Shadows of Despair.
Another graphic account of the fearful calamity is furnished by an
eye-witness: The dark disaster of the day with its attendant terrors
thrilled the world and drew two continents closer together in the bonds
of sympathy that bind humanity to man. The midnight terrors of Ashtabula
and Chatsworth evoked tears of pity from every fireside in Christendom,
but the true story of Johnstown, when all is known, will stand solitary
and alone as the acme of man's affliction by the potent forces to which
humanity is ever subject.
The menacing clouds still hover darkly over the valley of death, and the
muttering thunder that ever and anon reverberates faintly in the
distance seems the sardonic chuckle of the demon of destruction as he
pursues his way to other lands and other homes.
The Waters Receding.
But the modern deluge has done its worst for Johnstown. The waters are
rapidly subsiding, but the angry torrents still eddy around Ararat, and
the winged messenger of peace has not yet appeared to tell the pathetic
tale of those who escaped the devastation.
It is not a hackneyed utterance to say that no pen can adequately depict
the horrors of this twin disaster--holocaust and deluge. The deep
emotions that well from the heart of every spectator find most eloquent
expression in silence--the silence that bespeaks recognition of man's
subserviency to the elements and impotence to avert catastrophe. The
insignificance of human life is only fully realized by those who witness
such scenes as Johnstown, Chatsworth and Ashtabula, and to those whose
memory retains the picture of horror the dread experience cannot fail to
be a fitting lesson.
A Dreary Morning.
This morning opened dark and dreary. Great drops of rain fell
occasionally and another storm seems imminent. Every one feels thankful
though that the weather still remains cold, and that the gradual
putrefaction of the hundreds of bodies that still line the streams and
lie hidden under the miles of driftwood and debris is not unduly
hastened.
The peculiar stench of decaying human flesh is plainly perceptible to
the senses as one ascends the bank of Stony Creek for a half mile along
the smouldering ruins of the wreck, and the most skeptical now conceive
the worst and realize that hundreds--aye, perhaps thousands--of bodies
lie charred and blackened beneath this great funeral pyre. Searchers
wander wearily over this smoking mass, and as occasionally a sudden
shout comes over the waters, the patient watchers on the hill realize
that another ghastly discovery has been added to that long list of
revelations that chill every heart and draw tears to the eyes of
pessimists.
From the banks many charred remains of victims of flames and flood are
plainly visible to the naked eye, as the retreating waters reluctantly
give up their dead. Beneath almost every log or blackened beam a
glistening skull or the blanched remnants of ribs or limbs mark all that
remains of life's hopes and dreams.
Since ten o'clock last night the fire engines have been busy. Water has
been constantly playing on the burning ruins. At times the fire seems
almost extinguished, but fitful flames suddenly break out afresh in some
new quarter, and again the water and flames wage fierce combat.
The Count is Still Lacking.
As yet there is no telling how many lives have been lost. Adjutant
General Hastings, who has charge of everything, stated this morning that
he supposed there were at least two thousand people under the burning
debris, but the only way to find out how many lives were lost was to
take a census of the people now living and subtract that from the census
before the flood. Said he, "In my opinion there are any way from twelve
thousand to fifteen thousand lost."
Up to this morning people living here who lost whole families or parts
of families hardly seemed to realize what a dreadful calamity had
befallen them. To-day, however, they are beginning to understand the
situation. Agony is stamped on the faces of every one, and it is truly a
city of mourning.
The point of observation is on the hillside, midway between the woolen
mills of Woodvale and Johnstown proper, which I reached to-day after a
journey through the portions of the city from which the waters, receding
fast, are revealing scenes of unparalleled horror. From the point on the
hillside referred to an excellent view of the site of the town can be
obtained. Here it can be seen that from the line of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, which winds along the base of Prospect Hill, to a point at
which St. John's Catholic Church formerly stood, and from the stone
bridge to Conemaugh, on the Conemaugh River, but twelve houses by actual
count remain, and they are in such a condition as to be practically
useless. To any one familiar with the geography of the iron city of
Cambria county this will convey a vivid idea of a swarth averaging
one-half mile in width and three miles in length. In all the length and
breadth of the most peaceful and costly portion of Johnstown not a
shingle remains except those adhering to the buildings mentioned.
Houses Upside Down.
But do not think for an instant that this comprehends in full the
awfulness of the scene. What has just been mentioned is a large waste of
territory swept as clean as if by a gigantic broom. In the other
direction some few of the houses still remain, but they are upside down,
piled on top of each other, and in many ways so torn asunder that not a
single one of them is available for any purpose whatever. It is in this
district that the loss of life has been heartrending. Bodies are being
dug up in every direction.
On the main street, from which the waters have receded sufficiently to
render access and work possible, bodies are being exhumed. They are as
thick as potatoes in a field. Those in charge seem to have the utmost
difficulty in securing the removal of bodies after they have been found.
The bodies are lying among the mass of wrecked buildings as thick as
flies. The fire in the drift above the bridge is under control and is
being rapidly smothered by the Pittsburgh firemen in charge of the work.
About seven o'clock this morning a crowd of Battery B boys discovered a
family of five people in the smoking and burned ruins above the bridge.
They took out father, mother and three children, all terribly burned and
mutilated. The little girl had an arm torn off.
Finding the Dead.
The work of rescuing the bodies from the mud and debris has only fairly
begun, and yet each move in that direction reveals more fully the
horrible extent of the calamity. It is estimated that already 1,800
corpses have been found in all parts of the valley and given some little
attention. Many of them were so mangled as to be beyond identification.
A regularly organized force of men has been at work most of the day upon
the mass of debris about the stone bridge. Early in the forenoon ten
bodies were found close together. There was nothing to identify them, as
they were burnt almost to a crisp. Several of them must have belonged to
one household, as they were taken from under the blackened timbers of a
single roof.
[Illustration: THE VILLAGE OF JOHNSTOWN BEFORE THE FLOOD.]
Soon after a man, woman and child were taken from the ruins. The child
was clasped in the arms of the woman, and the trio were evidently
husband, wife and child.
It is a most distressing sight to see the relatives of people supposed
to be lost standing around and watching every body as it is pulled out,
and acting more like maniacs than sensible people.
As the work progressed the number of the ghastly finds increased. The
various parties of workmen turned out from ten to fifteen bodies and
fragments of bodies an hour all day long.
Many of the corpses found had valuables still clasped in their hands.
One woman taken from the mill this morning had several diamond rings and
earrings, a roll of government bonds and some money clasped in her
hands. She was a widow, and was very wealthy. Her body has been embalmed
and is at the house of relatives.
Suicide Brought Relief.
From under the large brick school-house 124 bodies were taken last night
and to-day, and in every corner and place the bodies are being found and
buried as fast as possible. The necessity for speedy burial is becoming
manifest, and the stench is sickening. A number of bodies have been
found with a bullet hole in them, showing conclusively that in their
maddening fright suicide was resorted to by many.
Work was commenced during the day on the south side of the town. It is
supposed that five hundred or six hundred bodies will be found in that
locality.
About twelve o'clock ten bodies were taken out of the wreck near the
Cambria Library. On account of the bruised and mangled condition, some
having faces crushed in, it was impossible to identify them. It is
supposed they were guests at the Hurlbert House, which is completely
demolished.
Eight bodies were recovered near the Methodist Church at eleven o'clock.
It is said that fully one hundred and fifty bodies were found last
evening in a sort of pocket below the Pennsylvania Railroad signal tower
at Sang Hollow, where it was expected there would be a big find.
Kernville One Vast Morgue.
Over one thousand bodies have been taken from the river, dragged from
the sluggish pools of mud or dug out of the sand about Kernville during
the day. Three hundred of them were spread out upon the dry sand along
the river's bank at one time this afternoon. The sight is one that
cannot be described, and is one of the most distressing ever witnessed.
A crowd of at least five hundred were gathered around, endeavoring to
find the bodies of some friends or relatives. There were no coffins
there at the time and the bodies had to be laid on the ground. However,
five hundred coffins are on the way here, and the undertakers have sent
for five hundred additional ones. Kernville from now on will be the
place where most of the bodies will be found. The water has fallen so
much that it is possible to get at the bodies. However, all the bodies
have to be dug out of the sand, and it causes no end of work.
It is thought that most of the bodies that will be found at Kernville
are under a large pile of debris, about an acre in length. This is where
most of the buildings drifted, and it is natural to suppose that the
bodies floated with them. A rain is now falling, but this does not
interfere with the work. Most of the rescuing party have been up for two
days, yet they work with a determination that is wonderful.
Nineveh, the City of the Dead.
Nineveh is literally a city of the dead. The entire place is filled with
corpses. At the depot eighty-seven coffins were piled up and boxed. On
the streets coffin boxes covered the sidewalks. Improvised undertaking
shops have embalmed and placed in their shrouds 198 persons. The dead
were strewn about the town in all conceivable places where their bodies
would be protected from the thoughtless feet of the living.
Most of the bodies embalmed last night had been taken out of the river
in the morning by the people at Nineveh, who worked incessantly night
and day searching the river. The bodies when found were placed in a
four-horse wagon, frequently twelve at a time, and driven away. Of the
bodies taken out near Moorhead fully three-fourths are women and the
rest children. But few men are found there. In one row at the planing
mill to-day were eighteen children's bodies awaiting embalming. Next to
them was a woman whose head had been crushed in so as to destroy her
features. On her hand were three diamond rings.
Dr. Graff, of the State Board of Health, stationed at Nineveh, states
that up till ten o'clock this morning they had embalmed about two
hundred bodies, and by noon to-day would about double that number, as
they were fishing bodies out of the river at this point at the rate of
one every five minutes. In the driftwood and debris bodies are being
exhumed, and an additional force of undertakers has been despatched to
this place.
In a Charnel House.
At the public school-house the scene beggars description. Boards have
been laid from desk to desk, and as fast as the hands of a large body of
men and women can put the remains in recognizable shape they are laid
out for possible identification and removed as quickly as possible.
Seventy-five still remain, although many have been taken away, and they
are being brought in every moment. It is something horrifying to see one
portion of the huge school taken up by corpses, each with a clean white
sheet covering it, and on the other side of the room a promiscuous heap
of bodies in all sorts of shapes and conditions, looking for all the
world like decaying tree trunks. Among the number identified are two
beautiful young ladies named respectively Mrs. Richardson, who was a
teacher in the kindergarten school, and Miss Lottie Yost, whose sister I
afterwards noticed at one of the corners near by, weeping as if her very
heart was broken. Not a single acquaintance did she count in all of the
great throng who passed her by, although many tendered sincere
sympathy, which was accentuated by their own losses.
Lost and Found.
At the station of Johnstown proper this morning the following names were
added to the list of bodies found and identified: Charles Marshall, one
of the engineers Cambria Company. A touching incident in connection with
his death is that he had been married but a short time and his widow is
heartbroken.
Order at any Cost.
Ex-Sheriff C.L. Dick, who was at one time Burgess of Johnstown, has
charge of a large number of special deputies guarding the river at
various points. He and a posse of his men caught seven Hungarians
robbing dead bodies in Kernville early this morning, and threw them all
into the river and drowned them. He says he has made up his mind to
stand no more nonsense with this class of persons, and he has given
orders to his men to drown, shoot or hang any man caught stealing from
the dead. He said the dead bodies of the Huns can be found in the creek.
Sheriff Dick, or "Chall" as he is familiarly called, is a tall, slim
man, and is well known in Pittsburgh, principally to sportsmen. He is a
first-class wing shot, and during the past year he has won several live
bird matches. He is slow to anger, but when forced into a fight his
courage is unfailing.
Shooting Looters on the Wing.
Dick wears corduroy breeches, a large hat, a cartridge belt, and is
armed with a Winchester rifle. He is a crack shot and has taken charge
of the deputies in the wrecked portion of the city. Yesterday afternoon
he discovered two men and a woman cutting the finger from a dead woman
to get her rings. The Winchester rifle cracked twice in quick
succession, and the right arm of each man dropped, helplessly shattered
by a bullet. The woman was not harmed, but she was so badly frightened
that she will not rob corpses again. Some five robbers altogether were
shot during the afternoon, and two of them were killed.
The lynchings in the Johnstown district so far number from sixteen to
twenty.
Treasure Lying Loose.
Notwithstanding this, and the way that the town is most thoroughly under
martial law, the pilfering still goes on. The wreck is a gold mine for
pilferers. A Hungarian woman fished out a trunk down in Cambria City
yesterday, and on breaking it open found $7,500 in it. Another woman
found a jewel box containing several rings and a gold watch. In one
house in Johnstown there is $1,700 in money, but it is impossible to get
at it.
Hanged and Riddled with Bullets.
Quite an exciting scene took place in the borough of Johnstown last
night. A Hungarian was discovered by two men in the act of blowing up
the safe in the First National Bank Building with dynamite. A cry was
raised, and in a few minutes a crowd had collected and the cry of "Lynch
him!" was raised, and in less time than it takes to tell it the man was
strung up to a tree in what was once about the central portion of
Johnstown. Not content with this the Vigilance Committee riddled the
man's body full of bullets. He remained hanging to the tree for several
hours, when some person cut him down and buried him with the other dead.
The stealing by Hungarians at Cambria City and points along the railroad
has almost ceased. The report of several lynchings and the drowning of
two Italians while being pursued by citizens yesterday, put an end to
the pilfering for a time.
While Deputy Sheriff Rose was patrolling the river bank he found two
Hungarians attempting to rob several bodies, and at once gave chase. The
men started for the woods when he pulled out a pistol and shot twice,
wounding both men badly. From the latest reports the men are still
living, but they are in a critical condition.
Cutting Off a Head for a Necklace.
It is reported that two Hungarians found the body of a lady between
Woodvale and Conemaugh who had a valuable necklace on. The devils
dragged her out of the water and severed her head from her body to get
the necklace. At eleven o'clock to-day the woods were being scoured for
the men who are supposed to be guilty of the crime.
Pickets Set, Strangers Excluded.
Up till noon to-day General Hastings has had his headquarters on the
east side of the river, but this morning he came over to the burning
debris, followed by about one hundred and twenty-five men carrying
coffins. He started to work immediately, and has ordered men from
Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and all eastern towns to do laboring work.
The Citizen's Committee are making desperate efforts to preserve peace,
and the Hungarians at Cambria City are being kept in their houses by men
with clubs, who will not permit them to go outside. There seems
considerable race prejudice at Cambria City, and trouble may follow, as
both the English and Hungarians are getting worked up to a considerable
extent.
The Sheriff has taken charge of Johnstown and armed men are this morning
patrolling the city. The people who have been properly in the limits are
permitted to enter the city if they are known, but otherwise it is
impossible to get into the town. The regulation seems harsh, but it is a
necessity.
Troops Sent Home.
Battery B, of Pittsburgh, arrived in the city this morning under command
of Lieutenant Sheppard, who went to the quarters of Adjutant-General
Hastings in the railroad watch tower. The General had just got up, and
as the officer approached the General said:--
"Who sent you here?"
"I was sent here by the Chamber of Commerce," replied the Lieutenant.
"Well, I want to state that there are only four people who can order you
out, viz.:--The Governor, Adjutant-General, Major General and the
Commander of the Second Brigade. You have committed a serious breach of
discipline, and my advice to you is to get back to Pittsburgh as soon as
possible, or you may be mustered out of service. I am surprised that you
should attempt such an act without any authority whatever."
This seemed to settle the matter, and the battery started back to
Pittsburgh. In justice to Lieutenant Sheppard it might be stated that he
was told that an order was issued by the Governor. General Hastings
stated afterwards that the sending down of the soldiers was like waving
a red flag, and it would only tend to create trouble. He said everything
was quiet here, and it was an insult to the citizens of Johnstown to
send soldiers here at present.
Extortioners Held in Check.
A riot was almost caused by the exorbitant prices that were charged for
food. One storekeeper in Millville borough was charging $5 a sack for
flour and seventy-five cents for sandwiches on Sunday. This caused
considerable complaint and the citizens grew desperate. They promptly
took by force all the contents of the store. As a result this morning
all the stores have been put under charge of the police. An inventory
was taken and the proprietor was paid the market price for his stock.
A strong guard is kept at the office of the Cambria Iron Company.
Saturday was pay day at the works, and $80,000 is in the safe. This
became known, and the officials are afraid that an attempt would be
made to rob the place.
Sheriff Dick and a posse of his men got into a riot this afternoon with
a crowd of Hungarians at Cambria City. The Hungarians got the better of
him, and he called on a squad of Battery B boys, who charged with drawn
sabres, and soon had the crowd on the run.
Men Hard at Work.
Order is slowly arising out of chaos. The survivors are slowly realizing
what is the best course to pursue. The great cry is for men. Men who
will work and not stand idly by and do nothing but gaze at the ruins.
The following order was posted on a telegraph pole in Johnstown
to-day:--
"Notice--During the day men who have been idle have been begged to aid
us in clearing the town, and many have not refused to work. We are now
so organized that employment can be found for every man who wants to
work, and men offered work who refuse to take the same and who are able
to work must leave Johnstown for the present. We cannot afford to feed
men who will not work. All work will be paid for. Strangers and idlers
who refuse to work will be ejected from Johnstown.
"By order of Citizens' Committee."
Turning Away the Idlers.
Officers were stationed at every avenue and railroad that enters the
town. All suspicious looking characters are stopped. But one question is
asked. It is, "Will you work?" If an affirmative answer is given a man
escorts him to the employment bureau, where he is put to work. If not,
he is turned back. The committee has driven one or two men out of the
town. There is a lot of idle vagabond negroes in Johnstown who will not
work. It is likely that a committee will escort them out of town. They
have caused the most trouble during the past terrible days.
It is a fact, although a disagreeable one to say, that not a few of the
relief committees who came to this city, came only out of curiosity and
positively refused to do any work, but would hang around the cars eating
food. The leaders of the committee then had to do all the work. They
deserve much credit.
Begging for Help.
An old man sat on a chair placed on a box at the intersection of two
streets in Johnstown and begged for men. "For God's sake," he said, "can
we not find men. Will not some of you men help? Look at these men who
have not slept for three days and are dropping with fatigue. We will pay
well. For God's sake help us." Tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke.
Then he would threaten the group of idlers standing by and again plead
with them. Every man it seems wants to be a policeman.