Norwich bulletin., 1917-12-08

Halifax, Dec. Hive thousand cas- ualties; two thousand dead, three thousand others injured. This is to- nights official estimate of the toll ex- acted in human lives and suffering by the explosion and fires yesterday.
 Stricken Halifax was swept tonight by q raging blizzard. Sosfierce was the storm that rescue workers were forced to suspend their operations in the devastated section. It is believ-. ed certain that all the injured buried under the ruins of shattered buildings have perished of cold ard hunger.
 Biting Wind-BIinding Snow.
 Battered by a biting wind and binding snow, the plight of the sur vivors of yesterdays holocaust is little doors of virtually every house in the city were shattered by the explosion which wrecked the Richmond section and devastated large part of the wa boards give little protection against the elements and attempts to heat buildings into which the snow is steadily drifting are hopeless.
 City is In Darkness.
 The city is again in darkness to- night except for the illumination af-. forded by scanty supply of oil lamps and unless these are carefully screen ed they are extinguished as soon as lighted by the gale which whistles through the crude shutters. Only a small percentage of the buildings have even this slight protection from the storm.
 Cold, Shock and Exposure.
 The sufferings of those who escaped injury have been increased by the fact that every available blanket, quilt and comfortable has been requisitioned for the hundreds Of injured in the tenn porary hospitals Mary Of these are so gravely wounded their only hope lies in thN ''0st of care. Serious fears are felt t''ct cold, shock and exposure will result in an outbreak Of pneumo- mia.
 A single telegraph wire, bending dangerously in the storm. offered Hal- flax cnly q precarious means of com munication with the outside world and it was F'arad raomentariiy that this line wcu'd sraD- At best it gave only halting con1 ~ction with other points. Telegraph and telephone companies are making desperate efforts to pro- vide a rnakeshift service but the work is beset with Freat difficulties.
 Srco:re of Famine.
 While .r7any ge1c~Hus offers of ma- terial ral'ef have N"en received and trainloais of supplies are on the way. the spectre of famine was abroad to- night for if the storm continues it may seriously interfere with railroad traffic. There is enough food on hand for immediate needs, but it will last 6nly a short time unless additional supplies are received
 Hundreds of Bodies m Morgues.
 As the day wore on the immensity of the disaster increased rather than diminished Hundreds of bodies were taken to tl-~ -gues and rescue squads We Q stantly finding new victims under tons of debris until the blizzard forced t''em 60. cease work, There is ever Slson to believe that many lnore vii be recovered.
 Death List Not Compiled.
 No concerted effort f,as been made as every effort is beinS made to iden- tify those who perished. The con- dition of many of the bodies make this exceedingly difficult and a large pro- portion of those who lest their lives will be buried as "nameless dead" Therei no reason, however, to change the estimate of 1000 dead and 5000 injured. 24 hours in the north end were brought under control early today and the city is no longer menaced by a confiagration.
 Business Entirely Suspended.
 While soldiers, sailors and volun- teers were searching the ruins of the northe end of the city today business was entirely suspended. The leading citizens devoted: their efforts to or ganiztng tho work of relief and sub stant:al progress was made in this re- spect.
 Miraculous Escape of Child.
 Incidents are coming to light >every hour which emphasize the fact that life and death go hand in hand. Deaths too horrible to describe occurred sim ultaneously with miraculous escapes. \ six year old child was blown through the roof of a house in Young street, rolled from the roof to the ground and suffered only a few scratches.
 Another child was rescued from the ruins in Richmond apparently unhurt. This rescue and others like it have added to the fear that many who were maimed by falling buildings and un- able to help themselves perished in the flames or have been frozen.
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