THE QUEBEC DISASTER.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1957, 17 October 1889, Page 3

THE QUEBEC DISASTER.

1 The San .Francisco papers of I September 21st give full details of the disastrous landslip which occurred at Cape Diamond, Quebec, on September 19th. The following is from a Quebec telegram to the San Francisco Chronicle of September 20th : The landslide was caused by the hot weather of the past few weeks cracking the earth and rock, which were loosened and driven down by the heavy rains of the last few days. Men of the water police, whose station is near the scene of the accident, set to work at once to rescue the imprisoned persons, while the general alarm was sounded which called out the fire brigade and police, for with lamps and stoves breaking houses soon caught fire. A telephone message was also sent to the city requesting the assistance of a detachment of B Battery. The flames were, however, soon extinguished, and the men from the battery began the work of extricating unfortunates from the ruins, assisted by many of the citizens. As each of the sufferers was rescued he was carried into the quarters of the water police, ' More rocks are falling, and it is feared the whole boulder forming the highest point of Quebec will give way. | fhose who witnessed the fall of rock aay that they heard a long, loud noise as of several cannon, and on looking up toward the terrace and citadel were horrified by the sight of an immense mass of stones, rock, and earth breaking loose and rushing down the declivity upon the doomed houses below. The air was immediately filled with dust so that no one could see 10ft in front of him, and breathing waß made difficult. This was followed by sounds of timber crushing and yielding to the immense power of the avalanche, and the shouting of men, women and children in all the agony of despair. The loss is very great. Some of the working men who are deprived of their homes lose all their furniture and other effects, and even their summer earnings. Many are virtually penniless at the commencement of a Canadian winter.

Among those buried by rocks are a young couple named Nolan, who were married a few weeks ago. Nolan cduld have escaped, but he lost his life dn trying to get his wife out of the nouse. \While the workers were busy clearing away the debris of crumbled buildings faint groans were heard at intervals from under the pile of rock. The efforts of the volunteers were concentrated to that point, and after three hours' hard work the bleeding body of Joe Kemp was extracted from a mass of rock. The poor man is in a most pitiable condition. Both legs are broken at the knees, the left arm is fractured above the elbow, and several ribs are broken. He cannot live many hours. Two hours later his wife's body was taken out of the wreck. Her head was almost severed from the body. Farther away there was another hideous spectacle, the corpse of a young woman, Mrs Lauson, who had been admired in life for her. beauty. Her body had been crushed almost flat. Shortly after viewing her remains her husband became a raving maniac, and it is doubtful if he will recover his reason.

A man named Michael Bradley, who had gone almost crazy when told that all his family perished in the landslide, discovered, while workimg over the wreck of his.house, his five-year-old daughter still alive, and his joy was indescribable. It is thought that the child will live. Up to this time the number of corpses found is twenty-five, and the number of wounded eighteen. The members of the Blaek family, were buried alive 12ft below the surface of the debris. On being asked if they were safe, Mrs Black answered—"My husband is killed at the door. The rest are safe, but we are suffering from wounds and bruises on our limbs." Shortly after Miss May Caldwell, a niece of Black, was extricated from Black's house. Her limbs were so stif! from inaction that the least touch caused excruciating pains. The next person tafcen ouc was Thomas | Berrigan, whose wife was taken out of the ruins dead. He was so disfigured his friends could hardly recognise him. He was removed to the Hotel Dieu Hospital. The next to follow was an eight-year-old boy, also named Berrigan. His left leg was crushed to a jelly. Then came Mrs Black. Her bosom, neck, and face ara dreadfully swollen. A boat 2000 persons visited the scene of the disaster during the day. Thousands erowded into the morgue, and occupied every point inside and outside the building where a glimpse could b© had of the bodies of the victims. Many women who obtained entrance had to be removed in a fainting condition, the mangled bodies being a sight to try the nerves of the \ atroDgest men.

The site of the landslide is almost identical with that of one which occurred in 1841, when eight buildings were crushed and thirty-two persons killed. The mass of earth and rocks moved, roughly speaking, is about 600 feet frontange by 80 feet in depth. Borne of the masses of fallen rock weigh nearly twenty tons. A special from Quebec to a Boston paper says:— "It is known that at least two hundred dead bodies still remain under the pile of debris"