South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-12-09

later was a roaring flame.
No Chance to Escape.
There was no chance OF escape
The horror surrounding the burn
ing 10 death of hundreds who were
unable TO move is realized here, but
this town has not yet awakened to
Jue enormous loss of life. Estimates
Of 1900 dead accepted heretofore
as high seem far below the mark
after travelling over the Richmond
district, where the brunt of the blow
fell.
Some idea Of the powerful havoc
Of the explosion was gained as the
correspondent viewed scores of
trees, burly of trunk, that literally
were snapped in two 10 feet from
the ground. Big brick structures
came down with smaller ones Of
frame. but il was in these modest
dwellings that the greatest loss of
life occurred.
Fortunately, it happened before
hundreds Of children had gathered
at the big school in the heart Of the
district which was wrecked But
most OF these same youngsters We're
caught while playing about their
homes.
Ship a Crumpled Heap.
The steamer Mont Blanc lies
across the stretch of water from
the section it laid low a crumpled
blackened heap. Nearby, hard on
the beach, where it was driven by
the explosion, lies the crippled re-
-As1T 4t,o
Moe stands with no apparent sign
Of damage. other and smaller ship
hulks offer mute evidence of the dis
aster, while 400 freight cars on the
waterfront were burned to the base.
All over this wide area the story
is the same. There is a sIoping hill
that runs down 10 the water and
at the top a church still stands,
with every window gone, its walls
cracked and its steeple leaning like
the tower Of Piza. Around and
about on every side are the black
and charred ruins where most Of
the congregation lived. Further to
the edge of the devastated area an
other church escaped, but every
window frame was ripped out
clean.
Great Drifts of Snow.
II was almost impossible to make
progress over the streets because Of
the great drifts Of snow. It lag
deep upon the wreckage and tonight
| it had turned to a solid mass Of
ice that defed the attempts Of
! searchers to dig through with picks
How long il will take this ice to
thaw nobody knows. In any other
time the blizzard yesterday would
| have caused much suffering but
coming on top Of the greater disas-
| ter, it simply stunned the thousands
of volunteers, not personally af-
! hicted and demoralized all effort for
| concerted searching.
Right in the heart of this area
| fires, starting Thursday, blazed to-
night like bonfires and the crowds
moving along the rough snow
patches caught something that made
| the atmosphere here well night I'M
beara BILE. It was the odor Of burn
ing flesh.
The flames leave little trace and
this fact may give substance to the
new official estimate of 1000 dead
| There was no accurate census of
the population Of Richmond district.
Families came and went and when
whole families were lost there was
no one left 10 report their deaths
/ The Halifax man who has not look
! ed upon this section can no more
approximate the death toll than can
/ the Boston man. Picture two and
) a half square miles Of homes torn
down by an explosion and then left
TO the fury of the flames and the
/ person a thousand miles away can
get an idea of the extent Of the dis
| aster.