El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-12-07
HALIFAX Loss
Of LIFE, 1000
u. S. Sailors Bodies Re-
ported Seen; Great Piles
of Dead in Morguss.
Continued from PAGE ]

Continued From PAGE -
mond, approximately two and a half
square miles. many searchers confined
their efforts today 70 making sure
I that all of the injured were removed
I to hospitals. Other organized parties
fought out those bodies that might
/ be identified and rushed them 70 the
mOrgues-
Hundreds Of Children Killed
/ In this section, extending from pier
| back to Gottinsen street not a
I building was left standing and here
was the greatest loss OF life Build
ings that withstood the force OF the
! explosion were burned by tho fire tnar
4 swept the district and scores OF The
I injured were taken from the ruins OF
I the railway station the refinery OF
/ the American Sugar Refining com
oany, the military gymnasium and the
/ Arena Rink, while few, II any. OF the
| several hundred children attending
! the Richmond school are known to
] have escaped
Explosion Felt 100 Miles Away.
! Across the narrows in the town OF
! Dartmouth the results Of the vast
( damage done by the explosion became
[ more apparent today while reports
from towns and villages within a "a
dius OF 100 miles indicate that the
I force Of the impact was felt and IN
some cases resulted IN property caIn'
age.
Wires Are Slowly Strung Up.
At Truro, Amherst and other cities
where the explosion was felt. efforts
to get in wire communication with
Halifax confirmed suspicious that the
war port had met with catastrophe,
but it was several hours before
wire was placed in operation to in
form the outside world OF the extent
OF the disaster Telegraph and tele-
phone wires were torn down and IN
the first moments Of ruin and death
Halifax was completely isolated Early
in the afternoon, several hours after
the explosion. 4 single wire was
placed in operation by the Canadian
Press Limited. and over il news Of the
disaster and government messages
told of the extent Of the needs OF the
city and brought reassurinE replies
that every available measures OF
transportation was being requisitioned
to rush medical aid and supplies
Trough Increased the Blast.
The explosion occurred in the mar /.
rows. a point in the harbOr less than /.
half a mile wide On the north shore I
IS the town OF Dartmouth. on the ]
south shore the Richmond section Of .
the CITY SlopinE land on each side Of I
the narrows forms. in effect, trough I
which served TO confine the blast and 4
increase its intensity and destructive :
ness
The main water front buildings /
great piers for loading ships ana I
warehouses for munitions and sup ]
plies. are located south OF the mar 1
rows. and they escaped the fun force
OF the blows While piers and store /
/ ouses are damaged considerably. X /
was learned today that the facilities 4
for loading transports and munitions Z
ships are not so badly crippled as was (
az first believed
20 MorEues Established.
Temporary morEues have been es-
tablished in many buildings 10 Wnlcn
steady procession OF vehicles OF all
kinds have been carrying for hours
the bodies Of men. women and chill.
dren. Most OF them were 50 charred
that they were uurecOgnlzaDle-
BUILDINGS Fuu Of Injured
Virtually every building in the city
which could be converted into a nos
initial is filled with wounded. many OF
them so desperately injured that there
is no hone Of their recover Scores .
already have died in these temporary
hospitals. An ever-lncreaslnE mum
Der is being taken from the com
pletelv dev7st Richmond district i
to the RELIEF station.
City in Darkness Mt Night
The CITY was in darkness last night I
except for the flames from the ftres
still burning in the wrecked build 7
ines in the north end The electric (
light and gas plants have been viz
tually destroyed AMI the only ughts ]
available are kerosene lamps They I
furnished the illumination by means I
Of which surgeons and doctors toiled (
heroicallv throughout the night car I
ing for the injured
Fire Chief Among Dead
Among the dead are Edward Con- |
don. chief Of the fire denartmenti I
william Brunt, deputy fire CHIEF; cap
nartment. the wife and son OF heF. !
". J. Sweatman Of the Kaye street
Methodist church, and DR.. MURDOCH I
Chisholm
thought It Was Air Raid.
The horrors Of an air raid possessed ]
the minds of many when the explo- Z
sion on the Mont Blanc shook THIS
fortress town 10 its foundation There /
were three distinct shocks klrsL a !
comparatively light rumble ike a /
seismic disturbance startled the cry. /
A moment later a terrific blast made /
even the citadel quake Then a crash I
Of glass throughout wide area COM I
pleted the confusion
Thousands of oersons rushing into /
the omen saw a thick cloud Of gray
smoke hanging over the north end Of
the city. This strengthened their /
conviction OF an attack from the air. {
Crowds Herded Southwark.
Il was feared that other explosions !
would follow, and, as FAR as posslDte'
the frightened ones were herded in the
southern part u l--1 -l1'- "a >
crowds assembled in open lots and
remained there for hours until they
believed all danger was passed
Notwithstanding the prompt and
generous succor from nearby places
there was much suffering among the
homeless last niCht- The temperature,
while not low for this district, held
below freezing
one Mans Experience
William Barton. former telegraph
editor OF the Montreal Gazette, now
travelling auditor for the Canadian
Imperial Munitions board, at ottawa,
related today his experiences during
the explosion. He was ut breakfast
in the Halifax hotel
IN ten seconds it was all over.
Mr. Barton said. "a low rumbling,
a ouakeshock with everything vibrat-
ing. then an indescribable noise, fol-
lowed by the fail Of plaster and the
the human mind does not hesitate a
cry went up: y German bomb. (
There was a rush for the door. head
long down the hallway amid falling
pictures, glass and plaster 70 the
swinging doors OF a few seconds pc
through great projecting triangular
pieces Of glass TO the street here
found myself with a burden How
she had come into my arms 1 do not
knew. yet here she was. historically
shrieking. oh, my poor sister. my
poor sister
Great smoke Cloud Rolls North.
Outside. overhead. a giant smoke
cloud was moving northward- Danger
seemed over. 1 crossed the road, laid
49,
"a fzaz9 - SOSTV6g
=