Evening star., 1917-12-09

sailors and sent them in droves to the
devastated zones Each hour their et-
fort brought its added burden to the
morgues. At the Inorgues soldiers ar
ranged the bodies for the view OF unend-
ing streams Of bereaved. Many funerals
were held even during the heavy Storm
The total of lives lost as consequence
Of the explosion may never pc known' pa'
ondary Importance. The outstanding
fact that has been faced by the iocai
authorities with a courage that cnai-
Ienge the admiration Of their kinsmsn
from south of the border is that 2o.0oo
persons are destitute. and OF that num-
Der one out Of seven Is suffering from
injuries which in many cases are pouho
to prove fatal
BODIES Of sailogs apd Soldiers
Late in the day dredging parties
working under the direction Of naval
authorities, dragged 200 bodies OF SAL.
ors. soldiers and laborers recovered
from the bottom of the harbor; An
other searching squad reported haVins
found forty bodies in the hulk OF the
Norwepian steamer limo which collided
with the Mont Blanc.
The work Of relief was organized TO-
day at a meeting Of Americans anu
Canadians, officials and volunteers, wig
are here with generous resources az
their command to restore. SO far as pos
sibIe. the injured, and provide shelter,
food and clothing for the 20,oeo VINO
are destitute. :,
the various morgues announced that
about 400 Of the 1000 bodies had been
identified.
First of Several Trains Arrives.
Federal. provincial and Red Cross aid.
supplemented by voluntary units from
k1.<, wit tod
were being utilized to the best advantage
The Massachusetts, relief train. wnicn mao
been stalled much Of the night In snow
drifts near the Nova Scotian border. ar
rived today, bringing its contingent or
physicians, nurses and supplies 1t was
the first of several trains en- route from
the American side
More than foot OF snow ieii iasl nign. ~.
was clear and cold. Street cars were
stalled in the drifts during the night, but
today the service had been parity re-
stored. The day also saw the lighting
system renewed in part, and after dark
ness fell the city looked little less black
and forbidding. Fortunately, tne Ieie-
phone service is good. but there IS
somber significance in the report OF SO
many dead numbers
The water supply is causing the most
concern Emergency repairs are being
made as fast as II is humanity possible.
hmt the system was still seriously de-
ranged this evening.
Big Property Loss.
The property loss. variously estimat-
ed at from s2o.o00.0oo to 100000. 900
probably will prove to be nearer the
minimum figure. The relief commit
tees have asked for $30.000.000 which
they-estimate will be necessary to care
for the 10000 destitute ones.
The search for bodies goes on me
dc. oad
in temporary morgues through which
thousands continue to file. though there
have been but few identif1cations. The
clearing of the streets by the removal
recovery of bodies. Those engaged in
this work are having many depress-
ing and heartrending experiences.
Snow Three Feet Deep.
Through roads three feet deep in snow
a correspondent of the Associated Press
today went over a strip of Halifax more
utterly demolished than any section of
Belgium or France. The ruin is COM
plete.
end, where the poorer people lived, ex-
tends along the narrows: channel right
ly named It was in these waters that
the French munition ship Mont Blanc,
inward bound with q government pilot
aboard, was rammed amtdshfps by the
Norwegian steamer lfnO, prOceeQlng OUT
ward with a cargo for the relief of the
Belgians.
How this crash, not of itself serious.
ripped open on the decks tanks of
benzine that trickled down to the en-
gine room and started a blaze that
wrecked part of Halifax never will be
explained to the satisfaction of the
people here, who are still dazed by the
terror of the giant blast that came
when tons Of high explosives sent
wild roar far out to sea. shook the
very foundation of an area of two and
a half square miles. and stripped it
bare.
Crushed, Then Burned.
Nearly every house in the district
fell with crash. In nearly all Of these
fres started. and men, women and chill
dren-mostiy chiidren-were crushed to
death or mangled under the debris
which a moment later was roaring
fame.
There was no chance of escape. The
horror surrounding the burning to death
OF hundreds who were unable to move is
realised here, but this town has not yet
awakened to the enormous loss OF life.
Estimates of 1900 dead, accepted here
tofore as high. seem far below the mark
after travelling over the Richmond dis
hA NJ ka.~ R~IT !