dead man, supposed to be her hushand, were seen going under the railroad bridge. They were seen to come from under the bridge safely, but shortly disappeared and were seen no more. A great many families lose their household goods. The river is running full of timber, houses, goods, etc. -The loss will be heavy.

The excitement here is very great. The, river is still rising. There are some families below town in the second-story of their houses and can't get out. It is feared if the water goes much higher the loss of life will be very great. The railroad com pany had 14 cars of coal on their bridge it went down, and all was swept down the river.

All manner of things are floating down the river, furniture, doors, windows, sash, etc. The town bridge has just sucoumbed to the seething cauldron, whose maddening roar can be heard a. long distance. The water is still rising, and it is thought the West Penn Kailroad will be without a single bridge in the morning. The cries of the woman who went down was heartrending.

She was floating on something not discernable, and her cries were heard until lost in the deafening roar. It is reported that a man went down with the Blairsville bridge while he was adjusting a headlight. MILLIONS OP MONEY LOST. The Storm lias Swept the Kanawha Valley Clean of Lumber. Charleston, W.

May 31. A heavy rain began falling here at noon yesterday and continued until late last night, caused a flood in the of the Kanawha river. The Chesapeal Ohio Bailroad bridge over Cabin creek was carried, away, and booms in Elk and Coal rivers.swept away and millions.of dollars' worth of timber and lumber and railroad ties swept away. It is feared that a portion of the city will be submerged. The rivers are still rising.

The thermometer registers 48. ALONG THE POTOMAC. The Hirer Was Never So Bisk no Now The Baltimore and Ohio and West Virginia Central Blocked Damage to Iiife and Property. Piedmont, W. May 31.

The destruction by the flood resulting from last night's storm jn this vicinity is terrible, and the loss will scarcely fall short of and may greatly exceed that figure. The north bank of the Potomao is higher than ever before, the nearest approach being 27 years ago, when the loss was tremendous. The Baltimore and Ohio track is blockaded in half a dozen.places and there can be no traffic before to-morrow, if then. The West "Virginia Central track is from five to eight feet under water formiles, and many bridges and trestles are down or badly damaged. The destruction of private property is very great.

Crops are ruined everywhere. and houses, barns, fences, lumber, are swept away. Btttone loss of life is reported, and that was of a child. There are many rumors of other losses of life, but as yet no certainty attends them. Numerous narrow escapes are reported.

KNOWING ITS TEEE0ES. James V. Long and Members of the CInb Tell Abont that Lake In the Clondo Origin 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, last evening when a Dispatch reporter told him of the disaster at South Fork.

"Well," he continued, "it is not unexpected to me, nor to many members of the South Fork Fishing Club. It has always been a sword of Damocles, not" only to the members of the club, but to others. The people of Johnstown have always feared it. Time and again the dam has been examined and every timeit was pronounced safe; but no one knew when it would break." Mr. Long is State Commissioner of Fisheries, and is a member and for years was Secretary of the Western Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association.

It was from, the latter organization that the Sonth Fork Fishing Club sprang. All the original members of the fishing club, and nearly every one who is a member now, belongs to the Sportsmen's Association. 'It was about 1879 that the South Fork -Club was formed. Colonel Buff, now dead, was the principal promoter ofthe scheme of purchasing the property on the fsouth branch of the Conemaugh, which gave promise of affording the means for sport that many members of the club desired. Colonel E.

J. TJnger, M. B. Suydam, Walter Mc-Clintock and one or two others took an interest in the matter and the property was oougnc Size and Location. The property consists of between 600 and 700 and is located about nine miles above Johnstown.

The. great dam was built ia form a reservoir for the old Pennsylvania canal. The dam has a base of 300 feet in thickness at the bottom, gradually narrowing to a width of about 0 feet at the top, and is 75 feet high, and from 800 to 1,000 feet long. The main portion was formed of the heaviest and most solid stone masonry. The lake formed by the reservoir is actually about 2)4 miles long, but is generally called three miles, and has an irregular width, varying from one-half to three-quarters of a mile.

The greatest depth of water is 90 feet, and over a considerable portion the-average depth is CO feet. When the Pennsylvania Bailroad Company bought the old canal and constructed along its line the great highway ot rails the reservoir was no longer needed. The many ages of land which formed the bottom of the lake had originally been meadows, and when the lake was no longer needed the meadows reappeared as the water was drained off from the bottom. The Lake Made In that condition the ground lay formany years. The Pennsylvania Bailroad Company didn't need it and sold it to a Mr.

Beilly, of Altoona. The magnificent dam, whieh cost over (200,000 to build, was not disturbed, and Mr. Beilly conceived the idea of once more making the lake. It was, through his efforts that the property was brought to the attention of Colonel Buff and the others already mentioned. The property was bought by the South Fork Fishing Club from Mr.

Beilly. The exact price paid none of the members of the club who were seen last night could sav. 'The club was formed on the basis of a membership limited to 100 persons, the shares being placed at $500 each and each member being required to own two shares before being entitled to the privileges of membership. Nearly 20,000 was expended in putting the dam in thorough repair, in addition to money spent in other improvements. Then arrangements were made for the erection of a hotel and cottages.

Every member who desired to put up a cottage within six months was allowed a plot of ground 100 feet square. There are now about 60 members of "the club, of whom .16 have cottages. Commencing from the lower end of the lake, and going to 'the-head, the cottages Btand in this order: A Magnificent List. 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. 6. James w. Brown.

Louis Irwin. 7- Charles J. Clarke, 11. Calvin Wells. 12.

Dr. Rankin. 13. William Mulllns. 14.

B. Shea. 15. Joseph Home. o.

jh. u. Buydam. la. Walter McCllntock.

From the foregoing names, everyone of which is so well known in Pittsburg that it would be superogatory to tell who the individuals are. it will be seen that the membership of the clnb is confined to the wealthy and prominent residents of the two cities. The present officers of the club are Colonel E. J. TJnger, President; Colonel J.

J. Lawrence, Vice President; Louis Irwin, Treasurer; E. A. Meyers, Secretary, For several years Colonel Bufl was President, and Jdhn A. Horner, cashier of the Bank of Pittsburg, was Secretary and Treasurer, i THE LAST TEAIN IN.

The Pacific Express GotTbrongk.bat It Was Five Hoars Late, The Pacific express was the last "train in from the and arrived at 5 o'clock, its schedule time being some five hours earlier. Passengers on it were transferred at Sheridan, where the train was abandoned, nnd, after a difficult transfer, were at Johnstown and sent on -to this city. They were the last passengers' from the EaBt The mail express ease was sent out at 1 o'clock yesterday got no further than no attempt PAGES. has been made to send out any others, nor will there be, so Superintendent Pitcairn savs, for two days. The road is clear as far as Latrobe, and local trains will be run to that point only.

THE AWFUL FEAE OF IT. Gloomy Forebodings of a Disaster Years Ago A Warning Unheeded A Lake Artificially Slade ofla Pond- Fearful Height of a Weak Dam. "We were afraid of that lake," said a gentleman who had lived in Johnstown for years; "we were afraid of that lake seven years ago. "No one could see the immense height to which that artificial dam had been built without fearing the tremendous power of the water behind it. The dam must have had a sheer height of 100 feet, thus forcing the water that high above its natural bed, and making a lake at least three miles long and a mile wide out of what could scarcely be called a pond.

"I doubt if there is a man or woman in Johnstown who, at some time or other, hadn't feared and spoken of the terrible disaster that has now come. I remember six years ago, when I worked in the Gautier office, we used to talk of what we 'would do should that terrific body of water break its weak barriers and sweep down the valley, and I remember, also, we all decided it would be so sudden and so strong that any effort to escape would be fruitless. "People wondered and asked whv the dam wasn't strengthened, as itcertainfy had become weak, but nothing was done, and by and by they talked less and less about it, as nothing happened, though now and then some wonld shake their heads, as if conscious the fearful day would come some time, when their worst tears would be transcended 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 for hundreds would seem out of the question. We figured- out pretty clearly the actual number of barrels in, the immense reservoir three miles long and one mile wide, with an average depth of 60 feet, and at the dam of fully 125 feet.

"Just think if you can of the terrific rush of that ocean of water, roarine down the narrow defile, then between the narrow hills hedging in the Conemaugh. No pen, and no words could describe the Irresistible force of that water rushing down upon Johnstown, but a miles awav. Johnstown is in a sort of a hollow, between the two rivers, and that lake must nave swept over the city at a acptn oi 4U ieet. it can't De. it is impossible that such an awful thing could happen to a city of 40,000 inhabitants, and if it has, thousands have lost their lives, and men are to blame for it, for warnings nave Deen uttered a tnonsand times, and have received no attention." THE B.

ESCAPE. No Through Trains From This City, Bnt No Accidents Reported The Trouble In West Virginia Jim Blaine a Heavy Loser. In reference to the washout on the Baltimore and Ohio line, Chief Train Dispatcher G. W. Day said last evening that the main trouble on that line lay between Con-nellsville and Cumberland, Md.

The received word of the washout as early as 9 clock yesterday morning. The news that they received (was 'to effect that there had been several landsides between those two points. This was corroborated by the-'arrival of engine 827 a short- time afterward covered with mud. The Baltimore and Ohio has abandoned all through trains for the present, and passengers and mail are being sent around by way of Wheeling and over the main stem to Baltimore, there being no trouble whatever on that line between Piedmont, W. and Cumberland, the terminus of this division.

The main stem of the road from Wheeling is intact all the way through. The company already has trains, men and plenty of timber on the cround ready to so to work, but Dispatcher Day could not tell whether or not any work would be done last night, as it would be Impossible to Tell what damage had been done to the tracks or roadbed "until the water goes down. Mr. Day thought that the road had been extremely fortunate in having escaped without accident, but as soon as the news of the washout had been received, all West-bound trains were stopped at Cumberland. It is believed that the Postoffice Department will allow the road to transfer the mail to the main line and have it come through by way of Wheeling.

All the trouble on the Baltimore and Ohio lies East of the Allegheny Mountains. West of the mountains everything is in good shape. There is no trouble on the road from the city, and all the West-bound trains are running as usual. Hr. Day does not anticipate any serious delay from the accident, and believes that in a short while everything will be running in regular order.

The Somerset and Cambria branch, of the Baltimore and Ohio, is also washed out and closed to all traffic, the damage done to this branch is as yet unknown, bnt a squad of men mu ue sent aioug toe roaa to-aay to take observations and make any repairs ppssible. The C. Be P. and J. G.

B. The Cumberland and Pennsylvania coal road is badly damaged all along the line from Lonaconing, to Piedmont, W. Va. What the extent of the damage has been, or whether or not there had been any serious accidents, could not be ascertained at a late hour last night Premier "Jim" Blaine will open his eyes rather widely this morning when he finds that he is also a heavy Joser through the washout. James has long been interested in the West Virginia Central Bailroad, which has been one of his pet schemes.

But the surging waters have no respect for persons, even though a Premie is interested. The West Virginia Central runs from Cumberland, to Piedmont, and has coasted ot lour or the hnest Iron railroad bridges in the country. The washout came yesterday, and in a twinkline de molished the four iron bridges as (hough they were but straws. The bridges will have to be replaced at once, and as four iron bridges are an expensive luxury, Jimmy's dividends this year will evince an inclination to shrink. The Baltimore and Ohio people said last night that all damages to the road would be put in complete repair as soon as practicable.

IT BELONGS TO PITTSBDEO. Posted Ones Unwilling to Ilelleve the Dreadful Extent of Disaster. Eager anxiety prevailed about fown as soon as the report of the disaster was received. Especially was the matter talked over at the Pittsburg Club, many of whose members "are personally interested in property, in the region of South Fork. W.

J. Patton disbelieved the statement about "Conemaugh Lake" had broken loose. He said: "The results of such a calamity cannot be fully realized. Why, the whole of Johnstown must be swept awav if (his is true, The South Fork Pond, as, it is called, is three miles wide, and its great capacity should It break forth would inuudate the country for miles around." Other members equally interested simply ejaculated words of awe, such as "Hor- r- jz riblel" "Disastrous etc The "Pond" is the property of the Pittsburg Sporting Clnb, and jr this reason the local interest manifested is unbounded. THIOTBBENT'S COUESE.

Dam Down a V. SbnJ.O SCSrvffl-, -Tpozen Towns Above'-O ably Existence's, ISFXCI-L TXLXQKAUTOTHX Debet, May 3L The course of the tor rent from the broken dam at the foot of, the lake to Johnstown is almost 18 miles, and with the exception of at one point the water passed though a narrow T-shaped valley. Four miles below the dam lay the town of South Fork, where South Fork itself emptied into the Conemaugh river. The town contained abont 2,000 inhabitants. not been heard from, but it is said that four-fifths of it have been swept away.

Four miles further down on the Conemaugh river, which runs parallel with the main line of the Pennsylvania Bailroad, was the town of Mineral Point. It had 800 inhabitants, 90 per cent of the houses there being on a flat and close to the river. It seems impossible at this time to hope that any of them have escaped. Six miles further, down was the town of Conemaugh, and here alone was there a topographical possibility for the spreading of the flood and the breaking of the force. It contained 2,500 inhabitants and must be almost wholly devastated.

Wood- vale, with 2,000 people, lay a mile below Conemaugh on the flat, and one mile further down was Johnstown and its cluster of sister Cambria City, Conemaugh borough and Prospect, with a total population of 30,000. On made- ground and stretched along right at the river's verge were the immense iron works of the Cambria Iron and Steel Company, At 11 o'clock a railroad man says the loss of life will reach hundreds and possibly over a thousand. The report of loss of these towns above cannot yet be confirmed. COLOKEL IffiGER SAFE. His Wife Staying With Friends In the East End The Colonel at Hit Fa a What Tony Keating Know Mrs.

TJnger, the wife of Colonel E. C. TJnger, is staying with G. C. Wilson, on Bebecca street.

East End. A Dispatch reporter went there last night to find out whether the Colonel had sent any word from South Fork, but nothing had been heard. Mr. Tony Keating, who is a neighbor of the Wilsons, stated that the Colonel had. been in Harrisburg during the last week visiting some friends of his.

He left there on Thursday morning and arrived at South Fork in the afternoon. His intention was to-stop off there to visit his farm. Colonel TJnger's property comprises about 200 acres of farming land. When the improvements were made on the laKeJUr. unger gave nve acres of his land to the South Fork Club.

His property lies southwest of the lake, and mnch higher in the mountains than the reservoir. Mr. Keating said that they had no anxiety on account of the Colonel, because it was hardly 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 runs from South Fork station up the hill toward the lake. The Cambria Iron Company's works, situated along the Pennsylvania Bailroad, I should judge will be completely washed away, because the water would naturally take its course toward that noint.

It is a long time since I have been at South Fork, 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 Colonel TJnger has not telegraphed yet I do not see very well how he could. You must consider that he is completely shut off irom all communication. You see his farm and the nearest telegraph station or the Johnstown postoffice are now divided by the water and the Colonel could not get away from his place to-day. I do not think that we shall hear until to-morrow." HUMAN DEIFT.

Tho Awfal Bnmors Verified, bnt In Very Meager Details. Doubting people by the score thronged the West Penn dispatcher's office last night in quest of reports verifying the awful rumors circulated on the streets. They were meager, but true, and added double interest from the indefiniteness of them. No word could be received from beyond Blairsville, owing to the wires being entirely useless, but from the latter point news enough was received to prove the vast-nes3 of the flood. Bridges have been swept away on the West Penn, the county bridge and town bridge having gone down, while the Tun-nelton structure is hanging, practically, by a thread, and perhaDs is now carried off by the tnrbulent and abortive waters.

The loss of life cannot possibly be accurately given, as many people were seen far out in the stream, floating on rafts and driftwood, hopelessly beyond rescue. A woman and two children passed Blairsville, piteously appealing for help.hnt they were swept away. Several people were picKed up on the Bol-iyar bridge. At Du Bois another large dam burst forth at about the same time as the South Fork pond and the two bodies of water meeting will most undoubtedly cause immeasurable loss of property and life. By order, the men at the Blairsville shops were, out to render assistance, with every facility at hand.

They are doing good work. 0THBE Kims HATS B1SEN. The Jnnlata and Susquehanna Are Raging Oyer the Country. Tteoite, May 3L The Juniata river has overflowed its bank at this place, and flooded the entire southern portion of the city, causing great destruction to property. People living in the flooded districts had to be removed from their homes in wagons to places of safety.

All the railroads centering in this place are greatly damaged, lire water was never known to be so high at this place, i At Curwensville one man was drowned, and at Clearfield two young ladies were drowned in trying to escape from the flooded districts. The Susquehanna has overflowed its banks at Clearfield, and the entire place is under water, and ail means of escape are cutoff. Many people have gathered in the Court House and Opera House as a place of safety. It is still raining hard and the waters are rising rapidly. BAILBOADS WASHED OUT.

Great Damage to Property la Huntingdon and the Surrounding IBPZCULL TSXZOBAU TO TOX Huntingdon, May 31. Incessant rain here during the past 72 hours has overflowed the streams to an unusual degree, to-day's downpour being the heaviest known. In consequence oi the washing -V-' IipiEll MWiiSdilME ItGuGiiCu A. tho Bianoh. Offices of "XTIae Dlspatoli For to-morrow's issue to 9 o'clock P.

K. For list of branch offices In tha various dis-trlcts see THIttD PAGE, THREE CENTS away of theHyndman bridge, on the Bed ford branch of the Pennsylvania Bailroad, and the undermining of the railroad bridge, at Mount Dallas, Bedford was to-day cat off from intercourse with the is likely to remain so for several days. -The rise in the Baystown branch at Everett is so great to-night as to submerge the nrin- cipal streets, compelling many families to desert. their dwellings. The Juniata river here is made pictur esque with floating buildings, timber, uprooted trees and remnants of destroyed farm buildings, with here and there carcasses of horses and cattle.

Ten families in Ports-town, a suburb of this town, were driven from their home3 this evening, and much of their household goods were washed away. The growing erain in the immediate vicinity ot Huntingdon is nearly all destroyed. -and it is feared this will be the result all over the country. FEOM ME. PITCAIBff.

The P. E. B. Snperlntendent Saya it Frightful He Suggests a Public Belief Meeting In Tlits- bnrg To-Day. It had been known that Superintendent.

Bobert Pitcairn, ot the Pennsylvania Bailroad, had gone East, and, when tha first report of the disaster came to Pittsburg.it was feared that he, Colonel TJnger and others, believed to be at South Fork, had perished. Indeed, grave fears began to be entertained also as to the) peril of a party of Pittsburgers who started for South Fork in the afternoon. The party includes Superintendent Pitcairn, of the Pennsylvania road; James Beed, A. Q. A.

Leishman, W. L. Abbott, Charles L.Tavlor, S.L. Schoonmaker and H. D.

Smith. But, in all probability, they didn't get for enough east before the flood to be any worse than frightened. Superintendent Pitcairn, however, was all right, as the following startling, and probably modified, telegram from him to all tha Pittsburg morning papers, last evening, clearly indicates: New Fxobks cb, May 31, 10:56 p. Editors Pittsbarg Morning Papers: In going to the trouble, with water west of Lilly's, could not get farther than Sang Hollow: our tracks west of tbls point are also obstructed. While at Sang Hollow over 100 people, men, women and children, passed there on debris; 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 Johnstown, I learn that Johnstown Is literally wiped out. Onr track between Johnstown and Conemangh is filled with build' -ings and drift 40 feet hich or more, which is on fire. All our tracks, as I hare said, are badly blocked between Sang Hollow and Johnstown. I fear there will be terrible suffering among those saved, which should be relieved as soon as possible.

In the interest of humanity think a public meeting should be called early to-morrow to send food, clothing, eta, to thesa -poor people, which we will be clad Ao forward to Johnstown and neighborhood as soon as we get a clear track there. Kobebt Pitcairn. ONE OUT OF MANY. The Fact That the New Solid Bridge, Gava Way, Drives Hope From a Husband and Father It Conld Oaly Fail Under Fearful "Impossible," said James Stevens, slenderr'anxions man," il raua the reservoir has burst but we expected) I have a wife, two' children, and' two sisters; living On Union and Chestnut streets, and if that terrible dam has gone, have lost them all. "It is said the new Pennsylvania bridge was swept away." "Oh, my God!" said poor Stevens, turning even whiter still, "then Johnstown is swept away.

That new bridge was as substantial as Gibraltar, and before it gave way it must have backed the water up so high it flooded everything and everybody. It is ten times worse, a thousand times worse, if it gave way, as you say, before the dam actually broke, for it means I have lost home, wife and family. "Now," he said, "let ma tell you something-about Johnstown that might not be known. I will probably walk the streets until the actual truth is known, but I want to say a word about the flood we expected' there years ago, and about the flood, that has1 come 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 a double track from the Gautier barbed wire, mill down to Johnstown station, about half a mile, and narrowed the river so much tha Cambria Iron Wqrks threatened to sua them, bnt nothing was ever done. Tim-Cambria has been dumping and dumping into the rivers until a backwater set in, and these narrow channels, aided by the splendid heavy abutments of the new Pennsylvania Bailroad bridge, must have forced water all over the town before the immense abutments gave way.

"Then what must have become of all tha foremost people of Johnstown? There were tha Elders, Fnltons, Hamiltons, Ogles, Diberts, Huriberts, Weavers, McConaugheys, Tittles, Murpbys, and a thousand others living right in the center of the greatest depression, and of course where the flood was deepest when it did come. But the. prospect ot what they and my wife and little children hava been obliged to suffer seems enough to drive one mad, for it would be easier to have been with them." THE LAST W0BDS. The Girlish Johnstown Operator Talks of Biting 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 cheerfully ticking away that sha had to abandon the office on tha first floor, because tha water was three feet deep there.

"She said she was writing from tha second story and the water wag gaining steadily. Sha was frightened, and said many houses around were flooded. This was evidently before the dam broke, for our man here said something encouraging to her, and she was talking back as only a cheerful girl operator can, when the receiver's skilled ears caught a sound on the wire made by no human hands. "The wires had grounded or the house had been swept away in the flood from that, -lake, no one knows which now. at 3 docs: the girl was there, and at 37 we might as well have asked the grave tor- answer us." 7, ANXIOUS ALONG THE LIKE.

Local Towns on the Qui Vive for News-From 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 at Johnstown 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-tie j.iij' Willg'yK jWSiMMM.