The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-05-12
THE NINE DISASTER.
1hlrty.four Lives Lost mt Roslyn-Work of
discovering tho Uouics

1hlrty.four Lives Lost at Roslyn-Worls of
Recovering tho Bodies.
RosLYX, WASH, May 11.AThis morn.
ing dawned upon crowd OF weary and
grief stricken watchers who kept all
night vigil at tho scene OF Yesterdays
explosion. At midnight, much to tho
regret OF tho rcscuers, they were CON-
pcllcd to cease their labors owing to ex-
cessivo accumulation Of fire damp.
Early this morning the work OF rescue
was resumed. There arc seven drifts
in tho slope, and the fourteen bodies
thus far recovered were found between
tho first and fifth. The sixth and sev.
enth Ind not been reached. Tho res-
cuing party were building n brntticc,
which caused several hours delay. 1t
is expected large number OF bodies
will be found when the last two drifts
arc reached, rs most OF tho men were
at work there at the time of tho cxplo-
sion. tsnE
Tho exact cause OF tho terrible explo-
slon in which thfrty-four men pcrishcd
wilt probably never bo known, us it is
now certain that cvcrym man in the mine
was killed. The most reasonable con-
clusion is that miner struck gas
pocket or feeder. which suddenly filled
tho slope and became ignited by the
miners lamps.
At three o'clock this afternoon, four
teen bodies had been taken out. Tho
work OF relief is slow, owing to the
wrecked condition Of the interior OF the
mine and possibly another forty-eight
hours will elapsc before the lowest level
is reached. Arumor is being circulated
that the slope work was considered
dangerous for the past three months,
but men who have been working steadi-
ly discountGnance the statement. Every
morning the mines have been inspected
by a competent foreman and his report
bullctincd at tho entrance to the mine.
On the day Of the explosion gas was re-
ported in the sixth west entry and the
sixth east main way. All these gases
were removed by Foreman John Shaw
and the men put to work. They worked
from Z 4. IN. until the explosion oc-
CURED ut | 40 p. m. with naked lamps:
At noon tho mine was reported free
from gas, about forty-fve thousand cubic
feet of air having been forced. into the
slope, the law requiring one hundred
,teetpor minute. ~
E. On an average about sixty men work
ed in the slope. Tho men killed by the
explosion were scattered from the
fourth east and west entries to the
seventh east entry.
a corps OF undertakers with two car
loads Of collins arrived from Tacoma to-
day. Tho coroner's jury was -cmpan-
elled, but no inquest will be held until
the remaining bodies are recovered. As
soon as prepared the bodies are taken
to their late homes, where they are sur
rounded by weeping wives and children.
Nearly all the men in the slope were
men with families.
General Manager Keneley, OF the coal
company, Says they will meet all the
present necessities OF the suffering
families: There are many instances OF
destltuton.
Geo. Moses left boy eight years old
with no relatives. Osliff left five Young
children. David and Thomas Reese,
father and son, left family Of three
children to the mothers care. The
CutworLhs, father and son, leave a
family OF ten. Robert Brook had just
arrived with his family from streator,
Ill. They are destitute. Wm. Hague
leaves nm invalid and crippled
sister and q mother without
support. r. Forsyth leaves
family solely dependent. upon
him. William Steele leaves large
family in poor circumstances. Thomas
Brennan, who only went to work yes
terday, after three months idlencss,
leaves family OF nine children desti-
tute. Palmer leaves wife and child
unprovided for. The accumulation OF
gas in tho mine is too great to allow of
pushing the work OF exploration for
the dead, and probably no more bodies
will be recovered before tomorrow.
John Kanglev, general manager OF the
Northern Pacific Coal Company, who
arrived this morning, said:
Possibly forty-three men were killed.
We have already recovered fourteen
bodies. All the men were working with
naked lights except in the sixth east
canSway, in which three men were
usingisafety lamps. The supposition is
that some one struck q sudden outourst
OF gas pocket or feeder, which suddenly
filed the slope and became ignitcd by
some means"
The mine was in tho best possible
condition that any mine could be for
ventilation and safety OF life, and no one
hero attaches any blanc to the. COM
pany.