The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-10-06
Thirty=tWO Dead, Of Which q Bodies Have
Been Brought to the Surface=--A Boy When
Rescued Thinks Only of His Mother

LadysmIth. B c.. Oct. 6-As the re-
suit Cl explosion of fire damp In the
Extension mine OF tho Wellington
coiliery company. near here ycster-
day morning, 32 miners lost their
lives. and great damage was done TO
the mine property. Up 10 10 o'clock
this morning % bodies had been re-
covered and nine more were known
tu.bc eutombed III the mine.
Since long before dawn a crowd of
women with tense, drawn faces. hold
Ing children by the hand. had been
awaiting the mine train from Exten-
sicn. Il miles away. and when the
train. which daily carries hundreds
OF miners from Their Ladysmith
homes. arrived # brought sixteen limp
bundles on stretcherS, covered with
sheets. As they were passed out from
the caboose. the name being Whisper
ed, a sobbing procession fell I'm behind
and each body WAS carried away TO a
miners homo on the hill.
The bodies of ] Ismaster. Alex Nc
Clellan, Robert White, Fred lnghnm
and William Steele were brought out
Of the mine this morning
Alexander Shaw. the foreman, who
worked energetically with his son and
others 10 rescue the men cut off by
fire damp says that the five found
this morning were huddled in a row,
seemingly as though they had been
holding coat tails.
As narrated by HlSlop, who was
with their party. they ran up a stall.
evidently 10 seek a short way. but
when death overlook them they wero
less than a hundred feet from where
Hislop and the eleven others had sat
waiting when they heard the voices
Of the rescue party and broke through
the stopping safely,
Shaw told of having found boy,
Morris. a mule driver. on his hands
and knees IN u pool OF mud. sobbing
"Oh. take me out-take me out"
moaned the boy when he saw Shaw's
safety lamp. What viii mother
think"
Shaw lifted him, tucked him under
his arm and ran UP the slope.
All through the night the rcscuers
sought the still imprisoned bodies and
the search continues today. There
are many caves where coal has fallen
in the crosscuts and these arc delay
ing rescue work.
Thomas HlSlop, who was one of the
last OF seven hundred miners and as
Sistants who scurried from the EX-
tension mine after the disastrous cX-
plosiou, gave a most graphic account
OF the accident
"l was working with sixteen men,
including FIVE OF the dead, on the
first level when We heard tho eNplo-
sion" said Hislop. we stood for Il
second IN the darkness as our lamps
went out. We started through the
counter Lowell, but could not get
through The deadly blackdamp was
choking us as we fought our way
into level No 8. There five Of the
men succumbed and we knew the gas
had 20, them. We were getting weak
as the gas became moro dense, We
could scarcely breathe and In our
ears was the roar OF thousand
drums. We gave up hope and sat
down 10 wait for death. Then We
heard a shout and next saw the fore
man. Davidson. who lost his son in
the mine, coming We went through
the Stopping and crawled TO safety.
There is no fire in the mine II Is
expected NHdt MoiN VIZ w
in less than a week The mine has
daily output OF 400 tons.
Robert White. whose body was
among the five recovered today from
No { west level. gave his life for
friend. His body was found with an
arm around j. Ismaster. whom he had
refused 10 leave White had wavered
as TO whether he should follow HIS
Top. Golfer. ellison, Redford and 9TH
efs who we're rescued by Alexander
and James Shaw and David Davidson.
He decided to remain with lsmastcr
md died with him.