Lewis C. Jesseph and a fellow attorney, John Merritt, had decided to take the Great Northern Passenger train from Spokane, WA because they were going to argue a case before the Washington State Supreme Court in Olympia, WA. They left Spokane, WA about 7:30 P.M. on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 1910. By Wednesday morning, the train had been stopped at Cascade, WA because there was a severe snow storm, blizzard and avalanche conditions. The passengers had been served their meals in the dining cars but because the food was nearly exhausted by Thursday afternoon the train was moved to Wellington, WA where they could be served meals at a local hotel. By Sunday morning, the train was still at Wellington, WA and the weather wasn't getting any better. Mr. Jesseph & Mr. Merritt had heard from a Superintendent that the Superintendent and two brakemen were going to try to get to Scenic, WA which was about 6 miles away. Mr. Jesseph & Mr. Merritt decided that they were going to follow their directions and try to make it to Scenic, WA. They had been trapped for 4 days & 5 nights. So after a slow and arduous struggle through the snow, they made it to Scenic. By midnight Sunday, they had been able to get to Seattle, WA. The train they left behind had remained at Wellington because of the snow delays. There was another train delayed as well. On early Tuesday morning, a towering avalanche of snow of fifteen hundred feet in width across plunged down the mountain sweeping the Great Northern Passenger Trains and everything else in its path into the canyon 300 feet below. There were very few survivors and 96 that perished in the avalanche. It became known as the Wellington Disaster and was one of the worst train wrecks in Washington State.
From the description of We escaped the Wellington disaster, 1910 / By Lewis C. Jesseph. (Washington State Library, Office of Secretary of State). WorldCat record id: 185148628
