Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1917-12-09
1000 Deaths Are
Reported From
Halifax Disaster
(Rv Review leased Wirel

HALIFAX. N. s. Dec. S. Four
thousand dead.
This is the new estimate tonight
of the superintendent of morgues.
whose duty it is to assemble and eX-
pose for Identification ii possible. the
bodies OF those who perished by shock
or fire wlen the ammunition ship
Mont Blanc blew up in the harbor
Thursday.
His estimate. that startled even
those who had lived through
three days of the horror here. was
based on the records of his district
assistants, who late tonight reported
a total of one Thousand bodies recov-
cred. They have figured on a certain
number for a prescribed area. There
appears to be no other way of deter
mining the loss. Hundreds. perhaps
thousands. of bodies have been con-
sumed by the flames, and in scores
of cases not only whole families, but
whole neighborhoods have been wiped
out. and the names of all their dead
may never be known.
Others think this estimate too high,
but all admit that the superintenG-
ent's way of figuring is as good as
any.
Bodies Found In Water.
Late in the day dredging parties
working under the direction of naval
authorities. dragged ashore 200 bodies
OF sailors and laborers recovered from
the bottom Of the harbor. Another
searching squad reported having found
40 bodies in the hulk of the Norweg-
ian steamer limo which collided with
the Mont Blanc.
The work of the relief was organiZ-
ed today at meeting of Americans
and Canadians, officials and volun-
tears. who are here with generous re-
sources at their command to restore.
s. far as possible, tne injured ard
provide shelter. food and clothing
for the 10000 who are destitute
Late tonight authorities in charge
of the various morgues announced
that about 400 of the 1000 bodies had
been identified.
Search for Dead.
A multitude of dead lay tonight in
the ruins of homes buried under two
AtCN vi ShOn- w uCA lHC
exhausted searchers suspended for
brief period their sickening task, 1000
bodies had been recovered And the
end is not in sight.
Only once befora was the work in
terrupted This was last night when (
a blizzard swept in from the north |
with a force that could not be resist /
ed.
Today the sun heartened the sol ]
diers and sailors and sent them in B
droves to the devastated zones. Each /
hour their efforts brought its added
burden to the morgues. At the I
soldiers arranged the bodies I
for the view of unending streams of /
bereaved. Many funerals were held. I
even during the heavy storm.
Find Big Missiles.
Soldier searchers in the Richmond I
district found beside some of the /
bodies fragments of the Mont Blanc. /
These missiles evidently caused in
slant death.
A military hospital on one of the .
piers was demolished by a 2O-foot
chain from the Mont Blanc and which |
had been hurled through the air a dis
tanoe of a mile and a half. Steam
ships alongside the wharves showed
gashed sides and bent tunnels while
The paint seemed TO have been rubbed /
off their sides. An outstanding eX-
ception was the cruiser Niobe. appar-
entity undamaged. but surrounded by
-angled masts, steel ropes and plates
welded into fantastic mass of scrap
ron.
Relief Corps Arrive.
With the arrival of the special re-
lief party from Massachusetts, the
work of handling the aftermath of the
explosion was begun today.
To restore conditions to normal and
% meet the immediate needs of 25.-
100 persons made homeless were
foremost in the minds of those who
-ook part in joint meeting of Ameri-
;an and Canadian forces at the City
;lub. John F. Moore, director of the
American relief work, announced that
Halifax citizens should take charge
md that American surgeons, nurses
md army officers would stand behind
hem to the limit of their resources
inu dulllty.
Sound Patriotic Note. Il
Sir Robert Borden, premier of Can
ida. said that the people of Halifax
night rely on the dominion govern
nent and the provincial government
or every help.
A patriotic note was sounded by the
Very Rev. Dean Lloyd. who said:
Every heart beats with joy with
he knowledge that the stars and
stripes and the union jack are again
to meet a great emergency"
The special from Boston due last
light was delayed by a blizzard. II
Irrived this morning and in a remark
lbly short time the forces were organ
zed and American surgeons and doc
ors were working in Halifax hospitals
Onight.
NO SHOTS FIRED. /,
(By Review Leased Wire)