Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-12-15
Carbonate HORROR.
A MINE EXPLOSION RESULTS IN
THIRTY-ONE DEATHS.

SHty-SeVen DepeuucHtS WIZ LII fs"'h'eSS-
The Injured Need Help Sixteen Widows
and Forty-fivc Children Lose Brcad-Winners
Tho Cause of the Explosion Miners To-
bacco Pipe.
One of the most narrowing disas-
tiers that has ever brought misery
upon a community in the Northwest
befell Carbonate at about IL As A. NJ.
Saturday. The inhabitants were
warned of the disaster by an ominous
rumbling, smothered sound for few
moments, which terminated abruptly
but the ears of anxious dependents
knew too we'll its dread import, for
they had been attuned by constant
dread to a quick realization of the pos.
sibilities of the perilous life of the
deliver in the bowels of the earth.
The apprehension of disaster was soon
confirmed by the paralyzing informa-
ton that an explosion of fire-damp
had taken place in Tunnel No. 7,
while the morning shift, consisting oil
about 70 men, were at work in the
mine at the time.
The mouth OF the shaft was the
scene of heart-rending picture, with
the frantic wiz es OF the men supposed
to be killed or imprisoned within the
death-trap, rushing to and fro,
and with crying children clinging
to their skirts. 1t was difficult to
keep the distracted women from
plunging madly into the tunnels
mouth.
Jonah Davis, the foreman, and
about 20 Fins, and several Welsh
miners escaped, but Immediately re-
turned to the mine in the hopes OF
rescue of such of their comrades as
had escaped death.
The tunnel in which the explosion
took place is about one and one
quarter miles in length on water
level under the southwest part of the
town. There are several air chutes
running up to the surface OF Wingate
Hill, west of there. The force of the
explosion was such that it knocked
down John Ryan, a Finn, who was
working at the eighth cross-cut, 800
feet above the water level. The other
Firms escaped through an old timber
chute running up to the slope of the
hill. They were all uninjured, but
most of them lett the mine at once
without helping the rescue party.
Two hours after the explosion, res
cuers could only go hall mile under
ground when their progress was
checked by the black damp, which is
air from which all oxygen has been
burned and is strongly charged with
carbonic acid gas.
At 8 :45 P. NJ. number of men were
pulled up through the timber chute
near the summit of Wingate hill from
a depth of several hundred feet.
They were picked up from six Of the
levels near the water level. Three
more were rescued through the in
clined tramway. All of them were
badly blackened and burned and were
Immediately taken to the company's
hospital and there wrapped in cloth
soaked in linseed oil.
The following were killed either by
explosion or fire-damp:
Rees Jones, fire boss, aged 80, I'M
Dan Davis, Is; Evan Lewis,
20; Richard Dare, q, left widow and
one child; John Jones, Ga, left widow
and married daughter; Thomas Ed
wards, 40, left widow; Evan Richards,
30, left widow and six children; Joe
Thomas, q, single; Evan Lewis,
single; Watt Jones, 80, left mother /;
Richards, As, left family;
Kachenko, 25, single; Joe
Lee, "a, single; - Mullen, 30, left a
Gustave Knutt and H.
Knutt; - Johnson, 40, left a family;
Ben Zeddler and B. Zeddler, father
and son; d. s. Thomas, so, left fam
lily; William M. Davis, 35, left fam.
lily; Howell Meredith, SO, left widow
and nine children, of whom two are
sons and two are daughters.
Missing company men: Michael
Knish, Leonard johnson, j. II. Jones,
Henry Solni, Michael Kichinko, Will
liam Wilson, John Melon, David X.
Thomas, Matt Rihla, Ben Zedler, jr.,
John Hill, Howell Meredith, sr., Wat.
kin Jones, Andrew Gecey, Evan NJ.
Lewis, Joe Lee, Richard Dare, Daniel
Davis, Rees Jones, Peter Merpax-20.
Missing contract men: August
Hainaut, Matt Nuland, Paul Curtiss,
Adam Pavoll, John Sofia, John P. De-
konink, Ben Zedler, ST., Emil
Hainaut, T. J. Edwards, Evan Rich
ards, Joseph Thomas. Steve Kromoga,
M. Davis, Jacob Lande-14.
The mines are owned by the Carbon
Hill Coal Company. They give work
te 400 men, and have an output of
SOC, 900 tons annually, and are stu
ated 40 miles from Tacoma, ON the
Cascade division Of the Northern Pa
ciiic. The mines are in a deep ravine,
which the Carbon river flows.
1t is a glacial river. The mines are
supplied with every appliance for
safety. They are largely tunneled,
and the tunnels are so big that loco
motives are run into them.
In 1890 an explosion at the same
mine cost two lives, and John Hart
man and some others were severely
burned.
Developments during Tuesday
proved that old man Ben Zeidler's to.
bacco pipe had been responsible for
the disaster and the twenty three
fresh graves. Foreman Robert Cox's
gang found Zeidler's corncob pipe and
a bag containing about two ounces of
strong cut tobacco early that morn
ing near where his corpse was discov-
cred the evening previously, by Fore
man Lewis searching party. From
all appearances the old man had Just
filled his pipe preparing for smoke
and had opened his safety lamp to get
a light. He never knew what hap
pened afterwards.
A twenty-five. pound key OF powder
was exploded in the Burnett mines
at Burnett, near Carbonate, Monday.
The explosion was caused by careless