The record-union., 1899-12-10
FRICHTFUL
DISASTER IN
WASHINGTON.
Terrific Explosion in a
Coal Mine
IN Which From Seventy to
Eighty Men Were at Work.
Twenty Dead Bodies Already Taken
Out by the Relief Corps.
While 4 Number Of the Workman Escaped,
There Are Many Yet Missing, and Arc
Believed to be Buried Under
Fallen Rock and Earth.

CARBONADO (Wash.), Dec. g.
Shortly before 11:45 o'clock this fore
noon this extraordinarily quiet coal
mining village was stunned with the
first report of terrific subterranean
Hill Company, the tunnels of which
run for miles under the town. There
was an ominous rumbling, smothered
sound for a few moments, and then it
ceased abruptly. The people who had
been accustomed to 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. had been caught
In an explosion of fire damp. Between
seventy and eighty men were at work
in the mine at the time, and the inea-
ger report conveyed the information
that all must have been killed, as there
was no chance of escape. Those who
were not killed outright would be hem
med in by the falling walls and the
timbers and >suffocated by the fumes
and smoke before any opportunity of
relief could come.
A rush of the inhabitants was made
in the direction of the mouth ofsthe
tunnel. Women, the wives of the men
supposed to be in the shift, ran to and
fro screaming and wringing their hands
with anguish, crying children clinging
Davis. the Superintendent 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
Railway Company. The coal is soft,
large proportion of gas, and has been
much used in gas manufacture. The
foreman in charge Of the shift vas
Jonah Davis. 1t is said that seventy
Twenty bodies, mangled almost beyond
recognition, have so far been taken out
by the relief corps.
So far details of the disaster are
Foreman Jonah Davis of the day shift
are now down in the mine engaged IN
the rescue.
The number of men employed in the
hours are from Z a. m to 8 D. M. The
explosion occurred between 10 and IL
a. m, as near as can be ascertained.
Jonah Davis, the foreman. escaped I'M
Fins Most Of the men are Welsh, and
several Of the Welsh miners also es
capped, but they Immediately turned to
and went back into the mine in an
The following, killed either by the
explosion or suffocated by black damp,
which usually follows, have been taken
from TIE tunnel: Rees Jones. fore boss,
aged sc, unmarried; Dan Davies, IL;
Evan Lewis 20; Richard Burr, {. young
man, leaves widow and child; John
Jones, GA, leaves widow and married
daughter; Thomas Edwards, 40, leaves
widow; Evan Richards, 30, leaves
widow and six children; Howell Mere
dith, 30, leaves widow and nine chill
dren: Joe Thomas, ~, single; Evan
Lewis, single: Watt Jones, 30, leaves a
family; Mullen, 30, leaves a
mother; Gustav Knutt, H. Knutt, = =
Johnson, 40, leaves family; Ben Sed-
der and B. Soldier, father and son;
B. Thomas, so, leaves a family; Will
Jam M Davis, 80, leaves family.
The first five bodies to be brought up
the long incline were those of Watt
Jones, Joe Thomas, Evan Lewis, Rich
ard Dare and Daniel Davis. Watt
Jones was the chief starter. Daniel
Davis was son of the foreman Of the
shift. None of the bodies were at first
recognizable, because the faces of the
dead men were charred and blackened
beyond identification 1t was only af-
ter they were conveyed to the n1orgue
and the corpses were washed that it
could be told who they were.
Howell Meredith was working consid-
srably above the water level when the