The Detroit times., 1910-03-04
SAD SCENES WHEN
OVER 100 PERISH
Bodies of SO Who Were Killed by
Avalanche Are Recovered-Ten
Victims Reported Rescued Alive.
BY GEORGE C. COMING.
(Staff Correspondents Of tho United
Preae and Detroit TImes.)

trains from the tracks OF the Great
Northern railway down into the can
yon hundreds Of feet belw.
Today II is certain over 100 persisted
Thirty-flve bodies have been recover
ed. Thirty-one have been identified
Today they lie. side by side, wrapped
In blankets awaiting the repairing OF
the railway 80 they can be carried to
places of burial.
The work OF recovering the bodies
is pitifully slow owing TO the nature
OF the slide, the enormous mass OF
earth. trees, vegetation and snow, be
ing packed solidly to depth exceed
ing fifty feet. Heavy snow falling al
most continually interferes with the
work of the laborers and volunteers
who have locked here from every
part of the state.
A report reached the officials OF the
Great Northern railway In this city
that one OF the cars buried by the
great snowslide near here has been
reached intact, and that lie nof the
persons In IL were still alive, but suf-
fering terribly from exposure The re-
port is not conflremd.
Scene Is Awe-lnsprlnu.
The great bare mountain towers up
ward to height OF three thousand
feet One week ago IL was covered
with snow above which the tops OF
the trees lowered. Today il Is swept
bare OF vegetation Great burrows
mar the black face of the loan az
though they had been made by gigan-
tic plows. Gaping holes as large as
an average building show where mon
ster trees were torn out roots and
all and sent swirling down into the
abyss. Boulders are left In fantastic
heaps where they dropped out of the
avalanche.
Down in the canyon into which the
trains were carried are acres OF snow,
dotted on the surface with logs,
stumps. trees and pieces OF broken
railroad equipment.
On its surface can be seen men
carrying long rods which from time
10 time they use as probes endeavor-
ing to locate the solid wreckage.
Away across the canyon the snow
; is piled up three hundred feet where
II broke against the mountainside.
The upper edge is strewed with trees
like n wooded beach at low tide
X
fighting the snow In the mountains.
estimate that there was half million
tons weight in the slide when 3:
reached the stalled trains This vast
mass. running at great rate of
speed, hit the two heavy trains and
the massed rotary plows and carried
them. like little reeds, down into the
canyon 10 destruction.
Work of Recovery is Slow.
The bodies that have been taken
out OF the mass were all close to the
surface. The work OF recovering the
others seems an almost impossible
task. Toiling In the snow at the base
of the slide the men work slowly and
carefully. When ever anything solid
is located with the divining rods n
force of shovelers is hurried to the
spot. They dig as rapidly as pos
sible but the work is discouraeing as
the snow falls back almost as soon
as II is removed. Usually II is a
piece OF baggage or a bit of n broken
car that is uncovered and the general
belief is now that most of the missing
bodies are so far below the surface
that il will be a long time before
they can be reached.
All hope for those in the Pullmans
has been abandoned II was AT first
thought some might yet be alive
owing to the substantial construction
OF the cars but as the digging pro-
ceeds. It becomes more and more
plain that even the giant steel mail
cars could hardly be powerful enough
10 withstand the pressure and that
they must have given away before II
like structures of tin.
From Skykomsh. is miles from tho
scene Of the disaster, constant
stream of relatives OF the dead IL
making it's way on foot TO where the
workers are Railroad men stationed
along the track try vainlv 70 drive
them back. But they waited too long
without word and they are not TO be
denied. willing as they are TO risk
their lives TO find out definitely II
their loved ones are dead. The scenes
about the little hotel at the mouth Of
the tunnel are heart breaking Here
wait those who know they have rela
tives in the debris and here they say
they will remain until the bodies are
found.
Father, Mother and Two Girls Die.
pitiful tragedy Is that Of Mrs.
Starrett who sits. dry-eyed, just In
side the hotel. waiting and hoping
against hope a year ago her hus.
band, an engineer on the Great North
ern, was killed on the road only a
short distance from here She. her
father and mother. her son Raymond,
and her two little girls were pas
sengers on the ill-fated Spokane.
Seattle express When the slide came,
Just one year to the day after her
husbands death. she and Raymond
we're saved In some miraculous and
unexplained manner. But father.
mother and the two girls we're buried
In the white tomb below, and she
waits and watches. and hopes.
The body Of Conductor Petit nj
Everett was taken out today. He was
one OF the heroes OF the disaster
Fearing that slide would como he
headed party OF passengers that
> struggled through the snow from his
imprisoned train 20 Scenic. When he
reached that point he was warned that
II might cost him his life 10 try 10
set back He spurncd tho advice. His
duty was with his train and he wen.
back 20 get more passengers and
bring Thorn out He forced his way