The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-07-12

Continued from page II
crowd extended several hundred fee
away Those who were nearest tbs
windows were making efforts to looI
INTO the morgue, and the police had
hard time TO keep the crowd il
check.
! Orders Were issued late tonight that
no more bodies are 10 be taken from,
the mine before daylight. Rumors are
ont that seventeen dead are loaded in
cars ready to be brought out but the
morgue attendants are tired out with
overwork, and were given a chance
10 rest.
One of the unknown survivors at the
Cambria hospital died late tonight. and
two others are expected 20 die before
morning
Dead in Horrible Shape.
Early today it was not known how
many perished in the awful disaster
! at the Rolling Mill mine of the Cambria
Steel company. At O'Clock this morn
ing eighty-seven bodies had been re-
covered OF these forty-seven, all con-
torted, and many blackened and
burned. and some of them headless,
lie stretched on rough slabs in the inn
proFlshed morgue in the armory
building.
Forty more are on cars in the mine
ready to be borne out as fast as room
can be made for them. The latest .esti-
mates of the number of dead reduce
the fatal scope of the calamity. But
those. While fixing, it at around 100.
are not conclusive General Mine Su-
perintendent George T. Robinson
would not say at this time whether
he thought there were 100 or soc dead.
he says there is no way of KNOWING
until full investigation is made.
When that win be he says he has no
means of telling.
All rests with the difficulty to be en-
countered in clearing the heading of
afterdamp.
1t was 5:55 o'clock when the first
trainload of Victims was brought TO
the mouth of the main entry Forty
nine cars were used in bringing out
forty-six dead bodies and four living
Injured The discovery of the dead
bodies was made by a searching party
about 10 O'Clock last night. They were
lying in the main heading two miles
IN from the main pit mouth. No at
tempt was made 10 remove them I'M
III certainty was established that no
more living remained in the mine.
From the position of the bodies the
miners were evidently eating their
lunches when suddenly stricken by the
explosion They were seated in groups
of I'VE and ten with their buckets and
the remains of their lunches scattered
over the floor. Evidently their lives
were shut out quickly and easily
Cause of Explosion.
The first statement was given to the
Associated Press reporter by Superin-
tendent Robinson at o'clock this
morning. He said:
As to the direct cause of the ex-
plOsion of fire damp in the sixth right
heading OF a section of the mine com
monty known as the Klondike. So far
as | can find out now there were not
more than three or four deaths from
the explosion itself. The balance were
caused by the afterdamp.
Our mine officials the mine fore
man, Henry Rodgers, Fire Boss John
Retallic, Machine Boss William Rob-
inson, who is my brother, and a SIav,
whose name don't know, were back
eating lunch when the explosion oc-
Cured They Immediately went down
to the point OF the explosion TO put
up the slopingS in order 10 carry the
air in its proper channel again. These
were blown down by the force of the
explosion.
They, with the exception of the as
sistant foreman and one of the fire
bosses. were overcome by afterdamp.
and the chances are that all wifi re-
cover with the exception or NY brother.
AS TO the rescue work, l directed il
to commence just as soon after the
explosion as possible. We started in
az l p IA We worked our way down
by putting up brattics in order TO car
~ the air with US. 1 supposed II was
10 O'Clock at night before We came
across the bodies of the living. Doc
tors John Lowman and John Hannah
went down with US They carried
tanks of oxygen with them and they
were emptied with good e&eet on the
living.
I'VE found TWENTY-FIVE dead on our
way to these four living. Twenty more
were found later on. They were scat
tered through that section of the mine.
Most of them were on their way OUT
when caught by the fatal afterdamp.
Mining Engineer NJ G.. Moore and
myself viii organize another searching
party and go in at 9 O'Clock this morn
ing. There is damp in the left head
ngs which viii make our progress toll
some Part of the mine is filled with
afterdamp and we cannot get in until
we turn the current of air i'm
Bodies Unacceptable.
When the bodies of the victims came
from the mine. a long line of wagons
" dS III Nd1lluS 10 take mem on the
roundabout route 10 the morgue in the
city There they were backed up to a
door and a large force of police was
ready TO check the great throng from (
pressing in too close. Body after body
was dragged from the wagons and
borne inside. All of them We're black
aned and unreeognizable, until the IN
1ertakers got to work. The arms of
most of them were twisted in front of
Them as if TO shield their faces from
ire The left hand of one man was.
torn off at the wrist. The bodies now
recovered were all found about two
miles in from the main pit mouth. The
headings leading from that region off |
10 the left, where it is expected most |
IF the dead viii be got. may not be
by the searchers today.
The Rolling Mill mine has been |
worked for about fifty years. Five or
SIX years ago the section where the
disaster of yesterday occurred wa-
opened. The miners fancifully called /
[ the Klondike. It is said that for !
he past three years fire damp has
been noticed in it and careful inspec-
ions were kept up In the last three I
fears safety lamps had been carried |
~ The men, Frank abot, one of the /
boys who met death in a heroic en- I
leaYor to save his comrades, vas safe |
y out of the mine after the explosion
he worsed liz the mine ever. since the |
was opened up After the |
explosion he FASTENED into the vault I
If death 10 do what he could to close |