The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-26
DIRE DISASTER ON
VANCOUVER ISLAND
Fire Traps Workers and Deadly
Gas Will Kill Them
Surely.

VICTORIA, B. C., Feb. ia dispatch
received at the offices of r. c. Dunsmuir
Sons in this city this morning told
of an explosion in the mines Of the Union
Colliery Company at Union, Comox dis
trict, which it is feared will result in the
loss of at least sixty lives and the de-
struction of immense amount of val
liable property. Shortly before IL o'clock
the little town of Union was shaken by
a terrific explosion in No. 6 shaft, the
mouth of which is situated in the center
of the town, and the tunnels form a
,subterranean lacework under the vii
lage and the nelds in the vicinity.
| A partial list of entombed white min
ers follows: w. L. Walker, overseer,
married; George and William Walker.
sons of the first named; John White,
married; Thomas Lord. single: James
Halliday, single; Duncan Munro, mar
ried; w. Snodden. married; Peter Bar
desen, married; G. Bono, single; r.
Fleck married; l.. Simonds, married;
Andrew Smith, d. NJ. Davis, A. Maffo,
d. McGinnis, j. Crossette, Joseph AlIi-
son, single. and George Turnbuli, mar
ried.
| The morning shift of sixty-five men, of
whom about forty are whites, and the
rest Chinese, were at work in the mine
at the time, and those acquainted with
the mine hold out no hopes for their
rescue, as the shaft which rs 500 feet
deep, is blocked with wreckage and the
tunnel leading to shaft 5 was found by
| a rescue party to be filled with gas and
| the timbers were blazing. The only
hope is offered by the fact that the fan
has been working right along and the
in floa vic init nv IA z no n
, to withstand the terrible effects of their
enforced stay underground. The hoist
ing gear, too, was kept working, but
the passage of the cage down the shaft
was very slow. Crowds stood by the
| pit mouth, many of them women and
I children, wives and families of the men
buried beneath 500 feet of earth. The
force of the explosion threw timbers,
earth and rock up the shaft and the
ground in the vicinity was covered with
the wreckage which told the eager
watchers what little hope there was for
a human being caught in the same force
that had torn into matchwood the mine
timbers.
/ AS soon as the mine officials realized
what had occurred they sent word to the
men in No. shaft, and they started
Through the tunnel for the gates which
separate the two workings. Time and
again they were driven back by the aft
| erdamp, but they stuck valiantly to their
work. AT the same time men were at
work trying to force an opening from
the working of No. shaft, from which
the men were separated by wall OF
rock and coal, while efforts were being
made to open way through the wreck
age which blocks No. e. shaft. About s
O'Clock tonight a final attempt was made
to force a way through the passage
which connects Nos. and 6, but the
men were driven out and stopped from
going back after they had got the poi
. isonous gas out of their lungs, as there
was every indication that an explosion
: was going to occur In this shaft also.
The surmise was correct and the judg-
nent of the officials upheld, for at 9:15
O'Clock the town was again shaken by
: an explosion, which this time was in
! No. 5 shaft. Luckily all the men had
been withdrawn and there were no cas-
tualties, but a greater barrier had been
lerected to interfere with the work OF
= rescue.
= That the first explosion occurred close
. to the bottom of the shaft and not far
from the gates which separate Nos.
and 6 is shown by the effects on the
workings of No. g. Here the men were
:, thrown down and three mine boxes hurl-
r ed on to mule that was drawing them
r the mule being killed.
Immediately upon receipt Of the news
- today at the head office of the Dunsmuil
company here special train was made
J, inairro. Premier Dunsmuir is not YET
- home from Ottawa but his confidential
Representative, A. L. Lindsay: his son
n Robert Dunsmuir; Mr.. Little, superin
r. tendent of the mine. and Inspector o.
n Mines Morgan left on this special A
q Nanaimo, which was reached this even
= ing, the Dunsmuir steamer Joan awaited
! them and on her they will proceed sixty
= miles by water to Union bay, the -e
manning six miles by land to Cumber
land to be made on the Dunsmuir Col
liery Railway, and the scene of the sc
, cident will be reached by midnight.
Even should the rescuing party reac)
= the Interior of the wrecked workings to
might there is little hope for any of tn
/. men locked up in the shaft John Bry
= . non, ex-member of Parliament, brother
~ in-law of the Premier and ex-manage
.. of the mining portion of the Dunsmui
: mining business, said tonight that scarce
ly any hope could be held out for tn
men. The only way in which any o
n them could escape would be by reachin
=, some remote portion of the workings t
= which the fatal gases and smoke coul
a not penetrate. The gas of a coal mine
l. he said, did its work in a few minutes
e. Hence the hopelessness of the task O
lie saving men who had been in it for hours
t. The last report Of the Inspector o
sr Mines pronounces the shaft as comply
lie ing with the regulation governing Goa
lie mines Dr. walkem, the company SUI
le geon, will Join the party at Nanaim
land win accompany them to the mine.