The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1896-02-22
MANY MINERS DEAD.
The Dreadful Event Occurs Close to The
Town OF Newcastle, Color inc
Sixty or More Men at Work
None Survive

Newcastle. Col, Feb. lo.-Ihe Nui-
can coal mine located in the hog-DacN
lust below town. was completely
wrecked and set on fire by terrihc gas
explosion shortly after ii o'ciock
Tuesday and all the workmen In the
mine were instantly oiled. About 90
men. including foremen and coal oper"
tors. were Ia the several rooms a'"ns
the slope when the explosion occurred,
and so great was the explosion that not
single man could have SURVIVED inc
shock. the gas or the fire which I'M
mcdlatcly ensued. The old Vuican
mine was abandoned some years $50
because OF fire. and THIS rev
mine viii, doubtless share SINH
lar fate. With the exception os
few hosres, the killed are llnl-
ians, but in the confusion and ~
element OF the day II has been imroF-
sible at this time to make a complete
roster OF names OF The unfor'nnntes
Awful Force OF tho Explosion.
The town OF Newcastle was shaken
as IL by an earthquake by the explosion,
and n dense black cloud obscuring the
site OF the Vulcan mine and workings
indicated only too plainly what had
occurred. The entire population
rushed TO the scene TO behold the sur
face worlSmen in the midst 81 thick
cloud OF dust trying in vain 70 start the
work OF resculng their unfortunate
fellow laborers within. The earth had
settled perceptibly about the hillside.
and the dense mass OF black smoke is
suing from crevices in the upheaved
mass gave evidence that the coal vein
had surely been set afre by the ex-
plosion. Women and children rushed
shrielSing and screaming to the scene,
adding to the confusion.
The mine owned by the Colorado
luel a Iron company, 2h miles away.
was promptly closed down, and all
hands FASTENED TO assist Supt. Herrick.
OF the Vulcan, in the work Of rescue,
but IL wna quickly seen that little could
be done. Herrick, with several men, hal
torn away the broken timbering at the
landing, and had rushed into the slope
soon after the explosion had occurred
with wet sponges on their nostrils. only
TO be driven back again by snc deadly
fumes. A special train was sent to thu
mine by the Colorado Midland Railway
company with medical assistants pre-
| pared TO assist in caring for wounded
IL any were rescued, but the sun went
down behind the mountains before any
| progress could be made.
The force or the explosion may be
imagined when IT is known that the
buildings and trestlc at the mouth of
the slope were completely wrecked,
hole 100 feet square carved out OF the
hillside at thi' mouth OF ehe incline,
while timbers two feet square were
blown into the Grand river, 400 feet
away. One miacr was on hia way down
| The slope when the explosion occurred,
and his nangled remains ware subse-
| qucntly found several hundred feet
away from the mouth OF the slope.
There were i10 men employed in and
about the mine at the time, and about
10 were at worl. underground Tuesday
morning.
Sixty or More Dead.
In the horrors of the day IL has been
impossible to obtain anything like ac !.
curatc information from the panic
stricken families as TO the names OF the
miners. The latest estimates place the
number OF men in the mine at GO or
more, and not one escaped death. Tho
names Of the company mon were only
known to the pit boss, james Harrison,
whose body lays with his dead CONF
rades in the bottom OF the Inflated
mine. and can only be ascertained by
the recovery of the bodies.
The entire slope is filed with debris.
and IL is now plainly evident that many
days must elapse before the bodies OF
the entombcd miners can be rescued
Since darkness fell the smoke seems TO
have perceptibly diminished, and IL MAJ
he that fire will not destroy the prop
erty, as was feared earlier in the dav.
but the force of the explosion was suf-
ficient in itself 10 practically destroy
the mine, and new workings will have
| 20 be started.
Scene OF the Disaster.
The prcsen. Vulcan mine has been
opened only about two years. State
Ccal Mine Inspector G-iili.a was here
February and pronounced the mine
| In better condition than a had ever
been before. An immense fan In tn,
slope, which was about 500 feet i'm
depth, seemed 10 afford complete ven
.iiation, and every possible precnution
was taken 10 prevent an explosion OF
the gas knows 10 exist In the mines
of this district. II is believed that o
high lighted fuse ign.ted the gas IN
one OF the new rooms while the men
were blasting Town coal. rte old Vul-
can mnc has been abandoned for sew
cral years and WIS IN no way cNnnect
cd with the Jrcrent property, a new
| alnne hnNinn ben driven ln.n the ILL.