s all along the line of the railroad from Johnstown west
had received visitations. Many of the houses in New Florence were
partially under water. At Bolivar the whole lower part of the town was
submerged.

The ride over the mountain road gave one a good idea of the cause of
this disaster. Every creek was a rushing river and every rivulet a
raging torrent. The ground was water soaked, and when the immense
mountain district that drains into the Conemaugh above South Fork is
taken into consideration the terrible volume of water that must have
accumulated can be realized. Gathering, as it did, within a few
minutes, it came against the breast of the South Fork dam with
irresistible force. The frightened inhabitants along the Conemaugh
describe the flood as something awful. The first rise came almost
without warning, and the torrent came roaring down the mountain passes
in one huge wave, several feet in height. After the first swell the
water continued to rise at a fearful rate.

Daylight Brings No Relief.

The gray morning light does not seem to show either hope or mitigation
of the awful fears of the night. It has been a hard night to everybody.
The overworked newspaper men, who have been without rest and food since
yesterday afternoon, and the operators who have handled the messages are
already preparing for the work of the day. There has been a long wrangle
over the possession of a special train for the press between rival
newspaper men, and it has delayed the work of others who are anxious to
get further east.

Even here, so far from the washed-out towns, seven bodies have been
found. Two were in a tree, a man and a woman, where the flood had
carried them. The country people are coming into the town in large
numbers telling stories of disaster along the river banks in sequestered
places.

Floating Houses.

John McCarthey, a carpenter, who lives in Johnstown, reached here about
four o'clock. He left Johnstown at half-past four yesterday afternoon
and says the scene then was indescribable. The people had been warned
early in the morning to move to the highlands, but they did not heed the
warning, although it was repeated a number of times up to one o'clock,
when the water poured into Cinder street several feet deep. Then the
houses began rocking to and fro, and finally the force of the current
carried buildings across streets and vacant lots and dashed them against
each other, breaking them into fragments. Thes