The story of Johnstown : its early settlement, rise ... - JohnstownCafe

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Still the bed kept rising and pressed the ceilins At last the posts pushed against the plaster.
It yielded, and a section of the roof -a\e \va\ I found myself on the roof, belli:,' carried down
stream. After a little the roof began to part, and I was afraid I was going to be drowned Just
then another house with a shingle roof tloated by and I managed to crawl on it. and floated
down until nearly dead with colti. when I was saved, .Vfter I was freed from the house I did
not see my father. My grandfather was on a tree, but he must have been drowned, as the
waters wore rising fast, John Kint/, jr .
wa-, also on a tree. Miss ^[arv Kintz and ilrs. Marv
Kintz I saw drown Miss Smith v. as also drowned, John Hirsch was in a tree, but the four
children were dr(iwned The scenes were terrible. Live bodies and corpses were tinatingdown
with me and away from me I -vould see persons, hear them shriek, and thev would uis.ippear.
All along the line were people who were trying to save us. but they could do nothing, and only
a few were caught "
At Bolivnr a yoiini; man and two women were seen comin,;; on a piece of
a floor. At the upj^er bridue a rope was tlirown to them whicli the\ all failed
to catch. Between the two bridg'es he was noticed to point toward tite elder
woman, who was likely his mutlier. He was then seen to instruct the women
how to catch the rope that was lowt-red from the other bridge. Down came
the raft \\ itli a rush. The bra\ e man stood with his arms around his two
companions. As they swept under the bridge he seized the rope. He was jerked
violently awa\- from the \\omen, who failed to tret a hold. Seein.LT that the\-
coidd not be rescued, he dropped the rope and fell back on the raft, which
floated on. The current washed the frail craft toward the bank. The \ouni:;
man was enabled to sei.ze a branch of a tree. He aided the two women to .qet
up into the tree, while lie lield on with his liands and rested his fe-et on a pile
of driftwood. Floatin-..; timber struck the drift, sweeping; it away. The man
luing with his body in tlie water. A pile of driftwood collected, finnishing hmi
another insecure footin. Up the ri\-er there was a sudden crash. .V section
of the bridge was swept away and floated down the stream, striking the tree
and snapping it off. All three were thrown into the water, and ilrowned before
the eyes of the liorrit'ied spectators. How thev. or anv others, reached
Bolivar ali\e is a marvel. At Lockport Falls the waters poured through the
rocky barrier with a deafening' roar. Trees were bounced high in the air and
houses dashed to kindling wood. Yet a baby (t\e months old—nobod\' knew
whose child—floated the entire distance on the floor of the house and was
rescued at Pittsburgh on Saturday morning ! flood-waif is plump and
vigorous to-day. Still people talk of Graham and his barrel at Niagara, and
insist tliat the age of miracles is past !
C. \V. Linthicum. of Batimore, Avas on his wa\- from Pittsburgh to Johnstown
on Friday evening. The terrors he witnessed may be judged from his
description ;
"Our train, due at San;; Hollow at 4.02. was five tninutes late. Just as we were about to
pull out v.e heard the flood was comio:,-, Lui^king up the valley, we saw an immense uali of
water, thirty feet hii.'li. racing, roaring, rushing towards us The engineer res'ersed the engine
and ran back to the lulls, three or four hundred yards, enabling us to escape. Tiie flood swept