Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-10-14

Account OF the DIsaster-NObIe
Death of Brave Rescuers.
Correspondence Of the Washington St0r.
GLARUs, SWITZERLAND, Sep. 10, 1881.
Since the destruction of Goldau in
September, 1906. by a land slide from
the Rossberg, Switzerland has not been
visited by more fearful disaster than
the utter demolition. on Sunday after
noon, September 18th, of large portion
OF the picturesque village of Elm, in the
canton of Glarus, nestled under the lee of
the great Tschingel Alp, at the base of
the Laaxer and Stoekli glaciers. The
geological formation of the Tschingel
consists largely of argillacious schist,
and the perils of land slide were from
time to time predicted; but familiarity
with impending danger dulls apprehen-
sion, and not until after two days of
heavy rainfall, on the 9th inst, when
the great and widening assures appeared
in the mountains sides, did the villagers
commence to realize than measures
should be taken to avert catastrophe.
A local engineer was called on to devise
means calculated to meet the emergency.
But alas, too late; and now the site of
the lower portion of the village, COM
prising twenty-one dwellings, with most
of their inmates, numerous out houses,
stables, cattle, horses and well-stocked
barns, beautiful gardens, orchards and
meadows, lies buried beneath from
twenty to forty feet of fragmentary
rocks, crushed trees and mountain de-
bris On Sunday afternoon of the day
of the terrible catastrophe, it was no.
ticed by different groups of villagers
sitting in front of their dwellings that
fragments of rocks would from time to
time come bounding down the mountain
side, until about four o'clock large
mass descended, crushing in its course
the offices and other buildings of the
slate quarrying company located here.
Still no serious harm to the village was
apprehended. People sat quietly that
Sunday afternoon before their doors,
watching listlessly the passing clouds
and planning for to-morrows work
When suddenly, as it were in a moment,
an unearthly crashing and rumbling was
heard, and instantly a thick cloud of
dust was thrust, as it were, over and into
the village, enveloping everything in
deep darkness, followed Immediately by
a whole mountain side of huge rocks,
immense trunks of trees and great
patches of sward, the whole tumbling,
grinding and sliding forward in mex
plicable confusion with irresistible force
into the valley where but few moments
before had so peacefully and attractively
stood Elm with its one thousand thrifty
inhabitants. Then all become silent as
a cemetery, and the clouds of dust
slowly lifting revealed to the horror
stricken denizens of the upper end of
the village the fearful extent of the dis
aster visited upon their fellow citizens
Help! helpl was the cry from every
quarter, and nothing daunted many
strong and willing hands rushed forward
to the rescue of those who lay buried
deep beneath the debris of a mountain
side. Hardly were the picks swung and
shovels desperately doing duty, when
another omnibus rumble was heard, fol-
lowed almost Immediately by terrible
crash, an irresisting column of wind and
an immense area of the mountain side
hurled into the valley, burying the res
cuers while at their noble work, and
covering past all hope of rescue those
whom the first land slide had overtaken
in their homes. So powerful was the
pressure of the column of air which pre-
ceded these landslides that an iron
bridge weighing some twelve tons was
bodily lifted and set up endwise by it
persons on the street were raised by it
and then dashed to the ground and
suffocated. Children were thus crushed
in full view of their parents; wives torn
from the sides of their husbands and
killed. A woman in confinement was
being removed on stretcher to a place
of safety when the second crash came
and remorselessly buried her, the infant
and the rescuers. There is hardly a
family left which mOurns not the loss of
one or more of its members and some
households are entirel Yextinct. OF the
town council two members persisted. OF
some 100 persons missing only IL cOrpses
have as yet been unearthed. Of the
beautiful forest tract above the villages,
whereof the timber was valued at &c.
900, not vestige remains, the site of its
former shade being cut clean, as though
a reaper had passed over it. The width
of the mountain side which has thus
been precipitated into the valley below
is not less than one thousand feet and
the area covered by the debris fully one
mile square The federal authorities at
Berne at once, on learning of the catas-
trophe, dispatched the engineer in chief to
the scene to render advice and aid, and
a commission, consisting of the President
and Secretaries of the Interior and
Agricultural Department promptly visit
ed the place to inspect and report. The
cOrpses, as from time to time they are
brought IN and laid out in the village
church, which escaped destruction, and
has been converted into a mOrgue, look
CHASTITY dsfgured, many faces being
crushed almost beyond recognition
limbs and portions of different bodies
lay side by side. From all quarters
relays Of rescuers have arrived, and, I'M
ceasing is the work of rescue going on,
but, alas, corpses alone are secared-the
fearful avalanche of rocks did its de-
structive work too effectually Appre-
tensions of further slide exist, as hume
rous exposed assures in the mountain
side indicate such. The stream which
meanders through the valley is partially
damned, and its waters, percolating
through the fallen rock and debris will
convert it into mass of stone and mud,
and so suffocate any of the unfortunate
who, though buried alive, may, per-
chance, have escaped being crushed by
protecting timbers and walls. Great,
al or,, &c 1;cN~oco