Hailey, Idaho Mine Snowslide
February 25, 1917
IDAHO SNOWSLIDE KILLED 15 MINERS
SLEEPING VICTIMS BURIED IN RUINS OF BUNKHOUSE AT
NORTH STAR MINE.
OVER 16 INJURED SERIOUSLY
Disaster at Mine 12 Miles Northeast of
Hailey-Rescuers Face Peril-Danger of Another
Sliwe [sic], Workers Are Recalled.
Boise, Idaho.-Fifteen men were killed and 15
injured when a giant snowslide destroyed the
bunkhouse, compressor houes [sic] and warehouse
of the North Star mine, 12 miles northeast of
Hailey, Idaho, at 3:30 o'clock Sunday morning.
The Dead.
Bodies of these men have been taken from the
debris:
JOHN FLEMING, ELTON G.
COOLEY, JACK VAUGHN, JAMES PETERLINE, PHIL
WELCH, JOHN PURNELL, FRANK P. MANGINGO, ROY
JUDD, SAM LABARGE.
The following six men are missing and all are
believed to be buried beneath the slide:
Missing.
JOHN KISTLE, JOHN
HEARN, JACK MCKELVEY, EMMETT P. RUSSELL, W. R.
MOTLEY, W.S. SCHMIDT.
Injured.
On the list of those injured is
TOM JAY,
mine superintendent; A.
E. WOOD is in a precarious condition,
with his back broken and hip fractured.
Otherwise on the injured list are:
GEORGE LEE, JACK
LINDSEY, L. O. BEESON, BERT JUDD, E. C. JONES,
J. R. CARTER and
PETE PETERSON.
Immediately upon receiving news of the disaster
a special train conveying physicians and rescue
workers was run from Hailey to Gimlet, from
where the party was obliged to travel six miles
to the mine in sleighs.
It is reported that three of this number are
dangerously injured. The bodies of the dead were
left at the mine temporarily.
The disaster is the worst in the history of Wood
River mining. Of the men killed
FLEMING, LABARGE and
RUSSELL leave families living at
Hailey. VAUGHN, KISTLE,
MCKELVEY, WELCH and ECHMIDT are
Hailey men. MANGINGO
was timekeeper at the mine.
Slides Numerous.
A fall of two and one-half feet of snow during
the previous three days, followed by rain, has
resulted in numerous slides in the North Star
district, many in places where they never were
known to occur before.
At the time of the accident the Federal Mining
and Smelting company had 60 men employed at the
mine and 115 at work at the mill two miles
below. The officials have announced that because
of dangerous conditions prevailing they will
close the mine for the remainder of the winter.
The Genesee News, Genesee, ID 2 Mar
1917
Articles transcribed by Linda
Houston. Thanks, Linda!
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