Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-04

with fifty inhabitants; Hosmer with fifty
Inhabitants.
other Crows Nest Pass towns.
Fernie IL gone, bnt one dispatch says that
Hosmer and Michel are eth fighting
Fatalities Are Growing.
The fatalities are growing hourly. In
one case, five families at Fernie were
hemmed in ard every soul prished. At
least seventy lives were lost in Fernie.
The property damage is between s4,OOo.oo
and S,O00,O00. The. Crows Nest Pass Coal
company has 100000 IN property at Coal
Creek, which is reported destroyed.
The disaster is ~uhedualied in the history
Of western Canada. In that entire section
Of the country the railways and bridges are
swept away.
Fernie Almost wiped Out.
Ten cottages, two coal offices, the West
ern Carada grocery and the coal com
pans new warehouse are al that remains
Of Fernie. Within fifteen minutes of the
time the fire broke into the city the place
was a mass OF swirling flames. A special
from Fernie says:
As early at 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon
the Fort Steele brewery, cthe frs; large
building to catch fire, wa burned. Houses
In the immediate neighborhood soon caught
and though the people turned out to fight
the fire Immediately, the flames spread
rapidly and the whole place was soon on
fire. Old Town. where most OF the miners
resided, soon burned and then the business
portion caught fire. The large residential
portion came last, after the fine mills OF
the Elk River Lumber company has been
destroyed. The West Fernie bridges across
Elk river could not h& rsaVed. 5soveral
people lost their lives iRstrying to escape
over the burning bridgex The fire spread
with such ~rapldity that hardly anything
was saved. Numbers OF people fled to the
river banks and sought refugetby wading ir
the water; others ran to the Canadian Pa
cific tracks where special trains were wait.
Ing to convey the people to Michel, but
this trip could not be made because the
bridge It was learned. between HosmeI
apd Michel. had burned out.
narrowing TaIes by Survivors.
During the night the coal company's offic,
was used as a distributing point for food
Saturday night was a frishtful one Of ex
cltement and many h~eartrending scenes
were witnessed. II was spent in getting
mary OF the women and children on tn
trains and starting them. for Cranbrook
During the night the wind went down ant
Sunday morning many OF the men ans
their stout hearted wives came in from tn,
hills TO which they had flown. to view tn,
smouldering remains of their city. Man!
narrowing tales were told. One woman o
west Fernie had just emerged from he
home which was on fire. She dropped deai
OF heart disease. The ~neighbors buried he
in Der garden and then ran for their lives
In another part of the city an aged woman
an invalid, was carried a short distance, bu
the heat became too great, She begged t
be left to her fate and, her relatives wrap
plEg her in wet blankets, fled towards tn
hills. She was burned to death. Beside
the Elk mill. the Ferr8e and Cedar Vale
companies places were burned. The Woo
Ncnad people were successful In fightin
the flames. Many miners OF Fernie wer
up at Coal Creek on Saturday afternoo
searching for the bodies OF Frank Beave
and Hilchmought. who had been killed I
the accident OF last Friday morning, Bee
ver's body wah brought to the surface. br
the other could not be found. A painfI
surprise awaited the reseuers when the
came down 70 Fernie for by that time n
place was burned and the trains unable
move eastward.
A special from Michel says no one was II
jured at Hosmer where the magazine BILE
up. Several buildings were purposely dyni
mlted Sunday afternoon in order to a " Il
machine shops from fire.
Camp of Ninety IL Destroyed.
CHICAGO. Aug. az. A. stees OF Caro-