Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-02
SLIDE CRUSHES
SPOKANE FLYER:
q ARE KILLED
Swept Off Rails, Trains
Entombed in Cascade
Mountains
60 PERSONS ABOARD
Mail Cars and Motors Also
Buried--PaSsengers
Asleep at Time
Associated Pressl

I1 NEREIIp WdSn., Marcn l.-Meag-
III er reports from Wellington, the
"a scene of this mornings ava
lanche, indicate that at least twenty
three lives were lost in the slide which
overwhelmed two Great Northern
trains, buried superintendent j. H.
O'Neilrs private car, three locomotives
and four big electric motors, used to
haul trains through the Cascade tun-
mel.
Most of the dead are believed to
have been passengers on the westbound
Spokane express, which has been
stalled in the mountains since Feb
ruary "a. The other train was a fast
transcontinental mail. 1t carried no
passengers.
Dead Not Known
The names of the passengers on the
stalled train are not known here, and
wires in the mountains are interrupted.
Two trains were in charge of Conduc-
tors Parzybock and Petit, both of
Everitt.
The fate of the train crews is not
known. 1t is feared that Il. A. Long
coy, Superintendent O'NeilPs private
secretary, is among the dead. He was
in the private car which was buried,
and the messages received here make
no mention of his escape. Superinten-
dent ONeill, who has been directing
the work of fighting the snow block
ade for the past ten days, was not in
the car when the slide occurred, and
escaped injury.
The avalanche swept down the noun
tain side shortly after o'clock this
morning. 1t was a half mile long,
and the snow, loose stones and up
rooted trees were Piled several feet
deep.
Passengers Asleep
Most of the passengers on the train
were asleep, and received no warning
of the danger. The trains and loco
motives were completely buried by the
debris from the mountain side, and it
was six hours after the avalanche be-
fore the rescue parties, made up from
workers sent to attack the snow
drifts, located them.
Willing hands at once proceeded to
the task of rescuing the living, and
removing the bodies of the dead.
An appeal was sent at once to Ever
EFT for help, and trainload of physi-
clans and rescuers was started for the
scene. Owing to previous slides which
have blocked the line and carried out
sections of track, the rescue train can
go only as far as Scenic. Wellington
is at the west portal of the Cascade
tunnel, and is 1000 feet above Scenic,
and almost directly over the little
resort If the rescuers follow the tor
tuous windings of the railroad as 1t
climbs the mountain, they will have to
walk ten miles, but by taking a noun
tain trail they can cut this distance to
three miles.
Undertakers on Way
A second rescue train containing a
wrecking outfit and additional work
ers and undertakers left Everett at
o'clock tonight.
Reports received here tonight say the
Great Northern's powerhouse, which
furnishes electric power to operate
trains through the Cascade tunnel the
depot and water tank, were swept
away by the avalanche and that the
railroad boarding house was badly
wrecked. A number of the dead and
injured are railroad men and residents
of wellington.
The Spokane Express has been
stalled at wellington since last Thurs
day. The passengers have been eating
at the railroad boarding house and at
nearby cottages, but had returned to
the Pullmans to sleep. Two days ago
several of the passengers, fearing a
catastrophe of this kind, asked Super
intendent O'Neill to have the train
moved back into the Cascade tunnel
where it would be protected. Mr.
O'Neill Is said to have declared the
train was perfectly safe on the siding
at wellington and decided to leave it
there.
Sixty Aboard
Reports as to the number of passen-
gers marooned on the train vary. The
railroad company claims there were
only thirty persons on the train, but
men who tired of the delay and walked
out over the snow to Skykomish
where they could get train, say that
there were more than sixty.