The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1916-02-18
Three SeriOS-Were SOvefng Out One Slide When Another
Came Overwhelming Fifty Men
OCCURRED ONE AND A HALF MILES WEST OF lEkYENWORTH
Killed and Injured Were all Greeks and Japanese Greeks Swept Into
WenatChee River One Believed to be Drowned Buried
In SOwOne Japanese Body Recovered

Wednesday was the warmest day
since last summer and was preceded
by an unusually warm night. Just the
kind OF weather that develops slides in
the mountains. Anticipating trouble,
the railroad company sent their rotary
plows up the canyon in the morning.
By noon a small slide was reported one
and half miles up the road and SO
men, Greeks and Japanese, in charge
of Robert Ehrensberger, left the rail
road yards about one o'clock to shovel
out the slide. Between and $3.50
O'Clock another slide developed right
in the track oil the first, and before the
men could get out of the way they
were overwhelmed in the slide and
eight or ten swept into the Wenatchee
river and others covered up in snow,
rock and tree trunks. Foreman Ehrens-
berger and some ten or fifteen OF those
who were lucky enough to get out Of
the way, some hit but not injured, and
able to help get others less fortunate
out Of the snow, Immediately went to
work. Ehrensberger seeing some Of
the men in the water went to their as
sistance first and himself dragged five
or six men out of the icy water, himself
getting into the swift water to help the
manned and injured to land. 1t is be-
lieved that at least one was badly in
iured and was carried downstream,
while three more are known to be
buried under the snow and ice. The
first body taken out was that OF Jap
anese, Komura Gutaro. Ten Of the in
jured were brought to Leavenworth and
are now in the hospital. One has a
broken leg and is otherwise injured,
and believed to be in dangerous con-
dition. Another has several ribs frac-
tured and is otherwise bruised, besides
being chilled from his bath in the icy
water. Another is cut and bruised all
over and said to have an arm broken.
The others are all more or less injured
and suffering from the shock and being
in the water.
Robert Ehrensberger, after getting
the men out OF the river, brought the
news of the disaster to town. The rail-
road company Immediately sent an en-
CINE with DR.. G. W. Hoxsey, the rail-
road physician. and stretchers to bring
the injured to town. Shovehng gangs
were also sent to the scene to hunt for
the buried men. A representative OF
this paper went to the scene OF the dis
aster on one of the first trains. Only
four or five men appeared to be hunt
ing for the bodies Of the buried men.
The shoveling crew sent there by the
railroad company seemed to be afraid
to work in the snow, evidently fearing
another slide, which fear was not i'll
founded. To see the immense amount
of snow on the sides Of the steep walls
Of the canyon is enough to convince
anyone that a slide is liable to take
place anywhere and any time. Right
where the slide occurred there is still
enough snow to cause another slide If
the warm weather continues.
Where the slide occurred, two hun
dred yards west Of the Tumwater Light
& Water Co.'S power house, the track
runs at the foot Of steep mountain,
about one hundred feet above and three
hundred feet away from the bed OF the
Wenatchee river. The slide is about
two hundred yards wide and from ten
to thirty feet deep on the track. Be
,veen where the accident occurred and