The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-03-08
LIVES LOST ARE FORIY-TWO.
FURTHER DETAILS OF THE RED
ASH MINE HORROR.
Twenty-nine bodies Taken Ont, But
Few of Them Could He Identified
An Electrician the Only Man in
Tunnel who Escaped with Life.

HINTON, w. Va, March lit is almost
certainty that forty-two lives were lost
IN yesterdays explosion at the Red Ash
mines. The cause OF the explosion is I'M
known, but is supposed to have been
caused by a miner entering an unused
room in the mines with an open lamp.
Ihere were f0rty-two men In the mine az
the time OF the explosion. and II II had
n, as FRED twenty minutes later me loss OF
lie would have reached 10 or more.
Names of the Dead.
The names Of those supposed TO have
been in the mines AZ the time Of the eS-
plosion who are as yet unaccounted for
Sam Shelf. John Clair Andy Pritt. Quit
Stewart, Ed Hobbie, Robert Jones. Gran
vile Holmes, Sam Shew. Junius Sanders,
BIN sledge, Yale Edgars, John Stone. I'd
Harper, William Holmes, Ed Hayerich,
William Haverich, Alfred Collins. lobe
Collins. Charles Fouts, y. G.. Ramsey,
James WASHINGTON. Newvelle Douse, John
Charles Downey, Edward Downey. Ernest
Long. Thomas Long, Charles Downey,
Dale Long.
Twenty-nine bodies Taken Out.
So far twenty-nine dead bodies have
been recovered, only the following having
been Identified.
b. B. Long. John Day, Joe Elliott, Mat
2uaries, Sam Jackson, James Hackney.
Bowen Driver, William Day.
The others who have been taken out
could not be identified The work of res
cue is being pushed as rapidly as possible,
but the afterdamp being very strong, men
can work but p few minutes at time.
The belief Is growing that all in the
mines have persisted. The rescuing party
Is working manfully. but with little hope
or reaching the Imprisoned men.
The office books show that sixty-two
were in the mine when the explosion oc-
The space about the entrance to the
mine is continually crowded with friends
and relatives OF the entombed
One Mans Thrilling experience.
The only person who entered the mine
and who Is known to have escaped alive
II Electrician Evans, who was near the
mouth of the mine. In relating his ex-
perience, Mr. Evans said: Il heard "a
low, rumbiing sound, similar to an earth
quake. and / realized in an instant that
iredamp had exploded. and before the
force OF the conclusion reached me |
Of flames, rock and debris shot over my
head. | managed TO creep to the mouth
and into the fresh air. My God. it was
awful | saw that / was the only one
left. Every one of the other fellows was
lost. knew
A Family Annihilnted.
A pathetic feature Of the disaster Is the
humiliation OF the family of b. b Long,
frehoss. His wife died some time ago.
leaving 10 his sole care two little boys.
Having no one TO stay with in their
desolate home, the boys begged to go with
their father into the mine to spend the
day with him. He consented. and when
the search is finished their blackened lit
tie bodies Will be found beside that OF
their father.
Miners Are Terrified.
The unexplained cause of the accident
has terrified miners in adjoining localities.
Many are afraid 10 go to work today. and
II VIII require the most searching inspec-
ton by competent men to remove their
fears and induce them 10 return to their
places,
Estimates of Killed Vary.
FIRE CREEK, w. Va, March 1.-THE
rescuing parties continued working hard
at Red Ash mine today and tonight re-
moving debris and securing bodies. Of the
victims of the explosion OF yesterday.
The most conservative estimates OF
some of those connected with the mines
places the number OF killed at ifty-two,
and there ara others who insist that the
number OF victims will be found 10 reach
sixty Six more bodies were recovered
early this morning
renort from the rescuers at the
mine after O'Clock tonight was that thir-
ty-four bodies had been rescued twenty
nine being dead and five seriously injured.
While the surviving miners and others
estimate that there are at least thirty-nine
SIN entomoed, the manager says there
are stll only thirty-six in the mine.
No other Mines WORKING.
None OF the mines in this district is yet
working. and thousands OF people visited
the scene Of the Red Ash disaster today.
Cause OF Explosion Unknown.
No definite cause for the explosion has
yet been learned by Gov. Atkinson or the
state and district mine inspectors who are
investigating the case. In addition 70 the
theories of dust, firedamp. etc, II was
claimed today that natural gas had Is
capped into the mine and that il lgnited
when the miners entered yesterday with
their lighted lamps.
Mine May Re on Fire.
The work 81 resculnR parties is retarded
by hot air, aud 4 Is Thought the mine is
on fire. Air Is being pumped into the mine
hy compression. II VIII probably be sew
cJal days before all the bodies VIII be re-
covered as Il viii require much time TO