The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-28
EIGHT BODIES
ARE RECOVERED
Labor Of Rescuing Parties in
DiamOndyille Mine.
DEADLY AFTERDAMP
HINDERS THE WORK
Impossible to Tell Yet How
Many Men Perished.
Especial to The Herald.)

DiamOndVille, WyO-, Feb. Zs.-Super-
intendent sheldon of the Diamond
Coal & Coke company, at the head of
a party of rescUers, forced an entrance
into mine No. I, where the terrible
disaster occurred Monday afternoon.
and recovered the bodies of eight of
the unfortunate miners taken from No
Z level They were:
Eduardo ROAM
Palmazio ROAM.
Lorenzo Franzoi.
Joseph Franzoi.
Batista Bassolo.
J. T. Simpson.
Everett Simpson.
Floriano Avanzini
1t was believed that four more men
were on this level. but at a late hour
tonight the searching parties returned
and stated that the level had been
cleared and no more bodies We're found.
They are supposed to be in the room
between the sixth and seventh and
this is sealed up. Consequently the at
/ tempts to recover the remaining vic
tins is discontinued and tomorrow the
work Of fighting the fire viii begin.
1t may be a week before the bodies
are finally recovered.
All day long the friends of the dead
men sought with the utmost vigOr to
secure their remains, but the work
was slow on account Of the smoke and
afterdamp which had accumula ted
Many times were the rescuers forced
back from the dark depths, almost
overcome by the poisonous gases, but
not once was there thought Of aban-
dOning the search. Repeated failures
seemed only to increase their determin-
alton.
First Bodies Found.
Finally No. level was reached. af-
ter many discOuraging efforts. Room
20 was the first entered, but the first
bodies found were between rooms 81
and 81. This shows how hopeless was
the chance for rescuing any Of the
men alive, for the distance between
rooms 26 and 81 is 1900 feet.
During the entire time the search
was being made today the parties We're
compelled to perSistently fight the af-
terdamp. Labor was prosecuted with
the greatest difficulty, and it was only
when the rescuers fully realized that il
was impossible TO go any further that
| the search was abandoned.
The bodies recovered show that in
each instance death was caused by
suffOcatiOn. Until the entire mine can
! be explored it viii be impossible TO tell
/ how many men persisted.
The fire undoubtedly originated
/ through the careIessness of one of the
/ drivers, who, in passing out Of the
place where they waited for the out
/ side drivers. let his lamp come in con-
! tact with the brattice cloth used as a
windbreak The burning of this cloth
set fire to the stepping in the cross
entry between No. 6 mine and the back
entry, and the coal, being of highly
( inf1ammable quality, soon ignited. The
gas and the dense smoke following the
air course, would soon suffOcate any
living thing Had the men ONLY had
0f 70 oil he .1f~-
course out through No. back en-
try, every one Of them would doubtless
be alive today.
Mahan's Marrow Escape
Charlie Mahan, who is one of the
miners Of No. 1, with a thorough un-
deTstanding of the workings OF the
mine. and who has entirely acquainted
/ himself with the labyrinth Of passages
and entry under the ground owes his
life to this all-impOrtant knowledge
having enabled him to grOpe his way
| through the darkness of an almost
forgotten passage to light and safety
above.
He was the man working a lead
fartheSt down on the seventh level,
and was preparing to start out of the
mine. The scent of smoke gave him
suspicious that something was wrong.
and, warning those about him, he
started up the main entrance. Here
his light went out and his passage
was blocked by the dense smoke grad
uauy following the air down the mine.
He was obliged to retrace his steps
and seek another exit
He lit his lamp again, and again it
went out; but lighting it once again
more for safety, or as warning against
the deadly damp, than for guidance, he
worked his way around and out of
danger.
The mine outside No. entry, where
the fire occurred, and No. entry
which is the return air course for No.
/ 6, is in splendid condition, and the
burned and damaged portions viii be
in shape to continue operations in eight
or ten dayS