New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-10-31

had spread itself out fanshGped, over mn area hait
q milo wide and about mi.e and q hail long IN
places the debris was from nifty To Que hundred Ieet
deep ard at intervals lay industrious books Of rock
rs large as houses some Gi these, 10 Is estimated
weighing six seven thousand hundred weight
Under tins awful ruin there had been buri,T not
less than one hundred and fourteen Of the CltiIcu2
OF tho village How many tourists may have lccn
killed. OF how many of the Italian V0rSUen from
the QUAR- es. will never be known. Certain IL vas
that whole families an instant swept out OF
existence Scarcely a family in Eim was there that
did not lose one or move Of It's MaiuDei3. Have
You lost friends too ] asked Oh the great strong
man who was pointing Oul places and incident, 10
me. on yes, my dcnr sr, NY iaihcr, both my
brothers, and my only child are down lheiH unlct
the ruin Another, Matthias Rhyrcr, was Ep on tho
high pasture when TIT catastIoplc came. lie heard
the terrific thunGcrs oil the falling mountain, and
saw the whole valley daIhened, AMI me village en-,
Qulied in ruin. He hurried down the lilI5loe, ana
found his own L0ilc gone, ana Win ~ Li5 Wlic, us
two sons and bus three CaughiSi5; Ilad the l1sb
trump sounded, and tie earth ialleh to pieces, the
scene could not have been more dread al 10 hlm.
Elizabeth Elmer when tie m.untlln moved
grJspCd hcr two chhdrcu anu started hte race Ioi
the nearest height shouting To ngr uid iathcr and'
mother-u-llw tor Gods sake 10 follow. Hat
way over the little valley their steps id!ed them;
Elizabeth glanced back and "a" them, then arms
about each other, sitting Oh a stone ana waiting
the fearful death. When the uJuatatu pas ed, she
laid her babes by the bushes, ana hurried BACK,
calling TO those who could never answer III was
for q few moments the Stiffness oi the grave.
Father aud mother and husband were over
Wh-lueu. Ii WAS little 10 her now thai the niue
brown house aud the green garden were no more.
One little maiden wandered cOyly among the people
the next day worse than an orphan; father mother,
grandmother, uncle and i've brothers ana sisters
had perished OF the D.sch tlmliy seven were
killed; Of the Elmcrs six, ana twice rs many OF
ihcir ne relatives OF the same name. Fifteen
persons sat at festival dinner IN honor oil new
born child baptized III the morning. Hall He'd and
escaped: and half. with the babe, were over,
whelmed. No wounded survived The disaster; all
whom the mountain struck were Killed. One Only,
Gabriel Schneider, the gray headed patriarch OF the
village, uHetytwO years Ot ago, was uIasgpd out Oh
tie ruins alive.
they were overwhelmed and Disappeared those IN
the line of danger and furthest removed from the
mountain, were simply torn to pieces ana their
wrecks tossed ont on the meadow. ne force ana
Tremendous momentum OF the ialilng mass hal
been such that II was driven IN one direction Two or
three hundred feet up the steep sidc oi mountain
opposite, and destroyed houses ana IlFcs up iutIe
The iron bridge over the Ncrni torrent WAS pickeh
up by the advancing wind, torn Ike reed, Hnt
buried by the coming mass. INC Inc pursued py
tie moving earth was clearly deinfd, aud those
not in its path witnessed, unframed, IT'S icarlul
destruction. When the final shock came the WI
layers were mostly IN the streets; q few M thcir
houses: some on the knoll 10y the village church.
Every soul was struck with terror and every one
expected IA horrible death. The landsllP had gone
directly over the bed OF the stream, ming IL up
until the accommodating water quickly formed MIN
nature lakes the great bouiders ahd on Top OF
the debris The lIttc church was let un'nJureGi
So too was the village Inn; but rs hospitabie
landlord Richter Elmer, known ana loved by half
the mountain climbers OF switzerland had DGeh
thrown into thc torrent by the VIVA anu uIoWhtd.
The writer. with friend or two, climbed high up
on ono of tho mountains above I'm. and looked
down nj the lost village and the desolatiou. The
scene will never re forgotten by Us. a shepherd
boy l0oscucd rock, few pounds IN weight, and
We marked the desperate way IN which u bounded
through grass and bush down into one OF the cores
fairly sluoking and burning IN It's race. II" II this
little stone can 10 this" We said. what must the
falling Of the whole end OF q mountain have done I"
The desolation hclow answered Us: When we went
down again We had dinner in Elmcrs little Inn.
but We did not care TO sleep there II was too I'M
canny place now; more OF the mountain i,itht
come. and tie occasional slipping of stones down
its broken face and the anxiety ~ the faces ol the
villagers made us wish to leave tie valley.
What caused the Tschiugeibcrg TO come down
will never Ice exactly known. The accumulated
water soaked into its bosom during week OF rain
doubtless fastened the catastrophe Possibly the
unorrIrs IN lis side Wcro a causo more direct but IN
an probability centuries Of time have been prrpar
ing il for the final disaster The portion that broke
OIL filing the valley Is estimated 10 weigh ut least
ten millions Ol tons, and 20 fell from height OF
nearly two thousand feet above the village.