The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-03-27
FIFTY WIDOWS WEEP.
FIVE TIMES FIFTY ORPHAN CHILL
DREN CRY.
The Light of Sixty Lives Blown Out by One
Terrific Blast in Rock Mountain Mine.
Wyo- Searching For the Dead.

Terrific Blast In Rock Mountain Mine
Wyo Searching For the Dead.
EVANSTON, Wyo., March 21.-Ar
explosion occurred at s p. M. yester
day in the Rocky Mountain Coal anc
Iron Company mines. No. 5, at Rec
Canton. Up 70 noon today fifty-nint
deaths were known to have resulted
Those killed on the outside by flying
timbers were:
! James B. Bruce, foreman: O. Malt
by, superintendent of motive power
W. E. Cox, head carpenter; VIM. Sell
ers. Jr., James W. Clark, all married,
and Jerry Crawford, single
The following have been brought
out: Willard, James Lamb
Fred Morgan, married. and S. Clay
and W. H. Grieves, single.
The large force of men is now al
work to recover the bodies of the fol
lowing men, all married, known to
have been in the mine at the time oi
the explosion: VIM. Morris, John T
Clark, Jas. Clark, VIM. Langden Sr..
David Lloyd, John I. Martin, George
Critchler, Jhon Thebey, John Lester,
VIM. fWagstaff, Chas. S. Clark, Jas,
Hayden, Matt Silta, Walter Miller,
Samuel Hutchinson, John Dexter.
Henry Burton, Samuel Halsey, Tho
mas Booth, Ben Coles, Samuel Bates,
Thos. Hutchinson, Isaac johnson,
John Lamar, Angel Dermody. Bap,
tiste Julion, John Ferne, John Harley,
Matt Johnson. II. A. Sybon, VIM.
Pope, JOHN Wilkes. Chas. Kasola,
Gus Kasola. Aaron Butt, VIM Wee,
dop, Jas. Hutchinson. VIM. Sellers,
Sr., Hugh Sloan, Henry Sathren. and
the following unmarried men: Albert
Cark, VIM. Graham, Marshal Lang,
den, John Morris, David W. Lowey,
Geo. Hydes, John G.. Locke.
There are fifty widows and fully 25C
orphan children in the camp today as
the result of the disaster. There is
no fire in the mine and the work OF
recovering the dead bodies is proceed.
ing as rapidly as possible and will
probably not be completed today. The
interior of the mine is badly wrecked,
caved in many places and full of foul
air. .All the buildings at the mouth
OF the mine were wrecked. The en-,
trance to the mine is by vertical pas
sage into the side of a hill, not a per
pendicular shaft and the workings are
very extensive. No explanation OF
the disaster hasas yet been discovered.
The work Of recoving the bodies
goes steadily on, night and day, rushed
forward by volunteer squads of min
ers and other citizens who relieve each
other from time to time The work is
attended with grave peril and the first
group of miners who ventured to
brave the gas, fire damp and crumb-
ling walls We're overcome and had to
be rescued by others. The terrific
force Of the explosion in finding vent
at the mouth of the slope, blew the
heavily timbered shed over the mouth
of the slope and over the passageway
leading out to the tipple, clear into
space, moving down the tops of the
power house, tipple shed and other
buildings at the mouth of the slope,
more etfectually than chain shot could
have done.
\ little boy who had come to the
mine with horse and buggy to take
his grandfather, Henry Burton, home
at the close of the days work was driv-
ing over the slope near it mouth on
the public highway at the moment OF
the explosion. He and the horse and
buggy were thrown almost perpendi-
cularly in the air, fully twenty-five
feet and all fell in a heap into the
mouth of the slope, where the buggy
was demolished. The boy was picked
up unhurt and the horse, an hour la
ter, was rescued not much hurt appar-
emily. although badly signed and stun
ned. The shock of the explosion was
felt for miles around and was distinct
lv heard at Evanston, seven miles
The Rocky Mountain camp, general
| ly designated as the Central Pacific
mines, has two mines, Nos. and 6,
with one mine face, making two sep
arate mines with $50 feet pillars separat-
ing them. This leaves No. unharmed,
but deprires the company of one half
of its capacity. This is the third dis
astrous explosion in this vicinity. In
1881 No. 9 mine. Rocky Mountain, ex-
ploded, killing thirty six Chinese and
four white men. In the spring of
1886, in Unicn Pacific mine, No. 4,
thirty-six men were killed.
Newell Beeman, the manager, ar
rived from Salt Lake tonight and has
tened to the mine.
The scene about the mine last night
and today was hcart-sickening. The
air is filed with the agonizinc screams
of fifty widows and $50 orplants as
they gathered about and saw the dis
torted features and mangled remains
of father or husband, son or brother
or realized at last that there was no
hope to see their loved ones rescued
alive from the mines cruel depths
Help and succor have been rendered
from all sources. The mules that
were in the mine We're killed as were
the men, evidently by the force Of the
conclusion, and are removed as fast as
they can be reached
The explosion blew out or loosened
all the timbering and supports, and
cracked and shattered the walls and
roof of the interior of the mine, so
that the search for the dead is attend
ed with great peril. The work of re-
covering the dead becomes more diff
cult as the working parties advance
toward the seventh level, where it is
thought the thirty-eight men who have
not been found were gathered to await
the coming of the last man trip Of the
day which was to take them to the
surface.
\ few lives were saved because Of
The time of explosion. The miners
quit work at 6 o'clock and it is custo-
mary for them to be near the entrance
and come out just as the whistle blows.
4 number had conc out and some had
just left the, entrance to the mine slope,
away from the working tunnel. when
the explosion occurred, thus escaping
i