The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-11-18
ABSOLUTELY No HOPE,
SAYS MINE MANAGER;
FIRE CHIEF HELPLESS
More Explosions, Threatening to Cave the Entire
Mine-.-D distress Grows in the Stricken Town.
No Need Of Presence Militia, Says Commander

CHERRY, Nov. 16.-New explo-
sions today threaten the complete
destruction of the St. Paul Coal mine,
in which three hundred victims of
last Saturdays disaster are still
buried.
The burning coal is one cause of
the explosions and the action of the
fire and water is another.
Should gas form in large quantities
and the explosions continue, the
lives of the men at the top of the
shaft would be in danger.
Captain Hall, in command of the
militia now here, found no evidence
of trouble today. Il can see no
need for troops here" he said. 1T
is evident that the community has
sufficiently recovered its composure
to realize that all possible is being
done and to keep from any manner
of interference"
The heat in the mine was found
to be too intense today to permit
entrance. This means that the
bodies of the three hundred men en-
tombed in Saturdays disaster must
remain there for at least another "a
hours. Many of the bodies, it is now
believed, have been consumed by the
1ames.
~ The subterranean fires today were
more intense than when the men
were entrapped and no efforts could
be made to enter the mine. Fire
Chief Horan of Chicago, shook his
head:
- cts no use," he said. ITO lift
the lid today would mean that the
whole mine would blaze up and there
would be no possibility of recover
ing even the bodies. The coal de-
posits would take fire, the timber
supports would crumble and. it is
terrible to picture what would hap
pen. Perhaps another shaft would
have to be dug to recover the remains
of the men,"
"In making the rounds of the min
ers' homes, Duncan Mcdonald, pres
ident of district No. IL, United Mine
Workers, discovered that a baby had
arrived at home which lost faith
er and a son. Inc mother was kept
ignorant of the olsaster.
Eighty-six homes visited were with
the exception of children, without
male members.
The frantic women who lost hus-
bands ventured to visit the shaft and
these had to be taken back almost
forcibly.
Speculation is rife as to the loca-
tion of bodies in the mine. Upon
this will be determined the imme-
diate cause of the mems deaths
whether it was Iire, suffocation by
smoke, or the falling in of parts of
the mine. 1t is the opinion of vet
eran mine workers that in time of
danger a miner will remain near the
hoisting shaft until driven to re-
moter parts in search of air.
If the bodies are found near the
shaft, it is declared, it will indicate
the men perished by fire. If they are
found in the more distant galleries,
suffocation by smoke or gas was
probably the cause of death. The
repeated sealing up of the mouth OF
the mine, necessary to stop draught
and smother the fire, 1t is held, was
sufficient to generate enough gas to
kill the men in any part of the mine.
The location of the bodies will In
dicate about when the men died, for
the noxious gases in the mine did not
become fatally dense until some
time after the first fire was subdued.
Two hundred and fifty pine boxes,
in which are to be buried such of the
bodies as are recovered, arrived to-
day and were stored near the mine,