The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-04-09


tives In the BeliIngham Bay Cities
In n Few Minutes the shift Would
Have Changed Miraculous Escape
of Miner Kerns. Whose Light Was
Extinguished and Whose Com
panion Was Killed.
whatcom. April s.-special.-An ex-
ploston of fire damp in the
Blue Canyon coal mine. on Lake
Whatcom, fifteen miles from this
city at 2:f5 this afternoon, killed twen-
~ three men. ". \. Telford came from
the mine tonight. He was at the bank
ers when the explosion occurred. He
went 10 the incline and found James
Kerns at the mouth of the shaft, nearly
dead with exhaustion. kerns said al
in the mine were dead. He had carried
Ben Morgan as far as he was able and
then dropped him. Morgn, he thought.
was dead kerns and Gellon were the
only ones who escaped out OF the TWEEN
ty-five who were at work. Tom VAL
entine and ]. o. Anderson were the In
cline men, and they escaped. At the
switch OF the gangway, 800 feet from
the mouth of the tunnel, Ecklund and
Telford found the body of George Rob
erts, and beyond were three loaded cars
which had been blown off the track They
next found the body of Ben Morgan,
where II was dropped by Kerns. Eek
lund and others. They were unable to
20 beyond room 81, 800 feet from the angle
of the tunnel gangway. The safety
lamps went out and the gas drove the
explorers back. In room Il they foun1
the bodies OF Thomas Conlin and James
Kirby.
Engineer j. ]. Donovan, OF the mine.
was notified at his home in Fairhaven.
and left with a party of men experienced
in underground work. They left this
evening on a special train over the Bel
lingfam Bay a. Eastern and took the
steamer Thistle 10 the mine. Physicians
accompanied them.
a. m.-The Post-Intelligencer cor
respondent has just returned from the
scene OF the terrible disaster at the Biue
Canyon coal mine. fifteen miles from this
city, on Lake Whatcom. and is In pos
esssion of all the particulars now OBJ
tainable
In the blacksmith shop near the en-
trance TO the main tunnel lie the black
cnei bodies Of twenty-three dead miners.
white only two of all who We're in the
mine when the explosion occurred lived
10 tell the story OF the frightful catas-
trophe and their own miraculous escape.
Following are the names Of the killed:
Mine Superintendent David Y. Jones:
leaves a wife. no children.
Andrew Anderson: wife and one child.
James McAndrews; So years old;
brother Of ev-Marshal McAndrews. Of
this city leaves a wife at Blue Canyon.
james Kirkley leaves n wife. who is
sister Of County Commissioner Rogers.
Kirk Atinske leaves a wife and foup
children.
All the others are single men, namely:
Charles Silverman.
g. Ramherg.
William Iyster
Samuel Olsen.
James McNulty.
j. A. Morgan.
Martin M. Blum.
+. T. Chase.
Charles Carlson.
H. Ravett. of FairhaveA
Philip Binkle,
William Evans.
J. Williams.
Alex Hendrickson-
Ben Morgan.
Thomas Conlin. brother Of Deputy
Sheriff Conln.
Lucas Lo'aka.
The two men who escaped are Edward
Gellon Of Fairhaven. who was working
pany with George Roberts. and James
Kerue The latter was working with
Ben Morgan IN room Is of the gang
way, the outermost OF all the rooms in
which work was going on.
The eNDioslon occurred shortly before
o'clock. when the sh1t would nave been
changed, and the miners OF the new
shfs were already climbing the steep hill
from the bunxhouse TO take the places
OF the men KILLED.
The disaster Was undoubtedly caused
by an accumulation OF fire damp which
was explode by a blast in the breast OF
the xauwway The faces Of the men w.O
were working IN the breast are badly
burned. bat a majority OF those Who
we're working tn the room of the gang
way are only slightly disigured hy the
IRE. and many OF them rot at all
PHYSICIANS and miners say that the
men working in the breast must have
been Killed hy the shock OF the eSpio-
sion. while the others sihcc9nbed 10 the
after damp as they slid down from the
rooms 20 the gangway, then filled with
deadly gas
Thls rangway IS reached by a tunnel
~ feet long and the distance from she
iutersect tion Of the sangwsy 70 The breast
where the explosion took place IS about
leo feat The main air saaft reaches The
san-wav about la9 feet from the tunnel,
ana air Is supplied by a fan worked hy
water power ard which was no, effected
by the explosion.
kerns. tae only rniner WAC escaped
from snv % the rooms. says that he was
rat stunned or even thrown Gown hy
+aa shock. though Morgan, Who was
vae-sirr vlth hin. was killef. kccns'
ieht was not ext5aEuisaea and he Saw
TO ERE
FFe sl3f DOWN the chute 30 the gaaSWay.
losing his Ifrht I'm some way. 27a uan-
.rAs - make his way "a fhe darkness
in some miraculous manner along the
,.,fsarorsx rsasSare. over dEa3 bodies and
r,leS og coal looseaed hy the explosion
=, ne orsen air btt before he reached
re, entrance ,he work of rescue hat Al
ready commenced. faus IN tac tunnel Be
v4,es "a ,sa~zv az brave miners sroping trelr
way inward as fssI as ine escape of the
poisonous gas permitted This party and
sshers following pushed thet~ way iIto
the -asHe and carried 0ut. ore ~ one.
tNa bodies ~ she stain
TIE rrst fs1<ty fegnt was thar % the
tr,sl}e driver iy3rr Ae~.Ge fhe dead animal.
ssa fset from the uinc entrance FFaD
thera So xfe fata - fage Ea1g@ sy. 1ts-