In Pittsburg there was but one topic of conversation, and that was the
Johnstown deluge. Crowds of eager watchers all day long besieged the
newspaper bulletin boards and rendered streets impassable in their
vicinity. Many of them had friends or relatives in the stricken
district, and "Names!" "Names!" was their cry. But there were no names.
The storm which had perhaps swept away their loved ones had also carried
away all means of communication and their vigil was unrewarded. It is
not yet known whether the telegraph operator at Johnstown is dead or
alive. The nearest point to that city which can be reached to-night is
New Florence, and the one wire there is used almost constantly by orders
for coffins, embalming fluid and preparing special cars to carry the
recovered dead to their homes.

Along the banks of the now turbulent Allegheny were placed watchers for
dead bodies, and all wreckage was carefully scanned for the dead. The
result of this vigilance was the recovery of one body, that of a woman
floating down on a pile of debris. Seven other bodies were seen, but
could not be reached owing to the swift moving wreckage by which they
were surrounded.

A Heartrending Sight.

A railroad conductor who arrived in the city this morning said:--"There
is no telling how many lives are lost. We got as far as Bolivar, and I
tell you it is a terrible sight. The body of a boy was picked up by some
of us there, and there were eleven bodies recovered altogether. I do
not think that anyone got into Johnstown, and it is my opinion that they
will not get in very soon. No one who is not on the grounds has any idea
of the damage done. It will be at least a week before the extent of this
flood is known, and then I think many bodies will never be recovered."

Assistant Superintendent Wilson, of the West Pennsylvania Railroad,
received the following despatch from Nineveh to-day:--

"There appears to be a large number of people lodged in the trees and
rubbish along the line. Many are alive. Rescuing parties should be
advised at every station."

Another telegram from Nineveh said that up to noon 175 bodies had been
taken from the river at that point.

The stage of water in the Allegheny this afternoon became so alarming
that residents living in the low-lying districts began to remove their
household effects to a higher grade. The tracks of the Pittsburgh and
Western Railroad are under water in several places, and great
inconvenie