The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-02
DEATH LIST FIXED
At SEvENTY-N|NE
Loss of Life in Mine Disaster
at PrimerO, Colo, Not as
Great as Supposed.
BODIES OF FORTY VICTIMS
HAVE BEEN RECOVERED
Main Consideration Relief for
Those Dependent Upon
Men Who Perished.

! PRIMERO, Colo. Feb. 1.-When
darkness fell on Primero, where yester.
day at 4.30 p. N. the lives of seventy
nine miners were snuffed ont BY an e1-
plosion in the main slope of the Colo
RADIO Fuel and Iron company's mine, the
bodies Of forty victims lay in tine tenn.
porary morgue installed in the machine
shop. 4 large force of mon was still
engaged in restoring ventilation
! throughout the mine and hundreds of
mouth of the shaft awaiting the re-
coveTv of the cntombed bodies.
Officials of the company on the
ground, who we're not needed 10 super
wise directly the mine work. turned
their attention 10 the relief of the fam
| lies of the victims. Coroner Gull
foyl had empau uelcd A Jury TO take up
an investigation of the catastrophe and
relatives and friends Of the identified
dead turned their attention to prcpara-
tions for their burial.
Cause Still Mystery.
The cause of the disaster tonight re
mains Shrouded in as great mystery
| as Yesterday when the little town was
stunned by the sound of the explosion.
| ScVeral theories are advanced. but def
| inltc information as to the cause of the
| explosion is not expected until thc mine
is completely cleared and an official in
! vestigatIon made.
Leonardo Nirgcu, n Mexican, and the
only surviving miner. who is supposed
TO have been working within COM
paratiVely short distance of the point
where the explosion originated in un-
able TO give q clear statement of what
actually occurred. and cannot tell from
which direction the force Of the explo-
sion came.
Following immediately the report.
which warned residents of Primero that
a disaster had occurred. q column Of
| dust and smoke poured out the main
| entrance. Many pieces Of timber were
hurled from the entrance more than a
hundred feet; and so terrific was the
force that a string of cars In the mine
mouth were blown clear of the track.
Work Of Rescue.
Attention of those outside were
turned Immediately 10 ihc huge venti.
lating fans and within an hour two Of
| these were put in operation aud rescue
parties were forcing their way into the
| gaS-flled workings. 4 huge caVc.in at
the mouth of the main slope blocked
the entrance at that point, but the res
cuers followed the main ventilstine
| shaft for several hundred yards. gain
ing entrance 10 the main slope through
a cross-cut.
1t was not until the relief party
reached entry Al on the main slope
| that they found the first evidence of
| the destruction wrought BY the eXplo-
sion, Here probably n dozen bodies
were encountered, but the rescuers
pushed on in the hope of finding signs
Of life A little farther on near the
mouth of entry AS the party in charge
of j. p. Manlcy. local mine inspector,
came across Leonardo Nirgcn shortly
after Q clock this morning.
As If waking from q deep sleep,
Virgcn opened his eyes and said
please may go home now
| Nlrgcn was hurried 10 the temporary
hospital To-Day he had sufficiently. re
covered to join the ranks Of watchers
around the mine entrance.
Missing Given Up.
Encouraged by their find. rescucrs
worked with renewed energy hoping to
| find others alive within the rccesses OF
the mine. but falling in this UP 10 this
evening those still missing were given
up as lost
Early last night local workers had been
reinforced by squads OF miners from the
! surrounding camps OF ScSundo. Stark
vile, Bcrwind. Ensle. Cokcdalc and
work was pushed with frequent rellefs
! undl tonight the advance guard had
pushed within 400 yards OF the face Of
the main slope
Leaders In this work were j. r Man
Hey. William Fitzpatrick. mine supcrinren-
dent. and william Morgan Of the Rocky
Mountain Fuel Company's Piedmont mine.
Morgan knows the workings thoroughly,
having been superintendent OF the Pri-
nero mine on January ~. 1907, when
twenty-four lives were lost In an eX-
plosion j. s Thompson. division super
intendeut Joseph Ball. David Griffith
and other officials hurried from TrIni-
dad on special train and Joined in the
rescue work.
officials OH Hand.
This morning officials on the ground
we're further incrca sed by the arrival
or Frederick Harrington, general coun;
sci; r. H. Weitzg Wannger of Of The fuel
dent al the Guggenheim properties al
Cokcdale. and others.
Today orders were issued through Off
cials of the Colorado Supply company, a
subsidiary OF the Colorado Fuel & Iron
company. TO issue provisions 10 families
OF the victims until permanent system,
! OF relief could hc organized.
Work OF checking OFF the dead proceed
! ed slowly today the only means OF idcu-
,ihcation being TO check the missing
: number carried by each miner with the
The scenes around the mine today
failed 10 indicate the magnitude OF the
disaster.
J The ground was roped off around the
entrance and a force OF deputy sheriffs
4 kept the crowds back giving the worker:
a clear field. Although anxiety. caused
, by the uncerteinty. was plainly visible
: mon women and children among tht
watchers restrained their grief with
amazing iortitude.
Shortly before / o'clock this afternoon
the watchers were electrified by the re-
= port that another man had been recov-
' cred alive. but hope thus revived was
: quickly shattered by the announcement
: that Bert Lloyd, one Of the rescue party
? had Vcntured too far amid the poison
:; Gus fumes and had been overcome ne
was brought 10 the open air and quicklI
il revived.
u In the list of known deHd. compiled
from records OF Coroner Guilfoil and tbs
| company. arc
DAVE WILLIAMS. Welsh. pit boss
n JACK ELIAS American. boss driver
n WILLIAM HELM. American,
c JIM RI'MMINGS. American.
n J. ". HOSKINS. American.
Is ED RAIL. American.