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

332 Tin: STORY i>F /(V/\ST(Ur\.
when dayli.L,'ht dawned on Saturtl.iy. Once tlnrini; the niL;ht, which l^eenled
interininahle. the clock in the tnwer of the Catholic Church wa^; ncniced -^trikin^f
three. • Thank CjocI !' '
fervently
exclaimed the a^ed pih^rinu it's three
o'clock and will -^oon. he huht !" Fiitei-n minutes later l!ie clock struck tweh'e.
The three strok'es that had excited attention were the threeM]uarters cif the
preceding; hour. C~)ne oi thi poor fellow r> saul :
"It sounded like a funeral knell, 1 wa-. never so disappointed in mv life We all supposed
it was three anii were watching for the tirst streak of dawn Tha' SLUne shed bitter tear.^
you may feel certain
Shortly before the llood Entile Etoine left Camhria BorouL,di for his native
town of Crecnville. in Alsace-Lorraine, to receive a fortune inh.erittd from a
relative. He had been employed as a puddler at the Cambria Iron Works,
and wife and li\'e children remaiuetl behind. Other person--^ claimed closer relationship
tc) the dead luicle. biit at last lie recei\ed the nione\" and came back
witli a draft \\ortli sjo.ooo in his pocket. Reaciiing Johnstown on December
20th, he had not heard of the disaster and did not recognize the place. Here
is his sad experience :
"When I got off at the r.ailroad station I turned back to one of the depot-men and inquired
how far I had yet to go to Johnstown, as I had i;ot oft at the wrong station, and how soon
the next train left for that town The man looked at me for a moment as though he thousht I
was not quite right in my mind, and asked me whether or not I could read the sign on the station
house. I looked up, and there it was. plain enough While I looked at the sign in a dazed
'
sort of way another man stepped up and said. I guess you re a stranger here, or have been in
Johnstown before the flood ; its quite changed now t wouldn t have known it myself if I had
been away for si.K months.' .-Vs the man spoke I felt as if someone had [)unctured m\ heart
with a -harp knife, and I fainted dead awav. When consciousness returned I went out to find
my wife and children, but something told me that they were dead. The part of Cambria City
where stood the house in which I left my family was completely swept away. Nobody knew
what had become of my family, and the people could hardly understand my sorrow and grief,
having suffered so much themseKe-., I was told that nearly all the people of Cambria who inhabited
that section where m\ house had stood perished. I am not going to remain in this
country, Kver\ thing reminds me of the terrible loss I have sustained, and I will return to mv
native land
One evenin'..;. soon after the arrival of the Red Cross workers. Mrs. Samtiel
Henrie. a retnned. preposses>inL; lady, entered the societ\'s headquarters
anci. in conversaticiu with some of the ladies, gave the leading incidents in her
tlood experience. Her home was it4 Market street, near the market-licnise.
All the morning the faniilx' had lieen watching the water, for nianv hotises on
the level were submerged sex'eral feet. Before noon it began to come in. so
they took up the carpets ;ind -'-t uii the piano. Mr. and Mrs. Henrie. with
their widowed daughter. graud--oa and a Miss Cireen. comprised the hiJiisehold.
As the water rose hiuher and higher, they were forced to go np-stairs. li\-
pectiiig the water wouki soon lower, amitl the excitement and f;itii;ue, tliev did
not think to take an\thing to eat. After a time the\- thought of tltis, antl the