Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-04-14
DEATH FOR SIX.
Explosion in a Montana Mine Re-
suits Disastrously.
Broken Rock Fills the Passageway
and Prevents Rescue of Bodies
Cause Of Accident Not Known.

Butte, Mont, April 11.--By IN explo.
sion in or near the magazine on tho
cast 1,1OO-foot level Of the ST.. Law
renee mine about 4:2O Saturday morn
ing six men lost their lives. They are:
Con. G. Lowney, John Quinlan, Ed
Shields, james Dwyer, John McVeigh,
Patrick O'Rourke. None of the men, as
stated at the mines, were married.
Lowney and Quinlan were shaftmen.
and were due to come off shift about
quarter of seven. The other four men
were working in the level beyond the
magazine and were off shift at 1880.
The magazine is situated $50 feet
east of the shaft. Lowney and Quinlan,
1t is supposed, had gone to the maya.
zine to make their primers. Just how
the explosion occurred is not known,
as the only ones in the vicinity at the
time are dead. Lowney and Quinlan
were undoubtedly killed instantly by
the explosion. The other four
men were probably suffocated by the
foul air caused by the explosion. 1t
is possible that the men were coming
off shift, and were passing the maya
zine or were near it when the explosion
took place. The exact situation in re-
gard to this will no. be known until
the bodies are reached, which will not
be for some time. For distance of As
feet from the magazine toward the
shaft the tagging was blown down, to-
gether with large quantities of rock and
earth, SO that it was impossible to get
nearer than that point at present.
The Work of Rescue.
a large force of men were put to work
at once. The wrecgage must be tun-
neled before the bodies can be reached.
Those at work could see some distance
from them the dismembered leg of a
man. AT present all is conjecture as to
the cause of the accident. Some are of
the opinion that Lowney and Quinlan
were printing at the time the explosion
occurred, but 1t is possible they may
have finished this work and been on
their way to the shaft, carrying some
powder with them, and the explosion
may have been caused by their lights.
Superintendent O'Neill says that both
were very careful men and would not
allow others to handle the powder Mr..
O'Neill states that there could not have
been to exceed two boxes of powder in
the magazine at the time, and Friday,
by his orders. the caps We're moved
away from the powder SO as to lessen
the probable danger. The news soon
spread about the city and numbers Of
men who have friends at work in the ST.
making anxious inquiries.
All Probably Dead.
1t was difficult to obtain particulars
until several hours after the accident
owing to the presence of the wrecka.e,
which prevented approach, and the
fact that no man in the vicinity g.
capped to tell the story. The deputy
mine inspector, John Miles, was noti-
fled and soon appeared at the mine
and descended to the 100 foot level.
Coroner Richards was also notified, and
Immediately repaired to the scene CT
the disaster. With the hope that there
might be some show for the four men
supposed to have been working beyond
the magazine, mir pipes were sent down
and fitted and the compressors started
to work. 1t is not thought, however,
there is any chance of their being
alive. They were working somewhere
within $50 feet east of the magazine
on the 100 foot level, and the explosion
either brought down tons of rock on
| them or choked them by foul air and
dust. There was no outlet whatever
from the place where they were work
ing except by the way of the magazine,
and the wreckage there would shut
them off. The men at work trying to
get to the place could hear no replies
to their calls, SO that there is no longer
any doubt but that all six men are dead
Quinlan, one of the victims, is a
young man who came here from Mich.
igan. Shields was an old Nevada miner
O'Rourke Is young man and unmar'
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