03 Jun 1889
Page 1
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Newspaper
Pittsburgh Dispatch
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Date
Jun 03, 1889
Page
1
A staff correspondent reports from Johnstown on June 2 about 5,000 coffins needed and 10,000 missing as flood and fire devastate the iron city. Survivors describe widespread death, burned debris, and grief, with scenes of mothers and sisters awaiting news and authorities mobilizing guards and cleanup.
Reports from Johnstown describe a city wrecked by flood and a coffin shortage with 15,000 survivors suffering hunger and exposure. morgues and charnel houses line Adams Street as 200 corpses lie on school desks. Guards with rifles patrol debris while relief trains and funds are organized by Captain William Jones and President Moxham to feed and shelter residents.
A June report from Johnstown describes mobs chasing and punishing grave robbers after a massacre at Lang Hollow. Four Hungarians were driven into the river and drowned, while others fled. A second incident recalls vigilantes deterring jewel theft from dead spouses along Curranville’s rails.
Fragmentary report describes mobs threatening to lynch leaders with ropes. Victims were hanged from trees, the bodies later removed to a rock pile in a forest above Driftwood track. An Allegheny county official is hinted as a leading actor in this supposed crime of justifiable homicide.
A Washington Infantry unit is aboard the Baltimore and Ohio relief train aiding flood victims. Patton led on-site repairs. towns along the line donate provisions and equipment. Trains from Cumberland Meyersdale and Pittsburg carry food, coffins, and supplies to Braddock Saltsburg and West Newton amid ongoing recovery.
A trainload of Johnstown refugees arrives at the Baltimore and Ohio depot. Survivors report harrowing scenes, with officials calling for militia as authorities fear thousands dead and search efforts intensify. Governor Beaver urged swift troop deployment to guard the dead and aid recovery.
Governor Beaver reached York then moved toward Harrisburg to aid the Johnstown disaster victims but rail transportation was unavailable, delaying his journey. Special telegram from The Dispatch notes Hastings and Johnstone tied to the military actions as yet unordered.
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