Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-02-23

company Will open the oregon QUOT
Line to Shoshone, Idaho, which is
the junction with the Wood River
branch, March LIST, the distance being
32l miles from the junction of the
Short Limo with the main line at
Granger, Wyoming Territory. Stage
lines into the southern Idaho mining
regions. which now run from kelton,
Utah, and Blackfoot, Idaho, will then
run from Shoshons. Work will be
rushed westward from Shoshone
towards Boise and Baker cities. 1t
is expected, however, that the U. P.
will stop short soms so miles this
side of Baker City, at Snake river, at
which point connection will I've made
with the Oregon system of roads.
Some 400 men are ut work upon the
Wood river branch running 60 miles
from Shoshone to Haley. OF this
distance As miles is already graded
AMI locomotive is expected at
Haley June LIST. From this point
several narrow gauge roads are pro-
lected into the mining regions of
Wood river district.
Risk OF Life ON the Rail.
CHICAGO, Feb. 15.-The Railuay
Age has tables showing the number
of passengers carried for the year
ending June IS, 1856. According
to the census it was III, 00O, 900, and
of employees $4,000. OF passen-
gers only 81 were killed, without
their own calelessness, or one to
every 4, AIS, 900, while of employees
260 were killed, or one in every 1,611.
One passenger to every 814, 421 re-
ceivsd injuries, and one employee to
every Alt. One passenger in every
1923. 800 was killed by his Own care
lessness, and one to every l, 2G6, 900
was injured. An astonishing feature
is the small danger to ordinarily
careful passengers. Tue injuries to
employees shows q very high rate
and the mortality is terrible.
Terrible. Disaster.
CHICAGO, Feb. ia brief in
tervisw just had With A. L. Sweet,
President of the four mines com.
prising the Diamond mine, to con-
firms the reports of the terrible die
aster at Drainwood. Sweets in
formation is that 800 men were in
the various shafts this afternoon
when the ground sagged in under
weight OF water that had 1T once
loosened it. Sixty-two were in one
shalt which caught the bulk Of the
falling debris. and which WAS in
stantly flooded. Every one of them
were either drowned or smothered
inside of five minutes. Their bod
les are now buried beneath many
tons of earth. Hundreds of acres
have been excavated, and the miners
not in the one unfortunate shaft all
escaped. Pumping is going ON
vigorously but it will be many hours
before the first bodies ale reached.
The mine was of the ordinary kind,
supplied with regular shafts, and
supposed to be we'll protected from
accident. Wires to Joliet are in
bad shape, and no full reports are
yet received from the scene.
A National Calamity.
LONDON, Feb. 19.-The rains and
floods which have been prevailing
in all parts of the country have now
assumed the proportions of . ma
tionsl calamity. Large tracts of
land are totally submerged. A con-
siderable area of this should have
been sown, but scarcely an acre has
yet been seeded down. All Eng
land is literally . morass and water,
and wheat is rolling in soggy ground.
Whatever may happen now there
cannot be q good harvest this year,
oven if it does not turn out one of
the worst that England has ever
known. To add to tho misfortunes
of our sorsly-tried agricultural
popula ion, . disc ase has broken
out among cattle and sheep.
The Great Flssd Throahssut the Ohio
Valley Causes DsPiersbls Suffering
and Misery.
IxDANAPoLIs. Fec. 19.-Telegrams
received by the relief committee, from
tho flooded districts, give the most
gloomy accounts of distress and
suffering. At New Albany the river
has fallen two feet: weather very
cool. The suffering and misery in
the city and vicinity is dsplorabls.
Distress is everywhere. One thous-
and families in the city, $50 in the
immediate vicinity. have been driven
from their BONES and domicile
wherever covering can be had. By
the stoppags Of factories 1000 fam
lies are made dependent on public
charity. Most of them lost every
thing. On the bottoms west Of the
city IS families are homeless. They
lost houses, barns, grain, forage.
farm implements and everything,
and are suddenly placed in absolute
poverty, with nothing left to put in
crops. The city is caring for these
as best it can. All the factories ex-
cept one are stopped. 1t will require
several months to rebuild the fac.
tories and resume operations. In
the meantime the employees have
been cared for. Reports from the
Wabash river ct Terra Haute say the
flood reached the highest point this
afternoon, being few inches higher
than the great food of 1876.
The Dutch Far. .pe. an America.
Steamer.
New YoRK, Feb. 21.-The U. s.
mail steamship Valencia, on her re.
turn from the Spanish main to Now
York, was fred upon by the Dutch
garrison stationed at the fort on the
Island of Caracoa. The Valencia
arrived here yesterday. Consul
Beach took the affidavit of all the
officers and passengers on the Ealen.
c,a and will present them at Wash
inston, ON his arrival to-day. At the
nAyoa ~ tho nNro~on,, ha okDrr a.,