The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-05-07
liz PERSONS REPORTED KILLED.
Entire Top of Mountain Hurled Upon
Sleeping Town Of Frank.

Vancouver, Il. I. Especial liver
whemed by countless tons of rock and
with probably liz of its inhabitants
killed almost instantly, the little mining
town of Frank, in Southwestern Alberta,
is threatened with complete destruction.
by flood.
Old Mans river. which flows through
the center Of the town. is damned up by
the fallen rocks to the height of nearly
ico feet and the entire valley above the
town is flooded for miles A big body OF
water is pressing with force upon the
dam, the only protection the town OF
Frank now has, unless the river shall
find another channel Should the inn
promptu dam break the entire village
would be swept away.
A dispatch from Frank says:
"A tremendously loud reverberatoD
shook the whole valley of the Old Mans
river at 4.Io O'Clock and scarcely hall
the inhabitants of this town awakened
to a realization of the immediate danger,
when from the top of Turtle mountain,
overlooking the settlement, millions OF
tons of rock were hurled
The Frank mines. operated by the
French Canadian Coal Company, across
the river from the town, were seen to be
buried under hundreds of feet of rock
Just as the morning light was breaking
Inside of five minutes from the first
thunderous shock and before half of the
town realized what had happened Q
small force of men had started to the
relief of the miners, despite the great
risk they ran Of being buried under the
rocks, which were still being precipitated
from the lofty mountain top The vol.
unteer relief force was unable to get into
the mine. but managed to get neal
enough to determine that not a man at
the workings had escaped death. Many
had been fearfully mangled.
The disaster was mercitul to those
men who were employed above ground
in that they must have been killed in
stantly, while those men in the workings
of the mine may yet be alive if they have
air to breathe II all the air shafts TO
the mine were closed up under that
awful avalanche, all the men must have
died.
The disaster was not confined to the
vicinity Of the mine alone, foc many OF
the dwelling houses in the town OF
Frank were demolished by the falling
rock. Some of the occupants of these
houses escaped death, but many were in.
stantly killed. 1t is conservatively esti-
mated that the loss of life will exceed
Ioo, and the latest returns place the
number OF dead at I12.
AT noon it was impossible TO arrive
at any accurate estimate OF the loss OF
life, as. owing 10 the excitement and
hurry and rush Of people on the streets.
no ono could say who is missing ard
who is not. There are no records avail.
able that will tell how many men were
working in and about the mine at the
time of the disaster 1t is variously re-
ported that there were from eighteen tc
fifty miners under ground. It is known
that many women and children have sui
fered death, but Just how many it is i'm,
possible to tell at present
When reports concerning the magni.
tude of the disaster and details came in
from reliable men who had been out
prospecting for news. it was discovered
that the earth opened for three-quartcrs
of a mile and many feet in width, and
that the whole northern face Of Turtle
mountain slipped from its place.
The shock resultant upon the precipi-
tation OF the millions OF tons of rock into
the valley, while only actually demolish.
ing comparatively few of the houses,
shook the foundations OF majority OF
the dwellings in the town so that they
arc unsafe to live in, and many hundreds
of people will have TO live in the ope"
or under such temporary shelter as may
be procurable.