The Grit-advocate., 1906-03-23
fourteen DEAD
IN AWFUL SNOWSLlDES NEAR
SILVERTON.
ONE SLIDE KILLS twelve
Two Killed at Bonner Group -
Twelve Meet Death at the Shensn-
doah Mine-Others in Fear.

doah Mlne-Other6 in Fear.
Denver.-A Silverton special to the
Denver News Monday night says:
Fourteen lives were lost and prop
erty valued at $500, 900 was destroyed
by snOwslides which have run in the
mining district around SilvertOn since
Saturday afternoon. The greatest loss
OF life and property was at the She
nandoah mine. where on Saturday
night at 6 O'Clock slide occurred,
carrying death to twelve persons and
destroying property valued at 5000, 900.
Two hours before, a slide ran near
the Bonner group. killing two men and
damaging property to the extent OF
$4,000. During to-day slides have
run carrying away the Green Mountain
mill and good portion of the property
of the Old Hundred mine and mill. To
| night every mine in the district is
! closed and the men have come to Sill
verton to await until after the danger
from snowslides is past
Following is a list of the men killed.
at the Shenandoah mine:
Jacob Thebolt, Jess Shaw, Gus
Heise, Peter Carburt, Ed. Kirk, Bert
| Albert, Flake Blanston,. Emil Bird,
- GustafSOn, CandiO Vercelh,
James Vercelli, Tony Oberto.
The two men killed at the Bonner
group were: William Thompson,
George Abbott.
The slide at the Shenandoah mine
| was the most disastrous in loss of life
and property. Tten men were asleep
in the upper part of the building and
seventeen were below eating supper
when the roar of the slide was heard.
1t crashed into the wooden building
and swept away the entire lower por-
tion, grinding up the men who were
eating like SO many shells crushed In
strong hand. Those who were above
, sleeping were not injured. Manager
Hill was among those who were carr
| ried down the steep mountain by the
avalanche. He managed to crawl out
| and wandered around all night In the
| snow and darkness unable to find his
way back to the mine until morning.
| The other four were rescued by their
comrades. Hill is now confined to his
| bed with pneumonia contracted from
| the exposure and cold.
| The two men killed at the Bonner
group, ten miles north Of Silverton.
| were working their own claims. They
were swept down the mountain side
and their bodies have not yet been re-
covered.
The Green Mountain mill was car
| ried away on Saturday. The slides
carried away many trans in addition
to destroying mine buildings. bunk
houses and mills. Among the proper
ties whose trans were swept away by
the slides were the Silver Lake, the
: 4 I-xsiI
| The Iowa mill was also carried away.
Tonight Silverton is filled with min
crs, 1000 having fed from the hills to
| escape the great white peril Every
| mine in the San Juan Is closed, and
will remain closed until all danger
from slides is past Silverton had
had no newspapers since March 11th,
and it will be twenty days before the
railroads will be able to clear their
tracks and haul in mail and provis-
ions. Siverton is cut off from Du-
range by rail, and the telephone and
telegraph lines are down.
The great Iowa slide ran today. 1t
was twenty feet wide and stretches
along the railroad track on the edge
of town for distance of more than
l 400 feet
This is the worst year in the his
tory of the San Juan for slides. Inc
loss of life and property has Deen
greater than ever in any previous year.
and the end is not in signt. Slides are
increasing hourly, and reports when all
damage is known will probably reach
Q much greater figure.
The great Silver Lake mines, owned
by the Guggenheims and under the
management of W. Rowland COX, are
closed tonight completely for the hrst
time in three years. Only the pumps
are kept going. Everything Is done
that can be done to make HE ana prop
erty safe. All that is left to DO Is 10
watch aud wait. and with no man
knowing at what minute the a"iul
slide will run. leaving devastation and
death in its path.