Devils Lake weekly world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1914, 1913-12-19
BLACK DAMP KILLS 38
IN A COLORADO MINE
ONLY TWO ESCAPE WHEN FLA ME
OF CANDLE CAUSES Ex-
PLos1oN.

Newcastle, Colo, Dec. H. Black
damp-the dust that is the terror of
miners the world over-added thirty.
eight victims to its long List in the
Vulcan miLL mile and q La,t frcm
,hcrc, :sesl,tsy.
Only Two Escape.
OF the forty men composing the day
shift at work, only two. w. J. Finley
and John Dawson, escaped.
All of the dead are Americans.
Saved by Air Passage.
work in the lower level, every nook
and Granny of which was penetrated
by the explosion.
The two survivors worked above on
the upper levels, where an air passage
prevented the collecting of the deadly
dust particles.
Duo to Candle Flame.
The flame Of miner IS candle caused
the gas to explode. This is the theory
of the mine officials. J. w. Cummings,
district manager of the Rocky Noun
tain Fuel company, announced dust
explosion as the cause Of the disaster
early, after an investigation.
Shakes Whole Mountain.
The force of the blast shook the
whole mountain, and rocked the build
ings on the mine tipple.
Bodies Horribly Manued.
= The bodies were horribly mangled
and difficulty inexperienced in iden-
tifying them, but they were checked
off gradually from the time card.
So extensive was the explosion that
it swept the mine free from dust and
the rescue work was conducted by men
with open lamps in their caps and
without oxygen helmets.
No Hope Of Rescue.
The scene at the mine mouth was
more distressing than customary in
such disasters, for the last flicker OF
hope for life had died away. A me-
jority of the killed men were young
men from the vicinity Of Newcastle,
sons of prominent ranchmen and bust
ness men, who had replaced the Italian
miners that went out on strike.
superintendent Plunges In.
A snow storm, which started this
morning, added to the difficulty of the
rescuers and to the confusion Of the
scene
Great clouds of smoke belched from
the mine mouth and it was at first re-
ported that the timbering was OF Gre
Before the smoke cleared away Su-
perintendent Meredith, with his life
helmet, had plunged in to discover the
damage.
Finds Only Bodies.
Meredith said he had penetrated to
the face of the entry at the end of the
level and found only bodies.
Father j. P. Carrigan, Of Glenwood
Springs. near heret hurried to New
Castle at the first news Of the explo-
sion. The priest rushed into the smok-
ing pit.among the first| rescuers, in
search of the dying, to whom he might
administer the last rites of the church.
! Safety Devices Modern,
The Vulcan mine was only about a
year old and was equipped with mod
ern safety devices.
Seventeen years ago an explosion in
mine on the same property, but not
connected with the new Vulcan mine,
.:illed forty-seven men.
| At the home Of Mr.. and Mrs. Chas.
Nelson in this city Monday evening
occurred the marriage of Mr.. Louis
Olson, of Doyon, to Miss Agnes Hor-
gan, of Egeland.
| The ceremony was performed by
Rev A. G. Barron in the presence of
| friends and relatives.
The bride is a niece of Mrs. Nelson
and is popular young lady whose
home is at Star Prairie, Wis, but dur
ing the past year she has been working
in a store at Egeland. The groom is
bookkeeper in the Bank of Doyon,
and is highly respected young man.
The happy couple have hosts of