The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-05-01
WILMINGTON n. c. MAY l, 1903.

/ precipitated from the lofty mountain
| top. The volunteer relief force was
| unable to get into the mine, but man
| aged to get near enough to determine
| that not a.man at the workings had
| escaped death. Many had been fear
| fully mangled.
THE disaster was merciful to those
| men who were employed above ground,
| in that they must have been killed in
Stantly, while those men in the work.
| ings of the mine may yet be alive. If
| they have air to breathe. If all the air
shafts to the mine were closed up un-
| der that awful avalanche, all the men
| must have died by this afternoon The
| disaster was not confined to the Vicin-
| ity of the mine alone, for many of the
dwelling houses in the town of Frank
We're demolished by the falling rock.
Some of the occupants of these houses
escaped death, but many others were
instantly killed. 1t is conservatively
estimated that the loss Of life will eX-
| ceed one hundred and the latest returns
place the number of dead at 112.
AT noon today, it was Impossible to
arrive at any accurate estimate of loss
of life, owing to the excitement and
! hurry and rush of people on the
streets. no one could say who is miss
ing and who is not. There are no rec
ords available that will tell how many
men were working in and about the
mine at the time of the disaster. 1t is
variously reported that there We're
from IS to 80 miners under ground. 1t
is known that many women and chill
dren have suffered death, but just how
many it is impossible to tell at pres
ent''
When reports concerning the magni-
tude of the disaster and details con-
cerning it commenced to come in from
reliable men who had been out pros
1icon1-nra1
that the earth opened for three quar-
ters 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 preci-
pitation of the millions of tons of rock
into the valley, while only actually de-
molshing comparatively few of the
houses. shook the foundations of ma
jOrity of the dwellings in the town, so
that they are unsafe to live in, ana
many hundreds of people will have to
live in the open or under Sucn tenn
porary shelter as may be procuraole.
The railroad track for q distance OF
two miles or more east of the station
is covered with from ten to forty feet
| of rock and the telegraph wires are
down. All communication is being con-
Quoted over one wire running west,
and this one line is so blocked with
| private messages and inquiries from
| the outside that it is only with the
| greatest difficulty that press matter
can be sent out.
At dusk today the rock was still
| being thrown on the town from Turtle
mountain, and it is impossible to VEN
| ture within half a mile of the mine
| Workings 1t is now certain that eigh-
teen men are buried in the workings.
| All hope for them has been abandoned.
| The streets are crowded with the rela-
| tives and friends of those known to be
| entombed The women are behaVlng
| in a most heroic manner.
| It is generally thought that the dis
ruption of Turtle mountain was
| brought about by a seismic distur-
| bance. although some persons declare
| that the origin of the upheavel was
| volcanic No lava has been seen, and
| aside from the smoke from the noun
| tain. the atmosphere is clear. There
| is however, no explanation for the
| continued upheavel of rock. The erup-
| tive influences seem to center at the
| crown of Turtle mountain.
At o'clock this afternoon the fol-
| lowing conservative estimate OF the
| loss of life was made:
Men, women and children, killed in
| their beds as they slept 81; miners
| working outside the mines and Instant
| ~ killed. -: imprisoned in the mine,
49,
MINERS RESCUED.
7:3O D. m.-The latest information
| from Fank is somewhat more reassur-
| ing than the earlier news, in that there
| now seems to be less danger than was
| at first anticipated of an extensive dis
| aSter. The threatened flood, which bid
| fair to Duplicate the JohnstoWn disaS-
| ter, seems tonight lass probable. A
| large force of men have been at work
| trying to create a new channel that
| the damned up water of the Old Mans
Will III
work throughout the night, and it is
| hoped that the water will be running
| through the new channel before morn
ing.
Most of the men imprisoned in the
| mine whose death at first seemed GER
| tain got out alive late this afternoon.
| There were seventeen in the mine. Two
| died from suffOcatiOn. but the other
! fifteen worked their way out. The res
| curing party above ground deSpalred
| of saving the entombed miners, for the
entrance was blocked by immense piles
| of broken rocks. The miners within,
| however found an exit where there
| was less rock and after cutting their
| way through thirty feet of debris. all
| but two emerged from the mine unln-
| jured One of the imprisoned men who
so narrowly escaped death, went nome
after emerging from the mine and
found his house destroyed and MS Wl1e
and six children dead.
| There is now plenty of air in the
mine and the inside workings are IN
! tact
| \ special from Frank at p. m es-
Inmates the total number of dead at
| ninety-fiVe.
The latest theory as to the cause of
the disaster is that it was due to a rock
slide which carried the top Of Turtle
mountain down upon the village below.
| 1t is now thought that what was sup
| posed to be the smoke of a volcano
was dust and that the continued fall
of small bits of rock during the day
! was merely the aftermath of the orig
! inal rock slide. A repretition of the
! | calamity is now considered unlikely.
THE DEDICATION.
St Louis. April 29.-All is in READINGS!