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Show ' SIXTY-THREE LIVES WIPED OUT IN MOUNTAIN DISASTER AT FRANK FRANK. N. "W. T.. May 1. It was definitely stated last night that sixty-three sixty-three people lost their lives here before daybreak on Wednesday by the sliding of the rocky top of Turtle mountain down upon the sleeping village of Frank. It was undoubtedly the worst disaster ever known In any community in western Canada. It was either a 7 rockslide of such magnitude as to be - almost Inexplicable or a slide induced by a seismic upheaval. J , , , Besides, killing sixty-three people, it destroyed the plant of the Canadian-American Canadian-American Coal and Coke company, did a vast amount of damage to the mine and completely devastated about ten square miles of the finest and most picturesque section of Crow's Nest . pass. Many of the bodies of the dead will never be found.. Some cabins are buried under ISO feet of rock. Although or- dent in the town, lt ia impossible to ascertain exactly the true character force exerted, but judging from the evidences now brought In by many who, have been scouting around the outskirts of the waste of rocks and debris, many are now inclining to the belief that It was a huge mountain rock slide, caused by an earthquake or some subterranean explosion of gas, which is known to exist In large quantities underneath, this section of the country. Another Theory Advanced. The nature of the rock of which Turtle mountain is composed Is largely t of the limestone variety. Another theory advanced by many of the mining men of the town is that tho limestone cliff bad been undermined by some subterranean breach or the Old Man river, which had been silently working away unseen for years past. There is many incline to the belief that It was a huge limestone upheaval, the primary causes of which were the slacking of the limestone under the Influence of the thawing weather of the spring. None of these theories have so far been borne out. but the general opinion now seems to prevail that the trouble was not volcanic, vol-canic, as at first supposed. A pusxllng feature which induced the volcanic eruption theory was the fact that some pieces of rock are still being thrown from the strangely altered tep of Turtle mountain. Closer Investigation, Investiga-tion, which was made by parties totiay. revealed the fact that this supposed eruptive matter comprised particles of rock which continued to drop from various places along the top - of the mountain. These rocks are In many cases nuge masses weighing hundreds of tona and as they fall crashing down with a noise like thunder they start other particles of rock lying la the path of the slide, which rush onward, bearing bear-ing destruction to everything in their pathway, For that reason It' was. extremely ex-tremely dangerous to approach the vicinity of Turtle mountain In order to make an Investigation into the exact causes of the catastrophe. ganlzed efforts were made last evening and today to search for bodies, only nineteen have so far been recovered. Most of the corpses were mangled si-most si-most beyond recognition. Cam at Eeaily Horn. The disaster happened at a quarter past 4. when the sleeping Inhabitants of Frank were suddenly awakened by a tremendous crash, followed bya shaking shak-ing of the buildings. It was still dark, and for a time the greatest confusion prevailed, no one knowing Just what had happened. As soon as day dawned it was seen that the whole side of Turtle Tur-tle mountain had fallen away, and that the valley for a distance of two miles was entirely choked up by rocks and debris piled to sn average height ef sixty feet-Simultaneous feet-Simultaneous with the piling of the rocks on Turtle mountain there opened acr Immense fissure of the earth on the northern side of Turtle mountain. This fissure extended for a distance of three-quarters of a mile and was many feet In width. This yawnirfj chasm still remains open, according to reports brought In by men who have been en the other side of the mountain. Heavy financial Loss. The direct monetary damage will exceed ex-ceed a mutton and a half. If the mine bad been ruined the loss from the destruction de-struction of that property alone would have amounted to $3,000,000. However, the actual loss to the mine company will rrobably not exceed 1200,000. The Canadian Pacific railway losses through blocking of Its track are considerable. con-siderable. The town ef Frank lay In the peaceful peace-ful valley, now a scene of desolation and chaos, which was bounded on the other side by a range of foothills of the Rocky mountains. The Old Man river, which flowed through the valley, followed fol-lowed closely to the side of Turtle mountain, close up aeainst the foot of which the town of Frank was built. The mountain wall was, before this terrible catastrophe, so steep and pre-' pre-' - dpltous that even in the longest flay in summer the 'sun set In the town of Frank at I o'clock in the afternoon and ' after, that a twilight ensued, until the usual hour of sunset. .. ' Slide Came like a Wall.-' The material, from the slide ori upheaval up-heaval came down In almost a vertical wall cf rock and crossed the valley, a distance cf over a mile, and went part way v? the foot tills on the opposite Ue cf tha valW to a height far above t:- h: - -'t lu'.:;:rj!n the town. ' ,' s t ..t-re 13 no geological expert resi |