The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-02-11
l2O LIVES ARE:
 WIPED OUT BY OSLO N
All Hope Abandoned Any Men Still in Western Mine to Be Brought to Surface Alive. Rescue Crews Work
 ing VaIiantIy

DAWSON, N. M., Feb. 10.- (By Associated Press. )-Dawson' s death list in the disastrous blast which wrecked mine No. 1 of the Phelps-Dodge corporation Thursday last probably will be 120. Off, cials have abandoned hope of find ing any of the mis3nig men alive, it was announced late today.
 W. o. Brennan, manager of the properties, after exploration of the mine, declared emphatically there is little doubt that all have per ished.
 This afternoon-48 hours after the blast-the cause of the explo- sion was as much a mystery as it has ever been.
 P. G. Beckett, general manager of the Phelps-Dodge corporation, arrived here this afternoon to in- vestigate the explosion.
 Rescue crews were hampered early in the day by blizzard, but the storm subsided at noon and by tonight the crews had taken the bodies of 54 men from the mine.
 Fifty-fOur Bodies Removed
 In addition to the 54 bodies al- ready removed. J. B. Morrow, outside superintendent, announced rescue crews are on the way from the far stretches Of cross-cut Number 4 nearly two miles from the mouth with nine others.
 The main tunnel has been partly cleared. The afternoon shift attack et the task of opening a way through Cross-cuts Five, six and seven north the longest of those remaining.
 In the group of over 200 crowded about the mine entrance this after noon, were those who still hoped against hope that their loved ones lived. There still were no tears only in the executive offices or al the morgues does one hear weeping now and then.
 Devastation within the mine is ap- palllng, according to Manager Bren. nan. The overcasts nave all been blown away, the hanging walls have caved in in many places, the water system in the tunnells have beer shattered, openings have crumbled before the force of the blast, and huge piles of debris litter the work ings from end to end.
 On the north side of the main tunnel fresh air has been carried to the fourth cross-cut Five, six and seven still remain to be freed of foul gases on the north side of the tunnel. On the opposite side of the entrance workers have penetrated to the eleventh cross-cut, but fresh air has not been re-established in all of them.
 Three Explanations Given
 The workers have not gone the full length of the cross-cuts on the south side. In some they have ad- vanced for several hundred feet. Tn the eleventh cros-cut, south, the workers reported they saw far back in the entry the bodies of trip man and a nipper
 Three probable explanations for \ the blast were given by Manager Brennan. A miner may have carried match into the workings, although all workmen are searched for in flammables. An electr. wire may have caused a spark which ignited dust in the mine, or spark from a mine car may have set fire to dust or gases.
 The first bodies of mine victims are to be buried tomorrow. Work at Mine Number 1. has set . tied down to routine with the in auguration of an eight hour shift Large amounts of reconstruction material have been carried into the mine.
 If none of the miners still unac- counted for in Dawson mine Number 1, are found alive, the disaster will have widowed 55 women and made orphans of 92 children. according to figures compiled late today. The welfare department of the Phelps Dodge company already has been or ganized and none of the descendants left by miners who lost their lives will suffei, Manager Brennan an- nounced.