Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-01-16

Appalling Force OF the Mine Expto-
piosiou fn Wyoming which kilies;
Thirteen Men.


Thirteen Men.
EVANSTON. WYOMING. Jan. Ie.-Details OF
the IRE damp explosion, which occurred Ia
mine No. 4. NJ Amy. "Wednesday morning
have just reached here and show 81 60 have
the Rocky Mountain coal mines. Occurring as
IL aid at night when only "A light force OF
ted 10 thirteen souls: but had IL TAKEN plaee
during the day the loss Of life must have run
up into hundreds, for every person in the mine
whole face OF the country and that portion OF
the settlement fronting the slope gives evil
dence of the terrible force OF the explosion
The weigh aud tan houses were entirely de-
molished, 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 n huge
funnel from which fully "A Thousand cutie
wards OF rock have been torn aud distributed
over the adjacent country. 4 train of thirteen
cars going down into the mine at the time OF
the explosion was broken into fragments and
shot out as though from the mouth of a cannon.
William and Joseph Evans. passengers thereon,
were terribly mutilated the former being blown
over tue engine iIouS'' ahd portion OF the town.
The body was found seven hundred feet from
the month Of the slope minus the head and
arm and the contents of the stomach. IL had
bounded and rolled fully thirty yards after
striking the ground. Iimbers and track for
seventy feet inside the slope were torn up aud
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 shat
"
pie living near the mine narrowly escaped
death. Huge timberS crashed through the root
OF Superintendent Faulks residence, $50 yards
from the slope and tell between two beds occu-
pied nj the time 10y himself ana family.
John Smith lives i'm a house I'm mont Of the
air shaft In the mouth nj the mine. Here tho
force of the explosion tore "A great hole in IN,
earth twenty feet in diameter, and a rock
weighing over "A ton fell through the root into
the Kitchen. demoliShng the stove. The store
OF BeckWith. Quinn & Co.. two hundred feet
away, lost it's front, and some goods were dam
aged. The wheel from the pit car passed
through an clubhouse near by, as IL thrown
from catapult The Tsines are worked by
Beckwith, Quinn Co, under contract with
the Union Pacific. Those at work therein AT
the time Of the explosion We're; Enoch Thomas.
Frank Mason, John Peake, Ellis Gridgerman,
John Hunter, Joseph and William Evans John
Peterson, John Hood Henry Nommuck, William
Hassely, Alex. Jones, Henry Milliken. The
bodies of the last two We're found yesterday 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 Hunter, who was driving
a mule attached TO 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 hfth car, with ats legs In
the air.
The slope up TO this point has the appearance
of having been cieaniy swept, but otherwise ~
the same as seen every day. The mine did not
take fire. as at first reported. and nothing save
the destruction OF the ian-nouse and conseq uenL
trouble in getting pure air into the mine de-
layed the exploration and recovery OF the
bodies All of the victims save two we're Nor
mons. married. and leave large families. The
most acceptable theory as to the cause Of the
explosion Il this: Two foremen are employed To
examine the mine every night for nre-damp, Ia
that IL Is clear before the day shin goes on.
These men carry both open and safety lamps,
and IL Is believed one of them Nenturned into
some room with the former where unusual
quantity Of gas had accumulated. An eNplo-
sion occurred here i'm mine No. 3 in March,
1883, by which thlrty-twO Cinnamon and six
white men lost their lives. Mine No. 4, how
ever. was considered the model Of the camp,
and extreme carelcssness is the only reasonable
explanation OF the explosion. The funerals
tod