The Van Buren press., 1900-05-05
A Promising Young Engineer.


Bernard Dougall, promising and
enterprsing young engineer from
Springville, Utah, who had entered the
mine few minutes before with his
ASSISTANTS, was found with his instru-
ment set, while he and his men lay
dead around it. AS fast as the bodies
were removed they were carried to
the company barn across the canyon,
where they were washed and identi-
fed.
Chastity and Pathetic Scene.
The scene was ghastly, yet most pa
thetic. Between the blackened and
stalwart men lay about a dozen little
lads who had been engaged as coup
lers and trappers. Some lay alongside
of their fathers and elder brothers. 1t
was a scene that made many a strong
man turn away in tears.
The Work of Rescue.
After the foul air cleared away from
No. 1, the work of rescue began here,
and it was soon found that great
many of the miners of No. had been
suffocated. The men of the lower lev
els had been warned of the explosion,
and had made their escape before the
gaseous air had reached them.
Cars were taken in, and the dead
were loaded into them and brought
to the mouth.
Scene RegSnred Description.
Here the scene beggared all d.
scription, for the men, women and
children, relatives of the dead miners,
had begun to gather and as the bod
les were brought out and recognized
by their respective families, the la
mentatons were most heartrending
The dead were all carried into the
boarding house directly opposite the
mine, and at midnight 1877 stalwart
men, nearly all heads of families, were
laid out in the cold embrace of death.
Believes Giant Powder Exploded.
Bishop Thomas Parmley, supern-
tendent of the operations here, gives
it as his opinion that the explosion
was brought about by giant powder
which was taken into the mine by
some of the miners, that exploded in
some unaccountable way, igniting the
dust, and thereby causing an explo-
sion.
Mines Good Reputation.
This mine has been worked for over
twenty years, and has the reputation,
according to State Mine Inspector
Thomas, of being one of the best
ventilated and protected in the west.
lie states that he inspected it less
than five weeks ago, and believed it
entirely safe at that time. 1t has nev-
er had bad air, and always been free
from gas, and as the coal is all load.
ed with shovels, there has not been
q large accumulation of dust.
Nationality of the Victims.
Nine-tenths of the men killed are
Americans and Welsh. The former
come mostly from Utah, with small
number from Tennessee and Colorado.
j. NJ Beattie, Of Scofield, who is the
company's storekeeper, said on his ar.
rival, that no tongue could tell of the
horror the sadness and the appalling
extent of the catastrophe.
Full Death List Not Yet known.
When he left, none could tell how
many had been killed, but it was
thought that the shift in No. had
been wiped out, and were killed in
No. /. Whether u powder explosion
or dust explosion, or both, had not
been decided; in fact, no one had any
thought but to rescue the injured, re.
cover the dead and relieve the suffer
ing. The scene around the mine was
beyound all attempts Of description.
Women, children and friends crowded
around, crying and feverishly excited,
waiting to see If the next body
brought out was their loved one.
Financial Loss WIN be Heavy.
The financial loss to the company
can not be estimated, but it will be
very great, what, with the various
claims, expenses loss Of daily output
and reduced tonnage on the railroad
by the shipments being stopped. In
every way it is regarded as the worst
disaster ever occurring in this part Of
the country. The nearest approach to
it was the Southern Pacific (Almy,
Wyo.) explosion five years ago, when
over 100 men were killed.