The Landslip in Switzerland

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 216, 20 August 1887, Page 4

The Landslip in Switzerland

The (icneva correspondent of the " Daily News,"' -.viitiny on the 7th June, says :—: — "My telegrams will have infoimecl yon of one of those terrible disasters, which, unfortunately, are too common in Switzerland, and which has thrown a gloom over the beautiful and picturesque) SchachenthaL The latter begins at Altdorf, made famous by the traditions of William Tell, and run*< ior about ten miles almost due ea^t, wheio the -valley ends. But thence there is a nuilc track over the Klausen Pass to the baths of Stachleburg. The lir^t \illa<re in tho valley is Burglcn, where Tell is wtid to have been born. The hou-^c of his biith was standing a few years ago, when it v.«replaced by a chapel, which is tilled wirh frescoes illustrating Toil's life. Although there are many houses and chalets scattered about the hill sides, the next ullage of importance is Spiringen, ,"> miles from Altdoif. About a mile fmthcr is, or was, a tiny hamlet called Hellpruchtig, and 2 miles further it> the last and highe&t \illage in the Thaal. It is called Unter>chi»chjn, and is 3.347 feet. above the sea. Betwem this village and Spiringen, on the south side of the valley, is a mountain, or rather range, called iSpitjeen, the highest peak of which is nearly 5,000 feet. Im om the northern Hanks of this mountain has fallen an enormouh ma^s of rock entirely burying the hamlet of Hell-pra-hctig, together with ten of its inhabitants ; wounding and maiming many others, and destroying several herds of cattle. The debris, moreover, has dammed tho stream of the Schaehen, and formed a great lake, and has covered with rock and earth an extent ot ground roughly estimated at a square mile. The ftlip did not take place all at once ; there were, in fact, a series of falls, the first occurring at lmlfpast three on Sunday afternoon, between Burgien and Spiringen. This fall shook the houses in Altdorf as if by an eaitbquake, and the enormous cloud of dupt that was raised spread over that village, to the gi eat consternation of the people, and led to the first report stating the landslip had occurred at Altoorf itself. An hour later an entire flank of the mountain seemed to topple over on to the doomed hamlet of Hellproechtig. Reports describe this second fall as truly awful, an eye witness stating that it seemed as if the end of the world had come. The roar caused by the falling rocks resembled several batteries of artillery, and a panic seized upon the unhappy people, who were for a time utterly bewildered by the semidarkness caused by the huge cloud of choking dust. Many animals seemed to go mad with terror, rushing about in blind fury, dashing against the rock, and falling over the precipice. Nor were the people much better, for men, women, and children — the halt, the lame and the blind— rushed out of their houses in deadly fear, but knew not where to fly for safety. The roai continued as other masses of rock came down while detached pieces of several tons weight hurtled through the air and buried themselves deep in the ground. To add to the horror was the darkness of night. When the dust had partly cleared it was seen that the disaster, while bad enough, was not so bad as it might have been had the masses of falling rock come down either on Spirigen or Untersehachen, each of which villages numbers over 1000 inhabitants,nnd the houses being close together, the loss of life would have been feariul.