Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-05-12
NOT ONE ESCAPED
To Tell the Story of the
Frightful Calamity.
Disastrous Explosion in Wash
ingtOn Coal Mine,
In Which Forty-SeVen Men
Lose Their Lives.
CARELESSNESS BELIEVED TO HAVE
BEEN THE CAUSE.
FACTS CONCERNING THE ACCIDENT
WILL NEVER BE KNOWN.


cumstances, Having Had Work but
Two Days Week for the Past Year.
Sad Scenes at the Mouth of the Slope.
RosLYN, Wash, May 12.-Tuesday
afternoon terrible gas explosion oc-
Cured in the slope of mine No. of the
Northern Pacific Coal company, at this
point, by which nearly half hundred
miners lost their lives
Most of the men were working 500
and 1000 feet from the opening when
the explosion occurred, and there is no
doubt in the minds of the miners or the
company's officials that every man was
Instantly killed.
The Roslyn mine is one of the largest
in the state, and has a capacity of 20, 900
tons day.
Manager Kangley, of the Roslyn
mines, says the explosion was caused by
gas, which was probably Lighted by a
match or tho careless use of lamp.
The true cause of the accident will
never be definitely known, as no one es-
capped to tell the story.
Many of the miners imprisoned are
married and their widows clamor wildly
about the entrance to the slope, Many
of the families are entirely destitute.
The slope is 1900 feet long, and has
several level or cross cuts, which inter
sect the slope horizontally at right
angles In opening some of these levels
it is impossible to get air circulating
through them until the work of opening
the level is completed.
The slope dipped at an angle of 20 de-
grees and was six feet high and fourteen
feet wide The levels are eight feet
square.
Seven hundred miners are at work
rescuing the bodies, only few of
which have been recovered. All were
terribly bruised and indicating death
instantaneous. The floor of the city
hail was converted into morgue. The
rescued bodies were viewed by crowds.
A sad feature of the disaster is that
large proportion of the victims leave
large families, and as they have not had
over two days work per week the past
year. many of them are in straitened
circumstances. The scenes about the
mouth of the slope We're sad in the ex-
treme, men, women and children stand
ing about in dazed oondition pitiful
lamentations of the negroes add to the
horrors
The OK plosion occurred just as two
gangs were shifting. Twoyboys in the
the tunnel escaped, but they are the only
ones.
In conversation Superintendent Har-
rison said that in his opinion the ex-
plosion occurred either in the sixth level
west, or in the seventh level east, and
his theory is that some OF the miners
struck drill hole full Of gas and water,
the former forcing the latter out and
bringing ii in contact with the miners
lamps. He is convinced that every
miner who was at work ON either OF the
three levels vt the time of the explosion
is dead. The bodies recovered are
burned, and in some instances charred.
Others show that death resulted sim
ply from conclusion. II appears that
those who were on the upper levels sus-
tanned greater mutilation than those
lower down. The relief work still con-
times and the miners are making every
effort to recover the bodies OF the dead.
II is thought that the lower levels are
free from fire, from the fact that the in
terror air is growing purer hourly.
The Victims.
The following is an authentic list of
the men who persisted:
Thomas Holdes, married.
John Foster, wife and baby.
Philip Davies, large family.
Thomas Reese, large family.
John Reese, son of Thomas
Win Robinson, wife and baby.
Robert Graham, wife and two chill
dren.
George Moses, leaves an orphan son
ten years old.
A. Pollard, cOlorea, married.
Jack Ferguson, large family,
George Brooks, family at Streator,
Illinois.
Joseph ellsworth, ST., large family.
Joseph Ellsworth, Jr.
John Lafferty, single, aged sixty-tive,
owner of considerable property
Dan McClelland, wife and three chill
dren.
Richard Forsythe family.
Scott Miles, colored, married.
Pruss Luving, colored, married.
Andrew Anderson, wife and four
children.
Charles Palmer, wife and child.
Mitchell Hale, single.
Mitchell Roland, large family, brother
of ex.Spperintendent Roland.
William Hague, single, only support
Of mother and crippled sister.
Ben Ostliss, large family.
John Danko, Italian, with family.
Jake Weatherbee, late mine boss at
No, 3, large family.
Joseph Browitt, family.
Thomas Breden, leaves wife and five
children.
Garry Car0phell. single.
James Houston, Culored.
Joseph Bennett, wife and two chill
dren
Wilson Steel family. Steel's son was
working with his father, but came ouf
last trip and escaped. He was knocked
down by the force of the explosion.
William Bennett, wife and three chill
drcn.
Joseph Islpay, son-in.law of ox-Super-
intendent Roland,
William Ps,hall, married.
SIDNEY Wright, brother of County
Ciork Thomas Wright family,
James Morgan, single.
Jack Boone. single, soon to marry