The silver blade. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1895-1903, 1903-01-02
FATAL SN0K&DE n },
EIGHT MEN BURIED UNpeNNEATH
THE SNOW. sI
Disaster HspPsnsd st NE Molly olt
son Mine. near Nelson 5000 FsSt
i up the, MountainsIdv7 Slide etarted
4 From the Peak es the :MeuntaIn ~
: perisnce Of survixora. sa4 n 81 y e

) Nelson. B. Gone body found, eight
men buried with no hope Of recovery
Is the record to date Of the snowslide
at the Molly Gibson nihe.
y Five survivors OF the disaster are at .
the mine. huddled in. the tunnel mouth;
wear. 'sse s''s.sFHF Y
The mine is at an altitude Of approx.
imstely 5000 feet. Up above Is q rocky
ridge. then an immense glacier. half =
mile wide. then jagged bare peaks Of
rock. s@1r
The slide started from the peak ~
some probably slight cause swung
round the elf or ridge sheltering the
buildings and struck tho .bunkhouse
,euIlwise. sweeping It and its occupants
down q dry canyon. OF. the 10 in the
building 10 escaped. although more or
less injured. Four Of the survivors
spent the night I'm the snow. wrapped
In blankets. In the, morning they start
ed down the hill. The first two reach
ed the hut at the foot Of the tram
way at 2 o'clock. The snow was from
6 tic, , 20 feet deep. One man with =
broken leg and shoulder bone was car
ried into the tunnel and spent all Of
Friday and Saturday till noon with
out food or attention. A Aoouple Of sur
vivors then got the tramway working
and sent him down In q bucket. It
could not be used to get rescuers up.
Isos The names Of the men In the bunk
house were: u, Campbell dead, body
found.
Buried in the snow since Christmas
night: T. Rouse, Silverton; w. Col
Inns. Nelson; L. Brouelle; w. G. Muir
ply; Ainsworth; Pietro, Italian; PRO.
italian; M. E. Hall, assayor. Nelson;
Chinese cook lA ii 9~
Those, who escaped: D.t McLaugh-
lin, leg and shoulder broken; A Har-
ris, frost bitten and bruised; d. Nc
Creath, ]. Dunlop, G.. d. Bell. w. Saw
lille, A. Mcdonald, Charles tombstone.
all frost bitten and bruised; Jules La
beile.s w. c. McGinness, uninjured.
G. e. Clark was in the hut at the
foot of the tramway a. the time Of the
slide. and escaped. Mclaughlin was
/ partly carried and sledded down 10
miles Of the road to Kootenay lake
and taken in the steamer to Nelson for
treatment, the bones having been set
| by Dr. Hawkey at the foot Of the tram
way. Campbell and Murphy were mar
ried men with families; the rest were
single. at A1A
! It will probably be Monday before
: any bodies are recovered. Food will
be taken up for the survivors and res
cures tomorrow morning. The stable
, containing two horses was destroyed.
/ but the horses are uninjured. although
|, without food.
ii or the survivors OF the slide nearly
all had the same experience. The
slide, after striking the bunkhouse.
which went to pieces like house Of
cards, swept the debris with the occu.
pants along through the canyon below
the buildings. When Dunlop was ex'
, tricated, his head was wedged between
, his knees, the snow locking him In
that position. All unitesin describing
, the suddenness of the slide. There
! was a sudden crash, for q couple OF
seconds the boards Of the building
were sailing In every direction, then q
|. .jwih struggle through the snow, which
ltwirlei them like cords for few mo.
ments more and then only the roar Of
the wind and the wild cries for help
from every direction. as1
, The parents Of M. 8. Hall, the assay
or, who Is buried. reside in the out
skirts of Spokane.