The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-12-10
.FRICHTFuL DISASTER
IN WASHINGTON,
CONTINUED from First Pags.l


unacceptable in their coating of coal
dust and CRIME.
At the top of the incline was gathered
a crowd Of men. women and children
having friends or relatives among the
missing They watched the loaded cars
with an air stoical, and almost indif-
ferent, or asked those who accompanied
the bodies if news had yet been heard
of their loved ones.
In rough building belonging TO the
Miners Association, the blackened
corpses were washed and identified.
Acting upon the suggestion Of the Coro-
ner, the shreds of clothing torn by the
force of the explosion and the personal
effects of each were placed in a box and
labelled. The limited amount of space
in the building made it impossible to
admit friends and relatives who wished
to ascertain their identity to a certain
ty. None Of the bodies recovered were
crushed.
There are undoubtedly a number
under the fallen rock and earth in diff
ferent parts Of the mine but they can
not be recovered for some time. Tim
bering and excavating are being carried
on as rapidly as possible.
All of the men killed, or nearly all
We're smothered by the gases and
damp, although some may have died
more easily from the shock of the con-
cussion or from being blown against
the walls of the tunnel.
The cause of the explosion is a mys-
terry to everyone. Not even the miners
rescued can give the slightest possible
explanation. Only safety lamps, the
English Clancy and the Davie pat
terms, are worn when at work. Should.
however, one Of the men haplessly open
his lamp in an accumulation of coal
gas, the gas would suddenly ignite and
explode. The only open light known
was that from the small locomotive us I'd
to haul the cars in from and out Of the
canyon on the main level. 1t is merely
theorizing to say that this was the
cause, although a mule driver named
James Conway, now lying wrapped up
in oiled silk and fairly covered with a
mixture Of boiled nnseed oil and lime
juice, says he was caught in the shock
on the main gangway.
Conway tells the following story:
II was just about ready, when Watt
Jones called out, Let her go, Jim, and
all of sudden I thought a ton Of dy
Mantle had burst. The force Of the
shock threw me down, and flame Of
fire seemed to surround me. I crawled
out through it on my hands and knees
as we'll as I could until I reached the
engine. For Gods sake, pull out
quickly I begged, for I felt as though
was burning to death, and I could
hardly breathe. 1t did not need much
urging, for the black damp was already
beginning to smother US, and I was
can remember"
Thomas Conway, brother of the suf-
ferer, was patiently tending him at the
hospital. In this institution four I'M
fortunates are stretched out on the
beds, soaked with the mixture mention
ed. An old miner George G. Taylor,
who has had plenty of experience of
this kind, is rendering his best services
as nurse. Two of the injured men there
besides Conway are recognized as Ka-1
chuga, a Pole, and Abraham Carlundt.
Another is Hungarian. who cannot
speak English. 1t would not matter if
he could, as his face is covered, with
just a hole left for him to breathe
through.
Dan Meredith. Dave Lewis, Samuel
Langwen and Daniel Hoekyard were
hauled out of the mine more or less
burned or partly suffocated. Meredith
as soon as he heard his father, Howell
Meredith. had gone down after him, re-
turned to the lower crosscuts, accom-
panied by Dave Lewis. in search of his
father, but had to abandon the search
temporarily because of his condition.
William Thomas, the outside fore
man, is active in sending down and
hauling back relief parties on the tram
cars which run up and down the incline
at intervals, which seem tediously long
ones, but the condition of the mine is
such that the work must needs be slow.
The old timber chute through which
the f'inlanders escaped at first is about
two and one-half miles from town.
There are several air shafts or chutes
leading up to the summit and slope of
Wingate Hill, and these have afforded
outlets for the damp, and at the same
time furnished ventilation as the damp
was driven out
Among the incidents at the morgue.
an old man, father of Richard Dare.
tottering in, anxiously inquired for his
son. A rough, but kindly disposed
young miner, busy with the care of
the corpses, being eager to save the old
man sight before which any strong
man might quail, told him he did not
think his son was there. The aged IA
Their left the cheap looking one story
building sobbing. but still hoping.