Rocky Ford enterprise., 1900-05-04
TERRIBLE LOSS OF LIFE.
Over Two Hundred Men kil'sd BY IN Es'
piosioa In . Utah Coal Aine

p,osioa In . Utah Coal Aiae,
Denver. May "a special dispatch
to the Republican from Salt Lake says:
The mining camp al sconeld. on the
line Of the Rio Grande Western road
near Cotton, Utah. was today the
scene Of terrific explosion In the VIII
ter Quarters coal mines, owned by the
Pleasant Valley Coal Company.
There were 30 men nj work In the
mine, and all but about twenty have
perishe<i. as no signs Of life have been
heard at any openings OF the mine, anu
none but corpses have yet been found
by the rescuing parties
Scofeid is fifteen miles from Cotton
on the main line Of the Rio Grahue
Western, and liS miles from here.
The explosion occurred shortly after
10 O'Clock, when all the men employed
In the mines were at work. There We're
more than 30 OF the miners and OF thIs
number less than score are nh'h-
jured.
No. 4 tunnel was the scene OF The
first catastrophe. II is believed that
kcg OF blasting powder exploded anu
set fire to the gas.
The result was n conclusion thhI
| wrecked No. I tunnel and cavcd In No.
I, which adJoins and Is connected Win
Il.
John Wilson. who was working near
the mouth OF tunnel No. 4. was blown
go feet and his body fcnrfuiiy
mnn.lcd.
ON the other hand. Surveyor Mcpou'
ral. who wns laying ar lines In No. ].
was found dead nj the side OF his In
strument. the latter rcmainin. stand
Ing, This shows that lie died as r"-
suit OF aftcriiamp. and not through the
force OF the explosion.
News OF the horror spread quickly.
and In response TO tclcEtains hcip
poured In from every side. The deadly
aftcr,inmp ut first made IL Impossible
for rcscucrs to go into The. mines.
The first party. headed by Foreman
Hood, was overcome aud all narrowly
escaped death. The scene NJ the en-.
trance To the tunnel presented such
pictures OF woe that men accustomed ="
fearful sights sobbsd like children. AZ.
ter III. damp had cleared. II seemed al
most pitifuily easy To get nj the
corpscs.
Man after man was brought out and
laid ON the ground In rows tina; grew
until the entire town of Ssofcid seemed
to bc transformed into morguc. No,
"a family In the little village had cs
cnpcd aiiiiction. Mothers dropped
faintiuI nj the sight OF the blackcncd
corpses of their sons. wives shrickcd
with almost uinnincal anguish as the
bodies Of their husbands were laid In
the ever growing line. Corpse aft's
corpse. all with faces distorted with
the death agony. was borne Into lit
tie home on the hillside where only nm
hour before had been peace and hap
piness.
pazcd though they were by the
scop. OF the fearful calamity. the pco.
pie iniorcd amid the wrcckarc. hopin.
to tind some one yet alive. such in-
stances were extremely few.
Here and thcrc n man was found In
whom the breath OF life yc: remained.
but In most Instances the victims will
he helpless cripplcs for the balance Of
their lives. Nearly NIL the men were
married and many had large families
dependent ON them. The coal CON.
pany IL doing all II can To care for the
living and give attention TO the dead.
Two hundred cofiins were ordered TO-
night from local unicrtakcrs. II was
found impossibl" to supply the order
and Denver undcrtakrrs were appealed
to. The company will pay NIL OF the
funeral expenses.
One Of che sad features Of the trngc.
dy lies IN the fuct that nearly all of
those Killed were old employees. This II
accounted for by the fact that when
tunnel No. I was pu, In operation re-
Gently. the old hands were given their
option ms to working In II. or nj other
parts OF the mines. Most Of them. he
licving the new tunnel to bc safer
than the old one. took No. !.