Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-11-25

were on fire.
The flightful disaster was caused
by the accidental overturning of n
stove which set the buildings afiame
1t was impossible to stay the fire.
and the great tunnel mouth acted as a
giant fiue. drawing in all the smoke
from the outside and with its gases
carrying death to the workers in the
mine.
A few escaped by getting out at
the south end. but nearly all perish
ed.
During last night % bodies of the
dead were found near the tunnel en-
trarce where they had vainly at
tempted to escape. They were
brought to the open and tenderly car
ried down to the city. mile and .
half away, by :ho night shift
There were various cases of hero
ism, especially upon the part OF
Mine Boss Barkley and miner by
the name of Hegleson These men
ESCAPED out of the mine but in their
aagerness to save their fellow-work-
men rushed back and were lost.
1t is difficult at noon to get the full
list of the day shift at work, and there
are whispers that the number of the
dead will reach over hundred. for
not IA man could escape the sulphur
Gus fumes. 1t will be midnight per
haps tomorrow night before the total
result is known.
This afternoon the coroner will be
gin holding an inquest.
All of Telluride is about the mouth
of the fatal tunnel and .,,ore are
heart-rending scenes as tt" widows
and orphans cry piteously Ter their
loved .n.s. who are sleeping III. sleep
{! death in the rocky tombs below.
There are indications this after
noon that the disaster was due 10
gross carelessness. 1t is the rule
10 keep the doors of the big Bullion
tunnel closed, but they were open
when the fire took place, and that
circumstance caused the frightful loss
of life. The coroner's jury will be
called this afternoon and no doubt the
responsibility for the great catastro-
phe will be placed
The money loss to the company is
$4,000. covered by insurance
Special Telephone to The Herald:
TELLURIDE. Nov. 22-One moro
body was taken out of the Snug gier
mine this morning. making the total
number dead %. The mans uanir Is
John Nevola
Last night all the men working in
Ike mine had been accounted for eX-
cept Nevola. and the ninth level has
been well seached and the man
agement feels confident the list is
now complete.
To the 90 referred to will have 10
be added poor Hugh O'Neil VINO an
hour ago was barely breathing. Last
night there was strong hopes OF his
recovery. While not gaining con
sciousness sufficiently to speak. he
was able to open his eyes aud look
around. He soon began sinking and
is probably at this time, 1:30, dead,
which makes the total death list "a
The funeral OF the dead, with the
exception of O'Neil, will take place
tomorrow afternoon. Manager Col
Inns has suspended work on the mine
and the men will come to town in a
body. The managements of the Tom
Boy, Liberty Bell and other big mines
have also announced they would close
down for the day and the burial of
the miners will be under the auspices
of the Miners Union, with the en-
tire membership in the county attend
ing.
The city council met last night and
passed resolutions of coincidence call
ing upon all places of business to
close during the afternoon, which re-
quest will be complied with by every
one.
TELLURIDE, Nov. 22.-Reports
from the SmugglerUn mine this
morning are less discouraging than
yesterday. Twenty three bodies have
been recovered and it is now believ
ed there less than ten additional, as
nearly all the missing men have been
accounted for.
The eighteen miles of levels and
drifts have been investigated with
the exception OF one section. That
is now being well searched and
by this afternoon it is confidently be-
lieved the exact loss of life by the
The inquest begun last evening is
being continued today. and the devel-
opments indicate that the disaster was
largely accidental although 1t is not
unlikely the Smuggler-Union people
will be criticized for the lack of prop
er precautions.
TELLURIDE, No. 22.-Engineer
O'Nei died this afternoon. The list
of the dead now numbers "a.
President Lawrence OF the Snug
gler-Union arrived here this morning
and announced that the company
would bear the funeral expenses of
all the men and for the present at
least would look out for the necessi'
ties of their families.