Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-01-25
UNRULY ELEMENTS.
The Awful Snowstorm In tho
Northwest.
DISASTROUS Effects OF Natural Gas Explo-
sion-The Steamship Erin Evidently
Lost In the Atlantic
Storms.

CHICAGO, Jan. 2S.-'It is many years
since the far Northwest has seen any
thing like the present fall OF snow"
said r. E. Reese, OF Portland, Ore. "A
telegram which have from the super
intendent OF one Of my mines in East
ern Oregon tells me there are fifteen
feet Of snow on the level. Such fall
Of snow in the mountains is not unusual,
but the snow Of the last few days that
has fallen all over Oregon, Washington
and Montana Is almost unprecedented.
The stockmen of Washington will be the
hardest hit They have been used to
warm winters and have made no prepa.
ration for any thing like the unusual
snowfall and extremely cold weather
which came with it. / know one in
Washington who has already lost 1900
head Of cattle. fancy there will be
some herds from which the owners will
never market any thing but the hides.
sin Eastern Oregon there were great
many herds Of horses. These will suf-
fer seriously, too. People who have
never been in the mountains in winter
wonld hardly believeit possible for such
enormous Quantities of snow to fall,
Thirteen feet of snow in the mountains
OF Eastern Oregon may seem like
pretty big snow, but can tell you Of
some good deal bigger than that. Up
In the Selkirks, In British Columbia,
have known of forty feet OF snow on
the dead level and drifts to any depth
you had mind to 60. Yes, sir, that Is
the honest truth. Forty feet of snow on
the level. Why, in spring, when the
snow gets well started to melting,
have known the Columbia river to rise
sixty feet in few days. A rise Of sixty
feet in q river the size Of the Columbia
means tremendous volume OF water.
No fall OF q few feet of snow would ever
make it. When chinook wind of the
warm Japanese coast comes blowing
over that snow 1t sends regular Niagara
food of water down those mountains.
There will be such wind blow over
Washington within few days and this
snow will disappear before it like magic.
Cold weather was never known to last
there long"
HAVOC OF NATURAL GAS.
PITTSBURGH, Pa, Jan. 2S.-An ex-
plosion OF natural gas about nine o'clock
yesterday morning completely wrecked
the three story frame dwelling on
Thirty-eighth street, near Butler, kill
ing one person almost instantly and
seriously injuring eight others, five Of
whom may die.
John Slip, aged thirty-seven years,
was killed, and the injured were: Mrs.
Theodore Ringer, aged thirty-five years,
badly crushed and burned, will die;
Annie Benjamin and Katie Ringer,
children, aged respectively three, five
and eight years, cut, burned and bruised;
Mrs. John Slip, aged about thirty years,
slightly cut and bruised; Annie Slip,
dangerously burned; Mrs. Paul Melcher,
aged eighty years, badly cut and bruised
quite seriously; Paul Melcher, aged
seventy years, slightly bruised.
The explosion was caused by leak in
the cellar. Mrs. Ringer started into the
cellar with lighted candle, but before
she reached the foot of the stairs the
gas ignited and terrific explosion fol-
lowed which shook all the buildings in
the vicinity. The house was lifted from
its foundation and blown to pieces.
At the time there were ten persons in
the building, and all but an infant were
more or less injured. John Slip was the
first taken from the ruins. He was
frightfully burned and mangled and
unconscious, dying in few minutes
after his rescue. Mrs. Ringer was
buried in the debris and was seriously
burned. Mr.. and Mrs. Melcher, tho
aged couple, were asleep on the third
floor at the time and were burned in the
ruins. The old lady's injuries are seri-
GUS. An infant, belonging to Mrs. Slip,
was taken from the ruins uninjured. 1t
was lying in its cradle and had not re-
ceived a scratch. Mrs. Ringers children
are in critical condition and may not
recover. The loss will be about So, 900.
~ LOSS OF THE ERIN.
LONDON, Jan. 2S.-The National line
steamer Erin, Captain Tyson, from New
York for London, has now been out
twenty-five days and there is hardly any
doubt in maritime circles that some dis
aster has befallen her. The fears con-
corning her safety have been greatly
augmented by report made by the Brit
ish steamer Creole, Captain Darling, at
Bremen, from New Orleans, which saw
steamers lifeboat adrift bearing the
name Erin, brought the boat alongside
and took from 1t ten ash oars. mast and
sail. A life buoy, a spar bridge and
m awning were also seen floating near
the lifeboat.
The Erin was bark-rigged iron-screw
steamer OF 2,9lO net and $500 gross tons.
She was built in 1864. She had a cargo
Of cattle in pens and general cargo in
Guiding cotton below decks. She carried