Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-12-10
RUIN COMPLETE
Latest Estimates Place
Halifax Dead at 1000
Exact Cause of Catastrophe May Never
Be Observation-Disclosures of Dead Too
sIaekened by Fire to Be Recognized

| three 1Set uSop SiiO" u SOAANSPNN
ent of the Associated Press Saturday
went over the strip OF Halifax more
utterly demolished than any section or
Belgium and France. The ruin IS com
plete. The Richmond district in the
north end where the poorer people re-
sided, extends along the Narrows, a
channel rightly named. 1t was in these
waters that the French munition ship
Mont Blanc inward bound with a gov
eminent pilot aboard, was rammed
amidships by the Norwegian steamer
| limo, proceeding outward with cargo
for the relief of the Belgians.
| How this crash, not of itself seriT
Gus, dipped open tanks of benzine on
the deck that trickled down to the
engine room and started a blaze that
wrecked part of Halifax never will
be explained to the satisfaction of the
people here. still daZed by the terror
of it, but the giant blast that came
when tons of high explosives sent d
wild roar far out to sea, shook the
very foundation of an area of IL
square miles and stripped it bare.
Nearly every house in the district fell
with crash. In nearly all of these
fires started, and men, women and
children, mostly children, were crushed
to death or mangled under debris which
a moment later was a roaring fame.
No Chance to Escape
There was no chance of escape. The
horror surrounding the burning to
death of hundreds who were unable to
move is realized here, but this town
has not yet awakened to the enor-
nous 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 cor
respondent viewed scores of trees,
burly of trunk, that literally We're
| snapped in two 10 feet from the
ground. Big brick structures came
down with smaller ones of frame, but
it was in these modest dwellings that
| the greatest loss of life occurred.
Fortunately it happened before hun
dreds 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 plying about their homes.
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 relief ship, and near
err still the Canadian cruiser Niobe
stands with no apparent sign of dam
age. Other and smaller ship hulks
offer mute evidence of the disaster
while 1400 freight cars on the water
, front were burned to the base.
All over this wide area the story is
the same. There is sloping hill that
runs down to the water and at the top
a church still stands with every win
dow gone, it's walls cracked and its
steeple leaning like the Tower Of Pisa
| Around and about on every side are
the black and charred ruins where
most Of the congregation lived. Fur
Their to the edge of the devastated area
another church escaped. but every win
down frame was ripped out clean.
Snow 6ures Wreckage
1t was almost impossible to make
progress over the streets because OF
the great drifts of snow. 1t Law deer
Upon the wreckage and tonight it Lad
turned to a solid mass Of ice that de-
fled the attempt Of searchers 20 dig
through with picks. How long it viii
take this ice to thaw nobody knows
In any other time the blizzard yester-
day would have caused much suffer
ing but coming on top Of the great dis
aster it simply stunned the thousands
OF volunteers, not personally afflicted
and demoralized all effort for concert
ed searching. Even the sunshine, which
lad brought some comfort, failed tC
bring relief, for a cold north wind
chilled to the bone men and women
hunting for the farms of children.
Right in the heart of this area fires
starting Thursday, blazed tonight like
bonfires and the crowds moving along
the rough snow paths caught some
thing that made the atmosphere here
well night unbearable. 1t was the odor
of burning flesh.
The flames leave little trace and
this taken into account may give sub
stance to the new official estimate OF
1000 dead. There was no accurate CEN
sus of the population of the Rich
HlOuu district. fdnllleS came and
went and when whole families were
| lost there was no one LEFT to report
their deaths. The Halifax man who
has not looked upon that section can
no more approximate the death toll
than can the Boston man. Picture two
and half square miles of homes torn
down by an explosion and then left
to the fury of the flames, and the per-
son thousand miles away can get an
idea of the extent Of the disaster
There are dismantled buildings in
the rows of streets that have not vet
been dragged down. The walls lean
at dangerous angles, and window
blinds. coated with ice, kept up an
all-day Tapping as the wind swept
through. There are piles and piles of
ruins that no available force at pres
ent here can clear away in weeks. Not
much will be found to help solve the
maddening riddle as to the number
gone.
Going out from the business section
the newspaper correspondents obtain
ed the first vivid impression in pass
ing q wide snow covered park in
which part of the homeless were being
supplied with food and heat There