and
devoted mothers, there is an element of sadness connected with the
tragedy that touches every heart.

_The loss of life is simply dreadful. The most conservative people
declare that the number will reach 5000, while others confidently assert
that 8000 or 10,000 have perished._

How Johnstown Looks after Flood and Fire Have Done
Their Worst.

An eye-witness writing from Pittsburgh says:--We have just returned from
a trip through what is left of Johnstown. The view from beyond is almost
impossible to describe. To look upon it is a sight that neither war nor
catastrophe can equal. House is piled upon house, not as we have seen in
occasional floods of the the Western rivers, but the remains of two and
four storied buildings piled upon the top of one another.

The ruins of what is known as the Club House are in perhaps the best
condition of any in that portion of the town, but it is certainly
damaged beyond possibility of repair. _On the upper floor five bodies
are lying unidentified._ One of them, a woman of genteel birth, judging
by her dress, is locked in one of the small rooms to prevent a
possibility of spoliation by wreckers, who are flocking to the spot from
all directions and taking possession of everything they can get hold of.

Here and there bodies can be seen sticking in the ruins. Some of the
most prominent citizens are to be seen working with might and main to
get at the remains of relatives whom they have located.

_There is no doubt that, wild as the estimates of the loss of life and
damage to property have been, it is even larger than there is any idea
of._

Close on to 2,000 residences lie in kindling wood at the lower end of
the town.

Freaks of the Flood.

An idea of the eccentricity of the flood may be gathered from the fact
that houses that were situated at Woodvale and points above Johnstown
are piled at the lower end of the town, while some massive houses have
been lifted and carried from the lower end as far as the cemetery at the
extreme upper portion of the town. All through the ruins are scattered
the most costly furniture and store goods of all kinds.

Thieves are Busy.

I stood on the keyboard and strings of a piano while I watched a number
of thieves break into the remnants of houses and pilfer them, while
others again had got at a supply of fine groceries and had broken into
a barrel of fine brandy, and were fairly steeping themselves in it. I
met quite a number of Pi