Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-02-22
TERRIBLE MINE EXPLOSION.

a Terrific Explosion of Fire-pamp in q
Coal-Niue at Crested Butte, Col.-Flfty.
Seven Men at Work in One of the Cham.
bers Of the Pit Buried Alive-No Hope
for Them.
r DENVER, Col, Jan. 25.-A terrible ex-
| plosion occurred in a coal mine of the Col.
orado Coal and Iron Company at Crested
Butte at eight o'clock Thursday morning.
Owing to the remoteness of the mine and the
very deep snow no details have arrived at
Denver.
The cause of the explosion is not definite
ly know, but it is supposed to be 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 We're fifty-seyen men at work in
chambers one and two. All are thought to
be killed. Ten men were in chamber four.
All escaped except John Angus, who was in
the passageway, and was badly burned
about the face and body. he will, perhaps,
recover.
The explosion was OF such force as to
block up the main entry. The fan near the
main entrance was badly injured, and about
twenty-five feet of the roof of the tramway
in front of the main entrance was blown
down by the force of the explosion.
The men at work on the Anthracite Mesa
Mine, the night force of the Colorado Coal
and Iron Company, and citizens generally,
have been working hard all day to rescue
the men in the mine, although it is thought
non can escape alive. AS soon as possible
the fan was repaired and put to work
pumping air into the mine and men were
set to work with a we'll removing the OBJ
structions, SO as to reach the chamber
where the men are. and it is hoped to get
the bodies out tonight.
The following are the names of f~fty-five
of the u~nfortunates. The other two names
have not been learned:
Henry Anderson, John Williams, NJ. J. Stew
art. John Martin, Thomas Rogers, James
0'Neil, Jacob Lunx, John Anderson, James
ard James, David Hughes, I. MeManus, ". ].
King, John Creelman, John Hular, Thomas
Williams: John shun, Pat Barrett, John Nc.
olson, William Maroney, Nick Probst, Thomas
Gonghlin, Henry Stewart, b. Hebron, l.: T;
H Hehsohi ' Gha Ri Se saerlin nS" Tho n1aae Kobe nas,
Jim McCourt, Fred Becht, Iber King, Joseph
Weisenberg, II. Donegan and Joseph Kraust,
all miners.
The drivers are James T.. Stewart, Jr. Will.
lam Meath, Morgan Meath, Thomas CLANCY.
John RUTHERFORD, William McCourtt,, a. NJ.
Godfrey. Dan Mcdonald. William Aubrey,
Ben Jetlries and Thomas Stewart.
A great many of the injured men are
married, which renders it doubly heart
rending.
A special train bearing surgeons and vol
unteers for work left Gunnison for Crested
Butte at two O'Clock. They have not yet
returned to Gunnison.
The whole town of Crested Butte is in
mourning, and crowds of women and chill
dren cluster about the mine entrance.
1t is reported that at the time Of the ex-
plosion there were ten kegs of black powder
i'll chambers l and 2, where the explosion is
supposed to have taken place. The mine
has three miles of drifting, and it is there
fore difficult to locate the accident exactly
until the rescuiag parties can gain admit
lance.
At a late hour Thursday night word was
received that there is no hope of r~escuiig
the miners alive.