Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1913-10-24

ln6lr helmets, his aCllOn confused
their rescuers, who frightened by the
continued fall Of debris and hampered
by their SO pound equipment, also
ierked off their helmets and ran into
the entry cut into the 18th room. They
were overcome by poisonous gases
but members of the other division of
the crew finally brought them to the
surface alive. Walter Kerr, one Of the
rescued men, had not recovered CON
seriousness several hours later, but
Roy Sjmpleman, his companion, told
of the narrowing experiences, which
in the opinion of rescue leaders, prob
ably caused the death Of Lurdi and
Poisa.
/ This probable fatality and the ter
rors of the face of the mine, which is
so thickly infested with poisonous
gases so affected the helmet men that
J. G. Roberts, directing the govern
ment rescue work, experienced diff
Guilty in securing men to reenter the
mine to search for Lurdi and Poisa.
/
the first entered the mine Lurid and
! Poisa had been in the workings un-
| helmeted for an hour and half.
/ Between 2 and o'clock this morn
! ing three additional bodies were re-
covered and brought to the surface.
| No trace had been found Of General
Superintendent William McDermott,
nor Henry P McShane, the wealthy
young New Yorker.
! Among the known dead, but whose
body has not been recovered is Henry
p. McShane, Of New York. whose
mother, Mrs. f. p. McShane, is
| stockholder in the Stag Canon Fuel
company, operators of the mine in
which the disaster occurred. Nc
Shane. who was but 19 years old,
came to Dawson last summer in or
der to learn the mining business by
practical experience.
All hope for the rescue of General
Mine Superintendent William McDer-
mott, has been abandoned The SUI
perintendent was at work in one of
the rooms far removed from either of
the two main entries to the mine, and
it is in this section of the workings
that the greatest loss of life is said to
have occurred
Shortly after S o'clock yesterday
alive several thousand feet within the
mine and at that discovery renewed
hope sprang up among the rescuers
that might be able to find some of the
tedious search the twentythird miner
to have been reached alive was found,
in a room near the mule but six other
miners who were in the room with
him had been killed almost instantly.
The live miner, identified as Jose
Fernandez, was unconscious when
found, and the heroic use Of a pull
motor was necessary to establish prop
er respiration and even after several
minutes treatment he did not regain
consciousness, though physicians say
he will recover completely. 1t is to
him that the government rescue Of /
ficials of the mine look for an eXplana !
tion of the explosion, as now the be-
lief is practically unanimous tlrat no |
more CT the entombed miners are I
olive. !
Chambers beyond the one in which .
Fernandez and his dead companions
were found, have been explored by the .
rescue crews with their oxygen he'll /
NETS. but nothing but dead have been
found therein.
In telling of the explosion, Mr. Rob
erts of the government bureau. today
said:
1T was the impossible that hap,
pened. Just another case of the un-
loaded gun which discharged. What
which never may be solved at least
not for weeks to come. The explosion
occurred al 8 o'clock Wednesday az
ternoon when all of the men were
within the mine. Two miners
We're at the high line or main entry
for tram cars when the explosion
caught them and they were buried un.
der the debris at the opening. One OF
them escaped, while the other was
hurled under the tram where his body
was recovered few hours later. ,
These were the only men of the day :,
shift who were not in the mine,
proper. Those who saw the eXplo-
SION say it was like volcano in erup-
ion. First came the roar, then the
loise of great explosion. Instantly
rom the two lateral entries issued a
lash of flame, followed by dense :
LIQUIDS of heavy black smoke. :
General Manager 7. A. O'Brien, I
Sho was in the Office near mine No. :.
;. realized what had happened I'M
he summoned the men from !
hree of the other mines by means of
he mine siren and put them to work
iigging into the main entry and the i.
both of which were blocked y
" tons of fallen rock and timber. He, !.
himself, with other mine officials, !.
hastily went to the airshaft which is
upplied with a ladder and steps de- :.
igned to be used as means of es- =
ape in just such emergencies. There
,e found the air unbearable, and I.
new that the great fans had stopped. =
With oxygen helmets he and his fol- a
overs went into mine No. 5, con- 4
ected with No. by a tunnel, believ- &
ng that they could connect with the x
aterals of the wrecked mine. But <
here they found the passage blocked =