Show CAUSE OF COLORADO w T ir u morss TTO 11 smoke from burning buildings was carried into the levels by suction of tunnel vo shift bosses lost their lives trying to give the alarm to the imprisoned men unknown number of dead still in the workings although 22 bodies have been taken out colo nov 21 persons who have come into town this morning from the smuggler union mine which ia foai miles distant between marshall gulch and the mountains say the workers have almost abandoned hope of finding any of the imprisoned men alive every entrance to the property is the scene 0 active work and the willing hands aro only stayed by the fear of certain death if they enter the levels few minutes men make ft rush in only to crawl back helpless and strangling a they meet the foul smoke which fills the tunnels and levels the officers of the company refuse to talk either in ahing information or n expressing opinions as to the likelihood of early of tho unfortunate a yet in the mine they will only say the work will be continued until everybody has been recovered an will be hastened in the hope that many may bo found alive ahe telephone and telegraph wires were destroyed in the tire and alie only means of communication is by messenger the fire broke out in the tramway bunk house at the mouth of the bullion tunnel the principal opening from which inc property is worked and spread rapidly to the boiler and engine lio iise blacksmith shop the tramway with its great ore bins and several smaller buildings were all soon wrap llames A strong draft drew the smoke from the burning buildings directly into the tunnel and the miles of drifts up raises and slopes connecting with it began to fill rapidly with the smoke in the excitement of trying to control the fire in the outside buildings alie mine as forgotten and before alie situation was realized the workings were fast filling with dense smoke by thia time the buildings about the mouth of the tunnel were all ablaze and nothing could s lie done to stop the efrom going ini jr aa great bodies of rock were blown down into ahe tunnel mouth and the opening stopped but not until the workings were the smoke i working its way through inc shafts to the surface a mile or more up alie mountain from the tunnel house the day shift some two hundred men had gone into the mine and reached their stations before the fire started it is known eliat some of the men escaped through the old sheridan tun nei and also through the ol dUnion work V ka dut oy are to have been but a small part of the force in alio ine the smuggler union is the largest mine in the telluride district the out put being about two thirds of the total from the camp it H owned by new york and boston capitalists denver colo nov 21 only a meagre report concerning alie disastrous ahro at the smuggler union mine near telluride colo has been received at the local of I 1 fice of the company it h not known i here th whether the loss ol 01 life will reach iab as feared or whether any bodies have been found in addition to the 22 which verc recovered and identified last night the damage baua cd by the fire in the loss of buildings ii estimated at fully insured but the mine will have to be closed for at least a month the mouzli of the bullion tunnel through which the smuggler union mines are worked is located not over 50 or CO feet from the burned buildings the smoke from alio start to bo drawn to the of the tunnel and it encircled that point as if there were no other place of escape thia wib due to the suction a the air ia alie mine was warmer alian that outside on account of thia suction movement the majority of mine arid tunnel have fron doors ready to lower in place at a minutes notice to slop smoke or fire unfortunately the bullion tunnel did not i one of these safeguards it appears eliat much of alie stupefying effect of the ure was duo to the flames in the converter house which was with oil and which emitted emitt cd the darkest imaginable the tunnel situated about midway between the top or bpck of alie mine and alie ninth level it u an intermediate work ing tunnel the seventh level is 1750 feet lelow the surface and the ninth level where between 75 and 00 miners were working when alio fire occurred is 2000 feet below the surface level at last accounts all attempts to explore this level have been frustrated by the smoke seventeen of the twenty two bodies rc coverd were found in the seventh level the fire did not penetrate the mine wor kirya and the frightful loss of life was due entirely to smoke the mine was originally owned by a company of which john porter of this city was the president and A II 11 fowler secretary and treasurer about two years ago the mine with a number of others in the same locality was absorbed by the new england exploration company of which J B lawrence is now the head and one of alie principal stockholders the new england company is controlled by boston capitalists mr lawrence went to new york about a week s y arthur collins manager of the mine is also absent on a trip to mexico jacob finns attorney for the company left for last night to make an investigation alio executive board of the western federation of miners now in session in this city alio disaster at their meeting today they averred that agitation would commence in labor circles to procure legislation which would remedy the evils which caused the alre at the smuggler mine in a snow slide occurred just bullion tunnel in 27 people lost their lives and it was hero on july ard 3rd last that alie lighting consequent upon the miners strike occurred denser colo nov 21 A special to the post from telluride colo baya the work of rescuing bodies of who were suffocated to death in alio smuggler union mine yesterday morn resumed at 3 this morning the searching parties were unable to work last night owing to the denbo volumes of sulphur gas which permeated every portion of alie eighteen miles of underground workings it 19 not expected that all of alie bodies will be recovered before midnight tonight and it may even be longer how many bodies remain in alie mine is simply a matter of conjecture and the full number of dead will not be known until a complete roster of the employed emp loyes has been secured and those who escaped accounted for there may be fifty more bodies in the mine it Bc ertain that every man who is imprisoned in the mine is dead no living being could exist in eliat awful sulphur fumea for more alian a few minutes the work of bringing down the bodies of the victims ans slow and laborious bo rious the bueoy trail making it very difficult to carry the bodies the bodies were placed upon improvised stretchers and taca raised upon the shoulders of twelve stalwart miners and brought to the coroners office where they were laid out in rows from to men were engaged in work their lives in a vain attempt to and barklay sac save the lives of their nine associates they had ample warning ot alie fire and could easily haie escaped from the tunnel instead they went back into the workings to the blann they succeeded probably in warning only a very few of the men before they themselves were overcome by the deadly sulphur fucca alio coroner will leold nn inquest upon but one body alie verdict in thia caso being deemed sufficient to corer all of the casualties A largo crowd began gathering at the smuggler union mine early this mom ing every man volunteering to join the rescue parties only alio most experienced miners have been chosen for this dangerous work and up to 0 those selected were busy making to in cabe large bodies of emako and sulphur gas should bo encountered in alie workings as the boarch for the dead progressed at that hour alie first party entered alio workings their progress is slow and it will be several hours it h thought before any bodies are encountered continued on page two CAUSE OF COLORADO MINE HORROR continued from page one of the victims were married men and fc everal left families there is already talk of raisina a relief fund for the widows and orphans and it is quite likely that tho bbate will bo asked to assist the people of telluride in caring for those who have so suddenly been bu reffa of their support |