JOHNSTOWN, PA., July 2D, 1889
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NOTE. THIS volume has been prepared by Dr. Beale in response to an urgent request from many leading citizens of Johnstown and eminent men of the nation, among them the following: HIS EXCELLENCY, GOVERNOR BEAVER, of Pennsylvania. HON. JOHN WANAMAKER, Postmaster General. CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW, New York City. HIS HONOR, HUGH J. GRANT, Mayor of New York. HON. F.C. LATROBE, Ex-Mayor of Baltimore. GENERAL D.H. HASTINGS, Harrisburg, Pa. JAMES B. SCOTT, Pittsburgh, Pa. REV. H.L. CHAPMAN, D.D., Pastor M.E. Church, Johnstown. REV. R.A. FINK, D.D., Pastor Lutheran Church, Johnstown. REV. JAS P. TAHANEY, Pastor St. John's R.C. Church, Johnstown. JOSEPH COOK, Boston. LT. COL. J.L. SPANGLER, Bellefonte, Pa. REV. HOWARD CROSBY, D.D., L.L.D., New York City. REV. THEODORE L. CUYLER, D.D., Brooklyn, N.Y. REV. JOHN HALL, D.D., New York City. HON. THOMAS V. COOPER, Media, Pa. W. HORACE ROSE, ESQ., Johnstown. COLONEL JOHN P. LINTON, Johnstown. C. SHERIDAN, M.D., Johnstown. REV. SAMUEL J. NICCOLLS, D.D., St. Louis, Mo. REV. B.M. PALMER, D.D., New Orleans, La. REV. WAYLAND HOYT, D.D., Minneapolis, Minn. REV. M. CARO, Rabbi Jewish Synagogue, Johnstown. HERMAN BAUMER, Postmaster, Johnstown. F.D. JOLLY, ESQ., Johnstown. REV. F.L. PATTON, D.D., L.L.D., President Princeton College. ELLIOT F. SHEPARD, Proprietor Mail and Express, N.Y. REV. H.L. WAYLAND, D.D., Editor National Baptist. REV. J.C. GREER, Pastor U.P. Church, Johnstown. T.A. BENFORD, Proprietor Hulbert House, Johnstown. B.K. JAMISON, Banker, Philadelphia. GEORGE H. THOMAS, of Drexel & Co., Bankers, Philadelphia. REV. D.M. MILLER, Pastor Conemaugh Presbyterian Church. (Compiled from Through The Johnstown Flood by Rev. David J. Beale, D.D., Edgewood Publishing Co. 1890) Dedication TO MY REVERED AND VENERABLE MOTHER, IN HER EIGHTY-NINTH YEAR, WHOSE GODLY FAITH SUSTAINED HER THROUGH SIX DAYS OF MATERNAL ANXIETY CONCERNING OUR FATE, OF WHICH SHE COULD GET NO TIDINGS; TO MY BELOVED WIFE, ALWAYS THE INSPIRATION AND STRENGTH OF MY LIFE, BUT NEVER SO MUCH SO AS WHEN WE WERE STRUGGLING TOGETHER WITH OUR CHILDREN AMID THE RAGING WATERS; TO MY DEAR CHILDREN, MADE DEARER TO US FOR THE PERIL THROUGH WHICH, BY THE HELP OF GOD, WE CARRIED THEM; TO MY FELLOW-CITIZENS AND FELLOW-SUFFERERS OF JOHNS- TOWN, WITH WHOME THE TIES OF FRIENDS AND PASTOR HAVE BEEN RIVETED BY THE BLOWS OF THIS TERRIFIC CALAMITY - THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. (Compiled from Through The Johnstown Flood by Rev. David J. Beale, D.D., Edgewood Publishing Co. 1890) Preface As the sun sank behind the western foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, Wednesday evening, May the 29th, 1889, he gilded with glory the spires of a score of churches, shed his parting beams upon more than five thousand dwellings, and lighted to their happy homes over thirty thousand people in the peaceful, picturesque and industrious Valley of the Conemaugh. When, on Saturday, the 1st day of June, the sun again, for the first time, looked out from behind the thick clouds, peeping over the eastern crest of the Alleghenies, he saw, indeed, the same deep valley and the same mountain peaks, but oh! how changed was Johnstown! The scene of destruction presented was unparalled in the annals of American history, and for suddenness, destructiveness and awful horrors, perhaps, unsurpassed since the Noachian deluge. Within a few minutes nearly four thousand human beings had been launched into eternity, twenty-five hundred homes had been utterly demolished, and property destroyed the worth of which has been estimated by millions. The businessman, the physician, the lawyer, the clergyman, the school-teacher, the clerk, the mechanic, the laborer, the rich and the poor, the stranger and the citizen, the old and the young, parents and children, the good and the bad - all had gone down together into a common watery grave. so many persons have expressed their desire to have written a correct description and trustworthy record of this great calamity that I have been induced, upon the solicitation of a number of our citizens and others, to undertake the work. They represented to me that my personal and pastoral relations to Johnstown, my own experience, my official connection with the work of rescue and reconstruction, imposed it upon me as a duty. I could not possibly describe all that occurred during, and subsequently to, the flood; but as a participant in the terrible tragedy, as an eye-witness to the frightful scenes, and as superintendent of the morgues, brought into contact with most of the dead and living who were overwhelmed by the flood, I trust that my account will prove an acceptable, as it certainly is a reliable, one in all it contains. I acknowledge my indebtedness to many of my fellow-citizens and fellow-sufferers of Johnstown for statements of their own experiences and for other favors furnished me; also to the many gentlemen and ladies who labored for our relief, and whose official reports add so much to the value of these pages; also to those whose artistic and editorial skill and care have done so much for the appearance of the volume. DAVID J. BEALE. (Compiled from Through The Johnstown Flood by Rev. David J. Beale, D.D., Edgewood Publishing Co. 1890) Chapter I - The Overwhelming Flood - 1. The Author's Experience "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee." - Isaia 43:2 The day preceeding the flood was "Decoration Day." Although the sky was overcast and there was a slight rainfall occasionally, this Thursday, upon the whole, was rather pleasant. The citizens of Johnstown were out in their strength, and a large number of strangers were present from Altoona, Hollidaysburg, Wilmore, Ebensburg, Somerset, Latrobe and other neighboring towns. The great concourse of people on the sidewalks, the long procession of soldiers and of various secret orders, the numerous bands of music, the display of flags and bunting along the principal streets, the strewing of flowers on the graves of deceased patriots, and Colonel W.D. Moore's eloquent oration in the Opera House, all contributed to make this a red-letter day for Johnstown. After nightfall the clouds grew heavier, hanging nearer the earth, and at 9 o'clock a gentle drizzling rain set in, which, after 11 o'clock, was followed by an unprecedented outpour. In fact, there seemed to be a series of waterspouts during much of the night. Before 8 o'clock in the morning the banks of both the Conemaugh and the Stony Creek were full, and the lower parts of the city were slightly covered with water. By 10 o'clock the flood had reached half way up the First and Second Wards, and by 11 o'clock it had attained a depth of five feet at the corner of Main and Market Streets and at the Cambria Iron Company's store. It was now frequently remarked that our periodic flood was upon us, and that it was already at a greater altitude than the highest point by the flood of June 7th, 1887. But as then, and on other occasions, no lives had been lost by the freshet, so now no one apprehended a different result. In the lower districts of the city, carpets were taken up, as was usual at such seasons of high water, and in some cases pianos and organs were lifted on chairs, that they might go unharmed. Gradually the streams rose higher, until in the very centre of town the waters of the Stony Creek mingled with the waters of the Conemaugh. An aged citizen standing on the corner of Main and Market Streets remarked to me that he had seen the Conemaugh as high before, and that he had witnessed as much water in the Stony Creek, but that he had never before noticed both streams so high at one and the same time. Not one word, however, was uttered by him or by any one else concerning the Conemaugh Lake; and I am persuaded that few, if any, imagined there would be disaster arising from that source. I remarked that I thought our officers should have called out men to make rafts to remove people from the lower parts of the town, not for a moment supposing that we in the central parts should need them ourselves within a few hours. Soon we and all others on the pavements sought refuge in our houses, for soon the water filled all the streets, so that by 2 o'clock there were from two to ten feet of water all over Johnstown proper. Although the water continued to rise, we had no news of any apprehended danger of the bursting of the dam. Nor do I suppose that many of our citizens believed that in the event of the breaking of the reservoir it would greatly increase teh volume of the water at our distance from its location. When one of our leading citizens was asked at this time how much higher he thought teh flood would reach, if the Conemaugh Lake or reservoir would give way, his reply was, "About two feet." From 2 o'clock until 4 o'clock the water seemed to rise slowly; in fact, it was slightly falling, when, at 10 minutes after 4, the great avalanche rushed upon us. I had been in my study, on the first floor, preparing for the Sabbath services, when, contrary to my own judgment of the necessity of the case, I was induced to go into my parlor to assist in taking up the carpet.