The morning call., 1894-03-31
FIVE LIVES WERE LOST.
Destruction of Shanties by the
Avalanche.
ONE FAMILY CRUSHED TO DEATH
Great Damage Has Also Been Caused
to Several Mines and to
the Railroads.

WALLACE. Idaho, March 30.-Between
Gem and Burke. the heart of the Cnur
d'Alene mining district, yesterday not less
than six destructive snowslides rushed
down into Canyon Greek. AS far as is
known. five lives were lost, and these vic
tins were all killed by one avalanche, but
reports are current that two men were
caught in another slide, which is quite
probable.
At $3.50 a. NJ. slide started 1000 feet
above the creek at the head of a draw in
which the Black Bear mine is situated
At the foot of the draw four board shan
ties were smashed to pieces and buried
under forty feet Of snow, and one was car
ried bodily forward across the creek with
but little damage.
In one of the buildings covered dwelt
an Italian family. comprising Stephano
Deiro. aged %; his wife. aged %; their
daughter Victoria, aged 8, and an Italian,
Martino Michele. aged "a. These were all
killed, and the bodies of Mrs. Deiro and
daughter have been recovered.
The body of Mrs. Nellie Rowe was also
found, making total number of five per-
sons killed. Immediately after the slide
occurred the entire shifts of the Gem,
Frisco and Standard mines, about 200 men,
were put TO work to search for the missing
persons. and these we're recruited by sew
eral hundred volunteers from Wallace,
Gem and Burke. Arthur Swayne, an in 9.
mate Of one of the cabins, was found at
the surface, but so terribly injured that
his recovery is uncertain. Two other men
were Partially covered with snow, but
were not seriously hurt Open cuts were
made by sh0vellng the snow TO successive
benches, and then drifts were run in
search of the demolished buildings. As
many men as can work to advantage
about 75) are still digging under forty feet
OF snow In search of the bodies of miss in 2
men, but the water has risen so that it is
from two to three feetdeep in the tunnels.
interfering seriously with the work. Mi
cheie was sleeping at the time the slide
occurred. The debris of his bed was found
early this morning, but thus far the search
for his body has been fruitless.
The Frisco mine. employing 125 men.
lost by slides in different places from 1850
10 1900 feet Of their flume. One of the
slides, about mile above the Gem, covers
both the Union Pacific and Northern Pa
cific tracks to the tops of the telegraph
feet. This damned up the creek and for
time threatened destruction to the towns
and property below. but the pentup waters
finally found passage underneath. Two
other slides have each covered several
hundred feet of the railroad tracks to a
considerable depth. This will cut off
railroad communication with Burke and
the Standard, Tiger and Poorman mines
for several weeks.
The Standard and Frisco mines. employ
ing 300 men, have closed, and the Tiger
and Poorman must follow. as they have
no room for storage. Coming as it does,
just when the mines were commencing an
active campaign for the season, the disas-
ter Is a serious blow to the business
interests of all the mining camps in
volved.
La GRANDE, Or. March 30-Clear, cool
weather last night checked the melting of
the snow, and the result is that the water
which has been rising rapidly reached its
highest limit about midnight. aud since
that time has been slowly subsiding. The
dam of the Grande Ronde Lumber Com
pany went out about 10 o'clock last night,
but so much time had been given for prep
aration that only about 800. 600 feet of logs
were lost. Active work by a large force
of men prevented jam at the Oredell
bridge, and, as many of the logs floated
out over the inundated district and lodged
there, no bridges were taken out. The
loss of the Grande Ronde Lumber Com
pany is estimated at $40. 900. The loss in
the city and county surrounding will reach
many thousands of dollars