Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-02
COACHES ARE HURLED
DOWN STEEP CANYON
Impossible to Reach Scene of Dis.
aster Except on Foot.
TRACKS BLOCKED BOTH SIDES
Great Northern Railway Oflcials
Making Every Effort to Get
Succor to Wounded-Slides
and Floods Numerous.

EVERETT. Wash. March 2.-Supt.
/ O'Neill of the Great Northern railway,
who Is directing relief work in the noun
! tains, telegraphs that sixty lives were
i lost in the snow avalanche which
/ swept two trains down the mountain side
/ at Wellington yesterday. The cars fell
i 10 feet into the canyon and were buried
by debris. The town of Wellington and
the Great Northern power house were not
destroyed.
1t will be impossible to reach the scene
of the wreck today except by foot. From
the east side of the Cascades approach is
cut off by snowslide at Drury, six
miles east of Leavenworth, which de-
stroyed the station and killed Waterman
Johnson.
The wounded are being cared for at
Wellington, but will be taken to the big
hotel at Scenic, Hot Springs, as soon as
possible. II is expected that the bodies
of the dead will be embalmed, it being
impractical to bring them out on sledges.
The weather in the mountains is warm
and rescue parties are in constant peril
from snow slides.
Impossible to Get Names.
Complete lists of the injured cannot be
obtained until rescuers have dug all the
bodies out of the wreckage. The lists
available at present contain only the
names of trainmen killed and injured.
Partial lists of dead and injured fol-
low:
The dead:
y Trainmaster A. L. Blackburn. Everett.
I a.. f. Longcoy. secretary to Supt.
C'Neil.
Louis Walker, Everett. cook on supt.
O'Ecils car.
SniyI
J. d.. Kurke. fireman.
The two trains carried away by tn.
great wave of ice and snow We're til
westbound Spokane limited and tt
weStbound transcontinental fast mai.
The latter carried no passengers. Most
of the dead and injured are believed 10
have been passengers of the Spokane ex-
press, most of whom were on the train
st the time of the disaster. Besides these
thirty Workmen. who had been engaged
in the battle against the drifts that had
been holding the two ill-fated trains inn
prisoned in the mountains since Febru-
airy ~, were sleeping in the day coaches.
The avalanche rolled down the noun
tain at 40 a m. The two trains, with
three locomotives. four powerful electric
motors, the depot and the water tank
were swept off the ledge and deposited in
twisted mass of wreckage at the foot
of the mountain. The noise from the
snow slide. which was mile long. could
be heard throughout the valley, and Supt
j. H. O'Neil. who was directing the work
of the night shift, marshaled his men and
hurried 10 the rescue. Groans and cries
for help coming from the bottom of the
canyon indicated that many imprisoned
in the wreckage were still alive, and the
rescuers worked with feverish haste to
release them. AS fast the injured were
removed they were taken to the hospital
at Scenic. three miles away by mountain
trail. but ten when the long. winding
course of the railroad was followed. A
messenger was dispatched at once for
help.
Brought First News.
The first news of the disaster was
He staggered into Skyhomish, eighteen
miles from Wellington, yesterday. "An
wiped OUT he cried. Nothing but
nooth snow where the tracks stood, and
Aains were dumped into the canyon.
He was SO exhausted from his long
light against the snow that ii was sew
eral hours before he could give CO.
herent story.
Bit by bit wentzels disjointed utter
ances were pieced together into con-
was at Bailet's Hotel, ran out at the
sound OF the avalanche he saw the bill
lows OF snow setting over the tracks
where the train had stood. Later he
saw men carrying women and children
from the partly buried coaches, which
had been hurled down the side of the
gulch. He thought that eight women and
children were carried out while he looked
on. Some of them moaned, and he knew
they were living.
Bailet's Hotel. the saloon and the store
were untouched. The little railroad sta
ton was swept away by the edge of the
avalanche, which had grazed the hud-
died houses and wreaked it's fury on the
trains.
Relief Trains Sent Out.
Messages telling of the disaster were
sent to Everett and relief trains were
made up and dispatched Owing to
previous slides which have blocked the
road and swept away portions of the
track the rescue trains can get no fur
ther than Scenic. whence the rescuers
have to make their way on foot over
the snow.
Another train bearing wrecking
equipment and carrying undertakers
and more workers left Everett late last
night. A third train. carrying work
men and provisions enough to last 500
persons ten days. was sent east this
morning. Communication with Scenic
is frequently interrupted by slides, and
IL Is difficult to get complete details of
the disaster.
Among the passengers who were on
the train are:
Mrs. William Starrett and three chtl-
dren. Victoria. B. c.
Alexander Chisholm, Roseland. b e.
John Mackie. Moyie b. c.
G. Heron, Vancouver b. e.
Mr.. and Mrs. William May, Chemai-
mus, B. {.
Col. Symons Heads Commission.
Col. Thomas w. Symons, U. s. A.. re-
tired. formerly Engineer Commissioner
of hn niStr