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Show NOTHING LEFT OP THE DEAD BODIES Workmen at Devil's Slide Cement Plant Uncover the Site of the Powder Tunnel, But Fail to Find Even a Fragment of Any One of the SeventeenMen Killed by the Explosion On the first day of June, this year, a terrific explosion took place in a tunnel leading into the face of the mountain or solid rock at Devils Slide, near Croyden, in Weber canyon, can-yon, where the Union Portland Cement Ce-ment company of this city was blasting blast-ing rock to be used In the cement works of the company. On that fate-Jul fate-Jul day seventeen men were blown into in-to eternity. Twelve human feet were found outside the tunnel Immediately after the explosion, indicating that at least six of the men engaged in the blasting had been blown like a can-nonball can-nonball from the tunnel. Since that time the cement com-pony com-pony haa kept at work from fifty to :eventy-flvo men with a steam shovel In an effort to exhume the remaining eleven men, supposed to be entombed beneath the great mass of rock that had fallen with the explosion, that t heir bodies might be delivered to friends, and, perchance, relatives, for burial. During that time the work of the faithful quarrymen has been incessant in-cessant and untiring, it being expected expect-ed at nearly every moment that some unfortunate body would be unearthed and carried away for identification. The hope, however, was vain, for no inch body was found. The end of the tunnel was reached a few days ago. but not a vestige of a human body was found. Not eveu 0 trace could be. discovered. It was found that only one ehani-i-er of powder had been exploded, ui:J that another chamber, or cache, was intact, tho powder being in the same condition as when It was placed. 1 he chamber containing the powder that was exploded was expanded from j dimensions of 8 feet square to 12 feet by 20 feet, proving the great pressure pres-sure that was brought to bear upon that chamber of solid rock. It would be Impossible for a single particle of a man's body to remain intact, under !uch conditions, say the officers of the cement company, I I Some of the bodies may have been blown part way otfl of the tunnel or they may all have been complcte- I ly consumed in the powder chamber. I This Is a secret of that mountain tnu-r.cl tnu-r.cl that will be forever withheld. All evidence that would lead to a conclusion as to the. cause. of the explosion ex-plosion was caused through something some-thing having gone wrong with the electric wiring of the workings, or whether one of the quarrymen inadvertantly inad-vertantly dropped a match intd thy powder. The men killed were Hugh Magulro, foreman, an American, and resident of Bingham, Utah; FTank Coney, George Catolonl. B. Catoloul, S. Do Jbirnado. S. Nokovlch, F. N'akamura. F. GJuklcb, M. Guesseppe. D. Cam-r.olohl, Cam-r.olohl, F. Begovlc, P. Stojuvic. P. Shenic, A. Ishil, M. Svllar, B. Kroma-vlc Kroma-vlc and P. Petreff. All the victims of the disaster, bo far as known, except ir.c, were single men and under mid die age. They were foreigners, except ex-cept Maguire, and are not known to have relatives in this country. As soon as tho work of removing I tic rock from the tunnel was completed, com-pleted, the coroner's Jury, under tho direction of Justice of the peace E. A. Wilde of Croydeu. Morgan county, made its investigations and arrived at a verdict, which was as follows: "We. the Jurors called to Invest! t,:te the killlug of seventeen men at the tunnel of the Union Portland Cement Ce-ment company at Devil's Slide, hav he!d an inquest over portions of the remains of seventeen bodies and we llnd that they came to their deaths by a premature explosion of powder at Devil's Slide. Utah. June 1st, 1910, and the names given are the true rames of the men killed therein; and the Union Portland Cement company is herebv exonerated from all blame. (Slgued) W. H. TOOXE. JR., JOHN LONDON. JAMES S. HOPKINS." |