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Show "WORST IN HISTORY. Scofield Explosion Surpasses All Disasters. Dis-asters. The explosion at Scofield yesterday, ia said to be by far the most disastrous, as regards the loss of human . life, that has ever been known west of the Missouri Mis-souri river. There have been only three other large explosions which resulted in a serious loss of life within the last twenty-two years. One of thes? was the explosion at the Almy No. 2 mine in Wyoming, when thirty-two miners lost their lives. At an explosion in No. 4 Union Pacific, mine thirteen men were killed. This was a terrific explosion, but happening as it did at 11 o'clock at night, when there were only ehrven men in the mine, it did not have very many victims. The eleven men in the mine were, of course, killed. In the summer of 1S95 an explosion in Southern Pacific mine No. 5 resulted in the death of sixty-one men. The explosion happened shortly after the men had quit work for the day. Several Sev-eral of those who were killed by the explosion had left the mine, but had not got far enough away to escape the shock. Among them was the master mechanic of the mine. I The workings of a coal mine, its many passages, rooms, pillars, air passages, pas-sages, etc., are almost a sealed book to the average layman. As a rule, coal mines are much alike, and are worked on the same general plan. Starting from the entrance to the coal mine a wide passage or tunnel runs down into the ground at a greater or less slope. Branching off from this on each side are various pasnages or entries as they are called. In old mines there may be from twenty to thirty of these entries on either side of the tunnel. Off these entries are the rooms in which generally two men work at a time. These are worked in the form of a passage toward the entrance of the mine. As the miners proceed they excavate in the form of a fan. These rooms are run into the solid wall of coal say, about 250 fee't. The next entry will be 400 feet down, thus leaving leav-ing what is called a pillar of, say, 150 feet. As each new room is developed and the wall between it and the next room is made thinner an air passage is made between it and the room nearer near-er the mouth of the entry. The idea is to work out the coal as methodically as poasible along these lines. The air is forced through the mine by an immense fan on something nfter the following plan: At the outer edge of the first tranverse passage or entry is a gate. This is practically air tight, and is opened and closed for the passage of coal cars or boxes, as the miners call them, by a boy. This ia the sole duty of the boy. He does nothing else all day long, and makes, as a rule, a dollar and a half thereby. The air passage is cut through from the tunnel on the outside of this door, or nearer the entrance to the mine, and thrcugh it the air enters the first room. From this it filters through the air passage that ha9 been bored through the solid wall of coal into the next room, and so on till it gets to the end of the rooms running off the entry. en-try. Then it comes back along the entry toward the tunnel, but here it is met by another closed door, and consequently con-sequently passes through another air pansa.ge cut through the wall or pillar on the lower side of the entry to the next series of rooms. Through these it passes in the same fashion till it arrives at the last set or the end of the tunnel. Here is an other air tight door and the air passes around the back or lwer end of it and begins- its upward passage in the? same way as it was forced down, till it arrives at the' fan at the outward end of the passage. This huge fan is sucking the air out of the mine at a tremendous pressure, and as it passes out of course mere and fresih air must come in to fill up the partial vacuum created. When the mine has been worked in this way on the down grade to the end of the claim, er as far as it is considered consid-ered profitable, the aim is to work back to the entrance, mining out the pillars. The pressure of the earth from above squeezes out the coal se that no blasting has te be done on the backward back-ward working. This is the theory of the working of a mine te get all the coal out of it, but not one in a hundred hun-dred is worked successfully to a finish. Notes of the Calamity. I Superintendent Welby, accompanied j by Dr. Bascom, general surgeon for the Rio Grande Western, left for the scene cf the catastrophe in Mr. Welby's special spe-cial car yesterday forenoon. It is probable that a corps of trained nurses will be sent from here, though this will not be decided upon until it is ascertained ascer-tained definitely how many are injured. in-jured. As one man remarked gravely: "There is more need for undertakers than doctors." No word came from Superintendent J Sharp last, night. Immediately upon ! arriving at Winter Quarters he went I inte the mine, and according to word j that reached here, has not rested a minute in the work of rescuing his men. .Many of the killed are men who have been raised in the employ of Mr. Sharp, and he feels their loss almost as keenly as though they were of his own family. Notably among them is Bill Parmalee, who has worked, under Mr. Sharp for twenty years and more. The company, while claiming- to have no authentic details of the catastrophe, realizes its extent. Two hundred coffins cof-fins were ordered of the local undertakers under-takers laat night, the work of burying the dead having been placed in the hands of S. D. Evans. It was found that the number could not be procured in this city, and after leaving the local establishments almost depleted, fifty will be ordered from Denver. Arrangements Arrange-ments are also to be made with the Z. C. M. I. for 200 burial suits, which will be delivered at the ill-fated town a3 soon as possible. The Rio Grande Western authorized the statement last night that it will furnish transportation to relatives of the dead who may desire to go to the ! scene of the catastrophe. Undertaker Joseph E. Taylor and a force of seven men were engaged in trimming coffins all night, and the other morticians of the city will contribute con-tribute their share of caskets. |
