The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-10

Carbonate, Wash, Dec 9.-Shortly
before Has this forenoon this quiet lit
tie village was stunned with the first
report of terrific subterranean explo-
sion in the mine of the Carbon Hill Coal
company. the tunnels of which run for
miles under the town. There was an
ominous rumbling, smothered sound
for 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
approximations of some fearful disaS-
ter were confirmed in a little while with
information that the morning shift in
tunnel No. had been caught in an
explosion of fire damp. Between seven
ty and eighty men were at work in the
mine at the time, and the meagre re-
ports conveyed the information that all
must have been killed, as there was no
chance of escape. Those who were not
killed outright would be hemmed in by
the falling walls and timberS and suf-
located by the fumes and smoke before
any opportunity for 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 shift. ran to and
fro, screaming and wringing their
hands with anguish. crying children
clinging to their skirts. 1t was all that
d. T. 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.
Gas Forms In Mine.
The coal mines are those of the Car
bon Hill Coal company, but they really
belong to the Southern Pacific Railway
company. The coal is a soft, bitumin-
Gus variety, productive of a large pro-
portion of gas, and has been much used
in gas manufacture.
The number of men employed in the
first day shift was seventy-two. Their
hours are frcm a. m. to p. m. The
explosion occurred at between 10 and
IL a. M, as near as can be ascertained.
Jonah Davis, the foreman, escaped
unhurt and besides him about twenty
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 the
hope of being able to rescue those still
supposed to be ALIKE
Bodies Taken Out.
Sixteen bodies have so far been taken
out. Those identified are:
Joe Thomas, 81. single.
Evan Lewis, single.
Watt Jones, 80. leaves a mother.
William Richards. 49, family.
-. Mullen. 80. leaves a mother.
Gustave Knutt.
III. Knutt.
- Johnson, 40 leaves a family.
Ben Zeddler and B. Zeddler, father
and son.
d. s. Thomas, so, leaves family.
William NJ. Davis, So, leaves a family.
Howell Meredith.
Dead Probably Thirty-three.
Coroner Hoskel says the mine officials
place the number of dead at thirty
three. From the best sources the lat
est information obtainable adds Mich
ael Kechenko, aged %. single, and Joe
Lee, aged "a. single. TO the death list.
The best list of the missing that can
be obtained at this hour follows:
List OF missing men: Mike Knish.
Leonard Johnson, J. H. Jones, Henry
Soini, Mike Kichinko. William Wilson,
John Mellon. David Y. Thomas, Matt
Rihila, Ben Zedler, jr.. John Hill, How
ell Meredith. ST.. Watkin Jones, Andrew
Gecey. Evan NJ. Lewis. Joe Lee, Rich
ard Dare, Daniel Davis, Rees Jones,
Peter Merpax-
Missing contract men: August Hainut,