The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-01-31
MINE DISASTER.
A Terrible Explosion in a Colorado
Coal Mine.
Fiffy-Eigbt Unfortunate Miners Caught In
the Death Trap. Not One of Whom
L. Expected to Reach the
Surface Alive.

DENVER, Col, January PA terrible
explosion occurred at Crested Butte, Gun
nison County, this morning, in the Crested
Butte coal mine. The mine is owned and
operated by the Colorado Coal and Iron
Company of this city, and employs from
eighty to ninety miners in the shaft. The
explosion was one of the most appalling
that ever occurred in a coal mine in this
country. Crested Buttes, near which the
mine is located, is coal mining town
thirty miles north of Gunnison City, on the
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The cause
of the explosion is supposed. to have
been from fire damp. The explosion
occurred either in chamber one or
two, just half an hour after the day force
of sixty-seven men had gone to work.
There were ten men at work in the cham
Der. Four of these escaped unhurt, except
one man. y John Angus, who was in the
passage-way just outside the chamber,
is badly burned, but will recover. Fifty
seven men were at work in chambers
Nos. and 2, and these are all thought to
have perished. The explosion was with
such force as to completely barricade the
main entrance, and the appliances for
wrecked, and the roof of the tramway
was blown off. The men at work on the
anthracite mesa, the night force of the
c., G. & l. Company's mines, and citizens
generally have been working hard all day
to rescue the men, although it is thought
none can possibly escape alive. The town
hall has been prepared for the reception of
the dead. As soon as possible the fan was
repaired and put to work pumping air
into the mine, and men were set to work to
remove the distractions, so as to search
the chambers and get the bodies out to-
night, If possible. Many of the men
were married men and leave families,
many living here. At this hour every
thing is in such confusion that it is i'm
possible to give details. A special train
left Gunnison at'2 O'Clock this after noon
with surgeons and large number of citizens
to render all the aid possible. The town of
Crested Buttes is in mourning, and crowds
Of women cluster about the entrance to the
mine, praying, wringing their hands, and
crying piteously, presenting scene most
heartrending. 1t is said at the time of the
explosion there were ten kegs of black
powder in chambers 1 and 2, where the men
were working and where the explosion is
supposed to have taken place. The mine
has three miles of drifting, so it is impossi-
BILE to definitely locate the accident until the
rescuing parties can gain admittance. The
mine has long been considered dangerous
by those acquainted with it. While one of
the best producing mines in the
country, its operation has alway
been attended with more or less apprehen-
sion and real danger sit is a firedamp
mine," said Superintendent Cameron, now
in Denver, "and seems to constantly gen.
crate the most deadly gases. They seem to
generate In the coal or under it, and pour
out of the seams in the walls of the tunnels
and shafts; yet the mine is the most per-
fectly ventilated in the world. Air is forced
in along the shaft by machinery mo less than
$4,000 cubic feet of fresh air being forced
into the mine every minute. This is
quite sufficient to fully supply the wants
of the miners and keep the air perfectly
pure, unless some accident happens to cut
OF or interfere with the supply. This is
greater amount of fresh air than is furn-
ished to any other mine in the country"
superintendent Cameron added: "We
send mine viewer through ever cham
ber every morning before any
OF the men. are allowed to
go in. He must have returned this morn
ing before the workmen started in, and
verything must have been all right when
he passed through the workings" John
Mcneil, State Mine Inspector, left for the
scene of the disaster this evening. He
says he has no doubt that every man in the
mine at the time of the explosion was in
stantly killed. At this hour, 10 O'Clock, no
bodies have been recovered.
DENVER, COL, January PA large force
of men are at work searching for the bod
les of the victims of the explosion in the
Crested Buttes coal-mines. The mine is
badly choked up with debris, and the work
is necessarily slow. At noon ten bodies
had been recovered. These were all in the
main entry, and being subjected to the full
force of the blast were terribly burned and
blackened. In several cases arms and legs
were found broken, and the bodies other
wise mutilated. In this entry were also
found the carcases of nine mules. The
workmen gained entrance to chamber
No. 1 this morning, but found no bodies
there. Searching further, eighteen bodies
were found almost in heap, in the air pas
sage leading to the upcast, near the en-
trance. The men, alarmed but not injured
by the explosion, had evidently attempted
to reach the furnace room, and were over
come by the afterdamp when within two
hundred feet of it. Fifteen feet further
back six more bodies were found. All had
evidently been suffocated. Some had tied
handkerchiefs over their mouths. A total
of thirty -four bodies have been found up to
this time, and includes all who were al
searching for bodies in chamber
No. 2. This latter is further into
the mine, and is undoubtedly where the ex
plosion took place. 1t is expected that the
bodies there will be found badly burned
The cause of the accident can not be def
nitely told at this writing. AS before stat
ed, the mine has been subjected to gas, bu
the owners had done everything possible
3 to overcome this by the use of all the lates
and most approved appliances for mine
ventilation, and it was considered one O.
the best ventilated mines in the country
1t was examined by the inspector about si1
weeks ago and in his report he stated tha
it had the worse air and best ventilation O
any coal mine in the State. The owners
claim the air supply more than four time
the amount required by law.
Fatal Marine Disasters.