West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1884-02-01
NINE DISASTER.
A Terrible Explosion I'm q Colorado
Coal Mine.
fthS.EIsht Uu ufortanat- utp.r. C,u,,, A..
sAe Death Tap. Not enc orMhon,
L. Expected to Reach the
Surface Alive.

A
explosion occurred at Crested Butte. Gup.
niSon County, this morning, In the Crested
butte coal mine. The mine is owned ani
operated by the Colorado Coal and Iron
company OF this city, and EMPLOYS from
eishty to ninety miners in the shaft, Tho
explosion was one of the mos. appalling
'nat ever occurred in a coal mine in This
country. Crested Buttes, near which tho
mime Is located, is a coal mining town
.ulrtN mll"S north OF Gunuison CITY. ON tb,,
Denyer * Rio Grande Railroad. The cnus..
"a the explosion is supposed ~ bovc
oS.c,'.lr"m from hre damp. The EXPLOSION
-. ,u'ieu either in chamber one rr
t"o' Just half an hour after the daV force
~ ~ sixty men had COne To- WORK
There were ten men N work I'm tho cIo,N'
80, rour OF these escaped unhurt except
- - man - John Angus, who was IN the
paSsage'way just outside tho cba,,i,a,.
i uauly burned, but will recover. Fif,v
SeNeh men were az work i'm cbombers
i,.,,, lbs. ana = and these are all thought To
H"No 'eIlShed' The explosion was with
suCh force as 10 completely horricnj, tb,
nolh entrance, and the appliances fo,.
supplying air, located near were b,ll,,
mleT,heu' ana the roof OF the tramy,ny
nntlrao;,-i - ui' Inc men at work on the
- ~ "SlIe mesa, the night forCs OF the
~ - % l. Compauy'S mines. and citiycrs
teherolly have been working hard ali A..
,,,, ,oirsCue the men, although tits thought
Ia fI.N "a,
nan nan mas heen prepared for the reception NJ
.ne ueaI' As soon as possible the fan ,vns
!epalred and put TO work punpiug al,
,.i'I rnso .ne mlne, and men were set To- work To
tIn,LO1Hc 1Hc ohstructons, so as TO search
tuc ChalilDers and get the bodies ont t,l.
hlshI, II possible. Many of the mon
were married men and ieave families
n'ahy llNing here, At this hour every,
nntsfi,Io - III Such confusion that it is i'm
P%ssiule TO give details. A specinl train
Iett Sunulson at , o'clock this nfterngon
WIN surgeons and large number of ri,iz.re
20 render all the aid possible. The town az
Ntested Buttcs is in mourning and cro,,.ds
VI women cluster about the entrance 10 tho
hllhe' praying, wringing their hands. mud
'Sine pltrously, presenting n scene mos,
nea trehdlng. It's said at the time of the
Npi2NIoh mere were ten kegs OF black
Po"uer IN chambers | and - where the mon
were working and where tho explnsi,u j.
supposed To have taken place The miue
ms Ihree miles OF drifting, so IL IL inpossi
800 80 W uelIhlteiy locate the accident until tine
Tesculng parties can gain admittance TIc
mine mas long been considered dnnosrn,.
oN thoSe acquainted with it, While orc ~
tne oeSt producing mines i'm fbe
hoo,, MS operation has alway
oeeh attended with more or less nnpr.I,c,y
sion and real danger. at * n Grsdn,,,r
ihne," SAID Superintendent Catn.rot, ,,,,,,
In Denver, land seems TO constantiv ,,on.
100 100 me most deadly gases They seem TO
generate IN the coal or under H. opd 49,.
oul OF the seams in the walls of the t,,,i,,.i
ahu shaits; Yet the mine is the most ,,,,
iec'iN ventilated in the world. Airs ro,cod
e onn ndnnhS lhe smart by machinery mo less than
Co,VVo cubic feet of fresh air being forced
lhto the mine every minute This is
9ultc sufficient to fully supply the wants
OF thc miners and keep the air parfactl,,
pure, unless some accident happens u cut
OH or interfere with the supply This is
greater amount Of fresh air than il furn
ished 20 any other mine in the country. -
superintendent Cameron added: "(Ye
h.,. .nlhe viewer through ever cham
oe every morning before any
go IN lie must have returned this morn
ing before the workmen started in. aud
everything must have been all right when
ne passed through the workings Job,,
Mcneil, state Mine Inspector. lett for tbe
scene OF the disaster this evening. He
says hc has no doubt that every man in tLo
NINE at the time OF the explosion was i'm.
9tantly killed. At this hour, 10 o,clork No
ooHles nave been recovered.
DENVER, ,CoL., January GA large fore.
OF men are at work searching for the bod.
les OF the victims of the explosion i'm tho
SrGSted Buttes coul-mines. The mine is
na'tiS cHoheu up WIN de bris, and the work
rs necessarily slow. Al noon ten bodies
had been recovered. These were All in tbc
main entry, and being subjected 10 the f,I
force OF the blast were terribly burned ami
DIachehed' In several cases arms and legs
were found broken, and the bodies other
wise mutilated. In this entry were ols,
round the carcases Of nine mules. Tho
workmen gained entrance To cbau,ber
40. ! this morning, hut found no bodies
there. Searching further, eighteen bodies
were found almost In a heap, in the air ms.
sage leading 10 the upcast, near the on.
trance. The men, alarmed but not iniured
by the explosion, had evidently atteniuted
10 reach tue furnace room, ana were over.
come by the aftordamp when within tv,o
hundred feet Of it. Fifteen feet further
back six more bodies were found All bnd
evidently been suffocated. Some had tied
handkerchiefs over their mouths. \ totoI
OF thrty-four bodies have been found up 10
this time, and includes all who were nj
Work IN chamber No. /. The workuen orc
searching for bodies in chamber
No. 2. This latter is further into
the mine, and is undoubtedly where the OK.
plosion took place. II is expected that the
BODIES there Will be found badly btirued
Tho cause Of the accident can not be d.C
niteiy told at this writing As before stat.
Cd the mine has been subjected 20 gas, but
the owners had done everything possible
10 overcome this by the use OF ali the latest
ana most approved appliances for mine
ventilation, and 10 was considered ono of
the best ventilated mines in the country
~ was examined 10y the inspector about III
weeks ago and in his report he stated that
Jhad the worse air and best ventilation Of
any coal mine in the State. Tie owners
ci"im the air supply more than four times
tho amount required by law.