Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-01-29
A DEADLY BLAST.

Thirteen Lives Lost by all Explosion OF
Fire-Damp in n Wyoming Mine-Great
Destruction of Property in the Vicinity
The Disaster Due to Carelessness.
EVANSTON, Wy. r., Jan. 16.-The fire.
damp explosion in Mine No. 4 at Amy,
three miles northwest of this place, proves
to have been one of the most serious in the
history of Rocky Mountain coal-mines. Oc-
curing as it did last night, when only a
light force of miners were at work. the death
roll was limited to thirteen souls, but had
it taken place during the day the loss OF
life must have run up into hundreds, for
every person in the mines at the time
met with instant death. The whole face OF
the country and that p%ortian OF the settle
ment fronting the slope gives evidence OF
the terrible force Of the explosion. The
weigh and fan.houses were entirely demol-
ished and the engine-house wrecked, while
residences and business houses lost fronts,
windows, doors and chimneys. The mouth
of the slope has the appearance Of a huge
funnel, from which fully a thousand cubic
yards OF rock have been torn and distrib-
utcd over the adjacent country. A train
of thirteen cars going down into the mine
Mt the time of the explosion wus broken
into fragments and shot out as though
from the mouth Of u annon William and
Joseph, passengers thereon, were most
terribly mutilated, the former being
blown over the engine-house and a
portion OF the town. The body was found
seven hundred feet from the mouth of the
slope minus the head and arm and the con-
tents OF the stomach. 1t had bounded and
,,,1l,,l f,1y f1i,.tx, ~, r1e oStor of,sltnr tho
ground. Timhers md track for sew
enty feet inside the slope were torn
up and scattered over the sur
rounding country, and the ground for
fully half a mile from the mouth
OF the mine was crowded with pieces OF cars,
ties, timbers and other debris. Every air
shaft was blown away, leaving huge pits.
Many people living near the mine narrowly
escaped death. Huge timbers crashed
through the roof of Superintendent
Faulk's residence, two hundred and fifty
yards from the slope, and fell be-
9ween two beds occupied at the
time by himself and family. John Smith
lives in q house in front OF the air.
shaft in the mouth OF the mine. Here the
force Of the explosion tore q great hole in
the earth twenty feet in diameter, and a
rock weighing over a ton fell through the
TOW lluo VIC hluCHcH, NtiilOllsiiHS ohc
stove. The store OF Beckwith, Quinn& Co.,
two hundred feet way, lost it's front, and
some goods were damaged. Thu wheel
from the pit-car passed through an out
house near by, as if thrown from a cata-
pult.
The killed number thirteen. The bodies
OF the last OF the victims were taken out
yestcrday morning. The mine did not take
fire rs at first reported. and nothing save
the destruction of the farmhouse and conse-
quent trouble in getting pure air into the
mine delayed the exploration and recovery
OF the bodies. All OF the victims save two
were Mormons, married, and leave large
families. TIL most acceptable theory as to
the cause o! the explosion is this. Tive fore
men are employed to examine the mine
every night for tire-damp to see that it is
clear before the day-shiit goes on. These
men carry both open and safety lamps, and
it is believed one of them venturcd into
some room with the former where an UNI
usual quantity OF gas had accumulated.
An explosion occurred here in mine No. 8
in March, 1883, bywhich %thirty-two China
men and six white men lost their lives.
Mine No. 4, however, was considered the
model OF the camp, and extreme careless
ness is the only reasonable explanation OF
the eyp1Osion