The San Francisco call., 1896-03-09
Other Occupants of the House
Barely Escape With Their
Lives.
HoRR0R-sTRICKEN SPECTATORS
Heroic Work of Rescuers, but It Was
Impossible to Save the
Lost Ones.

PORTLAND, Or. March 8.-A landslide
on Portland Heights at about 7 O'Clock
yesterday morning completely wrecked
the dwelling-house of Daniel Mcdonald
in a small ravine on Nineteenth street, be-
tween Mill and Montgomery, in which
were killed his daughter Belle, Is years of
age, and his cousin. Daniel Campbell, who
was visiting the family. Besides those in
the house at that time were Mr.. McDon-
aid, confined to his beo with fever, his
wife and younger daughter. Mary.
About 1000 yards of earth rushed upon
the frail, doomed house from an altitude
of about 300 feet, and without moments
warning scattered death and destruction
about that peaceful home. At the time
of the catastrophe Belle was in the kitchen
in the rear end of the house building
fire, and Mr.. Campbell was still asleep in
bedroom adjoining. Mrs. Mcdonald
and her younger daughter were in front
bedroom attending the invalid.
The house was L-shaped, and the i'm
mense slide struck the southwest corner
with such velocity that it parted the front
portion. The intensity of the shock showed
Mrs. Mcdonald into the street, also the
bed upon which Mr.. Mcdonald was lying
was knocked part of the way out. Sick as
he is, he managed to crawl out of the bed
and escaped without external in jury. Little
Mary, though, was buried beneath mass
OF timbers, from which she was very
quickly rescued. She sustained no injury
beyond cash in the chin, which cut down
to the bone, and an abrasion on the FORE
head.
Almost instantaneously after the vast
volume of earth had struck the house it
was leveled to the ground; not a solitary
stick of it rem aimed standing. The rumb-
ling noise, similar to that of an earthquake,
made by the precipltating of the soil,
created little fright among people living
close to the scene of the disaster, hurrying
many to the street.
The eye-witnesses to the destruction of
the Mcdonald home were horror.stricken
After the first shock Mr.. Mcdonald was
cared for in a neighboring house and
search made for little Mary, Belle and Mr..
Campbell. The former as before stated
was taken from beneath a mass of lum Der.
Mr.. Campbell was found in his bed, dead
from suffocation, but poor Belle was miss
ing.
and number of employees of the cable
road power-house had assembled on the
spot and in few moments the conclusion
was reached that the girl had been buried
beneath the avalanche of earth, together
with q greater part of the house and all its
contents. About dozen men at once set
to work delving into the soil for the re-
mains of Belle, which were not unearthed
till o'clock in the afternoon. Her bruised
face bore an expression of pain evldencing
that death did not ensue at once after be-
ing entombed, but rather that she re-
mained conscious for the better part of a
minute.
Mcdonald, who was at once carried into
the house OF neighbor, is nearly wild with
grief, and it is feared he will have re-
lapse, as his fever ran up very high on
receiving intelligence OF his daughters
death. He insisted upon seeing the re-
mains of his daughter as soon as they
were found, and the scene as the body was
brought before him was a touching one.
1t was thought that grief would dethrone
his reason.
Campbell who was visiting Mcdonald
yesterday and was prevailed upon to stay
over night, was single man and men,
Der of the Odd Fellows lodge at Lafayette.
A SIMILAR accident to the one that result
ed in the loss of two lives this morning
occurred near the same place two years
ago, but as on that occasion the slide oc-
CURED at o'clock in the afternoon and
no one was at home, only the house was
demolished.
The slide was produced by the operation
of small spring on the crest of the hill
on loose soil which had been conyeved
there last fall to fill in the roadbed.