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

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Jnushtcr waded in v, ais-t-dcep ani_l L;ot a l(iaf uf bread. Tliis proved to he a
u'ise foretlioimht. for it was all the}' had until the iiexc (la\-. not hein^;" .dile to
^et down stairs again. Thev were watehin^ and waiting; for the water to lower,
whei!. about three o'clock. Miss Grei-n walketi to the wnidow and said
:
Mrs.
Henrie, 1 think the water i failin:;."
To (]Uote Mrs. lienries own lan,_;nai;e :
I looked, and thou£;ht it had fallen aliout three inche><
: hefnre I liad turned auav
from the window I heard the roar and crash Mi-;^ Clreen said, -M\ God' what is that-" I
cried, 'Close the window, it is the reservoir " I knew instantly what it \v,;s Then we both fell
on our knees and asked God to tell a^ what to dn This took only a moment We rushed to
tl;e sewing-room, where we found my husband, daughter Ma^yie and grandson standing At
tliat moment the compressed air knocked the top off the market-house Fallint; on our house.
It crushed it and everything around us and at that corner of the street. We ran for the hall,
my dau.ghter and myself much bruised Miss Green and Ma'.:i:ie spran:.; to a table which stood
near, and with their iists and feet knocked out tlie window, I5\ that time the debris was piled
nearly to the second-story window They climbed out upon it and pulled me through after
them. My daughter called to her father to come, but he could not, for he had his little grandson
in his arms The house tilted and he was pushed and crowded, he hardiv knows how. but
he got out and landed i5n the wreckage around us. It was onl\ a step to the roof of our house
and I was almost helpless with terrnr Maggie tried to help me on the roof, but I clipped ,ind
went down in the water to m> neck Her courage and strength seemed superhuman, and she
pulled me out and pushed me on the roof. I helping myself but little. In her etlorts to help
me she sank in the water to her arms
,
she .said there seemed to be some force under which
raised her to the sut'face again. I fear that but for this brave girl we would all have been
drowned or killed Of course, we were all grea-tly excited, scarcely kno.wing what we were
doing Only those who saw that oncoming mountainous terror can know what destruction and
death it meant. But no one had long to dread it, so quickly w.is it upon us, grinding, crushing
and crumbling everything in its path
' When we were on the roof we looked and saw- that all Market Street had gone Our
house, a little out of the current, still stuod on one side, crushed, but in its place. Directb the
wire-mill came dashing down toward us When my husband said it was onlv a part of it I
could not believe it ; it looked so immense as it jammed in just above us and crowded us out
into the current, and away we went .ilmost to the stone bridge Here the jam was so great that
the force of the current, was checked The back-water sent us out along Kenuille Hill In
this short time the horrible scenes we witnessed were unspeakable .\t one moment we would
see may-be a mother and children clinging to each other on a log, or roof, or house, when
something wnuld strike it. giving it a ml! in the water which would send them under. I'ossiblv
one might rise to the surface, but more probably the mass of wreckage would close over them
all forever The ne.\t moment ,a monstrous tree, driven through the waters, would dash against
another group, crushing them all In passing along through this death and destruction, we
looked across Napoleon Street and saw our other daughter. Mrs Kate CTawson, who lived in
KernviUe, sitting with her three children on a part of the roof of their house. The kitchen and
dining-room had been swept away. We s,,(in lost sight of them, as we floated ab'>ut a square
above and drifted in near Morris Street, .\s nearly as we could tell, the distance we were
whirled was more than a laile. Here we seemed to stop, but the water was not quiet enough
for us to attempt to get ofl until aiiout seen o'clock. 'I'hen w. climbed o\er h'-'usetons, logs,
broken cars and almost everything, some men holding boards for us to walk on. and l.inded in
Dean Canan's attic, getting in through the narrow window. We found eightv-two persons who
had got there before us The water was not quite to the third-story in this house, and ,ill night