St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-20
OVER FIFTY MINERS ENTOMBED
BY THE EXPLOSION AT NEW
CASTLE, COL.
NOT ONE HAS BEEN SAVED.
NOxIOUS GASES MAKE THE woaK
OF RESCUE ALMOST IMPOSsI-
BILE.
THREE BODIES ARE TAKEN OUT,
And 1t Is Certain That More Than
Half Hundred Remain in
the Pit.

nlght throng of weeping women and
children stood about the mouth Of the
vulcan mine, while a hardy band Of
rescuers We're working earnestly and
systematically in the hope of soon being
able to reach the entombed miners. all
OF whom, 1t is conceded, must now be
dead
work was temporarily stopped about
noon today for the purpose Of flooding
the slope and chambers of the mine
with air, and of driving out If possible.
gases that remained. All night shifts
OF men working twenty-four hours
each were kept employed putting up an
air ran In the place of the two destroy
ed. simultaneously crews of five to
ten men were sent into the death trap
by way of the main slope entrance
and the air passage to work their way
to where the bodies of the dead men
lay. Fully twenty men, were carried
into the outer air overcome by the
gases, and the work being thus i'm
peded, progress was slow and the re-
suits discouragingly small At noon
today 500 fet of the main slope had
been penetrated and three bodies
brought out. The first body found was
that of Abel Dore, boy. The second
was that of Joe Dore, brother of Abel.
and the third was that of Frank Co
mikitchy, carpenter, brought out at
2:30 this morning. AS the work goes
on 1t becomes certain that the mine
HAS NOT CAUGHT FIRE.
How many more bodies remain with
in is still somewhat a matter of con-
lecture, although the most reliable
figures make the number forty-seven
The officials of the Vulcan Fuel com
pany have checked up fifty-one lamps
in all that were given out yesterday
morning Probably it will be found
that there are four or five more but
without any apparent question the
number of victims will not exceed fifty
six.
John French is the only man alive
who can tell anything about the con-
dltlons existing in the mine just prior
TO explosion. He was employed in the
main air passage yesterday morning
mending some of the timbering, and
owes his life to the fact that the gases
in the passages became so bad at IL
o'clock that his eyes gave out, and
he was compelled to quit work and
seek the outside air.
Rev. b. N. Mallory, of the Glenwood
| Springs Methodist church, has started
fund for the relief of the dead
Opinions differ as to the cause of
the explosion. Some say it was caused
by windy shot, others believe there
was an explosion of coal dust, assert
ing that the company had been negli-
gent in having the rooms sprinkled as
| OFTEN as the law requires 1T is i'm
| possible as yet to give a full and ac-
| eurate list of the killed, as the list
| OF those on duty ait the time Of the
| explosion is supposed to be in the
| pocket of Pit Boss James Harrison.
who lies at the bottom Of the slope,
| probably dead
| AS SEEN BY AN EYE WITNESS.
| DENVER, Feb. 19.-w. H. Medaris. a
| young miner, who arrived in Denver
| today from Newcastle, was an eve wit
ness of the terrible explosion yesterday
py which over sixty miners were killed.
| He. was expecting yesterday morning
| TO go to work in the mine for one of the
Dore boys, three of whom were killed.
but at the last moment his plans were
| changed. Mr.. Medaris says the eXplo-
| sion was caused in the same manner as
the one at the same mine eight or nine
| years ago. Gas, combined with coal
| dust, forms an excellent medium for
! all explosion, especially when there is
blowout" shot behind it. In this
| case, he says, shot was probably not
| We'll tamped, the tamper blew out and
| the flames set off the gas and dust.
Great precautions were taken in the
mine to avoid an explosion The men
| were all required to carry safety lamps,
and were not allowed to have any to-
bacco or matches. The Italians, how
ever, were careless, Mr.. Medaris saws.
and violated the regulations imposed
| upon them for their own protection
whenever they got a chance. The ex-
plosion shook the town, mile and a
half away from the mine. People rush.
ed from their houses, and saw that the
mountain appeared to be a mass of
smoke and dust. Only one body had
| been recovered when Mr.. Medaris left
| Newcastle last night. 1t was that of
Joe Dore, and was found about 200 feet
! from the mouth of the mine. He was
! coming out when the explosion &C.
CURED, and in two minutes more would
! have been safe. Mr.. Medaris saws the
scene at the mine and in Newcastle was
Of most heart-rending nature.
Faur Men Crushed to Death.
| SEVEY, Mich, Feb. 19.-Four men were
killed and seven seriously injured today by
a steam log hauler experimenting at Mckay
lumber camp. AT the point where the acct
dent occurred the snow was piled in high
banks. The engine became uncomfortable
and ran down the road at full speed, catching
! the men before escape was possible and COM
| pletely wrecking itself. Such q storm is rag
! ing that help is impossible except by means
the victims have not yet been ascertained