The Owosso times., 1881-11-04

slough. Far out upon its edge, from Q
strong house, which was only partially
covered with the slime and stone, foul
persons-a graybeard of 81 years and
mother with two ochildren-were tax.
en- out badly injured, but alive. Every
other human being overtaken in the
path of the avalanch was forever bur.
led out of human sight. Fifteen humps
of torn and bleeding flesh, masses OF
pulp without shape or form, were tax
en- out. The others rest in a grave sc
deep and strong that no man can un.
cover it. In one house Is persons who
sat at christening feast, and who are
known to have joked with each other
in regard to the old superstition about
Ii at table, were swallowed up as they
sat. On lonely hillside, out of the
way of danger, an old man and woman
lived with their only son. After the
first slide of the mountain the father
and son hurried down to the help of
their friends. They were swallowed
up with the rest. A childless widow
who has become a chattering idiot, now
occupies the lonely dwelling. Daugh-
ters who hurried to the help of their
fathers ;methers who would have saved
their children; lovers who strove to aid
their brides. were together buried in
the awful moraine. 1t is feared that
many of those who have been left be-
hind will share the fate of the poor
creature, who, mourning husband and
a son, has gone mad with sorrow.
The extent of the land-slip is almost
beyond belief. To give anything like
an adequate idea Of tits no easy task.
1t is no way to be compared to the
Goldau slip of 1906, when, as will be
remembered, 457 people lost their lives.
In the latter case the mountains slid
down and covered the village. At
Elm great mass of the Plattenberg, a
mass 1900 feet wide, at least 1000 feet
high above the valley, and according
to the engineers, from 60 to 100 feet
deep, fell over upon the village, its
farms, gardens, and meadows. Tons of
rock were dashed entirely across the
valley, and now rest quietly 800 and
400 feet high upon the hillside. The
air-pressure was so great that houses
were lifted up from their foundations
and carried distance of 1000 feet. A
barn built of heavy logs, and filled with
hay, was carried entirely across the
valley and overturned 200 feet high on
the mountain opposite the Plattenberg.
An iron bridge which crossed the
Seruf was torn up, carried scores Of
feet away from its abutments, and now
rests on end more than half buried III
mud and loose stone. The whole val
ley, as far us it can be seen from the
village inn, which is still standing, very
closely resembles theibed of glacier
which has receded. AS have already
stated, the masses of stone and earth
which have fallen are everywhere piled
up to a height of very many feet. At
least 500 acres are covered in this way.
The River Sernf has made for itself q
new channel through the debris and
has flooded and ruined much of the
land below, land which was not di-
rectly harmed by the advance of stone.
So in one way or another the whole
valley has been injured beyond all hope
of repair. The loss in property will
reach less than 1000, 900; at the lowest
estimate 1913 people have lost their
lives. The state Engineers, fearing
further land-slides, have forbidden
those who have escaped to return to
the houses which remain standing,and
in consequence more than 800 men,
women, and children, who but a few
days ago were prosperous and well to
do, are now almost without roof to
cover them. They may well cry out
with their mythical hero Tell:
'fWauken auch
Die Berge Selbst! Es stebt NIGHTS fest auf En-
den0