Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-02-16
men ina FIERY TOMB
Sixty Coal Miners Caught by an
Explosion in a British Col
unnbian Pl.
MORE THAN ONE BLAST IS HEARD
Little Hope That Rescuers Will Find
Alive Any of Those Imprisoned
Deadly Gas Will Do Its
Work Too Quickly.

Victoria, B. c., Feb. l6.-No news
was received today from the Union
mines, where 50 miners are entom bed.
The operator there reports no change
in the situation.
Seattle, Wash, Feb. 16,--A special
TO The Post-Intelligencer from Victoria.
says: What is feared will be one of
the most horrible mine accidents in
the history of the Dominion took place
yesterday forenoon at the Union mines,
owned by the yelling Colliery COM
pany, of which James Dunsmuir, the
premier of the province, is the prin-
cipal shareholder. The explosion took
place at about IL a. m. in No. shaft.
This particular shaft is situated right
in the village of Cumberland. There
were sixty men in ii when the eXplo-
sion took place, and not one of them
escaped.
Several Ex pIosious Take Place.
The explosion ignited the mine,
wrecking the shaft from midway down
TO the bottom, and filling it with solid
mass of rocks, earth and timberS. The
more, while the dense volume of smoke
issuing from the vent-holes indicated
only too truly that the fire as well as
gas was doing its destructive work
below. As soon as practicable after
the accident the men of the morning
shift in No. ) shaft organized a rescue
party. No. is situated about n mile
from No. 6, but the two workings are
connected by a tunnel. and through
this channel an attempt was made to
help the unfortunate fellows in the
wrecked shaft
No Help Through the Tunnel.
They had not cut their way many
yards through the debris when they
encountered fire which rendered the
place untenable and obliged the party
to desist. The hopeless message came
back by telephone to the surface con-
veying the Notwithstanding news to the
relatives of the imprisoned men, whose
urging was not necessary TO induce the
relief party to return to their appar-
emily hopeless task. Overcome at last
by gas and smoke they reluctantly
withdrew from No. and commenced
work on a long cut from No. 4, the
only other means of reaching the men.
Work on this was prosecuted with the
greatest vigor until abatement of the
fire in No. > enabled them to once more
return there.
Little Hope That Any Will Live.
Even should the rescuing party
reach the interior of the wrecked
workings soon there is little hope for
any of the men locked up in the shaft.
John Bryner, eX-member of parlia-
ment, brother-in-law of the premier
and eX-manager of portion of the
Dunsmuir mining business, said to The
POSt-Intelligencer that scarcely any
hope could be held out for the men.
The only way in which any of them
could escape would be by reaching
some remote portion of the workings
to which the fatal gases and smoke
could not penetrate. The gas in coal
mine. he said. did its work i'm few
minutes. Hence the hopelessness of
the task of saving men who had been
in it for hours.
Later.-A second explosion has &C.
CURED in No. , shaft. This explosion
prevents any further attempts being
made TO rescue the entombed miners
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