The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-05
MUCH INTEREST HERE.
Crowds Thronged Before Herald Bull
letin Boards.

S@O"oo AuIouSeu BEFORE Herald buI
letin Boards.
Intense interest in the Winterquar.
ters horrot was manifest throughout
the city from the time the first bulletin
arrived, All day long people thronged
the sidewalk in front of The Herald
office, intent on learning more details
of the dreadful affair The interest is
easily accounted for when the fact that
many Salt Lakers have friends OF
relatives lying among the dead and in
Jured is taken into consideration. and
furthermore it is the most terrible ac-
cident, and incurs more loss of life
man any in the states history.
Until after midnight anxious penple
thfonsed The Herald editorial rooms
IN search of information regarding this
brother or that friend, but none prob
aoiy were 80 greatly affected as the
! Wilson boys.
Fireman James F. Wilson at No >
received the appalling news in a dis
! patch from his brother. Andrew l.
Wilson, who conducts a butcher shop
read:
Sandy and johnny hurt and three
/ boys killed. Come down.
| 1t is almost impossible to conceive of
whole family being lost a one stroke
yet that is what the brief message
means
All the Wilson's were well known in
TINS city. Two of the brothers formerly
run a butcher shop on West South
Temple street, and John lived here for
years with his family. They are in
Jured and may be numbered with the
dead before this morning, while the
three boys, Alexander, William and
James, arc already gone. Alexander
was married, being about % years old,
and his brothers are aged 10 and "A
Fireman Wilson, who left for the
scene last night.
Among the others who bore great red
circles. around their eyes. and spoke in
trembling voices, was David Brown.
Salt Lake Railway conductor, whose
brother, Thomas Brown. is probably
fatally injured.
Nicoll Hood, who drove the first pick
in No. 1, searched in vain for word
regarding his brother Andrew. fore
man of No 4, and his nephew Andrew
tombstone, neither of whom were
heard from until a late hour. His fears
were relieved by a dispatch from
his brother later in the night. 1t said
the brother was all right. But the
young man is known to be under
ground
Deputy Sheriff John B. Cummock.
who was in Alma Wyo, at the time
of an explosion not unlike the one of
yesterday, and who is familiar with the
Winterquarters property, gives it as
his opinion, as do a great many others
recently from there, that the horror oc-
CURED through an explosion of gas, or
fire damp. party of surveyors has
been at work underground for some
time past, and the theory is advanced
that one of them carried an open lamp
into an abandoned cave, little needing
the danger of the flame coming in con-
tact with the fire damp accumulated
there.
AS soon as word of the accident
reached the companys offices in the
DOoly block, Superintendent w. G.
Sharp left for the mine on a special |
train, leaving Secretary Carpenter in
fingered about the office waiting for
authentic, but news seemed |
to be lacking.
A man who worked in No. 4 for nine |
years, and quit work only last week,
gives it as his opinion that the exDlo-
sion occurred through the accumula-
ton Of dust underground.
1T is the first time in the history of !
the camp that an explosion of this kind
has occurred, said he, but it might
have happened at any time. The mines
are full of dust all the time and men
are employed whose sole business it is
TO wet down the accumulated piles. The
state mine inspector visits there reCu-
arly, and the foreman makes it his
business to see that the process of wet
ting down is gone through with at
snort intervals. l believe it was sim
ply spontaneous combustion, and it is
dangerous at any time unless the dust
S kept damp"
No. adjoins No. l. and though there
S some distance between the tunnels
IN the surface the two mines are con-
lected underground. No. 4 is situated
lbout thFee-quarters of a mile from
Scofield, and it mines between 700 and
100 tons of coal per day. The shift that
vent on at Z in the morning was in the
explosion
There is no dwelling within 700 yards
If the tunnel of No. 4, and it is safely
Presumed that none were wrecked.
There were terrific results on the sur
ace around the entrance Nof the tlln-
earest buildings, and in all Drohabil-
ty were blown into atoms, many horses
icing killed.
1t is estimated that $4,000 will be re- ,,
uired to repair the damage to the :
ompany. while the additional loss re-
ulting from delay in operating of a
Month, at least, will be great. ,
Most of the men employed in the !
nine are Finlanders and English -,
peaking people. A majority of the :
len are married. =