The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-02
MANY DIED IN SNOW
FOUR AvALANCHES ROLLED DOWN
SMUGGI4ER'S SIDES.
PHYSICIANS WERE CAUGHT.
DEAD AND MISSING NOW NUMBER
ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE.

FOurtecn known Killed and an I'm
known Number Buried Under the
SnOw-SecOnd Slide Caught Rescue
Party and Two More Slides Fol
lowed, Sacrificing Five More
Lives-StOrm Was So Fierce That
Rescue work Had to BE Discon-
tinUed.
Telluride, Col, March 1.-The num-
Der of lives lost in the avalanches that
swept down the sides of Smuggler
mountain is now estimated from twen-
ty> to twenty-five. Fourteen men are
known to have been killed, an unknown
number are buried under the snow, and
twelve badly injured persons are in the
hospital, while several other men who
We're hurt are at their homes. 1t is
believed that few, if any more bodies
can be recovered, until the snow melts.
The most lucid account of the first
snow slide was given by L. M. UNI
stead, who is employed in packing ore
from a crusher to the tram station.
He was in the stable, saddling his
animals, when he heard a terrific
crashing and rafting. The stable
grew suddenly dark, and opening the
door, he found the outside totally dark,
and the air filled with flying snow.
Thinking it was a terrific gust of
wind, he slammed the stable door
shut and waited a few seconds. He
peered through a crack, and as it grew
light again he opened the door and
saw the tram cable swinging about
and buckets rolling down the hill AS
the snow in the air settled, he stepped
out and could see no signs of the
boarding house and bunk house Then
looking down the hill he saw boards
and timbers sticking out of the snow
and scattered about.
The exact number of men who were
caught in the slide is not known, but
there were probably not less than twen-
ty in the bunk house and boarding
house when they were swept away
Fortunately, a large number of the $50
miners employed in the Liberty Bell
mine were either in the mine or alb
sent in town at the time of the acct
dent.
The accident broke the telephone cir
cult and several hours elapsed before
the messenger reached town with re-
ports of the disasters. All the doctors
available and many citizens hurried up
the mountain to lend assistance in dig
ging out the dead and injured Seven
bodies had been recovered and five in
jured men brought to town when a
second slide came down in the path of
the first, killing two more men and in
juring a number of others.
Five More Lives Lost.
This was followed by two more
snow slides in which five lives were
sacrificed. AS the storm still continued
ard the work of rescue could only be
carried on under the most extreme
danger to the living and as it was
believed that no more of those buried
under the snow could be alive it was
decided to abandon the search for
bodies until it can be prosecuted with
greater safety.
Drs. Allen and Delaney who went
UP to attend the victims of the first
snow slide were caught in the second.
The former sustained severe injuri IS
about his lower limbs and the latter
escaped uninjured. Both were carried
down distance of more than 500 feet
but managed to extricate themselves.
George Rohrer, who was killed in
the fourth slide, had been county
clerk and was one of the most promi-
nent mining operators in the district.
He was about 40 years old.
The damage to the mine property
is estimated at So 600.
The tramway terminals are gone
with crushers, etc, and the entire
tram and most of the towers are
down. 1t viii be at least four months
before work can be resumed.
The day broke bright and clear in
the city, but clouds still hang over the
mountains. A large searching party
left this morning to resume the search
for the dead buried under the snow.
Telephone lines from this city to the
mines and to Denver are down.
A slide occurred to-day in Marshal
Basin at the Sheridan mine John II.
Johns, miner, was killed. A slide is
also reported at the Gold King mine.
south of this city. The tramway was
wrecked, but it is not known whether
any lives were lost.