IMSASTEKS IN 1896. 



243 



raent was reached in August. 1896, whereby British 

 trawlers may enjoy the hospitality of any Icelandic 

 port and may use some of the water ways over the 

 Icelandic sea territory provided their trawls are 

 stowed and not ready for fishing. Danish Govern- 

 ment vessels, which patrolled the territorial waters 

 in the fishing season in May. seix.ed a number of 

 English steam trawlers, and the courts confiscated 

 their catch and fishing gear. 



(Greenland. The Danish colony on the east 



coast of Greenland has an estimated area of 46.740 



square miles, with a population of 10,516 person-. 



The imports in 1894 were 887,961 kroner, and the 



rts :):'>(>,144 kroner. 



DISASTERS IN 1896. Any general list of 

 casualties may be divided into three classes, namely, 

 unavoidable, preventable, and doubtful. Exact fig- 

 ures, therefore, are unattainable, but a moderate esti- 

 mate of what may fairly be termed accidental deaths 

 from all causes gives a total of about 30,000 .for the 

 year. Of these, about 20,000 were practically una- 

 voidable. The rest of the fatalities might with rea- 

 sonable prudence and foresight have been avoided. 



The statistics as to fires and railway accidents 

 may be accepted as approximately correct. They 

 are from the " Journal of Commerce and Commer- 

 cial Bulletin " and from " The Railroad Gazette." 



January 1. Shipwreck : English bark Janet Cow- 

 an lost on Vancouver's Island, British Columbia. 7 

 drowned. Train wrecked near Malta, Col., 2 killed. 



2. Explosion of natural gas, Columbus, Ohio, 6 

 killed. Earthquakes in Persia. Jan. 2-5, about 1,000 

 killed. 



3. Train derailed, Meadville, Pa., 16 hurt, cause a 

 misplaced switch. 



4. Locomotive boiler explodes, Fultonham, Ohio, 



4 killed. Train derailed, Schooley's Station, Ohio, 



5 killed, 3 hurt, cause a misplaced switch. 



5. Trains in collision, Chillicothe, Ohio, 4 killed, 



2 hurt. 



7. Train falls through an open drawbridge at 

 Rigolets, La., fireman and several tramps drowned. 

 9. Earthquake in Persia, about 1.100 lives lost. 

 11. Train derailed, Middlesborongh, Ky., 1 killed, 



1 hurt, cause a landslide. 



14. Fatal heat in Australia, many deaths in Syd- 

 ney and other cities. 



15. Shipwreck: steamer Cisgar sinks in collision. 

 19 drowned. 



20. Train wrecked, Hazleton. Pa., 1 killed. 1 hurt. 

 Fire : theater burned in Russia, about 75 lives 

 lost. 



22. Locomotive boiler explodes at South Charles- 

 ton, Ohio, 2 killed. 7 hurt. 



24. Train wrecked, Riverton, Va., 1 killed. 1 hurt, 

 cause a fallen rock. 



25. Shipwreck: American liner St. Paul ashore at 

 Long Branch (floated Feb. 4). 



26. Train wrecked, South San Francisco. Cal., 1 

 killed. 4 hurt, cause a washout. 



25-28. Severe storm in Queensland. Australia: 

 houses, shipping, etc., destroyed to the value of 

 $2.500.000. many lives lost. 



27. Explosion in coal mine at Pont-y-Pridd, 

 Wales, 50 killed. Shipwreck : steamer J. W. Haw- 

 kins sinks off Barnegat, 6 drowned. 



31. Train wrecked, Lawrenceburg. Ind.. 2 killed, 



3 hurt. Train derailed bv a cow, Hempstead. Texas, 



2 killed. 2 hurt. 



Fir.-s in January: Palm Beach. Fla., hotel and 

 other buildings, lo'ss. $250.000: Chicago, baking- 

 powder works. .< 175.000: St. Louis. Mo., dry srood-. 

 $230.000; Buffalo. X. Y., stove works, $250.000; 

 Chicago, apartment house, $300,000 ; St. Louis, 

 business block. $200,000 ; Boulder County, Col., min- 

 ing works. $300,000: and 228 others; aggregate loss. 

 $11,040,000. 



Summary of train accident- in January : 51 col- 

 lision.-. 78 derailments, 5 others ; total. KM. Killed: 

 40 employees, 1 passenger, 6 others; total, 47. 

 Hurt: 68 employees, 44 pas-engcr-. 7 othen : total. 



February 2. Fire: in Philadelphia, loss. $1,690.- 

 000. Church falls near Angers. France, s killed, 60 

 hurt. 



5. Train wrecked, Barnesville, Ohio, 1 killed. 1 

 hurt. Earthquake in East Cuba, many killed. 



6. Bridge falls near Bristol. Conn., 1(3 killed, can-' 

 inadequate provision against a freshet. Shipwreck : 

 14 drowned on Xew Jersey 



7. Train wrecked, Obrey. Texas, 1 killed, 1 hurt. 



9. Shipwreck : 3 schooners driven on shore near 

 Xewburyport. Mass.. 10 drowned. Trains in colli- 

 sion. Haviland, Mo.. 16 hurt. 



10. Train derailed, Cooksville, Ohio. 1 killed, 8 

 hurt, cause a defective switch. 



11. Collision, Dayola, 111., 5 killed, 4 hurt. 



12. Trains in collision. Macedon, X. Y.. 2 killed. 

 Train derailed. Parksville, Tenn., 1 killed, 2 hurt, 

 cause a misplaced switch. Fire : Guayaquil. Ecua- 

 dor, estimated loss, several millions, 130 buildings 

 burned. 5 killed, 40 hurt. 



13. Shipwreck : steamer sinks at Brisbane, Aus- 

 tralia, 40 drowned. 



17. Fire : Burdette Building, Troy, X. Y., 6 wom- 

 en perish. 



18. Explosion : coal gas, Xewcastle, Col., 60 killed. 

 Fire : Casino burned, Santarem, Portugal, 35 lives 

 lost. 



19. Explosion : dynamite, near Johannesburg, 

 South Africa, several hundred houses wrecked, about 

 125 lives lost. Locomotive boiler explodes at Cass- 

 ville, X. Y., 2 killed. 



21. Shipwrecks: 25 vessels lost in the Black Sea, 

 about 100 drowned. 



22. Train derailed, Brockport, X Y.. 1 killed, 1 

 hurt. 



23. Fire: Baltimore, Md., residence of J. R. Ar- 

 miger burned, 7 lives lost. 



26. Sandstorms in Hungary : villages buried, hun- 

 dreds Of lives lost. 



29. Collisions at sea near Xew York : steamships 

 Ailsa and La Bourgoyne, also steamships G. W. 

 Clyde and Guyandotte ; Atlantic liner Xew York 

 aground : cause, a dense fog. Trains in collision, 

 Blackbird, Delaware, 2 killed, 3 hurt. Train de- 

 railed. Marion. Ga.. 1 killed. 



Fires in February : Philadelphia, 2 fires, society 

 buildings, etc., loss, $1,690,000; Troy. X. Y.. shirt 

 factory, etc., $200,000; Boston, warehouses, etc., 

 $150.000 : Martin's Ferry. Ohio, glass works, $150,- 

 000 ; Greenville. X. C., business houses. $150.000 ; 

 Binghampton, X. Y., sundry buildings, $1,500,000; 

 and 195 others ; aggregate loss, $9,730,100. 



Summary of train accidents in February : 34 col- 

 lisions, 91 derailments, 4 others ; total, 129. Killed : 

 35 employees, 2 others; total, 37. Hurt: 54 em- 

 ployees, 49 passengers, 4 others; total. 107. 



March 2. Fire: Minneapolis, 700,000 bushels of 

 grain burned, loss, $900.000. 



3. Fires : L'tica. X. Y.. 6 or 8 lives lost : and in 

 Danbury. Conn., loss, $150.000. 



4. Fifes: Paris, theater burned, loss, $60,000; 

 coal mine in Silicia, 100 lives lost. 



5. Fire : normal school burned, Stanbury, Mo.. 

 loss. $50,000. 



11. Fire: Military and Xaval Co-operative Stores, 

 Bombay, India, loss, about $660,000. 



12. Shipwreck : British sealing steamer Wolf, off 

 Fogo island. Fire: Pope Manufacturing Company's 

 building, Boston, 1,800 bicycles burned, loss. $300,- 

 000. 



13. Explosion of a powder magazine in China, 

 about 300 mutineers killed. 



