The ballad sung by Mack Moody referred to the same tragedy, but has few words in common with the Rickaby broadside text in the DT. Clearly, there were a number of songs about the flood, all lumped together under Laws G 14 in his index of American broadside ballads. Mack sang five verses. I'll put them in a separate LYR ADD thread for you, Wolfgang.

The story of the Johnstown Flood ought to be enough to radicalize the masses. The rich Pittsburgh sportsmen (Mellon, Carnegie, etc.) refused to breach their earthen dam to let the water building up behind it out a little at a time. Warned that the dam was going to give way, they still refused to sacrifice their private lake. As a result, thousands of lives were sacrificed when the dam broke and the wall of water swept down the valley. Read about it, folks.

Sandy