Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-01-17
ANOTHER NINE HORROR.
yoRKoNs BLOWN TO ATOMS.


I. Tsrrthie Exeiesten On msnn Nc =, a.
.,m,. 10 vyenainr TersisoFy-Thsrseen men
KtileG.
IBy telexrsph 70 the Dispateh.l
EVANSTON. Wye, january To-
The details OF the fire-damp explosion
Which occurred In Mine No. 4 at Amy
Il early hour Wednesday morning have
lust reached here, and show 1t TO have
been one of the most serious IN the his
tory Of the Roeky-mountain coal mines.
Occurring as it did at night, when only
q light force Of miners was at work,
the death-roll was limited TO thirteen
souls; bat had it taken place during
the day the loss OF life must have run
up into hundreds, for every person IN
the nine ct the time met with instant
death.
FORCE OF THE EXPLOSION.
The whole face OF the country, and
that portion Of the settlement fronting
the slope, gives evidence of the terrible
force Of the explosion. The weigh
house and farmhouse were entirely de-
molished and the engine-hOuse wrecked,
while residences and buslness-houses
lost fronts. windows, doors, and chin
news. The mouth Of the slope has the
appearance Of huge funnel, from
which fully thousand cubic yards o.
rock have been torn and distributed
over the adjacent country.
A train OF thirteen cars going down
into the mine al the time OF the explo-
sion was broken into fragments and
shot out as though from the mouth Of
cannon. William and Joseph Evans,
passenger thereon, were most terribly
mutilated, the former beng blown over
the engine-house.
A CHASTITY TRUNK.
a portion of torn body was found
seven hundred feet from the mouth Of
the slope minus head and arms and con
tents OF the stomach. 1t had bounded
and rolled fully thirty yards after
striking the ground. The timbers and
track for seventy feet inside the slope
were torn up and scattered over the
surrounding country, and the ground
for fully half mile from the mouth Of
the mine was covered with pieces Of
cars. ties, timhers, and other dsbrss.
WONDERFUL ESCAPES.
Every air.sh2ft 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,
$50 yards from the slope, and fell be
tween two beds occupied at the time
by himself and family.
John Smith lives in house IN front
OF the aiT-shaft IN the mouth OF the
mine. Here the force Of the explosion
tore q great hole III the earth twenty
feet IN diameter, and q rock weighing
over q ton fell through the roof into
the kitchen, demolishing the stove.
The store OF Beckwith, Quinn q Co.,
goo feet away. lost Its front, and some
goods were damaged. a wheel from a
pit-csr passed through all clubhouse
near by, as if thrown from a catapult.
The mines are worked by Beckwith,
Quinn d Co.. under contract with the
Urion Pacific.
BODIES FOUND.
Thirteen men were az work IN the
mine az the time Of the explosion. The
bodies Of two were found yesterday II
the eleventh level. Only one was
burned seriously. The remainder were
evidently killed instantly by the force
Of the conclusion. John Hunter, who
was driving q mule attached 10 q tram
Of cars IN the sixth level, was found be-
tween the first and second cars. and the
mule had been blown backward and
wedged INTO the fifth car, with its legs
II the air. The slope up to this point
has the appearance Of having been
cleanly swept, but otherwise is the same
az seen every day. The mine did not
take fire as at first reported, and nothing
save the destruction Of the farmhouse
and the consequent trouble In getting
pure air into the mine delayed the ex-
ploratlon and recovery Of the bodies.
AL of the victims save two were Nor
mons, married, and leave large families.
CAUSE OF EXPLOSION.
The most acceptable theory as to the
cause Of the explosion Is TINS Two
ioremen are employed to examine the
mine every night tor fire-damp. to see
that It is clear before the day-shift goes
Oh. These men carry both open and
safety lamps. and II Is believed one OF
them yentured into some room with al
open lamp where al unusual quantity
OF gas had accumulated.
an explosion occurred here III Mine
No. . In March, 1888. by which thirty
two Cinnamon and six white men lost
their lives. Mine No. 4, however. was
considered the model Of the camp, and
extreme carelessness Is the only res-
sonable explanation Of the explosion
The funerals will occur to-day.