Show TH TOWN OF BURKE In the Cceur DAlene + Aene Country I Almost Destroyed BY AVALANCHES OF SNOW A Sensation In Express Circles Over a Big Robber by I Trusted Employee How the Affair Was Managed SPOKANE FUIS Wash Feb 5Tho town of Burke Idaho in the Occur Alene mining district has been nearly destroyed by disastrous avalanches Half Hal the business houses are in ruins Three men were killed and the terrorstricken inhabitants have fled to the towns or Gem and Wallace fearing a repetition of the disaster Particulars are meagre as the wires to all points in the mines have gone dow leaving no means of communication The disasters communicaton occurred yesterday after noon and this morning With scarcely a moments warning a tremendous mass of now and rocks swept upon the town from the west Riflfi of the narrow cnilnh in whinh ii is situated Five men were buried oe neath tne snow Two were rescued but the others are dead and their bodies have not yet been recovered The illfated town lies in a narrow gulch through which Canon through Caion creek pours its water into the south fork of the Occur dAlene I had about two hundred inhab itants who have deserted their wrecked or menaced homes and acesof business The C nearest town is Gem also upon Cation L creek and three miles down stream Caion terday another disastrous avalanche swept down upon a boarding house connected L with the Custer mine which is situated I upon Nine Mile creek about five miles I fve mies from Burke The boarding house was S full of miners six of whom were Wa killed Others had a very narrow escape and a number were less more or S injured The disasters are not a surprise to those familiar with the famiar topography of that section The towns are situated in very narrow gulches on either side of r which abrupt mountains arise The snow all this winter has been unprecedented in the history of the country Within the last few days it has been raining hard which had the effect of loosening the deep snowbanks and precipitating them upon the town and houses below Later reports from Burke indicate that no lives were lost there Mr and Mrs 11 Wise and Jack Waite and wife were buried in the snow slide but all were slde res al cued with slight injury At the Ouster mine however the disaster was more than at first reported Six men were killed out kied out right Among these were Jack Galbraith Galbrith foreman of the mine Mike Flynncookand Tom Mahoney a young miner Forty men are employed at the mine in two shifts One shift was below and the other was eating dinner at the time the avalanche rushed upon the boarding an1anche I 1any other avalanches occu jred in Cceur dAleno district The canons are full of snow locks and great trees The people of that whole section are terrorstricken and dare not sleep tonight |