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Palm Sunday Avalanche
Chilkoot Pass, Alaska - April 3, 1898
The Palm Sunday avalanche of April 3,
1898 was one of the most widely reported events of the Klondike gold
rush. The conditions that caused these avalanches were typical of those
creating avalanches anywhere. The upper reaches of the Chilkoot Trail
experience many avalanches each year, and spring is a common time for
them. Heavy snow had fallen on the higher slopes during February and
March 1898, but on the first two days of April, warm winds from the
south created unstable conditions. It then began to snow again. Veterans
of the trail, both white and Native, were aware of the danger of
avalanches. Natives refused to pack above Sheep Camp, and white packers
warned others against entering the slide-prone area. A few stampeders,
however, ignored their warnings and made plans to carry their goods up
the trail.
NOTE: You may find names multiple
times on this page.
* * * * *
|
Omaha World
Herald, Omaha, Nebraska |
|
Saturday,
April 9, 1898 |
Page 3 |
|
BURIED UNDER
TONS OF ICE.
Thirty-One People Lose Their Lives on the Famous Chilkoot
Pass
Over Fifty Companions Escape Only With Injuries Which Later
Prove Fatal in Many Cases
Foolhardy Gold Seekers Given Warning, but Refused to Leave
Their Packs - Thousands Push Forward to Rescue. |
SKAGWAY, Alaska, April 3 (via Seattle, Wash, April 8.) -
At about noon today on the Chilkoot trail, between the
Scales and Stonehouse, at least thirty-one men met death and
a large number of others were injured more or less seriously
in a snow slide.
The dead are crushed under an avalanche of snow and ice,
which came down from the mountain side upon the left-hand
side of the trail midway between the Scales and Stonehouse.
At this writing the known dead are:
Gus Sebarth, Seattle.
Frank Sprague, Seattle.
Steve Stevenson, Seattle.
Tom Collins, Portland, Ore.
C. P. Harrison, Seattle.
W. L. Riley, Seattle.
One Woman, name unknown.
Ed Atwood, New York.
C. Beck, Sanford, Fla.
L. Widlein, Kansas City, Mo.
Mrs. Ryan, Baltimore, Md.
John Morgan, Emporia, Kan.
_____ Grimes, Sacramento, Cal., who has a brother in
business at Dyea.
Two of the seriously injured are Walter Chappey of New York
and John C. Murphy of Dixon, Dakota.
Fully fifty people were overtaken by the slide and are
either buried in the snow or scattered along the borders of
the avalanche in a more or less injured condition.
The point at which the accident occurred is some five miles
above Sheep Camp. The nearest telephone station is four
miles distant. The telephone wires at this point were
carried away by the slide. This fact makes it difficult to
obtain further particulars at this time.
A blinding snow storm was raging all day upon the summit,
and as a consequence many of those in the vicinity were
making no attempt to travel. Sebarth, Sprague and Stevenson
of Seattle were traveling together as partners, and were
found side by side in bed.
Thousands of people were encamped in the vicinity of the
accident at the time and were soon upon the scene rendering
such assistance as was possible. Upon receipt of the news,
points below Dyea telephoned up to know if assistance was
required, and received an answer to the effect that 5,000
people were at work on the debris and were only in each
other's way.
All day Saturday and Sunday a southerly storm, with rain,
wind and snow, prevailed in this vicinity, and it is
believed the softening of the snow on the mountain side by
those agencies was the cause of the avalanche. The quantity
of snow and ice that came down the slide is estimated at
1,000 tons. It swept directly across the trail which,
notwithstanding the fact that the weather was unsuitable for
travel, was thronged with wayfarers. The last vestige of the
trail in the vicinity was wiped out of existence and where
it led is now a mountain of snow and ice, under which are
many dead bodies that cannot be recovered for days to come.
Later reports bring the information that the bodies of three
more unfortunates have been taken from the snow. One is that
of Garrison, initials and residence unknown: Richie,
initials and residence unknown; Durber, initials and
residence Seattle.
There was a preliminary slide at 2 o'clock in the morning.
People were digging up their goods when the second slide
occurred about noon.
Latest reports are that ten bodies have been recovered. |
|
Tacoma Daily
News, Tacoma, Washington |
| Saturday,
April 9, 1898 |
Page 5 |
|
DEATH ON
CHILKOOT.
Thirty-one Bodies Reported to Have Been Recovered at Latest
Advices.
SWEPT BY AN AVALANCHE.
List of the Dead May Reach Fifty - The Catastrophe Happened
About 2 O'clock Last Sunday Afternoon - An Avalanche, Caused
by Warm Winds and Melting Snow, Tore Down the Mountain Side,
Sweeping Everything in Its Pathway. |
The most terrible calamity yet told of the trails in
Alaska is to be recorded of the Chilkoot pass, where, on
last Sunday afternoon, a score or more of miners perished in
an avalanche of snow and ice that tore down the
mountainside, moved from its resting place by the warm
Chinook winds that blew from the sea.
Conflicting reports as to the number of lives lost have been
received. One statement is to the effect that 31 bodies had
been recovered before the Al-Ki sailed. Another authority
gives the number of bodies found as 21, while still another
states that possibly 60 lives have been lost. News of the
disaster was brought by the Al-Ki which arrived at 7 o'clock
last night.
Confirmation of the story is contained in a telegram
received by John A. Whaley from W. A. Dickey. This message
was filed last night at Victoria, but it is believed that it
was sent from Dyea, where Mr. Dickey was when last heard
from. He says that the number of men and women killed may
reach 60.
The accident happened between Stone House and The Scales,
while the trail was thronged with miners. The first news was
received at Skaguay Sunday afternoon about 5 o'clock, being
telephoned from Dyea. Monday morning men at Dyea telephoned
that 31 bodies had been taken out of the snow, ice and
debris of ruined tents and outfits. Purser Bush of the Al-Ki,
who secured all the details possible, gives the following
account:
CAUSED BY A CHINOOK.
"Between 1 and 2 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, while the
trail between Sheep Camp and The Scales, on the Chilkoot
pass, was lined with miners getting their goods over the
summit, an avalanche of snow and ice broke from the mountain
above and slid with a crash and a roar down the trail,
sweeping everything before it. In an instant probably 50
people were covered with snow and ice to a depth, at the
greatest, of 10 or 15 feet. Word of the disaster was quickly
sent to the camps below, and in an hour 5,000 people had
gathered at the scene of the slide and were working with
might and main to recover the living and the dead.
"It seems that Saturday and Sunday a warm Chinook had been
blowing, and this must have caused a melting in the huge
piles of snow on the summit. The big mass of ice and snow,
loosened from its icy fetters, torn down the mountain side
with terrifying force and destructive power.
"The only word we received from the scene of the avalanche
was transmitted b y telephone from Dyea. For two days there
had been a strong wind from the sea, and the little steamers
plying between Skaguay and Dyea were unable to make their
accustomed trips. This was the reason we brought no
passengers from Dyea who had left there after the avalanche.
The news created the greatest excitement in Skaguay and
crowds assembled on street corners and in saloons discussing
the catastrophe.
"On account of the storm none of the steamers could make the
trip to Skaguay, and so we were compelled to rely on news
from the scene of the avalanche by telephone. On Sunday
evening a telephone message was received from Dyea, stating
that 21 bodies had been recovered by the rescuers from the
pile of snow and ice that covered the trail. On Monday
morning this information was supplemented by the statement,
also telephone, that 16 more bodies had been recovered. This
would indicate that the total number of dead, so far as
known at this hour, was 37."
Another account, received from Skaguay, states that the
avalanche was certainly caused by the melting process on the
summit, due to the Chinook winds that had prevailed on the
Saturday previous. These winds below on Sunday, their warmth
loosening large masses of snow from the rocky defiles of the
pass until a huge mass of snow and ice above The Scales was
ready to sweep down the mountain shelf and obliterate
everything and everybody in its pathway.
DEATH CAME QUICKLY.
Notwithstanding the windy weather prevailing and the
unfavorable conditions for travel, nearly 200 miners were
scattered from Sheep Camp to the summit of the pass, a
distance of eight miles. At Sheep Camp the majority of the
gold hunters were camped, waiting for better weather. Had
there been no wind, the loss of life would have been four
times as great.
There was but little outcry when the huge mass of snow and
ice came tearing down the mountain side at a frightful rate.
Some of those in the van of the marching gold hunters saw
their peril in time to save their lives and ran scampering
out of the track of the avalanche. An instant later, the
avalanche was on the first party of gold hunters, some of
whom were encamped in their tents along the side of the
trail. Few of those who were killed made any outcry
whatever. They met death quickly and without a murmur. On
the side of the trail, some 20 men were buried to one side
or partially covered by the snow and injured. Their outfits
were destroyed.
Five minutes after the avalanche had spent itself in the
widening expanse of the trail below Stone House, rescuers
were at work digging out the unfortunates. Messengers were
dispatched to Sheep Camp, five miles distant, and there
telephone messages were sent to Dyea and Skaguay.
Within an hour afterwards, 5,000 men were working with might
and main to get the injured ones out alive and to recover
the bodies of the dead. There were so many workers that they
interfered with each other, but towards dusk system and
organization took place of chaos in the gallant work of
rescue, and soon 30 bodies were stretched along the trail.
SMALL SLIDES GAVE WARNING.
The latest dispatch from Skaguay, written just before the
Al-Ki sailed, says that many bodies will never be recovered
until the summer sun melts tons of snow and ice that now
bury them from sight.
Two or three thousand men were working in relays of as many
as can stand side by side shoveling away the debris in
search of the dead and dying. Up to that hour 22 dead bodies
had been recovered and identified, and some 25 taken out
alive.
Seventeen employees of the Chilkoot Railway & Tram company,
who went up to the summit in the morning to work, are
missing, and it is feared that they are numbered among the
lost.
It is estimated that 10,000 tons of outfits are buried under
the snow and ice. For several days prior to the disaster a
heavy snow storm had raged, and the snow was soft and wet.
The enormous mass precipitated upon the mountain tops caused
several smaller slides before the death-dealing avalanche
was started.
About 2 o'clock in the morning a small slide occurred, which
buried several cabins. The alarm was spread and many people
were endeavoring to work their way back to Sheep Camp when
the big disaster occurred. The snow storm was blinding and
crowds were coming down with the aid of a rope when
overtaken. The exact location is given as two and one-half
miles above Sheep Camp and 100 yards above Sheep Camp and
100 yards above the Oregon Improvement company's power
house. Here an immense gorge rises at a very steep incline
into the hills, and it was down this that the avalanche
came.
THE DEAD AND INJURED.
This list of dead and injured, so far as known when the Al-Ki
left, is as follows:
Dead --
Calvin P. Harrison, of Seattle, single.
Gus Ziebarth, Jr., of Seattle, single.
Steve Stevenson, of Seattle.
Thomas Collins, of Oregon City.
W. L. Riley, of Seattle.
E. D. Atwood, of New York, may be Fred Atwood, of Seattle.
C. Beck, of Sanford, Fla.
L. Weidelein, of Kansas City, Mo.
Mrs. Ryan, of Baltimore.
John Morean, of Emporia, Kan.
_____ Grimes, of Sacramento.
_____ Garrison, residence unknown.
_____ Ritchie, residence unknown.
_____ Durber, of Seattle.
An unknown woman who may be Mrs. James Harrison, wife of a
former resident of Seattle.
Frank Sprague, of Seattle.
F. Lamer.
Mrs. Anna Moxon, Jefferson county, Pa.
Ras Hepgard, Baker City, Or.
_____ Atkins, Idaho.
Tom Geffert, Seattle.
E. F. Miller, Vancouver.
Injured --
Walter Chappy, New York.
J. C. Murphy, Dixon, Dak.
F. B. Holbrooke, Portland.
_____ Dahlstrom. |
|
Tacoma Daily
News, Tacoma, Washington |
| Monday, April
11, 1898 |
Page 4 |
|
SIX TACOMANS
DEAD.
Nineteen Employees of the Chilkoot Tramway Company Die
together - Ten Minutes' Delay Cost the Lives of Over 50 Who
Were Trying to Escape From the Storm. |
The following is a list of the dead and missing, so far
as known when the City of Seattle left Skaguay at midnight
Wednesday night:
J. B. Pearce, Tacoma.
Harry Holt, Tacoma.
Alfred Englund, Tacoma.
Albert F. King, Tacoma.
Ed Doran, Tacoma.
S. M. Grimes, Tacoma.
G. W. Smith, Wooley, Wash.
O. A. Ulen, Wooley, Wash.
T. Glenn, Takoa.
E. R. Johnson, Spokane.
Tom Culleder or Collins, Portland, Or.
Tim Glenn (foreman), Portland, Or.
S. T. Hudson, Portland, Or.
Sanford, McNeill, Portland.
James Smallwood, Portland.
Andrew Anderson, San Francisco.
W. Carl, San Francisco.
_____ Warner, San Francisco.
Walmer Falke, San Francisco.
John Merchant, California.
C. D. Atwood, New York.
C. Beck, Stanford, Fla.
Tom Clark, Idaho.
A. Chappell, Seattle.
R. L. Easterbrook, Seattle.
Weed Garrison, Seattle.
Con. Gephart, Seattle.
E. P. Haines, Seattle.
C. P. Harrison, Seattle.
Ed Cook, Seattle.
George Overton, Seattle.
W. I. Riley, Seattle.
Con Riser, Seattle.
Steve Stevenson, Seattle.
Frank Sprague, Seattle.
C. R. Homer, Seattle.
A. D. Bissell, Seattle.
I. Sprague, Ballard.
J. P. Clark, Idaho.
Jeff Saley, Idaho.
W. H. Dahlstrom, Lincoln, Neb.
W. Grimes, Atkins, Idaho.
Asmus Hedegard, Baker City, Or.
C. H. Kinney, Prescott, Ari.
George Lewis, Stone House, Alaska.
J. R. Morgan, Emporia, Kan.
Mrs. Annie Maxon, Jefferson county, Pa.
Mrs. Ryan, Baltimore, Md.
Frank Millet, Butte, Mont.
C. L. M'Neill, Elk River, Minn.
J. C. Murphy, New York.
Austin Preston, Grizzly Bluff, Cal.
George Ritchey, Chicago, Ill.
G. Seaborn, Chicago, Ill.
_____ Stevens, New York.
_____ Wilhelm, Menlo Park, Cal.
L. Weidelein, Kansas City.
J. Riesse, Wisconsin.
Matt Schomo, St. Paul, Minn.
Con Rasmus, Colorado.
_____ Atkins, residence unknown.
_____ Durber, residence unknown.
G. Leon, residence unknown.
John Reddy, residence unknown.
_____ Stevens, residence unknown.
Thomas Woll, residence unknown.
H. Yager, residence unknown.
The horror of the series of avalanches on the Chilkoot pass
Sunday last increases with every hour that the rescuers
spend in digging into the tumbled mass of broken ice cakes
and chunks of snow that blockade the trail for several
hundred yards.
The number of human beings dead or missing is 175. The list
of identified dead up until last Wednesday evening numbered
68. More than 150 names of persons missing and supposed to
be under the slide has been left at the Sheep Camp morgue by
despairing friends and relatives.
No attempt has been made up to Wednesday to dig into the
death dealing slide at the point where it was piled up the
highest. The searchers were working through the lighter
portions of the slide in hopes of taking out some one who
was still alive. It is believed that a cemetery in miniature
will be found when the big pile is dug into, as several
tents were pitched just at this point. No one can be taken
out alive from Wednesday on.
Nineteen employees of the Chilkoot Railway & Transportation
company perished in another slide at the foot of Long hill.
Their bodies under a solidly packed mass of snow were not
discovered until late Monday evening. Thousands of people
had walked over the slide which was their icy sepulcher
without even imagining that the pile had slid down from the
mountains. A chance discovery started the rescuers digging,
and in a few hours 14 bodies had been taken out. Four others
were recovered later.
THE FIRST SNOWSLIDE.
The first slide of the
disastrous series crashed into a little settlement of tents
a short distance below the Scales, about 2 o'clock Sunday
morning. It was not large enough to completely bury things,
but there were some very narrow escapes. A party from
Emporia, Kan., composed of Clifford L. Burge, J. A. Rines,
Harry Lakin, Frank G. Bears and John A. Morgan were asleep
in one of the tents, which got the full force of the slide.
The sleeping men were knocked around in all sorts of ways.
Burge woke up with their tent stove on top of his chest and
with snow piled all around him. They aroused the more
fortunate campers and soon dug out the 20 or 25 men that had
been buried. The wind was blowing a terrific gale and snow
as failing fast. The campers feared other slides and
hastened up the bill to the Scales, where a much larger
party was encamped.
STAMPEDE TO SHEEP CAMP.
The story of their trouble, together with the storm which
was raging, made the crowd at the Scales very excited. When
daylight came the situation had not improved. A few tried to
start out with their goods, but were unable to breast the
storm. About 9 o'clock Sunday morning there was a second
slide, about one-eighth of a mile below the Scales. This was
the last straw. The terrified Klondikers would not remain
longer so far up the pass. A rope some 200 feet in length
was secured as a safeguard against getting lost in the
storm. The trail could not be distinguished on account of
the heavy snowfall and the danger was very great. Between 85
and 130 persons either took hold or tied themselves to this
rope. Among the others were four women. Mrs. Ryan, of
Baltimore, had been in the first slide and was almost
exhausted. She was tied fast to the rope. A number of
persons followed along behind and the crowd was augmented by
others who joined in the made stampede as their tents were
passed on the descent. At the top of Long Hill the leaders
turned the human chain to the left and proceeded in that
direction to the cable shed. They followed the cable down
the bottom of the first pitch.
DELAY THAT CAUSED DEATH.
Some one in the crowd noticed a tent a little below the
ridge and near the base of the mountain. Someone proposed
that it would be right to warn them of their danger, and ask
them to come along down the hill. Several men went over to
do this and shortly after came back with the word that the
three occupants of the tent were dead - crushed by their
baggage which had fallen on them during a small slide. This
caused some delay.
The crowd talked over the unfortunate occurrence little
thinking that every moment's dally meant death for more of
them. Had they not stopped this 10 minutes they would have
been out of the way of the slide and all would have reached
Sheep Camp in safety. They were tired for the snow had been
very deep, sometimes coming up to their waists. They were
just preparing to move on when from far up the mountain they
heard a rumbling which increased into a roar as the slide
gathered momentum and increased in size. There was not time
to seek a place of safety. Before the first cry of warning
was uttered the slide was upon them. The result is shown in
the appalling long list of victims.
SCENE OF THE DISASTER.
The scene of the largest avalanche is about two miles above
Sheep Camp, on the bench of what is known as Long Hill. It
is a mile or less below Scales along the ravine or valley,
directly at the foot of a high mountain rising steeply on
both sides. Everything is covered with deep snow, except
abrupt rocks and precipices, which are too steep to hold the
snow, and the power house of the Oregon Improvement
company's tramway, which is almost over the part of the
trail on which the most extensive loss of life occurred.
Hundreds of caches in the vicinity shower before the
avalanche occurred, but they are buried now under from four
to 25 feet of snow. The mountains rise up from 2000 to 3000
feet above the trail at this point, which itself over 2000
feet above sea level. When the snow slides down the trail
from the sides of these mountain it packs so solidly at once
that it can be walked over easily without fear of breaking
through. Successive snowfalls and slides have raised the
elevation gradually of Long hill until in some places it is
40 feet or more above the old trail.
Stone house, which has ceased to be a landmark since the
avalanche and flood last summer, is some distance down the
trail, in the gulch from the foot of Long hill. There is
deep snow all the way down to Canyon City, at the mouth of
the canyon four miles below. At Sheep camp and for a mile or
more above there is little chance for a destructive
avalanche at present, for the hills are so far from the
tents that the snow does not reach them, even if it does
slide down the mountain sides.
There have been so few slides lately and so many
unsophisticated men camping there who were perfectly
ignorant of the conditions incident to the mountains, that
they have plunged into dangers which the old-timers would
never dream of taking. The late heavy snows and storms at
the summit, followed by warmer weather than usual, convinced
the Indians that it was unsafe to attempt to get up the
trail above Sheep camp.
But the newcomers knew of no danger and went right on with
their packing and traveling on the dangerous trail. Some of
them had camps at Scales, almost encompassed with great snow
fields on the steep mountain sides. The snow had been there
every day since they arrived and they apprehended no danger
such as overtook them. There were many who knew of the
danger and who would not attempt to work on the trail. They
stayed at Sheep Camp in their tents or worked on safe
sections of the trail.
The trail on the crest of the hill where disaster occurred
runs within 200 feet of the base of the mountain, which
rises to a height of 100 feet above. In the center of the
bench is a deep cut or gulch, which has this winter been
filled almost level with snow. It was from the top of this
gully that the slide started.
NINETEEN TRAMWAY MEN BURIED.
The storm had prevented the employees of the Chilkoot
company from working for several days. They remained at
Sheep Camp passing the time as best they could. On Sunday
morning one or two of the bosses suggested that they go up
the hill a mile or so and repair a cable that had broken.
Nelson Bennett, manager of the company, told friends who
arrived yesterday that he did not send the men out and never
returned. When they did not return Sunday night it was
believed that they were snowbound near the summit. On Monday
afternoon a crowd began to dig into the lower end of the
slide, and there the tramway men were found. Four Tacomans
were killed on this slide.
SPRING FRESHETS EXPECTED.
Within a week, the old-timers say, that spring freshets will
begin from the Scales. This will cause more snow slides and
will cause the packers to take to the summer trail from
Dyea. This trail is said to be in very good condition. If
the freshets come, as expected, very little of the outfits
cached above the Scales will be saved. There are thousands
of tons of this freight and the loss will be great.
DISPOSITION OF BODIES.
Early Monday morning Colonel Anderson, in command of the
troops at Dyea, set the soldiers at work digging graves for
the unclaimed dead. He laid out a new cemetery at Dyea and
cleared as much ground as will be needed. The soldiers
worked well and by the time yesterday's steamer left the new
cemetery was in readiness.
MANY DISHEARTENED MEN.
According to the officers of the City of Seattle, the
Chilkoot slide disaster has caused many of the prospective
Klondikers to become disheartened. Many who have lost
friends or parts of their outfit will give up the race for
gold and return. Nearly 200 persons applied to the officials
of the Washington & Alaska company for a special rate to
Sound points. Others will leave the Dyea trail for some of
the other routs to the interior. |
|
Tacoma Daily
News, Tacoma, Washington |
| Saturday,
April 16, 1898 |
Page 6 |
|
NAMES OF THE
DEAD.
Corrected
List of the Chilkoot Pass Victims.
MANY OTHERS ARE MISSING
Seventy-Two Bodies Identified - Conflicting Reports of the
Number Killed.
|
|
Port Townsend, April 16. - The steamer Queen arrived here
last night with the latest advices from the Chilkoot
avalanche. The reports as to the number of people who were
killed are conflicting.
The report from Dyea says
that 54 were killed and that seven are missing.
The report from Skaguay places the number killed at 96 with
54 missing.
The list of identified dead as compiled by the officers of
the Queen contains 72 names, as follows:
Allan Gray, Seattle.
C. G. Smith, Sedro.
J. B. Pierce, Tacoma.
_____ Warner, San Francisco.
A. Anderson, San Francisco.
W. Carle, San Francisco.
Con Geppert, Seattle.
J. P. Clark, Idaho.
A. King, address unknown.
Tom Clark, residence unknown.
George, Riser, residence unknown.
McNeill Sanford, Portland.
A. Chappell, Seattle.
Tom Rasmus, Colorado.
W. Grimes, Atken, Colorado.
E. L. Esterbrook, Seattle.
William Osnall, San Francisco.
George Eggert, California.
Stratton Sheldon, Iowa.
W. F. Warner, San Francisco.
W. A. Dahlstrom, Lincoln, Neb.
Frank Millett, Butte, Mont.
William Falk, Sheep Camp.
James Smallwood, Portland.
John Merchant, California.
C. H. Henry, Arizona.
Thomas Clark, Idaho.
_____ Jaeger, address unknown.
C. P. Harrison, Seattle.
E. J. Hudson, Portland.
E. P. Haines, Seattle.
W. L. Riley, Seattle.
E. D. Atwood, New York.
C. Beck, Sanford, Fla.
L. Wiedelein, Kansas City
S. A. Morgan, emporia, Kan.
S. M. Grimes, Sacramento.
Mrs. Ryan, Baltimore.
J. A. Morgan.
P. A. Olsen, Washington.
J. Sprague, Ballard.
D. A. Elstrom.
William Preston.
J. Scaling.
Oscar Anderson.
Thomas Wall.
Timothy Glen, Portland.
O. A. Nelson, Washington.
Mrs. N. H. Maxon, Punxatawney, Pa.
Thomas Cullerdan, Portland.
S. Stephenson, Seattle.
G. Lee.
Walter Chappie, New York.
J. C. Murphy.
Frank Sprague, Ballard.
T. Finn, Portland.
Ed Doran.
A. Eglund, Tacoma.
John Merchant, Grizzly Bluffs, Cal.
C. L. McNeill, San Francisco.
John Reddy.
J. M. Uhlin, Tacoma.
G. S. Ziebarth, Seattle.
_____ Garrison.
_____ Ritchie.
_____ Durber.
Austin Preston, Grizzly Bluff, Cal.
Harry Holt, Tacoma.
Jeff Saling, Weiser, Idaho.
F. Atkins, Baker City, Or.
R. Hedegard, Baker City.
_____ Stevens, New York.
This list was taken from both the Skaguay and Dyea lists and
is thought to be fairly accurate with the exception of one
or two possible duplicates. |
|
The
Oregonian, Portland, Oregon |
| Sunday, April
17, 1898 |
Page 2 |
|
CHILKOOT
TRAGEDY
FIFTY-FOUR VICTIMS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.
Story Told by One of the Survivors - How the Work of Rescue
Was Carried On. |
ON BOARD STEAMER QUEEN, southbound from Skagway, Alaska,
April 15. - "Doc" J. D. Cleveland and J. E. Maple, M. D.,
chairman and executive committeeman, respectively, of the
citizen's committee of Sheep Camp, visited Dyea and Skagway,
Sunday, both gentlemen had been giving their entire time to
the management of rescue work at the avalanches from Sunday,
April 3, the date of the disaster, to Saturday evening,
April 9, when they prepared to accompany several
sleigh-loads of bodies to Dyea. By a vote of the citizens
and pilgrims of the Dyea canyon, Cleveland and Maple were
given entire charge of the excavating at the slides, of the
disposition of victims at the morgue and hospital, and of
the burial of the dead. They are, therefore, well informed
on every phase of the great Chilkoot pass tragedy.
During the six days following the avalanches, Cleveland and
Maple assisted by J. W. Nee, of Oregon; George Zimmerly and
C. W. Young, of Sheep Camp; C. Diechmiller, of San
Francisco, and Arthur Waters, secretary of the committee,
personally cared for 30 bodies. Dr. Maple resuscitated 15
who were injured.
Nelson Bennett superintended the rescue work at the lower
slide, where 20 of his men were entombed.
On the testimony of witnesses the committee issued letters
of identification for four bodies additional, which were not
brought to the morgue. This makes a total of 54 victims
whose identification is quite complete.
It is reported that several other bodies were taken in
tents, without report to the elected officers. A watch was
kept to prevent this, and it is not likely that many, if
any, evaded Maple and Cleveland.
The following names and addresses of the dead appear upon
the record of Secretary Arthur Waters:
C. P. Harrison, Seattle.
W. L. Riley, Seattle.
E. D. Atwood, New York.
C. Beck, Sanford, Fla.
Tom Cullen, Portland.
Gus Zebarth, Seattle.
_____ Stevenson, Seattle.
F. Sprague, Seattle.
L. Weidelein, Kansas City, Kan.
S. M. Grimes, Dyea, and Sacramento, Cal.
Rasmus Hedegard, Baker City, Or.
John A. Morgan, Emporia, Kan.
R. L. Esterbrook, Seattle.
William Carroll, San Francisco.
George Eggert, Portland, and Menlo Park, Cal.
Andrew Anderson, San Francisco.
Con Geppert, Seattle.
W. H. Warner, Seattle.
W. A. Dahlstrom, Lincoln, Neb.
Frank Millett, Butte, Mont.
E. J. Hudson, Seattle.
William Falke ("Dutchy"), Sheep Camp freighter.
Joseph Smallwood, 780 Kebley street, Portland.
Curtis E. Turner, Omaha, Neb.
Albridge B. Bissell, Palatine, Ill.
Mrs. Anna Moxen, Jefferson county, Penn.
Oscar Johnson, Seattle.
Chris Johnson, Seattle.
Mark Welch, Butte, Mont.
J. K. Clark, Idaho.
Several bodies were not taken to the morgue. They were
exhumed and cared for by those with whom the victims were
traveling as follows:
C. H. Henry, Arizona.
T. Alderson, residence unknown.
Edward Cook, Seattle.
George Overton, Seattle.
The follow list of employees of the Chilkoot Railway &
Transportation Company was given to the correspondent by
Nelson Bennett:
Henry Jaeger, Los Angeles, Cal., married.
E. Doran, Tacoma; wife and two children.
Tim Glynn, Portland, foreman at Sheep Camp, married.
J. Salling, Weiser, Idaho.
C. L. McNeil, San Francisco; civil engineer; married.
A. Englund, Tacoma; unmarried.
C. W. Kinney, Prescott, Ariz.
J. Reddy, Washington state.
J. Merchant, Grizzly Bluff, Cal.; married.
O. A. Ulen, Wooley, Wash.
A. Preston, Grizzly Bluff, Cal.; stepson of Merchant.
A. F. King, Tacoma; married.
F. Smith, Sedro, Wash.; teamster.
C. M. Holt, Tacoma; rodman.
George Lewis, Washington state; foreman Stonehouse.
E. R. Johnson, residence unknown.
J. B. Pierce, Tacoma; timekeeper.
O. Anderson, residence unknown.
Tom Wall, residence unknown.
C. M. Hall, Tacoma; rodman.
Six days after the avalanche a number of persons were still
reported missing. Whether they were under the snow or had
passed on over the summit to Lake Bennett is not known.
Their acquaintances at Sheep Camp are anxious about them,
and are constantly making inquiries:
G. J. Milton, St. Paul, Minn.
Mat Schamo, St. Paul, Minn.
O. A. Nelson, residence unknown.
William Osnall, San Francisco.
George Raser, residence unknown (sailed from Seattle).
St. Atkins, Eastern Oregon.
G. Leon, residence unknown.
C. Denny, residence unknown.
_____ Garrison, residence unknown.
______ Ritchie, residence unknown.
_____ Dunbar, residence unknown.
W. Carl, San Francisco.
Dr. Maple and "Doc" Cleveland superintended all the work at
the morgue. The bodies were examined carefully for papers
showing the name and address of the victims. These papers,
together with all valuables, and articles aiding to
determine identification, were pinched in separate paper
bags and labeled.
Maple and Cleveland made the trip to Skagway Sunday to
express these bags to the families and relatives of the
victims. The contents of the bags are the only ocular
evidence the people in the States will have of the fate of
their friends on the Chilkoot trail. Only in cases where the
victims had money on their persons sufficient to meet the
expense of shipment below, or were known to belong to the
Odd Fellows or Masonic orders, were the remains went out of
Alaska. More than 30 of the bodies already have been or are
to be buried in Dyea.
Identification of the bodies was as complete as it was
possible to make it. There was some doubt in a few
instances, because there happened to report at the morgue no
one who had known the deceased parties in life by name.
Nearly every list of the dead from the avalanches shows the
name of Mrs. Ryan, of Baltimore. So far as is known, there
were only two women in the slide - Mrs. Annie Moxen, who was
killed, and Mrs. H. C. Eston, who was resuscitated. The name
of Ryan was first applied to Mrs. Moxen.
Arthur L. Jappe, of 113 East Seventh street, New York, has
enough life left to praise a woman. He says he was rescued
by Mrs. McLean, the woman packer.
When the news of the slide reached Sheep Camp, Mrs. McLean
mounted one of her best horses, and was one of the first
rescuers at the scene. She found the place by meeting some
who had escaped, and, inquiring the way from them,
untrammeled by skirts (Mrs. McLean rigs herself in ordinary
men's clothing), she made the snow fly as furiously as any
of them. She was assisted in the excavation by L. Lane, of
Chicago.
When Jappe was reached, he was taken to the powerhouse, and
nursed by Mrs. McLean. For 12 hours he was unconscious, and
therefore the reports that he was dead. Incessant rubbing
restored circulation. His recovery was complete.
Adam Mueller, of Portland, had so far recovered when Dr.
Maple left Sheep Camp that he could walk around the hotel.
He intends to forge ahead to the lakes and down into the
interior.
G. B. and W. H. Swienhart and Frank Beck, of Juneau, are
taking a newspaper plant in to Dawson. They expect to
publish The Midnight Sun. A part of the plant was caught in
one of the avalanches. The accident did not cause any
serious "pi," but it gave the boys a lot of work. The
excavations on the trail made it difficult for them to haul
their heavy outfit up to the Scales.
An outfit belonging to the
following party was lost in the slide between the O. I.
Co.'s powerhouse and the Stone House: Sam James & Co., of
San Bernardino, Cal., and H. McIntosh, Silver City, N. M.,
and P. Duber & Son, Spokane, Wash.
Charles L. Darrell, of San Francisco, and C. E. Larson, of
Portland, came over to Sheep Camp from Lake Bennett, the day
of the avalanches. They had a narrow escape from being
covered up. The snow rushed around them to the armpits.
Any history of the avalanches on the Chilkoot pass is not
complete unless mention is made of the Lindville brothers.
Big Tom Lindville is known by everybody in Astoria, where he
distinguished himself as a police officer. Lindville was on
the pass at the time of the avalanches, and he saved a
number of lives. Although he had warned his packers not to
leave Sheep Camp that day, he did not heed this wisdom
himself. He must have been between the Bennett crowd and the
line of people on the rope at the time at the avalanches
descended. He passed the Bennett crowd as he climbed the
hill, and when he went a quarter of a mile further he came
upon the scene of the upper slide. Wherever he saw a hand or
a garment sticking above the snow he began to dig with his
hands. Among the rescuers who first came up there was but
one shovel.
Will Benedict, of Birmingham, Mich., participated in the
exciting events in the head of the Dyea canyon. His version
of what happened is pretty well sustained by the consensus
of opinion of competent judges. He said:
"About midnight, T. M. Black, engineer for the Archive Burns
tramway, came to the tents in our vicinity and told us to
get out, for snowslides were occurring all around us. He
warned us that the entire bottom of the canyon might be
filled up at any moment. I arose, as did my partners,
William Boyes and Ben Hartsick, of Detroit, and Tom Hannah,
of Birmingham. We helped Black and Moxon to arouse others in
the vicinity. Soon there were as many as 100 standing around
in groups. When a slide would occur in any part of the
canyon above the first hill, we could hear cries for help,
and a detachment went to the rescue. Thus we dug one another
out of the snow for half the night. I can remember 28 that
were rescued between midnight and 10 o'clock Sunday morning.
"By that time it became evident to all that our situation
was desperate. After a consultation it was decided to
abandon the upper canyon and descend three miles to Sheep
Camp. Many feared to attempt to go against the storm, as the
wind was b lowing up the canyon and would drive the blinding
snow right into our faces. We quieted their fears by
assuring them that good trailers would lead the exodus, and
that all could keep in line by holding a rope.
"That's the way the packers shoot down the Peterson trail
when a southerly storm is on so they can't see. Many open
their eyes not more than three or four times in traveling
several thousand feet.
"An elderly man volunteered to be the Moses to lead us out
of our trouble. He took the end of the rope, and the balance
of us strung out at regular intervals. The lifeline not
being long enough to accommodate all, 13 followed the lead
in lockstep.
"With my three partners I was walking near the rear. The
snow had drifted during the night; and we made slow
progress, having to break trail through it.
"When we could see dimly the outline of the powerhouse of
the O. I. Co., ahead of us, I was struck by something that
pushed me to the right and down. As I was falling I could
see the line in front of me go down. They all seemed to
throw up their hands as they were being engulfed. It was a
terrible sensation to see the heads disappearing.
"Luckily for me, I kept my feet moving as thought treading
in water. The snow did not go higher than my waist. Then I
turned to find my partners. Hannah's glove sticking up
through the snow gave me their location. The snow was packed
quite solid, but with my hands I scratched away like a
badger going down after a squirrel. Hannah was all right,
and so was Boyes, near him. Neither could move a muscle.
"When the slide struck us, Hannah and Boyes were directly
behind me. I found them in the snow 50 feet in front of me."
One of the first volunteers for the aid of the relief
committee was Rev. J. A. Headington, of the B. F. Punell
party. He sent a note stating that he could be found down
the canyon, and that he would perform religious services
over the bodies. The committee did not send for the reverend
gentleman, as they had their hands full taking bodies out of
the snow, shipping them and caring for the injured.
Among he rescuers who hastened to the avalanches was a
little woman with black eyes, sallow complexion. Her face,
if it was over beautiful, had been scarred by some accident.
She worked heroically. After 12 hours of toil in the snow,
she cared for the injured at the hospital, administering to
the suffering as on a woman can. Before that day her name
had not been spoken with much reverence in Sheep Camp. Now
it is sounded as reverently as if she were a mother.
For the week following the avalanches an average of 1000
letters a day were sent out from Sheep Camp post office.
C. H. Pigott, of Portland, is one of the campers in the
upper Dyea canyon who escaped the recent avalanche. He says
that to be in the landslide of the Klondike crusade is
tragedy enough for his branch of the family. W. F. B. |
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