The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-10

/
| ordinarily quiet little coal mining vil-
| lage was stunned with the first report
of a terrific subterranean explosion in
the mine of the Carbon Hill Coal COM
! pany, the tunnels of which run for
miles under the town. There was an
I ominous rumbling, smothered sound for
| a few moments and then it ceased alb
ruptiy. People who had been accus-
toned to a livelihood by mining knew
at once what this meant and stood
| around with blanched faces.
| Apprehensions Of some fearful disas-
| ter were confirmed in little while with
information that the morning shift in
| tunnel No 7 had been caught in an ex
\ plosion OF firedamp. Between 70 and
SO men We're at work in the mine at the
i time and the meager report conveyed
the einformation that all must have been
killed, as there was no chance Of ses-
cape. Those who were not killed out
right would be henmed in by the fall
ing walls and timbers and suffocated
by the fumes and smoke before any op-
| portunity of relief could come.
A rush of the Inhabitants was made
in the direction of the mouth of the
| tunnel Women, the wives of the men
supposed to be-in the shaft, ran to and
| fro screaming and wringing their
hands with anguish, crying children
clinging to their skirts.
1t was all that b. 7. Davies, the SUI
perintendent of the mine, could do to
keep the friends of the doomed miners
and their wives from plunging madly
| into the tunnels mouth.
| The coal mines here are those of the
Carbon Hill Coal company, but they
really belong to the Southern Pacific
Railroad company. The coal is a soft.
bituminous variety. productive of a
large, proportion OF gas and probab bly,
much used IN gas Smanufactnre The
| foreman in charge of the shift was ].
4 III. Davis It Is said that IS men were
! working under him. Sixteen bodies, all
mangled out Of recognition, have so far
been taken out by the relief corps
Details Are Meaeer.
So far details of the disaster are mea-
ger as Superintendent Davies and
Foreman Jonas Davis of the day shift
are now down in the mine engaged in
the rescue. The number of men en-
ployed on the first day shift was T.
| Their hours are from a. m. to 3 p.
m. The explosion occurred at between
10 and II a. M, as near as can be as
certained. Jonas Davis, the foreman,
escaped unhurt and besides him about
20 Firms. Most of the men are Welsh
and several of the Welsh miners also
escaped, but they Immediately turned
to and went back into the mine in the
hope of being able to rescue those still
supposed to be alive. So far as known
the following were killed:
/ REESE JONES, day boss, aged 80,
Il unmarried. ~
DAN DAVIS, 1S.
EVAN LEWIS. 20.
RICHARD BURR, a young man,
/ leaves widow and one child.
JOHN JONES' 81, leaves widow and
married daughter.
THOMAS EDWARDS, 40, leaves
widow.
| and six children.
HOWELL MEREDITH, SO, leaves
widow and nine children, of whom two
are married sons and two are daugh-
ters.
Howard Meredith was working con-
siderably above the water level when
the explosion occurred, and he lowered
himself down timber chute to rescue
one of his sons. Daniel Meredith, w ork-
ing below. The son came out un-
harmed, but his father is still down
in the mine and one of the rescue force
says he saw his dead body. The tun-
mel in which the explosion took rlace
I
length on a water level under the
southwestern part of the town. There
are several air chutes running up to
the surface of Wingate hill, west of
| here.
Terrific Explosion.
| The force of the explosion was such
that it knocked down John Ryan, So
called Finn, who was working at The
eighth crosscut, 800 feet above the water
level. -
Il The depth of the mine varies from eco
to about 1000 feet, according to the con-
tour of the surface
The other Films escaped up through
an old timber chute running up to the
slope of the hill These We're all unin-
at once without helping the rescue
party.
Dave Lewis was working with How
ell Meredith at the time, but he man
aged to escape. Ryan, the Finn. had
all he could do to crawl through the
fallen timbers. which blocked all
egress. Immediately after the explo-
sion the foreman, Jonas Davis, gave
the alarm to the men working on the
different levels. shouting as loud as Re
could:
Look out for the black damp and get
out for your lives
The Firms were quick to take adj
vantage of the timber chute. Alto
gether some 80 men escaped by this
means, many of them being hoisted up
by ropes Reese Meredith, son of
Howell Meredith, descended the incline
from near the company's store and Of
flee about two hours after the explo-
sion. with several other men.
Ever since the catastrophe Superin-
tendent Davies and Foreman Jonas
Davis have been fighting against the
great odds Of this deadly gas, aided
by the brave Welshmen Just at this
moment, S:45 p. M, a number of men
have been pulled up through the timber
chute near the summit of Wingate hill
from depth of several hundred feet.
They were picked up from six of the