Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1886-01-16
Eire.Qamp EXPLOSION.

Fire-Damp Explosion.
EVANSTON, Wyo., Jan. 16.-Detais ofafire
damp explosion which occurred in mine No.
4, at Almy, at an early hour Wednesday
morning have just reached here, and show
it to be one of the most serious in the his
tory of the Rocky Mountain coal mines.
Occurring as it did at night, when only
light force of miners were at work, the death
roll was limited to Is souls, but had it taken
place during the day the loss of life must
have run up into hundreds, for every per-
sou in the mine at the time met with in
slant death. The whole face of the country
and that portion Of the settlement fronting
the slope gives evidence of the terrible force
houses were entirely demolished, and the
of the explosion. The weigh and fan
engine house wrecked, while residences and
business houses lost fronts, windows, doors
aud chimneys The mouth of the slope has
the appearance of huge funnel from which
fully thousand cubic yards of rock have
been torn and distributed over the adjacent
country. A train of Is cars going down into
the mine at the time of the explosion was
broken into fragments, and shot out as though
from the mouth ola cannon. William and
Joseph Evans, 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 arms and the contents
Of the stomach Tt had bounded and rolled
fully so yards after striking the ground.
Timbers and track for seventy feet inside
the slope were torn up and scattered over
the surrounding country, and the ground
for fully half a mile from the mouth of the
mine was covered 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 es-
capped death. Huge timbers crashed
through the roof of Superintendent Fauks'
residence, ESQ yards from the slope, and fell
between two beds occupied at the time by
himself and family. John Smith lives in
house in front of the air shaft in the mouth |
of the mine. Here the force of the explo-
feet in diameter, and rock weighing |
over ton fell through the roofsinto
the kitchen, demolishng the stove. The
store Of Beckwith Quinn & Co., two
hundred feet away, lost its front and some
goods were damaged. The wheel from the
pit car passed through an clubhouse near by,
as if thrown from catapult. The mines
are worked by Beckwith, Quinn & Co., un-
der contract with the Union Pacific. Those
ct work therein at the time of the explo-
sion were Enosh Thomas, Frank Mason,
john Peake, Ellis GridgermaD, John Hunter,
joseph and William Evans, John Peterson,
John Hood, Henry Nommuck, William
Hassely, Alex. Jones and Henry Mlliken.
TIE bodies Of the last two were found yes
terday in the eleventh level. Only one, that
Of John Peake, was burned seriously. The
remainder were evidently killed instantly
By the force Of the conclusion. John Hun
ter who was driving mule attached to a
train of cars in the sixth level was found
between the first and second cars and the
mule had been blown backward, and wedged
into the fifth car with it's legs in the air.
The slope up to this point has the appear.
ance of having been clearly swept, but
otherwise is the same as seen every day.
The mine did not take fire as at first re-
ported, and nothing save the destruction of
tie fan house and consequent trouble in
getting pure air into the mine, delayed the
exploration and recovery of the bodies.
All Of tho victims save two were Mormons
married and leave large families. The most
acceptable theory as to the cause of the ex-
plosion is this: Two toremen are employed to
examine the mine every night for fire damp
TO see that it is clear before the day shift
goes on. These men carry both open and
safety lamps and it is believed one of them
ventured into some room with the former
where an unusual quantity of gas had &C
cumulated An explosion occurred here in
mine No. 9 in March, 1888, by which thirty
two Chiuamen and six white men lost their
lives. Mine No. 4, however, was considered
the model Of the camp, and extreme care
leasness is the only reasonable explanation
of the explosion. The funerals will occur
10 day.
Explosion of Dynamite
YoSKERs, n. Y, Jan. 16.-A small wood
en- building loosely thrown together in which