Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-03-28
Sixty Men Dead.
FEARFUL RESULT OF THE MINE
EXPLOSION AT RED CAN
ON, WYOMING
Fifty-One Women Became Widows and
Two Hundred and Fifty Children
Orphans in a Seconds Time.

EVANSTON, wy, March 21.-The to-
tai number known to have persisted in
the mine disaster at Red Canon yes
terday evening is 60, of whom 81 were
married men and nine young men and
boys. Up to this hour the bodies of
10 out of a total of So, who met their
death in the mine, have been recover
ed and turned over to their relatives.
This leaves 80 uncovered bodies in
the mine.
The timbering is largely blown out,
and the walls and roof of the whole
interior are wrecked and shattered so
that the volunteer searching party of
Is o seeking the bodies of their
comrades are every moment in danger
of being buried.
A Coroner's jury has been empanel-
ed, which views the remains as brought
out and turned over to relatives.
The agonizing creams of widows
and children about the mouth of the
mine beggar description.
The mules that were in the mine are
SO burned that they have to be re-
moved on account of the odor before
the work can proceed.
There are 81 widows and $50 or
phaned children as a result of the dis
aster.
About 30 of the men killed belonged
to the A. o. L. w, in which order
they were insured for $4,000 each.
The explosion in the mine shocked
the whole country around, wrecked
the powder plant, a farmhouse and sew
eral other buildings, entailing heavy
loss, but the death roll far over
shadows other considerations.
Immediately after the explosion
Superintendent Bradbury telephoned
to Evanston for all the physicians,
with an extra train. The re lief corps,
carrying lanterns, got ready to de-
scend in hopes of rescuing alive some
of the victims. The blacksmith shop
was turned into a dead house, with
four bodies lying therefore disfigur-
ed, with its head blown off; the others
less mangled.
Brave men had tried to descend some
of the air and escape slopes without
success, and it was not until three
hours after the explosion that a vol
unteer party entered the main en-
trance to the slopes and soon afterward
returned with two bodies. They re-
ported hat caves stopped further pro-
gress down the slope.
Then a party went down to clear
away the caves, after which the
searching party again entered and
work in that line is now going on.
The slope being down 1000 feet, with
nine levels, each n and a half miles
long, it will probably require several
days to reach all parts of the mine.
A few lives were saved because of
the time of the explosion The miners
quit work at 6 o'clock and it is Is
tomary for them to be near the en-
trance and come out just as the whis-
tie blows. A number of men had
come out and~some had just left the
entrance to the mine slope, away from
the working tunnel, when the explo-
sion occurred, thus escaping death.
Around the mine is a population of
about 1000.
Many families are bereft of their
fathers or sons. A more sorrowful
community could not be found.
The explosion is described by many
as most terrific, shaking the whole
town. The explosion is supposed to
have come from a blast setting fire to
dust, making a dust explosion, since
the mine was supposed to be free from
gas, and was well ventilated.
The Rocky Mountain Company, gem
orally designated as the Central Pacific
mines, has two mines, Nos. 8 and s,
with one-mile face, making two sepa-
rate mines with $50 feet of pillars sep
arating them. This leaves No. 6 UNI
harmed, but deprives the company of
one-half of its capacity.
This is the third disastrous explos-
ion in this vicinity. In 1861, No. two
mine, Rocky Mountain, exploded, kill
ing SO Chinese and four white men. In
the spring of 1886, an explosion in
Union Pacific mine No. 4 killed SO men.
Judge r. II. Spencer, of Decatur,
Tex, is visiting the families of w. J.
| and J. W. Mason and Mrs. ID. H.. Nc
Intyre.