Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-09-26

Fearful Calamity in the Canadian
City OF Quebec.
Eight Houses, with Over Fifty Persons
Within Them. Buried by Fall OF Rock
Thirteen Lifclsss Bodies Recoy.
ered-The Search for Others.



QUEBEc, Can, Sept 20 About O'Clock
Thursday evening people living in the
nefghborhood of the citadel were startled
on hearing a low, rumbling sound, &C.
companied by perceptibIe quiver of the
earth. Houses were shaken, dishes ratified,
and .even In some cases people had diff
Guilty in maintaining their footing
Every one rushed into the street, and
u was learned that large portion OF Cape
Diamond, just below the citadel, had be-
come detached. and, sliding down the
declivity to Champlain street, had
buried several residences and their
inmates under from fifteen TO
twenty-five feet OF rock, dirt and
other wreckage. At the foot of the cliff is
a narrow street which occupies all the
space between the cape and the
river, and this was filed with the
debris which had crushed out tho
lives of at least twenty five people. The ex-
act number is not yet known as the enor-
nous mass of earth and stone has up 20
midnight shown but little diminution, not
withstanding that large force of men was
&C work clearing il away in less than half
an hour after the horrible disaster took
place. IL is believed. however, that not
less than twenty-five have persisted
Twenty bodies have been taken out OF
the ruins, the more seriously injured
numbering sixteen OF tho latter il Is
almost certain that several will die.
il is now believed that some days must
elapse before all the bodies can be recOv-
cred. The damage to property will
amount to about 100000 Six hundred
men are engaged in the work of rescue.
The night was intensely dark, all electric
lights in the neighborhood having been
rendered useless by che land slide, and the
roscuers were reduced to the necessity Of
working with lanterns
Those who witnessed the fall of the rock
say that they heard long. loud noise, as
Of several cannon, and, on looking up to-
ward the terrace and citadel, were
Mortified by the sight of a
large mass of stones, rock and
earth breaking loose and rushing
down the 800 feet of declivity upon the
doomed houses below Immediately the
air was filled with dust, SO that
20 one could see ten feet In front
OF him, and breathing was made
difficult This was olowed by the
sound of timbers crushing and yielding
% the immense power of the avalanche,
apd the shouting and screaming of men,
women and children in all the agony of de-
epair. The avalanche was caused by
the hot weather of the past few
weeks cracking the earth and rock,
which were loosened and driven down by
the heavy rain of the last few days
Some Of the bodies taken out show no
evidence of being crushed and the belief
is that in these cases the unfortunate
victims of the terrible catastrophe were
Hmply smothered to death. One little
girl, the daughter of a fisherman named
idfaa a
under beam unable to move, but abso-
lutely unhurt She was the sole surviving
member Of family of Iseven The bodies
Of all the others having been recovered In
the same building with the Yignaux were
three other families, and it is doubtful if
any member OF either has escaped
QUEBEC, Can, Sept. q Thirty-two dead
victims Of the terrible landslide have
now being taken out of the ruins, but a
number OF others are known to be still
buried in the enormous mass. It is be-
iieved that the total number of deaths
resulting from the horrible affair will
reach fifty and may exceed that number