, 1908-04-02
MEN WERE
/ OVERCOME
PARTY IN HANNA MINE TO RE
COVER BODIES MEETS A
STRONG FLOW OF GAS.
Another Serious Condition Encounter
ed in Efforts to Enter Slope of
Hanna Mine, Where Three Score
Men Met Their Deathes Last Sat
urday-Tennant Funeral Held.

G. r. Conner, the staff correspondent;
of the Denver Times. in a long spec
ial from Hanna to that paper of Wed.
nesday has the following OF interest,
showing the great danger encounter
ed and to be encountered in an effort
to reach the bodies of the sixty min
ers and members Of the rescuing par
ty. The presence of gas was noted
on Sunday and has not been absent
since the explosion. Miners fear an.
other explosion when oxygen has
reached the great masses of gas in the
lower depths of the mine.
Overcome by Gases.
In opening the east slope of mine
No. l, in which seventy lost their
lives Saturday, fully half of the fifteen
men who entered the slope prepare
tory to taking out some of the bodies
were overcome by gas, and W OF
them, Charles Higgins, assistant fore
man of the Union Pacific mines at
Cumberland, and Will Tate, foreman
of Cumberland mine No. 8, had to be
carried to the surface and taken 10
one of the company buildings.
Men Soon Revived.
A doctor was summoned over the
improvised telephone to the west
slope and main office in town, but the
men were soon revived. James Need,
ham, superintendent at Cumberland;
John Mates, pit boss; Matt NEEDLE,
Arthur Ward, Burt Peterson and sew,
eral other Rock Springs miners,
brought for the recovery of the bodies
because of their experience, were al
so forced back by the poisonous gases
that still fill the slope and crosscut
but kept at work until they had stop
ped off the east slope thirty feet just
this side of the cavein.
Odor OF Burning Flesh.
Beyond the cave about $50 feet Is
the first crosscut, where some bodies
are expected to be found. Superin'
tendent Needham thought he could
detect odor of burning flesh. General
Manager D. o. Clark, who with As
sistants ]. ]. Hart and A. e. Bradbury.
personally directed this mornings op-
erations, refused to permit any further
efforts at this time toward taking out
any bodies. The three officials had
hopes of accomplishing something this
morning in this direction, out have
decided to wait another week or ten
days for the gas to clear away.
Black damp could be easily smel!el
about the slope and fan house while
the men were at work.
Tenant Buried Yesterday.
This morning it was decided to bury
the body of Alexander Tenant i'm,
mediately after the funeral and not
wait for the arrival of his mother, who
is expected from Maryland. The
knights OF Pythias had charge of The
funeral and interment vas made in
the Hanna cemetery, a most desolate
spot on the prairie, two miles from
town. 1t is hard to appreciate the lone
some appearance of this isolated col
ony of the dead, where the remains Of
Tenant were laid away.
Superintendent in no Hurry.
General Manager D.. o. Clark Of
Omaha of the Union Pacific Coal Min
ing companies says he is in no hurry
to open up the entrances to the burn
ing mine. "Of course, we can do
nothing but speculate about the causes
of the explosion and the condition of
the bodies until the mine is opened,
but | intend to take no risks and will
not start taking out the bodies unc:l
it is believed to be absolutely safe to
do so. l will not attempt to even tap
the entrances again before tomorrow
Will Take Plenty of Time.
Although a number of the miners
say they wouldn't be surprised If still
another explosion occurred when the
mine is opened to the bodies
General Manager Clark says that he
will wait long enough to prevent such
an occurrence.
There will be a great deal more
system about the %reopening of the
mine than there was about the dis
organized rescue work that preceded