Delta chief., 1885-11-18
DEATH IN A MINE.
Ten Men In tho BuiI-Domingo Mime In
stantiy KILLED BY an Explosion.

Ten Men IN tho BuiI-Domingo milne In
stantiy KILLED BY an ExpIosion.
Special 10 the Denver Tribune. Republican.
SILVER CLIFF, Colorado, Nov. H.
This afternoon at o'clock the shaft of the
Bull Domingo mine was cleared and the $50
foot level, where the ten imprisoned miners
were supposed to be, was reached. There had
been slight hope that the unfortunate men
might still be alive, and the work Of the ,es-
cuels had been that of desperation. But the
SEQ people on the surface ground were doomed
to Disappointment. Five bodies were found at
the drin at the farther end Of the $50 foot tun-
mel, and five others were found near the
mouth. There were indications that the men
died soon after the shock OF the explosion.
The names OF the unfortunate miners are: :
II. Westfsll, William Strong, Elmer Hester,
William Psttep, Napoleon De Grosslier, John
Lobby, George Smith Simon Baptista, B. Bap-
tista and e, nm Nourse-
Strong De Grctslier, Patten, Smith and B.
Bsptista were married men, having families
living here.
The explosion occurred about O'Clock last
night, and toon the vicinity of the mine Was
covered With pee pie ready to do anything in
their power TO save the property. Little
could be done, however, as the SUI face buildings
burned rapidly, and before water could be OBJ
tanned they were in ruins. After a time the
Babeock eItinguisheT was brought over from
the Clif, and At II O'CLOCK, after Ave hours de
termined y ork, the fire was eItingu!shed so
far as the timbers at the upper part OF the
shaft were CONCERNED. The timhers were en-
tirely consumed for q distance Of fifty feet
down the thAft, and the supposition was that
the ,imbers were more or less burned all the
way down. No time was lost. No sooner
had the flames gone down than ho,s;!ng ap.
paratus wAs sextemporised 10 lift away the fallen
timbers, and the work Of e1cAva,ing the shs:t
WIS Degun.
Il was not TIL r. n. that an effort Was
made TO enter the shaft The first attempt
was made by Mr.. Bfowncl. He was lowered
down the WIS; shaf, to a distance Of about If
" feet, and found the air to be very good.
About daylight, Thomas Armstrong, the fore
man Of the mine, was lowered 200 feet down
the ,hsft, and he came up bringing the same
report OF good air. This raised the hopes Of
the people thAtthe imprisoned men might still
be alive, ,snd the work OF rescue was prosecuted
v tn renewed vigor.
During the morning hours there were Al
least 800 men engaged In the work OF clearing
the thnft. Mn who had worked all night re-
fused TO re,t and continued their lSbors
throughout the day. AT 4 O'Clock in the aft
crnoon the main way OF the ,h.ft was cleared
TO d,p,h OF 40 feet. At this point some
umbcrs were wcdged, and 1, looked for q time
~ though an obstacle which It would take
A L..
length of the obstruction was unknown, and
the situa,ion w.s apyt hing but Encouraging.
Five men worked In r,lisfs at the bottom OF
the sh,ft, clearing away the ,!mbers as fast As
they could. After an hours work, or at 5
O'Clock the w,dged u,nbers were gotten out
and the happy fact made sppArent that the
shaft for the remaining distance was clear OF
ote,ructiopA The workers were hsuled to the
surface, and then the work Of lowering men to
make explorations In the workings Of the mine
Was begun.
The first man TO descend the shaft for this
purpose WAS Mr.. J. Jones. He was followed
by William Krcner, Samuel Prisk, Jacob
Rohrback, and last OF all Foreman Arm
strong.
The men ha not been down long when the
signal was given 10 haulup. This was done,
and the crowd on the surface crowded near the
entrance 10 catch The first words whether the
miners were dead or alive.
Foreman Armstrong was the first TO come
up the shaft AZ he stepped upon ,hc ground
he said not n word, but the look on his face
tod ALL "Th.y arc all dead" said he in a
whisper to those nearest him, aud the SORROW
ful news spread TO all.
The bodies were found, fve at one end OF
thc tunnel sud Ave al the other. Thr men In
the rear end OF the tunnel had evidently been
working the drlll Mt the time OF the blast
Their bodies were y ing In group. It is prob
able that they were killed by the conclusion OF
the explosion, or else were rendered uneon.
scious by Il, and died OF sun pcation.