Q. Where were you employed in May last?
A. Firing on the Penna. Railroad.
Q. On what engine?
A. 437.
Q. Who was your engineer?
A. William Adams.
Q. Where were you on the morning of the flood?
A. Well, the caller called me on the morning of the flood. He came up and told me that we were second to go, and we would get either No. 2 or a freight train, whichever came first. The freight train didn't get there ahead of No. 2., and that throwed the first engine out to pull ahead of No. 2. So we laid there ready for the freight train to pull up and get behind it, and they wouldn't allow the freight train to go right away, and by that time the first No. 8 came and the caller (t)old us to get up on the main track ready for first No. 8. Well, first No. 8 came up, and we coupled onto it and laid on the main track a while until Mr. Walkinshaw, the Yard Master, came out and b acked [sic] the train down on the siding, right where the bridge used to stand, I can't just tell you the place, and the second section of No. 8 came up and they backed them down, and we laid there from about 11 o'clock to about one, when they pulled us up in front of the station . I thought we were going on to South Fork, but they pulled us up in front of Conemaugh station on the siding there. While we were there, they came around---and [sic] Mr. Adams had gone over for his dinner, and while we were laying there, the Yard Master came and asked me where he was, and I told him he had went for his dinner. He said they wanted the engine to go to Johnstown after some men, so I cut the engine off and ran it in front of the tower and wai/ted [sic] there, and they put another (en)gineer on, John McHugh, and Stormer, the division foreman, got on, and we went to Johnstown with the empty engine to bring up some man, and we got the men on and brought them ((not on page)); and then we went and coupled onto the train again and pulled up right in front of the station. We laid there a while and then they came around, I think it was the Division Foreman Stormer, and said that they wanted that engine to shift up a couple box cars for the men to put their goods in. We shifted some box cars up for those people living up along the river to put their goods in, and then we brought the engine down and laid right in front of the station about two engine lengths in front of the train.
Q. Where were you when the flood came?
A. I was on the engine when Mr. Hess came down whistling. I (di)dn't pay much attention to the whistling at first; the eng(i)ne was leaking badly, and I had to watch her pretty close, and I had the injector on pumping whenever he commenced to whistle. I looked around and saw everybody was going for the hills and I shut the injector off, and I thought I would be safe in staying on the engine. Then I seen the water coming up there and taking some of the houses, and I got off and went as hard as I could. Before I got out the water was up to my knees.
