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

Tile
I S 2 THE STOR ) OF JOZ/XSTOUW.
the hard ^idi; of a hrick pile, his restinL;-phice in the open air, his desk a coalshove!
! true newspaper u:an ne\er fails tij respond to the call ot dnty,
and jnst then diit\\\as sumnionini,' him ^vith a trnnipet \oice such as earth has
seldom or never heard.
Who arrived first on the urotnid is a mooted poiin. The number claiming
the h.onor is as L;reat as the servants of Washington, or the survivors of Waterloo.
The Harrisburg Ti/ri^ra/n \\ as prcibably the onl\- outside paper whose
representati\e happened to be on the spot. He was remforce'd as (piickly as
writers and artists could get through. Wonderful celerity was displayed in
tra\eling to the scene of hc>rror. Special trains v>ere chartered, wagons were
hired, and no expense was spared to accomplish
the prime object — penetrate
Johnstown and send the news. Pittsburgh was the nearest city and its leading
papers rose to the emergenc\-. One of the brightest of the young men
from the Smoky City furnished this \-ivid sketch :
' It was half-pabt five o'clock on Fridav evenint; when the first news of tin- flood reached
Pittsburuh. .\ number of queries were sent out by the different newsp.ipers to several available
points, asking; for more definite information as to the e.\tent of the flood and irs destruction.
When, after an hours delay, a perfect flood of messages telling of the horror came over the
wires to Pittsburgh, the keen discernment which always characterizes the newspaper man asserted
itself. A few minutes after seven o'clock the D'upntLh and the Tnii,-s had chartered a
train, which went flying off in the direction of Johnstown Charles S. Howell and Captain
Montreville, of the Times, and L. E. Stofiel and James Israel, of the Dni-iUdi. were on board.
Almost at the same time W, C. Connelly, jr , of the Associated Press, touether with the Cmiimei-Lial-Gazeilc,
the /''•/ and C»ronic/e-Ti.\-;;r,i/'ii, chartered a train, which followed immediately.
On this train were Parker L. Wal.er, of the C>'ii;:iiiiu'-Tti --r„/'ri ; Frank X, Burns, of
the Cnwnu-rcuii-C'.-.ctlc ; Robert W. Herbert, of the Post : and H. W Orr, chief operator of the
Pittsburgh bureau of the .Associated Press. This train reached Bolivar, twenty miles west of
Johnstown, about 10:30 p. m.. where the first train had stopped, locomotion being impossible
farther.
"It was pitch dark and rainin.; hea\ ily, but the men were there prepared to face any danger
to obtain the news for their respective papers They had no sooner dismounted from their
trains than tl.ev started in detachments across the mountains, some on foot and some in wagons,
in the direction of New Florence, which was reached between two and three o'clock in the
morning. Here they could see the reflection of the burning wreck at the stone bridge several
miles up the valley.
'.Vfter a jouruev of several miles in mud and slush, acrijss ravines, up ini.iuntains, and
down steep hill-sides, ^Messrs. Hov.cll and Mnntreville captured a wive at New Florence and
sent out one of the first messa'.ies that arrived in Pittsburgh from the devastated valley Mr.
Connelly captured another telegraph wire at New Florence, and found it intact. It was then
that his forethouaht in bringing Mr. Orr with him to the scene proved invaluable. In a few
moments Orr had the telegraph instrument attached to the patched-up wire, sending the news
of the Associated Pre.ss to every city in the country simultaneously with the messages which
Messrs. Howell and Montreville were lucky enough to get over the wires a short distance away.
The Tl'j.', Ci'K:i:\-r,/,!/ Oriz.-.'.w and Oi'.'';/.-,'i-- /'.7.;;'/v.'/.-i reporters, finding the /.'.'," ^'."v in possession
of the office nearest to Xew Florence, wasted no time in scattering themselves along the line
of the Penns-' Ivania railroad until they were able to send from different stations a rich harvest
of the news gathered on the eventful trip over the mountains and up the valley at the dead o£
night