The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-05-11
FORTY OR FIFTY ENTOMBED
Disastrous Explosion in the Slope of a
COal-Mine at ROslyn, Wash.
Bodies of Some of the Men Working Near the
Entrance Taken Out in Bruised and Black
ened Condition-All May Have Perished.

RosLYN, Wash. May 10-The first acci-
place occurred at about 1:3O o'clock this
afternoon. just after the afternoon shift
had gone in. A driver had just come ont of
the slope when a tremendous explosion
occurred. The shot upset his cars.
knocked mules and driver down and
bruised a man standing one hundred fee.
away. The report was heard all over
town, q mile away. The mouth of the slope
was soon surrounded by an anxious crowd,
which grew In size every minute. A hard
rain was pouring down. but the
crowd needed il not. The num-
ber of men in the slope Is not
acutually known, but it IS known
to be from forty four to fifty, There is
scarcely possibility that one of them es-
capped death. One body was recovered IN
about two hours. another an hour later
and two more at 7:30. All were terribly
bruised, indicating death instantly. The
floor of the City Hall has been converted
into morgue. The rescued bodies are being
viewed by crowds. A sad feature of tho
disaster is that all the victims leave large
families. Many of them are in straitened
circumstances. The scenes about the
mouth of the slope were sad in the ex-
treme. The bodies first recovered were
those of miners working nearest the OPEN
ing Most of the men were 1900 and
1000 feet further in the slope and
in the immediate vicinity of the
accident. There is no doubt, either in the
minds Of miners or the company ofiiaials.
fal An
Roslyn mine is one of the largest in the
State, supplying the western divisions of
the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific
railroads with coal, and has q capacity of
twenty thousand tons a day. Two boys
who were in the tunnel escaped. Repor is
so far received indicated that the explosion
had closed up the shaft, and that the mine
is on fire.
Following is list of the men who were
ct work on the three levels that were
ffected and their conditions as to being
single or married mon:
THOMAS HOLMES, married.
JOHN FOSTER, wife and baby.
PHILLIP DAVIES. large family.
THOMAS EWES, large family.
WILL ROBINSON, wife and baby.
ROBERT GRAHAM, wife and two children.
GEORGE MOSES.
A. POLLARD, coIored, married.
JACK FERGUSON large family.
GEORGE BROOKS, family at Streator, Ill.
JOsEPH ELLSWORTH, ST., large family.
JOSEPH ELLSWORTH. Jr.
JOHN LAFFRRTT, single, aged sixty
DANIEL MCCLELLAN, wife and three children.
RICHARD FoRsYTHE, family.
GEORGE FORsYTHE. son of above, single.
L. Il. COOPER, married.
LISTIE JACKSON tc0lOred), married.
SCOTT GILES (colOredl, married.
PRUss LIVING tcOlOred), married.
ANDREW ERLANDER, wife and four children.
CHAs PALMER, wife and child.
MITCHELL HALE, single.
MITCHELL RONALD. largo family, brother of ex-
Superintendent Ronald.
WINSTON STEELE, family.
WILLIAM CAGUE, single, only support OF
mother and crippled sister.
EBES OLsiFER, large family.
JOHN DANKs, Italian, with family
JAKR W.ATHERBY, large family.
JOSEPH BRHWEIL. family.
THOMAS I. CONDON, wife and nine children.
HARRY CAMPBELL, single
JAMES HOUSTON, tcolOred).
JOSEPH BEENET, wife and two children.
WILLIAM BENNETT, wife and three children in
Europe.
JOSEPH IsMAY, son-in- law of ex-supcrinten-
dent Ronald.
WILL RENTALS, married.
SIDNEY WRIGHT. brother OF County Clerk
Thomas Wright, family.