| Summary: | Bodies Found In Icy Blocks: Seven Eskimo Villages Wiped Out By Flood, And Then Freeze. BODIES FOUND IN ICY BLOCKS Seven Eskimo Villages Wiped Out by Flood, and Then Freeze. NOME, Alaska, Feb. 13. WP)—Delayed word reaching here today told of severe floods which wiped out seven Eskimo villages just before Christmas, with the loss of many lives, in the Isolated country on the mainland east of Nelson Island. After the waters subsided, freezing weather set in, the message said, and the bodies of many of the victims were found encased in sheaths of ice. The number of those who perished With no communication system in that section of Alaska, news of the tragedy was carried overland to Hamilton, near the mouth of the Yukon river, and sent here by letter. The stricken district lies 150 miles south of the Yukon's mouth, northwest of Kuskokwlm bay. The mainland in the vicinity of Nelson bay, which is separated from it only by the narrow Balrd Inlet, Is made up of flats and low lying country and serious floods have occurred there before. After seeing the letter, men who had been in that section of Alaska said that undoubtedly a "ghastly tragedy" had occurred. With severe winter weather setting in after the floods subsided, the situation of the survivors undoubtedly became dangerous In the extreme, they pointed out. The map of the district reveals that a short distance inland numerous lakes may be found, some of which drain Into the Yukon but many directly into the Bering sea.
|
|---|