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

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which
wifjT OF Ttn-: i-rri/RE' 367
hatchet and started tu knock awa\' the raL;^"ed edLjes or dismantleil ]iortioiis ot
liis ruinetl home an.l pn.t up a tt inporarN 'shelter Thf rinu;" of tlie hanniier and
nails was soon heard on ever\' siiie. In dilli rent parts ot tlie town pieces ol
paper and carets were fastened on broomsticks and stuck" in the chrt piU-s, telh
in^" that this was the site of soriiehod}"' > store wiio meant to rebniU! and ;:o on
again. \'ei\' oflen the iiatnre of the Imsiness formerly carried I'R mi,L;ht hi:
learned at a glance h\ the char;icter of the rnlihish. Occasionnih some one
became facetious in det\'ing fate, and one man had on his placard ;
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On top Floniis ilnn't step iiif
People indmed with such a spirit can no more l)e kept dnwn than steam
will stoji rising because tile safet\ -\al\^e is weiL;hted. The work ot clearing il;e
town%\ent on. h2\er\liiid\ not clironicalh^ laz\^ w as bn>\'. \\"a:^ons fidl of
mud rumbled o\er the streets towanls the rixer. and tired men with picks in
their hands stood a^ide and wiped thek face^ as tlie\^ made rodui for them tc)
pass. Faces liad a more chei'rful e.xpressien arid the tone of the conversation
was less despontient tlian at fir^t. .V deterrjhnation to make the licst of
everything preijommated. The sk\^ brightened anil the liark cloud.-, dispersed
as each day witnessed some addition in the direction of solitl progress. The
•Candnia Inm Works were running as usual h\ June 24th. and an arm\ of men
were restorini; the Gautier Mills. The Johnson Compan_\ . emplo\ed
one thousand men cir more making stee'l and steel rails, reiiuilt its ^^'ood^ale
branch at Mo.xham. giving stead\^ employment to all the force who sur\ived.
On June 14th all meu'bers C'f the Coimcil of \\'ood\ale w ho did not perish met
President George Ih Kolierts to ask him about connecting them \\\ rail with
the rebuilt portion of the Pennsylvania Radroatl. There was a tin\ bit of a
street railway, a little patch C'f pa\^ed street and a curbstone. Around this
curbstone they met. Of what was once a tliri\ing and poindous town of three
thousand so\ds. with factories, tanneries, hails, stores and snug dwellings,
the curbstone \\-as the only remnant left, and around this thev prc^pused to
build. With ab--olutehMi>thing in sight these mi/ii were proxidiiT,,' for tlie
future exigencies of tlie
restored inauufactunnL; center that in their minds thev
had already located on the ruined waste. Mr. S. S. Mar\ in, of the Flood
Commission, outlined the situa.tion on Jul}' 22A, \\hen he remarked to a newspaper
correspondent :
' The u hole tou n is nnce more upon its feet, and it is cei t.iinly a matter for congratulation.
There has not been a hitch o£ any kind between the members of the various relief committees,
and the wisdom of conservative manai;ement of the relief funds has become so clearly apparent
that there is no complaint to be lieard anywhere Another indication of the approach of selfreliance
of the people is in the n.atter of bread .\t one time we wer^ sendinir from twent\
thousand to thirty thous.uid pounds of l>read daily to John^toun To-dav we sent one thousand
pounds, and to-nicht I received a telet;ram stating; that to-morrow, for the first time since the
flood, no bread would be required, but to send one thousand pounds on Wedne.sday This
indicates that five hundred pounds of bread per diem is now considered ample as the outside