The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-03
Many Bodies Recovered and Rescue
Parties Endeavoring to Reach
the Remainder.
ONE PIT STILL FULL OF GAS
AND RESCUE WORK SLOW, Diff
CULT AND PERILOUS.
Firms Supposed to Have Secretly Car
rfed Giant Powder Into the Mine
anr Caused the Disaster.

SCHOFIELD,. Utah, May 2-To-nights
estimate of the number of killed in the
| terrible mine explosion here yesterday is
| $50. but the total death list may yet reach
| 800. Relief work is still in progress, being
| conducted by shifts of men. The shift now
| in the mine has fifty bodies ready to bring
| out, and the number of corpses yet to be
| reached is still uncertain. Arriving trains
are constantly bringing relatives of the
| victims from outside points and the coal
| company has designated a committee to
carry the dead to Salt Lake, Ogden and
other cities. On account of gas, No. 4
| mine has been abandoned as a means of
rescue. and bodies are arriving at the
| mouth of No. mine by the carload. Fer
| rish level has been cleared of dead, and
all are burned and unrecognizable. One
hundred and seventy-eight of the victims
| have been identified.
The names of the dead, so far as obtain
| able. are:
Edwin Street, John Price, D. T. Evans
]. Delcliffte, Roger Davis, T. ]. Hardee
Henry Wilson. w. Douglas. Frank Strange,
sr-, Alexander Wilson, Robert Hunter.
Dave Hunter, w. Wilstead. III. A. Miller,
| Dan Williams, Thomas Gatherum Joseph
| Graves, Watson, Barnes and son, Thomas
| Reilly Davis Padfield, William Powell, Will
liam Jones, James Wallace, r. d. Reese,
John Haikkila, Lee Ogan, Z. Huilitala,
| Erick Jappa, A Kleinda, j. Zelien, Will
liam Jackasala. John Houta. John Jacob
son. III. I'inkkala, 1. l. Limdgrens, John
Mackey, A. Hennatil, John Hougla, M.
Pootoganas. John Jones, John Durns, John
Pittman, John Webber, NJ. Patterson, T..
Hardee, Levi Jones. Thomas Ferrish and
son, Willie Wilson, j. G. Hunter, John Hun
| ter. Louis Leishen. Isaac Miller, j. Gath
erum, -Langstaff and son, r. Williams,
and son. j. j. jenkins. Robert Wilstead.
tine Lezzen, Edward Jones, w. Davis,
John Druck, John Koski, John Kereman,
N Huiltala Richard Back, j. Kleinda,
Abram Suma and eight brothers, Mat
J. Anderson, II. Erickson, Charles Kosk
F. Kalso. Matt Koski, M. Henattila, c.
Hougla. Dick Stewart. r. S. Evans. NJ
Pittmann, Thomas Webber. T. III. Reilly
jr, James Wilson, Adam Hunter and son.
j. A. Hunter Willie Hunter, Z. Evans, "
r. Miller, William Gatherum, w. Nielsen,
L. Williams. John Q. Davis. G. Coulthard
Reese, III. Bederson, Lee Gordon. H. Haik-
kila, Victor Ogan Alexander Ketola Oscar
Lindberg, John Pisola, w. Kleinda. Oscar
Nuemi. w. Jacobson. S. Mackey, Z. Erick-
Victor Aho, Charles Lappi A. Kongas, A.
Warrali and ten unidentified bodies.
WORK OF THE RESCUERS.
John Kirton was the first man brought
to the surface. He was still alive, but pre-
sented a terrible sight. His scalp was
burned to cinder and has face was almost
unrecognizable. In his horrible pain he
cried out to his companions, begging them
to end his misery by taking his life. 1t was
| 2:30 o'clock this morning when Superin-
| tendent Sharp sent his valiant workers to
| their beds and was himself the last to
| leave. When active work ceased at the
| mines 1877 dead had been recovered. Fifty of
these were laid in row in the little meet
| ing house of the Latter Day Saints, while
| others were stretched out in the improvised
| morgue. just as they were found in the
| mine, awaiting the touch of rough, but low
| ing, hands to compose their limbs, wash
| the dust from their faces and close their
| staring eyes.
Superintendent Sharp resumed work with
| a will at s o'clock, when a rescuing party
| of sixteen, directed by State Mine Inspector
Homer Thomas and including Messrs.
| Sharp, Frank Cameron, superintendent at
Castle Gate, and James Harrison, entered
the tunnel of No. /. 1t was not long before
the bodies commenced to come out. All ef
forts are now being concentrated to bring
out large number of bodies known to be
in No. 4. where aghty-five men perished.
Here the force of the explosion broke down
the timbers and the bodies can only be got
at through No. !.
The theory Of Bishop Parmalee is that
some Of the Firms recently imported secret
ly took giant powder down into the mine to
assist them in their work. They We're ex-
ceedingiy anxious to make a good showing
and make as much money as possible, and
1t is thought this form of explosive was
used in order that great bodies of coal
could more easily be dislodged. 1t is
thought that when the giant powder was
touched off 1t ignited some of the dust, of
which every coal mine has more or less.
The miners entertain various opinions re-
garding the terrible affair, some being ex-
ceedingly bitter in their denunciation of
the company and others taking a more con-
servative view.
A RESCUER'S STORY.
One of the miners sent over from Castle
Gate to aid the rescue work talked inter-
estingly when he came out OF the tunnel
This explosion Is the most disastrous. so
far as loss of life is concerned. that has
ever occurred in America" said he There
will be 200 dead when we are through work
In the great explosion at Almy. wyo.. a
few years ago. sixty-five were killed. We
had some hard experiences digging through
the mine. Several times members of our
party were overcome by the damp. but we
got them out In time. We found the bod
les of the men in every conceivable shape
but generally they were lying on their
stomachs with their arms about their
faces The men died almost instantly when
struck by the damp and did not suffer