The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1903-05-07
TOWN is BURIED
TERRIBLE DISASTER AT FRANK,
BRITISH COLUMBIA:
Mining Village Buried Under Mil
lions of Tens of Rock and Earth.
Fifty-Six Persons Are Instantly
Killed and Others Inj ured--The
Cause Has Not Been Determined

Frank, N. W. T., April 30.-This
place was visited yesterday morning by
the worst disaster that has ever been
experienced in any community of West
ern Canada, probably in the entire Do
minion. What was either a land or
rock slide of such gigantic magnitude
as tn be utterly inconceivable to the
mind of any whose eye has not beheld
it, or a slide induced by seismic up
heaval. killed tfty-six persons, des-
troyed the plant OF the CanadianAmer-
lean Coal & Coke company, did vast
amount of damage to the mine and
completely devastated about ten square
miles of the finest and most picturesque
section of the Crows Nest pass.
The catastrophe came at fifteen min
utes past o'clock in the morning,
when the residents of the town were
awakened by deafening tumult and
shaking of buildings which it seemed
would rattle them into complete demo-
lition. Of all the towns inhabitants,
numbering nearly one thousand, not
one processes to have reached the out
side of their domiciles in time to see
any part of what took place, hut when
day dawned it was seen that the whole
side of Turtle mountain had fallen away,
and that the country extending from
the eastern edge Of the town for two
miles down the pass, distance of two
miles or more from the mountain, lay
buried beneath rock and debris of va
rious kinds for depth varying from %
to 100 feet. In it's sweep the great
slide, or upheaval, if that would be
more proper Characterization, demol-
ished and carried away the entire oper-
ating plant of the coal company. The
tipple, boiler, engine house, electric
light plant, railway scales, shops and
a row of coke ovens; destroyed seven
houses owned by the company, burying
six of them with most of their occu-
pants, and likewise burying ten other
habitations situated in the valley east
of the town, together with every soul
in them. The scene of the catastrophe
was originally one of great picturesque
ness, being the valley of the Old Man
river, which forms the eastern slope
of the Crows Nest Pass.
of the Crows Nest Pass. Turtle Noun
tain, a sheer wall of limestone rising to
a height of $500 feet above the level of
the town. forms the southern side of the
pass. A valley something over mile
wide, lies between Turtle mountain
&Hxaf h - of
mountains to the north. The Old Man
river, flowing through the valley, fol-
lows closely to the side of Turtle noun
tain, right up against the foot of which
the major portion of the town is built,
the mountain wall being so straight
up that on the longest day in summer
the sun leaves the town at 3 O'Clock in
the afternoon.
1t was Immediately over the work
ings of the mine of the Canadian
American Coal company that the
mountain fell away, burying them to
a depth of more than 100 feet. If it
was slide it came down the mountain,
crossed the valley and went up the foot
hills on the opposite side to height
far above any building in the town,
converting coy homes and property of
great value into waste having the APP
pearance of having been buried by
volcanic eruption, and valueless for
any purpose for all time to come.
1t was at first believed that the death
roll was swelled by the total number
of men at work in the mine. seventeen,
and that the mine had been ruined by
the walls squeezing under the great
strain, but happily both proved untrue
later in the day, when the men rescued
themselves and brought out a report of
the condition of the inside of the mine.
The families of the two Grahams,
whose homes were separated by mile,
and employees of Pupour & McVeigh,
whose cabin was mile east of here,
are buried fully hundred feet deep
and none of the bodies can be recov-
cred. In fact, it is doubtful if many of
the bodies of the dead are ever found.
citizens meeting was held early in
the morning and steps taken to search
the ruins for bodies, but only seven
were found during the day. Most of
the bodies recovered were go badly
mangled that Identification was impos-
sible.
As there is no geological expert on
the ground, it is impossible to deter
mine the true character of the force ex-
erted. Many hold to the belief that it
was the result of an earthquake which
caused the mountain to fall away; 9TH
ers believe it to have been limestone
upheaval, while others think it was
simply slide, caused. possibly, by the
lime rock shaking under the thawing
waathr of snrinu