DISASTERS IN 1886. 



287 



Chamber that was elected in 1876 was finally 

 ended by the dissolution of the Rigsdag on 

 Jan. 8, 1887. The new elections were appoint- 

 ed for Jan. 28. 



DISASTERS Ii\ 1886. The disasters of the 

 year have been marked by the somewhat un- 

 usual violence of storms and earthquakes. The 

 following list includes those that have been 

 conspicuously fatal to human life, on land and 

 se:i. Accidents where only a single life has 

 been lost are generally omitted, though in the 

 aggregate they no doubt largely exceed the 

 more startling disasters that involve the death 

 or injury of many persons. On railways, for 

 instance, there are here specified only 24 acci- 

 dents, with 127 killed and 214 injured. There 

 were, in fact, in the United States and Canada, 

 1,211 accidents, 401 killed and 1,433 injured. 



January 1. Fire ; seed-warehouse burned in Detroit, 

 estimated loss 1,500,000 ; 1 fireman killed, several 

 injured. 



3. Earthquakes and violent atmospheric disturb- 

 ances in the Argentine Republic. 



4. Railway ; bridge breaks near Duncannon, Pa. ; 

 4 killed, 5 injured. 



5. Floods in Pennsylvania coal-regions; heavy 

 losses iu William sport, Pottsville, Sheuandoah, and 

 vicinity. 



9. Destructive storm all over the northern United 

 States and Canada ; many lives lost by_ wrecks and 

 otherwise. Railway collision near Wilmington, Del. ; 



3 killed, several injured. 



10. Railway : bridge breaks near White's Station, 

 Ala. ; 3 killed, 21 cars burned. Fire in Philadel- 

 phia; estimated loss, $1,500,000. Shipwreck- British 

 steamer Ilylton Castle founders at sea ; all hands saved. 



11. Fire; flour and woolen mills in Chicago; loss, 

 8300,000. 



13. Explosion in a colliery at Evanston, Iowa ; 13 

 killed. Railway collision near Michigan City, Ind. ; 



4 killed. Fire in Montreal ; loss, $500,000. Ship- 

 wreck ; Norwegian bark Kroljevike ; 7 of crew and 

 3 life-saving crew lost. 



14. Earthquake in Amatitlan, Guatemala. Railway 

 accident iu Peru ; 30 soldiers killed. Shipwreck ; 

 Gloucester fishing-schooner Mabel Dilloway ; 16 lives 

 lost. 



t !5. Railway collision near Harper's Ferry, Va. ; 3 

 killed. Frozen to death ; 3 persons in South Carolina, 

 and 3 in Virginia. 



16. Railway-train derailed near Pelhamville, N. Y. 



17. Explosion ; fire-damp in Almy mine, Wyo- 

 ming; 13 killed. 



20. Railway ; train derailed near Albany, Mo. ; 1 

 killed, 14 injured. 



21. Explosion; fire-damp in Orrell coal-mine, New- 

 burg, W. Va.; 39 killed. 



22. Storms in the West ; several lives lost by flood 

 and avalanche. 



23. Explosion ; locomotive-engine at Madison, Wis.; 

 1 killed, several wounded. 



26. Fatal snow-slides in Colorado. 



30. Falling houses in London, England; 6 killed. 

 During the month 8 persons were killed and 20 in- 

 jured in the Pennsylvania coal-regions. 



February 2. Shipwreck ; American steamship Rapi- 

 dan sails from New York ; never heard from ; about 

 20 lives lost. 



3. Explosion ; a largo quantity of dynamite near 

 Fordham, N. Y. ; 1 killed, several injured, and many 

 buildings damaged. 



4-7. Severe storms ; causing much damage in the 

 United States, and many shipwrecks at sea and on the 

 lakes. 



10, 11. Severe rain-storms throughout the Northern 

 States ; much damage from floods and wash-outs. 



10. Explosion ; boiler in Boston ; 5 killed. 



11. Shipwreck ; bark Karl on Barnegat Shoals, N. 

 J. ; 10 men drowned, including 3 of the United States 

 life-saving crew, who went to the rescue. 



13-15. Floods in the North Atlantic States ; heavy 

 damages in Boston, Providence, and Fall River ; sev- 

 eral lives lost. 



15. Shipwreck; British steamer Douglass, at Swa- 

 tow ; 18 lives lost. 



16. Fall of building in Liverpool, England: several 

 killed, 18 severely injured. Fire in Plymouth, Wis. ; 

 5 lives lost. 



17. Shipwreck ; Austrian ship Miroslav sails from 

 Philadelphia ; never heard from ; 20 lives lost. 



26-28. Wind-storm of great severity (85 miles an 

 hour) in the North Atlantic States ; many shipwrecks 

 and much damage by wind. 



26. Shipwreck; steamer Idlewild, near Stamford, 

 Conn. ; 8 men missing. Railroad-train derailed by 

 cattle ; 2 men killed, 21 injured. 



March 2. Railway ; train's derailed near Belleville, 

 Ontario, Bethel, Me., and Fish's Eddy, N. Y. ; 11 

 killed, 17 injured. Shipwreck ; American bark Sur- 

 prise, on the coast of Madagascar. 



4. Fire; oatmeal-mills in Akron, Ohio; loss nearly 

 a million ; small insurance. 



8. Explosion; Dunbar, Uniondale mine; 2 killed. 

 Explosion ; steam-tug Rifleman, in Cardiff harbor, 

 Wales ; all hands killed 6 men, and 1 killed on an 

 Italian ship a quarter of a mile distant by falling de- 

 bris. Fire ; destruction to shipping in Jersey City. 



12. Railway ; Monte-Carlo, Mentone; 5 killed. 

 Railway ; derailment near Eckford, Mich. ; 1 killed, 

 29 injured. 



14. Shipwreck ; British steamer Oregon sunk by 

 collision with unknown vessel off Fire Island at 

 early dawn ; 600 passengers ; all hands saved. Brit- 

 ish steamer Bcda founders oft' Cape Perpetua ; 12 lives 

 lost. 



19. Disastrous floods in Germany. 



20. Explosion on steamer Columbia at the island of 

 Tumaco; 15 killed. Floods; great damage in the 

 Southern States. 



21. Fire; in Helena, Ark., the business portion of 

 the town burned. 



31. Railway; derailment near Huntingburg, Ind.; 

 1 killed, 25 injured. 



April 7. Railway ; train derailed near Deerfield, 

 Mass. ; 12 killed, many injured. Derailment near 

 East Saginaw, Mich. ; cause, wind ; 11 injured. 



14. Railway ; derailment near Oketo, Neb. ; 2 killed, 

 13 injured. Tornado towns of Sauk Rapids and St. 

 Cloud, Minn., wrecked ; 70 killed, many injured, and 

 much property destroyed. 



17. Fire; the town of Stry, Galicia, nearly de- 

 stroyed ; 128 lives lost. 



20. Flood ; dam gives way near East Lee, Masjs. ; 7 

 drowned; much loss of property. 



May 1. Fire ; town of Akita, Japan, almost totally 

 destroyed ; 3,000 houses burned. 



6. Storm, wind, rain, and hail in Kansas City ; 20 

 killed ; much damage done. 



12. Hurricane in Spain ; 82 killed in Madrid ; 620 

 injured. Storm in Ohio and Indiana; 24 killed at 

 Kansas City, 30 injured. 



24. Railway ; collision near Brompton, Ont. ; 40 

 injured. 



'29. Drowned ; Rev. C. Jerome, his 3 children and 

 a visitor, in Lake Winnepesaukee, N. II. 



31. Boiler-explosion at Palestine, Texas; 2 killed, 

 17 injured. Lost at sea; British steamer Lyeemoon, 

 with 70 persons on board, off the coast of Australia. 



June 3. Railway; collision near Waldron, 111.; 3 

 killed, 24 injured. Yellow-fever epidemic at Colon. 



7. Railway; derailment near Santee Swamp, S. C.; 

 7 killed, 13 'injured. Fire ; in Chicago ; 8 lives lost. 



9. Fire ; glass-factory in Montreal ; loss, $140,000. 



10. Volcanic disturbances in New Zealand ; 21 

 killed ; much property destroyed. 



14. Gale ; Galveston, Texas, inundated ; much dam- 



