Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1889-10-04
The Recent Disaster at Quebec.

shortly after seven O'Clock on Thursday
evening the 18th inst. while the laboring
people dwelling in Champlain Street, at
the foot Of Cape Diamond, Quebec. were in
their homes after their days work. mass
of rock thousands of tons m weight fell
from near the top Of the cliff. crushing in
some thirty houses, and killing and injaring
nearly one hundred persons. The mass Of
rock is estimated 10 have been nearly 5o0 f.
in length. 200 feet in width, and loo feet
in depth, and its course Of nearly 200 feet
down the PERCEPTIONS side of Cape Diamond
made it utterly irresistible by any build
ings in its way.
Little Champlain Street, with its high
buildings aud its famous flight - steps in
lis steepest part. is easily recalled by all
visitors to Quebec Champlain Street
is less known, though it is through Cham
plain Street that tourists 90 to see the
place where General Montgomery fell
The street lies Immediately al the foot Of
Cape Diamond, and is inhabited chiefly by
the wharf laborers. whose places of work
are directly back of the houses in which
thev and their families live. In ls4l a
landslide occurred. less fatal than that of
Thursday last, and TO prevent the recurr-
ence Of such disaster a heavy retaining
wall was built, SO that the houses occupy
but one side of the street.
"The Mountain" at Quebec, crowned by
the Citadel. whose walls are apparently
continued far beyond their real limits by
the DufTeriu and the Durham terraces, gives
Quebec the name "Gibralter of America. F"
Three hundred feet above Champlain
Street tower the rocks, whose sides are so
PERCEPTIONS that only traditions remain of
their ever having been scaled. month
of dry, hot weather from August 10th to
September 10th had caused crevices to ap-
| pear along the crest of the Cape. On Tues
| day and Wednesday rain fell heavily. and
the crevices were filled with water. Pieces
of rock fell at intervals during Thursday,
| but, with the usual comfortable belief that
what has not happened will not happen
none of the dwellers in Champlaln Street
! paid any attention to the outspoken warn
! ings until just before the landslide occur
red Then a few persons appreciated then
danger, and a sill smaller number betoob
themselves to safer places; but it was toe
late, and the rock fell
Thousands of persons gathered about th'
place at once, so that the work of rescue
was almost impossible The battery o
Royal Canadian Artillery was called from
the Citadel, and the Cavalry School Corpi
from Lewis. across the river, and the two
commands, which have lost more men il
dangerous work at fires and i'll halfruined
houses th an in war, turned To, and during
the dark rainy night, with lesser landslips
occurring continually, by the light of Ian
terms and hickering torches, extrieated
from the compact mass of rock, wood, and
brick thirteen bodies of the dead and two
score of the living.
The morning of Friday showed the ex'
tent of the disaster; ana there were found
unsupported crevices back of the terraces
and under the famous Kings Bastion IL
the Citadel The crowds of spectators
were driven back from their vantage
ground along the front of the terraces.
and access To those terraces wa
forbidden; the Kings Bastion was closed
and the oraat gun which morIi;-g, noon
and night gave time To Quebec was siicnc
ed.
Fridays work brought to light nearly
score more bodies, while many persons, som'
injured, some miraculously preserved un
harmed were rescued and removed L
places of safety How many bodies ye
remain in the debris can only be told wheI
the thousands of tons of rock are removed
To remove them will take, the enineers es
innate at least two months.
The landslide has entirely cut off th'
western part of the lower town, as Champ
lain Street was the only thoroughlare by
which communication could be maintained
with the lumber cOves and houses along
the river front to the west of the city