The San Francisco call., 1910-03-04
100 KILLED BY
AVALANCHE THAT
BURIED TRAINS
Weeks May Pass Before All the
Bodies Are Found at
Wellington
Hope Abandoned That Any of
Those Under Pack of Snow
Still Live

. WELLINGTON. Wash. March 3-A
INST OF passengers, trainmen and postal
employees who were caught in the ava
Janche that destroyed the Great North
ern trains Tuesday morning and who
are dead or missing contains Sc names
statements or the number Of laborers
who were engaged in fighting the snow
snd who were sleeping on the i'll fated
trsins varies from 20 TO so. Conse-
g.. qlently an estimate OF 100 dead seems
Conservative.
No one who has looked at the wreck
* has the slightest hope OF finding
any OF the missing persons alive. The
explorations have uncovered only dead.
An avalanche OF dry snow might have
covered its victims alive. but the gorge
Wellington is packed tight with wet
snow, ice. huge trees and glacial boul-
ders OF enormous weight Two of the
bodies recovered today were those OF
electricians who We're living in a cabin
- the edge Of wellington and who
were carried with their home 500 feet
down the slope
THIRTT-ONE IDENTIFIED
Thirty-one OF the 35 bodies Of ava
.lsnche victims recovered have been
identified, among them being Bert
Matthews Of Cincinnati and z. ". Top
ping Of Ashland. O., whose bodies were
found this afternoon. a fearful storm
is raging here tonight Snow is falling
and is being whirled into drifts by &
furious wind. The change in the
weather viii make the trail from
Scenic difcult and wilI-hamper the
men who have been digging for bodies
The snow plows working on both
SIDES Of Wellington made good progress
today. A rotary on the west side
is four and q half miles from yelling
ton, between Korea, and Alvin. On
the east side or the Cascades another
rotary is near Gaynor, eight miles from
Wellington. The tunnel being open
there is good prospect that the line
20 the east win be opened first, in
which case. the dead and injured viii
De taken 10 Spokane.
FOLLOW BLOOD STAINS
? n UEhEES searching LDT pOClSS ire
Quently find victims by following blood
stains through the snow. The melting
snow has carried the stains from the
msngled bodies down 10 the stream al
the bottom Of the sulch Men with
sheyels, upon finding one Of these
crimson leads, start al the edge of the
stream and tunnel through the snow
until they come 10 the body of a VIC
tim The snow is packed like cement
by the wrecksge Of the cars were hor-
ribly crushed by the weight OF the icy
mass
II is feared that many Of the bodies
VIII never be recovered. The warm
weather and rains OF the last three
DAYS have turned the little mountain
stream that flows through the canyor
into raging torrent and the water is
fast undermining the snow which was
carried far out across the bottom OF
the gorge It is believed that many
bodies were carried clear across the
gulch and buried under 30 feet o,
snow As the stream rises and the
water undermines the debris there is
danger OF the bodies dropping into the
river and being carried away.
PACK RELIEF SUPPLIES
All dsy a stream of men with packs
strapped TO their backs wound up the
mountain path from Skykomish 70
Scenic and Wellington, reminding Alas
ksns Of the caravans that crossed the
Chilkoot trail in Klondike days. The
men carried food and supplies for the
injured and some went up 10 dig for
the bodies Of friends or relatives. A
few were sightseers, and these were
told that they were not wanted.
a lsborer was caught taking trinkets
from = dead voman's body and was
compelled TO start down the trail at
once
bodies in the avalanche debris today
Among the bodies found were those
p Of former Prosecuting Attorney r
N. Barnhart or Spokane; Conductor
J. L. Petit, who, after 2 trip on foot to
70 Skykomish, went back 10 his post OF
peril. and Mrs ". A Covington OF
Olympia who left Spokane TO celebrate
n Seattle today her golden wedding
anniversary.
DEAD ARE SCATTERED
II the searchers locate the Pullman
cars intact in the snow they may. take
out many bodies in a short time. but
il is likely that the dead are strewr
al through acres OF debris. At the
present rate Of progress it would re-
ouire weeks 70 recover all the bodies
After the track is open engines and
tackle viii lift the huge trees and
boulders.
There are no cofins At Wellington
and the dead, wrapped in blankets, lie
on the snow. well preserved.
The Great Northern's costly expe-
rience rith snow in the Cascades this
winter has caused q renewal of dis.
cussion Of the project of building 2
tunnel al a level 1000 feet lower thar
the present one and with its wes-
portal at Scenic Hot Springs. The tun-
mel was figured out years ago and
passed upon as feasible by European
. engineers.
BURIED 80 FEET DEEP
shortly before o'clock TaesdaS
morning. when every one on the tive
- trains sidetracked at Wellington was
IN bed. 10 acres Of the mountain side
that lowered above the trains became
. detached, and, taking with il snow
.. trees earth and rocks, plunged dowr
= into the canyon. The trains wer,
. picked up as though they were triie,
and the whole mass was piled at tn.
bottom Of the ravine several hundred
feet below. Looking down today a
the debris OF tie avalanche the car
are not in sight. They are under 4,
or 50 feet of snow and trees On.