The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-02-19

the sun went down behind the mountains
before any progress could be made.
!" The force of the explosion may be
imagined when it is known that the
buildings and trestle at the mouth of the
slope were completely wrecked, hole 100
feet square carved out OF the hillside at
the mouth OF the incline, while tim bers
two feet square were blown into the Grand
River, 400 feet away. One miner was on
his way down the slope when the explo-
sion occurred, and his mangled remains
were subsequently found several hundred
feet away from the mouth of the slope.
There were 140 men employed in and
about the mine at the time, and about
sixty were at work under ground this
morning. The present Vulcan mine has
been opened only about two years. State
Coal Mine Inspector Griffith was here
February g. and pronounced the mine IN
better condition than it had ever been be-
fore. An immense fan in the slope, which
was about 500 feet in depth, seemed to
afford complete ventilation, and every pos
sible precaution was taken 10 prevent an
explosionlo of the gas known to exist in the
mines OF this district.
1t is believed that a half-lighted fuse
ignited the gas in one of the new rooms
while the men were blasting down coal.
The Old Vulcan mine has been abandoned
for several years and was in no way con-
nected with the present property, a new
slope having been driven into the hillside.
The Vulcan Fuel Company operates the
property, which is owned by the Atchi-
son, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Com
pany, with headquarters at Topeka, Kans.
Just at this time the mine was being
worked to It's full capacity, the output
being from seventeen to twenty cars per
dav.
The entire slope is filled with debris, and
it is now plainly evident that many days
must elapse before the bodies of the en-
tombed miners can be rescued. Since
darkness fell the smoke seems to have per-
ceptibly diminished, and it may be that
the fire will not destroy the property as
was first feared earlier in the day, but the
force of the explosion was sufficient in
itself to practically destroy the mine, and
new workings will have to be started.
The latest estimates place the number of
men in the mine at sixty or more, and not
one escaped death.
The names of the company men were
only known to the pit boss, James Har-
rison, whose body lies with his dead COM
rades in the bottom of the ill-fated mine,
and can only be ascertained by the re-
covery of the bodies. From the lamp list
and information gained from those above
ground, the following thirty-eight are posi-
lively known to be among the killed;
James Harrison, pit boss; Tom Larrigan,
fire boss; three brothers, Joe. William and
A be Dore; Peter Patricio, Daniel Morris.
Gabriel Gleese, Frank Rossio, Baptisto
Chowcett, August Matteve, John Scaif,
Alex Scaif Philip Racha, Peter Brewer,
Frederic Sigmond, Antonio Patricio, John
Pactori, John Coughlan, William Webb,
William Haggerty, Dominic Matteno,
Frank McGourIy, Robert Cattle Jr., Alex
Reno, Frank Simonic, Robert Seitiger,
Jacob Jenkins, Domino Ozello, John
Oteno, James Fraegna, Domino Possetti,
Peter Tappero, Antonio Tappero, Andrew
Rolando. Peter Magenta, Antonio Martino
and David Evans.
Most of these men leave large families.