The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-05-11
NOT one CAME OUT ALIVE
Over Forty Coal Miners Are Killed
in One. Of the Roslyn
Properties.
FIRST Terrible Calamity That Has
Occurred in Those Wash
tngton Mines.
Every Man Of the Afternoon shift Lost II i.
Life-sever.l Bodies Recovered
The Victims.

RosLYN, Wash.. May 10.-The first acci-
Gent Of any note at the coal mines Of this
place occurred about 1:3O this afternoon
just after the afternoon shift had gone on.
A driver had just eoms ont Of the slope
when Tremendous explosion Of gas oc-
Cured. Tho shock upset. his cars,
knosked the mules and driver down,
and bruised man standing one
hundred fest away. The report wAs heard
all over town milo away. The mouth OF
the slope was soon surrounded BY an
anxious crowd, which grew in size every
minute. The number Of men in the slope
is not actually known, but is known to be
forty-four to fifty. There is scarce
~ possibility that one OF them
escaped death. One body was recovered in
about two hours, another an hour later,
two more at 7:30. All were terribly burned
and there we're Indications that death Was
instantansous. The lower floor of the city
hall was converted into morgue. A sad
feature OF the disaster is that
large proportion Of the victims leave
large families, and as they have not had to
exceed two days work per week during the
past year, many Of them wsre in straight
sned circumstances.
The scenes about the mouth Of the slope
were sad in the extreme, men, women and
children standing about in dRzed condi-
tion. The pitiful lamentations Of the ne
groes add to the horror.
The following is list of mon who were
working in the mine at the time Of the
explosion: Thomas Holmes. John Foster,
Philip Davies, Thomas Rees, John Rees,
Tlnl
George Moses, A. Pollard, Jack
Ferguson, George Brooks. Joseph Ellsworth,
sr., Joseph Ellsworth, Jr., John Lafferty,
John Mcclellan, Richard Forsythe, George
Forsythe, T. B. Cooper, Lishe Jackson.
Scott Giles. Pruss Luving. An
drew Erlanger, Charles Palmer, Mitchell
Hall, Mitchell Ronald, Winston Steele,
VIM. Haig, Eben Olsifsr, John Danks,
Jake Wethsrby. Joseph Brewell, Thomas
Bender, Harry Campbell, James Houston.
Joseph Bennett. William Bennett, Joseph
lsnay, Wm. Psnhalis, Sidney Wright,
James Morgan. Jack Bone. Herman Deu-
ater.
The slope in which the explosion oc-
CURED runs from No. 2 down to a point
1000 feet in length: Several levels have
it is conjeotured that the explosion
occurred at some point on the fourth or
fifth level. For the past two months moro
or less danger has been connected with
work in this part of the slope on account
OF the unusual aensrstion Of gas, and the
management is credited with having exsr-
oised the usual preoautious. Tho air
oourees were in process of construction in
the vioinitv of the explosion, with the in
tention of joining, and it is presumed that
when the two COURSES met the explosion CO.
Cured
Persons who were at the opening of the
slope pronounced the conclusion terrible
it being sufficient to at least throw coal
car some distance from a point where it
was standing al the entrance. Great
volumes of after damp and smoke rolled
from the entrance, making approach dan
rssouers set to work, but progress was i'm
peded by the smoke and damp which the
tunnel continued to emit.
From the fearful wreckaRe of the slope
interior, and the doubt as TO the existence
of fire in the lower level. there is no way Of
determining how soon the bodies can be
recovered. Several of the miners taken out
are badly mutilated, in one instance the
head being severed from the body. This is
the second fatal gas explosion that has oc-
Cured in this slope within the past two
months. The frat resulted in the death of
a negro driver, to whose oarelessness it was
attributed at the time.
Ex-Superintendent Renold, who was in
the employ of the company there. said the
slope was dangerous to an unusual degree
md recommended extraordinary precau-
tions. 1t 10 stated that Acting superin-
tendent Harrison has been very careful
with the work and cautioned the mon to
observe that their lamps we're in proper
shape when entering places posted as dan
QerOuS.