Holiday Travelers Stranded by Mudslides

The south-bound train on the Great Northern was hemmed in by land slides about five miles north of Ballard last night. The train was due in Seattle about 5:50 but did not leave Edmonds until after 6 o'clock. At 7:15 it was stopped by a land slide about seventy-five feet in width. As the train was between stations there was no way of telegraphing. Gangs of men who were working near there were put to work to clear away the obstructions. This manner of spending Christmas eve was not pleasant to the passengers, and most of the men walked ahead to Ballard and came from there to the city on the electric railway. The first detachment came in on the 11 o'clock electric car from Ballard which was completely filled, both inside and on the platforms. When the car reached the corner of West and Columbia streets they raised a feeble cheer and scattered to get something to eat. A more tired, muddy and disgusted lot would be hard to find. Their five mile walk proved more difficult than they had supposed, and they were heartily glad to reach Ballard after about two hours or more spent in sliding and slipping around in the mud and slush and over slippery ties. On the way they passed not only the slide by which they had been stopped but more than a dozen smaller ones, and could hear the roar of the slides before and behind them as they walked along.