davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
INTEREST CENTERS IN
C0RONER,S INQUEST

| Especial to The Herald from a staff cor.
reSp0ndent)
Scofeld- May 2.-Interest now cen
teTs in the coroner's inquest. Things
are in such shape that it was inpos.
sible TO hold it today, in spite of the
intention Of the authorities to do so
County Attorney Hoffman is here from
Price and was in consultation with the
company officers during the day. but a
postponement of the inquest was i'm
perative on account of the chaotic con-
ditiOn Of affairs.
The burning question is as to the
company's responsibility. VIII the
jury blame the company under what
evidence there is at hand? 1t is nota-
bic that the employees of the Inflated
mine have the highest respect for their
employers. There has never been anv
friction between them and SuDerin-
tendent Sharp has the reputation of
being very considerate of the welfare
of his men. These facts will have an
important bearing on the case it is
thought, for as the matter stands a
great majority of the people here are
10th 10 blame the company. The men
who work underground know that the
mine was not in a dangerous condition.
At least, they thought it was not.
State Mine Inspector Thomas is said
to take the same view Of the cause of
the disaster as do a majority of the
men, namely, that an explosion of
giant powder caused a flame large
enough to ignite the coal dust. A ter
rife explosion followed, killing several
and the after-damp of this explosion
made victims of the army Of miners.
1t is possible that the inquest
will be held today. Justice of
the Peace Hurst. from another
precinct. viii sit in the case, the
local justice. Lewis Jones. being dis
qualified by the fact that two of his
family are among the dead.
The result Of the inquest is. of course.
of the gravest Importance to the COM
pany Should it be adverse to them
it is probable that many damage suits
would be planted by relatives of the
dead men, and at best an enormous
amount might have to be expended in
with them.
Major w. H. Bird of Salt Lake City, |
attorney for the coal company was
among those who arrived today. lie
is taking an active interest in the sit
uation.
Williams Statement.
Although worn almost beyond the
powers Of human endurance by the
events of the last two days, Assistant
superintendent Williams was prevailed
upon to make short statement to-
night.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
PEN CANNOT DESCRIBE
SCENES OF MISERY

scoheld Utah, May "A black night
this for the ill-fated little camp nesting
in the hills of eastern Utah. Every min
ute during the long day the list of vic
TINS has been swelled. and the horror
of it all is driving men and women
frantic.
They wander aimlesely. despair!ng
men. distracted and angufsh-strieken
women, flocking near the houses so re
Gently converted into overflled
morgues on the inside, where none
are admitted except for one purpose
that of Identifying the dead-lies the
mute testimony of a tragedy such as
the world seldom knows, lifeless bodies
out in CHASTITY tiers.
There are two houses. the church and
the school, in which these forms repose.
some of them black, others mangled un-
til recognition is impossible, and it is
the sorrowing wife and the aged mother !
who must wind in and out among the !
dead bodies searching for faces of dear
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
TRAINS TO SCOFIELD
FILLED WITH WOMEN


Especial to The Herald from staff cor.
resDondent.)
Scoffeld, Utah. May 2.-Rio Grande
! Western passenger No. 6. leaving Salt
Lake at 1890 this morning, carried
scores of mourners. Nearly every man.
woman and child aboard had some
near relative or friend in the catas-
trophe, some known to be dead, others
not heard from. With what anxiety
they endured the tedious journey can
be imagined No topic was discussed
besides the tragedy. AS the train
glided out Of Salt Lake the passen-
gers had some dim hope that the news
paper accounts had been exaggerated
but at every station more discouraginS
news was received. and when finally
the train pulled into Scofield and vague
rumOrs that the dead would number
$50 were -corroborated, it cast a pail
over everybody.
The committee of Provo citizens
boarded the train at that place. and a.
delegation from other parts of Utah
county and Tintic got on at Springville.
Al every station the number of pas
sengers increased. and there are crowds
of strangers in Scofield tonight 1t is
impossible to get bed or a meal eX-
cept through the hospitality of the be-
reaved people.
A body of representative men of Pro-
Vo conferred with Superintendent
Sharp and other officers of the COM
pany upon arriving here, and the ser
vices Of 100 volunteers for any work
that may be needed was rendered. Su-
Sharp extended his ap-
probation of the offer, but was happy
to say that no outside aid was in i'm
mediate demand. The committee re-
turned to Provo on a special which
has been operated between Cotton and
Winter Quarters all day through the
courtesy of the railroad company
H. N WHITNEY.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
MT. PLEASANT VICTIMS.
David Wilcox Resided at That
Place

race.
Mt. Pleasant. May Local interest
in the appalling Scofeld horror. which
is overwhelming to all in its general
sense. is heightened in this city by the
fact that a young man from here was
among those who We're called upon to
give uD their lives in the terrible ca
lamity
= message received here this morn
ing from Mel Madsen, who went over
last week says that David Wilcox,
second son Of Mrs CandaCe z. Wilcox.
highly respected widow lady of this
city. is among the killed. The message
further states that the remains will
be brought here by Nj. Madsen as
soon as possible. probably tomorrow.
for burial No particulars beyond this
have been received as yet
Mr. Wilcox left here about Jan. [
and went to Scofeld in search of en-
plOyment Fer some time he was uu-
able to secure a position and remained
there idle bur it seems unfortunate
ly. as il tranSoiTes he was given the
desired employment in tine to be num-
bered as one Of the unfOrtunates OF
the awful explosion
Members of the family Of deceased
are gTieving bitterly. and his mother
is almost heartbrCkeu. The first infor-
nation of the accident contained moth
ing that gave them a hint Of their
loss ard il was not until this morning
that they learned Of the truth.
A number of young men from here
have been employed there all winter
and just recently came home.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

ones Though it rends their very heart
strings, anything rather than the aw-
full suspense they are enduring is vel
come.
1t Is doubtful whether more .hoTrifying
scenes were ever witnessed than those
that are becoming so pitifulIy common
here in this one little town of less than
LOCO souls. 1t is beyond Imagination 3
power TO describe the situation. With
frightful regularity the piteous walls
and maddening shrieks of a woman
coming from some little cabin on the
hillside and ringing through the canyon
are heard hundreds of yards away. 1t
means only that some one from the
party Of rescuers has impaired the
news of fatality in that family. Per-
haps it is husband. or a son. or both.
for there, are many such instances. as
a glance at the ever growing. list ryill
show
1t is with difficulty that these frantic
wives and mothers are restrained from
rushing into the tunnel mouths dared
by the resCuers. 1t is not unusual to
see women rush wildly out into the
street while some cold form is being
borne to the repository on litter and
raise the rough blanket that covers his
features. She may find a stranger, or
perhaps loved one. No tongue can de-
scribe the scenes of desolation and
misery
No men are seen on the streetsin SEQ
field They have all gone to the can
yon, and when any of the party of res
cuers drop out from sheer exhaustion.
their places are quickly and willingly
fltad
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
BURYING THE DEAD.
May Require Many Days-Fami1ias
WiDed Out.

Wiped Out.
Scofield Utah May 2.-The bodies .-
Alex Wilson. ir.. James Wilson aHa
Willie Wilson. viii be taken To Sarr
Lake tomorrow To- be buried. TIL.
bodies of John Muir and his two SONS.
Dan and George. and that of David
Wilcox, We're also embalmed and will
be sent nome for burial today. TIN.
Muirs We're from Richheld, and Vii
coX's family is at Mt. Pleasant.
The work of burying the dead ma.-
require many days. Only fifteen co--
fna were brought in today, but 200 ar
least are expected tomorrow. Indar-
takers Riketts and Qualtrough of Salt
Lake are looking after the work of
embaImfng. Au the medical aid rs
quired is at hand.
A tragic feature Of the horror is ia.
great number of instances where ser-
eraI members Of the same family have
persisted. There were eight men named
Hunter. six of them being brothers
and two nephews Two other. men
named Strang. brothers-in-Iaw to the
Hunters and all dead. Four Of the
Hunters were married and leave fam
lies destitute
Isaac \. Miller Harrison EIilIer and
V. r. Miller brothers. were brought
out today dead. They are brothers
in-law to City Clerk Dilley.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

in the mine and after sleeping during
the afternoon, went in again this even
ing.
Inquest and Funerals.
Nothing is yet settled about the in
quest County Attorney L. o. Hof-
man came in on a special from Castle
Dale during the afternoon and he has
been at work Lewis Jones. justice Of
the peace here. is disqualified from
acting as coroner because of the death
Of two Of his sons, and Justice Hurst
viii act in his place
Active arrangements are being made
Tor burial Cofins are in need. Onlv
fifteen have arrived. but more are COM
ms. Many bodies viii be shipped
away ten 10 Coalvnle, eleven to ogden
and many TO other places. The great
number vju be buried here in the lit
,lc cemetery.
superintendent We,by has ordered
section men nom all over the line to
come tomorrow 30 dis l5o graves. The
coal company Viii pay al burial ex-
Qenscs
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
HARVEST OF DEATH
BEGGARS DESCRIPTION

Sco1ield, Utah, May 1.-Never before
in the annals of the state of Utah has
there been such harvest of death as
there is at this camp tonight Never
before in the history of coal mining in
the United States have so many lives
been lost in a single accident
Two hundred backened and man
eled' corpses tell the tale of horror.
That number Of men and boys this
morning went tC their death when they
entered Winter Quarters mine No. l.
For, at 1920 an explosion, like unto
an inferno. rent the mine asunder. So
terrific was the explosion that the
top of the mine was blown off.
The men who were not killed OUT
right by the explosion, by falling tim
bers, flying debris and caving rock.
fell victims to the deadly after damp.
Every one seems dazed by the mag
nitude of the explosion.
Number mine and No. / mine at
Winter Quarters are operated as sep
arate mines, under different foremen.
but they were formerly connected by
man-ways, all of which had not been
stopped up. The explosion must have
come about by giant powder, which.
lgmting the dust set off all the mines
of No. l.
Blown 200 Yards.
John Wilson, who was driving at the
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
CARLOAD OF coFFINs.
Special Freight Started to scofsld
Last Night.

A carload of collins was started last
night for ScOfield. There were 125 Of
them, each boxed separately. They will
encase the bodies of some of the Winter
Quarters victims. More cOffinS, order
ed from Denver on Tuesday night, were
due in Scofield late last night
The caskets from Salt Lake went by
special freight train. In addition to the
boxes for the dead, went help for the
living. 1t was in the shape of carload
of provisions, which will be distributed
at the earliest possible moment to those
ia need or tnem The bulk of the pro
visions came from Armour & Co.'s local
branch as a voluntary contribution.
All of the undertaking establishments
in Salt Lake worked unremittingly to
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

explosion knew that party of Firms
took in a box of giant powder and they
were men working where this explo-
sion must have occurred. OF course it
will never be known whether or not
they caused the explosion, for no one
has lived to tell the tale. The company
should have kept this dust down by
sprinhing it,"
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

get out that carload Of collins. Every
casket of the kind desired that could
be found here was used, and others had
to be telegraphed for at Denver.
$. D. Evans, who les in charge Of the
arrangements for the funeral sent two
assistants to ScOfield yesterday morn
ing. Two more viii leave for the scene
of the horror today. The undertakcc
said last night that everything possible
was being done for the dead He
thought the mOrticians of Salt LAX.
had responded magnifcenty to the uu-
usual demand made upon them. and
that, considering the difficulties under
which all had abored, the work was
accomplished in remarkably short time.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

however, he admitted that such was tae
case. He saio: Il happened to be down
IN that district just few days after
that man and woman were arrested on
suspicion of being concerned in the
Penney murder While at Scnfield l
met several old miners, with whom
was acquainted when 1 was hPy
working in the colIeries of Wales. After
while we began TO talk, naturally,
ABOUT the mine in which they were
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

That an explosion of gas or dust
should occur in that mine said he,
lis hard thing TO believe. It never
was considered dangerous. 1t was cold
and so wet in places that the men
could not work. The explosion was
most extraordinary thing under the
circumstances, and we viii have to
study to ascertain the cause. 1t is
terrible to think Of 1 cannot imagine
what caused il"
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

me mouth Of the tunnel was blown over
zV0 yaros down the dump.
ne power house. together with cars
ana coal house, were entirely demol-
lshea; The team was killed at the
mouth: Wilson had his skull mashed.
ana ms recovery is doubtful. John
hlrton was brought out with his head
entirely burned and although still
alive his recovery IS doubtful.
Blshop Parmley first attempted To
get through No. to No. 1, but after
part OF the rescuing party were so
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
WORST IN HISTORY.
Scofeld Disaster Has No Parallel in
This Country.

The Scofield disaster is the worst THAT
has ever occurred in a mine i'm this
country one accident that most nearly
approaches il occurred i'm PeuuSyIvau..
some years ago. In this more than 100
lives were LOST.
In Pontyprdd. South Wales, i'm 1Ssi
an explosion occurred i'm the PembeJto-
mine, and 500 lives We're sacrificed. Tho
nearest approach t' this accident i'm tn.
western country was at the Southern
Pacific mine i'm Almy. WyO.. where
eighty men perished. This is the second
accident of the kind this year i'm th.
property of the Pleasant valley Goa.
company. Last March an explosion
took place i'm the Castle Gate mine, but
it happened that all the men We're ouc
at tine time, and no one was injured
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

overcome by the damp that they had
TO be taken out on cars, he then led
! a party into No. and the horrors OF
/ the calamity began to be realized.
| One hundred stretchers were made at
! once. and as the air became better the
! gallant party pressed on.
The work of carrying out the dead
then commenced, and not until the
! party had advanced some distance did
they realize what was before them At
ter the explosion and before the fire
damp had got in it's deadly work, the
men knew what had haD~e~-1 and
began to congregate hunting air.
The DeaCn AoceIl...
The death scenes were beyond the
power of pen to describe-fathers
clasping sons, brothers locked in each
others arms, and men with their faces
to the earth vainly endeavoring to get
air. While part of the men carried out
the dead. the rest piled them up inside
and hurried from one to another, vain
ly hoping to find some one still alive.
The advance of the relief party was
slow, on account of the bad air, and
not until evening could the upper
levels be explored
AT No. l the men We're. all killed by
the deadly gas that came from No 4
through the openings. Some drivers
/ uSleu III ana ndIlOeQ 10 the neE on
the levels close to the opening and
most oil them escaped.
Foreman Andrew Hood at the head
of party in No. l was overcome by
the gas and had to be carried home,
Bernard NeWren was also overcome by
gas. BY this time the dead began to
be brought out through No. and they
were laid in the old boarding house.
Word was sent to Clear Creek and all
the men there were brought down by
special train, there not being enough
men left here 10 carry out the dead.
Bernard Dougal, the surveyor from
Springville, was brought and laid
among the dead This was his first
trip into the mine. A special train ar
rived bearing doctors and the mine
managers at about o'clock
The distribution of the dead has COM
and about ten teams are busy
Every house has from one to five dead
The conservative estimate of the
number dead now numbers 200 men
and boys.
Scofield lodge l. o. O. F. No. SO has
seventeen brothers among the dead.
The BODY of William Parmley the
foreman of No. 4 has not been recover
ed yet as it is lying under heavy fall |
Horses. cars and men are lying in come |
places in tangled masses.
County Attorney Hoffman has been |
sent for and an inquest will be held |
tomorrow.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
RICHFIELD's LOSS.
-Four of the Victims Came From That
Town.

Richfeld, Utah May -Four of the
victims of the Scofield coal mine hor-
rOr are RichfieId people They are
John Muir and his two sons, George
and Daniel. and AIr MuT's son-in-law.
Gunner BernsOn- By this sad affair
all the male members Of the Muir fam
fly except a sOn-in-Iaw are dead. The
father was about A. years Of age. and
one Of the early and most respected
citizens of this place. George was
about IA years old and Daniel L. Mr.
BernsOn was about 19 The wife and
two daughters are the only members Of
the family left. The bodies have been
ordered shipped here, and are expected
tomorrow. The victims have been
working in the mines at Scofeld for
several years.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

According to Captain Benjamin Tib-
bey, State Mine Inspector Conner Thorn
as was cognizant that conditions. of the
mines in the Castle Gate district for
some time past were precarious. Cap
tain Tibbey warned the state inspector
that unless better ventilating conditions
were inaugurated in the mines and the
dust frequently sprinkled down. that it
would only be a matter of time before
the country would be startled by the
news of terrible mining catastrophe.
Three weeks ago that gentleman told
his old companions, with whom he used
to work in days gone by in the mines
among the green hills of Wales, unless
they agitated for better ventilation in
the Winter Quarters mine, that they
daily carried their lives in their hands.
When seen last night, Captain Tfb-
bey stated that be did not care to. talk
with regard to the matter. Finally.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

working. and they stated that there
was considerable dust TO be encoun-
tered there, although it was practically
free from noxious gases.
According to their account, the ven
tilation was nothing to boast of. After
talking upon the subject. / told them
that they were running a great risk
every time that they entered the mine.
They sal dthey knew they did, but you
know how miners are, they evidently
did not worry much about the mat
ter"
Warned Inspector Thomas.
In regard to the purported warming
to State Mine Inspector Thomas. Cap
tain Tibbey admitted that he had met
him at Pleasant Grove on the day prior
to the explosion there recently, on
which occasion, happily, there was no
loss OF life
I told him at BE time, he said,
that there would be a big explosion
there if they continued to fire from 800
to 500 shots at the same time by means
of battery, as the concussioh from
this number of simultaneous shots
would of necessity raise a big cloud of
dust, which, at any moment, was liable
to ignite with disastrous effects. Sure
enough. only few hours later what I
predicted happened, only, fortunately,
owing to the rule. all the miners had
left the mine previous TO turning on the
current"
Captain Tfbbey is a man Of exper-
ience. having been connected with the
coal mining industry, man and boy,
since the early sixties, in Wales, Iowa,
Pennsylvania Montana and Utah. He
knows something about cause and effect
in regard TO explosions, aav1ng passed
no less than twenty-one ex-
plosions, with the loss of a finger or
each hand; also several scalp wounds.
In comparing mining operations on
both sides of the Atlantic, he said that
in the majority of cases coal mining.
as operated in western America, was
carried on in very haphazard fash
ion
over in England" he said. the |
laws governing scientific mining are {
by men of experience and /
education, fer the protection of the
man that works in the bowels of the
earth- The majority of men who gain
4 livelihood in this country by mining
GOAL do not seem to- think it worth
heir while to study the subject. Take,
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05


No Mouth of No Tunnel
the tunnel which
Gulch showing the
y up the on
meeting house which filled with
teris Wasatch
= house converted into
= Winter G the
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

in the mine, and after sleeping during
the afternoon, went in again this even
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
Williams Statement.

Although worn almost beyond the
powers Of human endurance by the
events of the last two days, Assistant
superintendent Williams was prevailed
upon to make short statement to-
night.
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

***R@% -
The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05

John wilson, who was driving at the
The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-04-13
Neil AND cuuRI.

Tn. Executive Council and the Couh-
al Of state are sill divided as to the
meaning OF Secretary Hays telegram
authorizing the Court OF Claims 70 do
buslnesH. To the average lay mind
there is nothing obscure In tho mes
sage. which reads as follows:
The President approves the appoint
ment OF the Court OF Claims TO consid-
or losses caused by the burning OF chi
natovn, and TO make AWARDS anu
Judgments on such losses TO be paid out
OF appropriations made by the Council
of State In conformity with Hawaiian
law.
There seems TO be nothing cryptic
gramic about this. II plainly In
structs such Court of Claims as may
be appointed, TO find out what people
lost by the burning OF Chinatown and
to make settlements accordingly. The
losses are to be paid In money appro-
priated by the Council OF State. we
cannot see q suggestion In the mes
sage that the business OF the Court is
to merely determine Government la
bility for FIRE losses. II the plea Ia
good that this Is all that can be done
in conformity with Hawaiian law, 1t
ought to be easy to cite the statutes
and stop the row, leaving Washington
to amend Its instructions at the re-
quest OF this Government.
How would Il do for the Council OF
State, after finishing other urgent bus
mess, TO adjourn until the Executive
can get new rulings on the points at
Issue from Washington