Q. You were the engineer of No. 12 on the last day of May last?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What time did you reach Johnstown?
A. We reached there about ten to twelve minutes late.
Q. How long have you been on the run of Mail Train?
A. I had only been on that run about three or four days. My run had been usually first No. 8, Day Express, until the change of the schedule. A few days after the change, I had been running Mail Train east.
Q. Where did you go after you left Johnstown?
A. We went to Conemaugh.
Q. Go on and tell us in your own way what took place there, and what was done with your train.
A. We went to Conemaugh and got orders there to remain for orders, and we backed in on what they call No. 1 track, river siding, west of the crossing west of the telegraph tower, and remained there until it washed the roadbed out from under the track, and the dispatcher pulled us up east of the tower, and lying there between the tower and the coal tipple until the flood came, and the first notice we got of the flood was this whistle---
Q. What whistle do you speak of?
A. Why the alarm whistle of some freight engine, ballast train, that was up around the curve there; I never heard the number of the engine.
Q. What was the whistle like?
A. It was just one long blast; it sounded as though he had just opened the whistle and secured it open in some way.
Q. Did it seem to alarm the people down where you were?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. They thought it was something unusual?
A. Yes, sir, they started to run. I was sitting on the engine eating when I heard it, me and my fireman, and I just stepped over to the fireman's side and looked out and I seen them going. I seen the engineer of first Day Express down along our express car talking, and d [sic] I just stepped down off the engine, and he was persuading the express messenger to get out. I made some remark about it coming down, and engineer Henry who was on the north side, hollowed for us to go; that the water was close, carrying trees and everything before it. Then we went out east of the station. I didn't see any person get out after we got out. There was no chance for any person behind us to get out.
Q. Was your train changed after it was first placed at Conemaugh to any other place?
A. Yes, sir, when we went to Conemaugh, we were laying west of the tower, and when the flood came, we were laying east of it.
Q. What was the object of moving you?
A. It was on account of the river rising; the river ran then right along the roadbed, and for fear that it might wash the roadbed away where we were standing---we [sic] were laying on the freight track; there was no danger of the passenger track. There was no person explained it to me; that is my idea of it; we pulled up and remained there.
Q. What did you hear, if anything, about the dam breaking?
A. I heard some remarks about it; that it might break or something like that. I didn't hear anything particular. The most particular part about it with me was when I saw it coming.
Q. There were no passengers lost off of your train?
A. No, sir.
Q. Any of your cars taken, that is washed away?
A. No, sir.
Q. Where did you go to a place of safety?
A. I got over on the north side.
Q. How high did the flood run over where your train was, over the Conemaugh yard, do you suppose?
A. I suppose some places 25 or 30 feet.
Q. After it dashed over the yard, it ran down into Conemaugh town, didn't it? along the street there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What damage did it do there?
A. It just took the houses and everything right along; a great amny [sic] houses were swept out;
Q. Were there any persons drowned?
A. Well, we didn't see any of the citizens drowned.
Q. Do you know whether there were or not?
A. I heard there wasn't so^[very] many drowned at Conemaugh.
