History of the Johnstown Flood: Including all the Fearful Record; the Breaking of the South Fork Dam; the Sweeping Out of the Conemaugh Valley; the Over-Throw of Johnstown; the Massing of the Wreck at the Railroad Bridge; Escapes, Rescues, Searches for Survivors and the Dead; Relief Organizations, Stupendous Charities, etc., etc., With Full Accounts also of the Destruction on the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers, and the Bald Eagle Creek.Johnson, Willis Fletcher
History
History of the Johnstown Flood: Including all the Fearful Record; the Breaking of the South Fork Dam; the Sweeping Out of the Conemaugh Valley; the Over-Throw of Johnstown; the Massing of the Wreck at the Railroad Bridge; Escapes, Rescues, Searches for Survivors and the Dead; Relief Organizations, Stupendous Charities, etc., etc., With Full Accounts also of the Destruction on the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers, and the Bald Eagle Creek.
With blanched faces and trembling forms, they obeyed the order and
begged for mercy. They were searched, and, as their pockets were emptied
of their ghastly finds, the indignation of the crowd intensified, and
when a bloody finger of an infant encircled with two tiny gold rings was
found among the plunder in the leader's pocket, a cry went up, "Lynch
them! Lynch them!" Without a moment's delay ropes were thrown around
their necks and they were dangling to the limbs of a tree, in the
branches of which an hour before were entangled the bodies of a dead
father and son. After half an hour the ropes were cut and the bodies
lowered and carried to a pile of rocks in the forest on the hill above.
It is hinted that an Allegheny county official was one of the most
prominent in this justifiable homicide.
One miserable wretch who was caught in the act of mutilating a body was
chased by a crowd of citizens, and when captured was promptly strung up
to a telegraph pole. A company of officers rescued him before he was
dead, much to the disgust of many reputable people, whose feelings had
been outraged by the treatment of their deceased relations. Shortly
after midnight an attempt was made to rob the First National Bank,
which, with the exception of the vaults, had been destroyed. The
plunderers were discovered by the citizens' patrol, which had been
established during the night, and a lively chase ensued. A number of
the thieves--six, it is said--were shot. It is not known whether any
were killed or not, as their bodies would have been washed away almost
immediately if such had been the case.
A number of Hungarians collected about a number of bodies at Cambria
which had been washed up, and began rifling the trunks. After they had
secured all the contents they turned their attention to the dead.
The ghastly spectacle presented by the distorted features of those who
had lost their lives during the flood had no influence upon the ghouls,
who acted more like wild beasts than human beings. They took every
article from the clothing on the dead bodies, not leaving anything of
value or anything that would serve to identify the remains.
After the miscreants had removed all their plunder to dry ground a
dispute arose over a division of the spoils. A pitched battle followed,
and for a time the situation was alarming. Knives and clubs were used
freely. As a result several of the combatants were seriously wounded and
left on the ground, their fellow-countrymen not making any attempt to
remove them from the field of strife.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account