Shoshone journal. [volume], February 21, 1896, Image 3

About Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931

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Half hundred dead miners
Explosion in the Vulcan at
Newcastle, Colo.
Little Hope Cherished that Any of the
Men Will be Found Alive—One Man
Blowu Out, and Died Soon Af.er—
Explosion Believed to Have Been
Caused by Internal Fires in that Dis
trict.
Denver, Feb. iS. —A special to the
News from Newcastle, Col., says: An
explosion occurred at the Vulcan mine
at 11:20 this morning which was the
most disastrous ever known in the his
tory of this camp. Tonight dozens of
homes in our little city aie desolate
because of some loved one, father, hus
band, brother or son, who this morning
left their homes with not a thought of
danger or the awful death that so surely
awaited them, and are now lying lifeless
at the bottom of the Vulcan slope.
All business is practically suspended:
everyone is dazed at the awfulness of
the sudden disaster. No warning was
given the peaceful villagers until a sud
den report as from a hundred cannons
resounded throughout the valley, mak
ing the earth tremble. People rushed
out of homes and places of business to
see what had happened, and one look
toward the Vulcan mine was sufficient
for a dense cloud of smoke issuing from
the mouth of the slope met the eyes of
the gazers and told the tale of death.
A throng of people were soon at the
scene of disaster, a distance of nearly
two mlies from Newcastle. A glance
was enough to dissipate any hope for the
lives of the entombed men. The force
of the explosion had caused a cave-in,
and the tunnel and air courses were
filled with the fallen rock, earth and
timbers. Both fan-houses were wreck
ed and the slope and vicinity were so
full of debris and the gas so bad, that it
was hard and dangerous work to begin
the rescue. Nevertheless, willing hands
were soon at work and five men went
down as far as possible to ascertain the
condition of the slope, and found it such
that it will require much labor to regain
the miners. The gas was so bad that
after the party had got 200 feet they
were compelled to recede. The party
consisted of Superintendent Herrick of
the Vulcan, and John Evans, William
Reese, Sam Hills and Robert Temple
man, from the Consolidated mine. The
last named mine shut down immediately
upon hearing of the disaster and sent
their entire force of i 5 o men to help
rescue the unfortunate ones. The con
struction of a temporary fan-house was
commenced at once, and the work of
pumping fresh air into the mine will
soon begin. It is hardly possible that
any of the miners are stifl alive, but the
starting of the fans will be made as soon
a6 possible in the hope that if any have
survived they may be kept alive until
help reaches them.
The only man who got out of the mine
at the time the explosion occurred was
Ed Weich, who was near the mouth of
the tunnel and was blown out, his skull
being fractured, arm broken, the face
badly cut and burned and all the hairbe
ing burned from his head. He was
breathing when found, but expired short
ly after without regaining conscious
ness.
Two young miners, Tom Connelly
and James Petrie, met with narrow es
Their eyes becoming sore, they
capes.
quit work in the mines and had just
emerged from the tunnel when the ex
explosion occurred.
The cause of the explosion is not yet
The coal fields in which the
known.
Vulcan mine is located have been trou
bled with subterranean fires for many
In many places over a distance
years.
of eighty to an hundred miles smokee has
issued from crevices in rocks since the
country was first known to white man,
and in iate years more than one valua
ble mine has been destroyed by fire
breaking into the workings. Little over
a year ago the mines of the Vulcan had
to be flooded on this account, and the
old workrngs have never been re-open
ed, the drift where today's accident oc
curred being a new one. It is thought
that the disaster may have been caused
bv breaking into an immense pocket of
gas generated by these everlasting fires.
On February 8, State Coal Mine In
specter Griffith inspected the mine and
pronounced it in splendid condition, and
the work is said to have been done at all
times in the most careful manner possl
ble.
The number of victims cannot be ac
curately stated, estimates running from
fifty to seventy. Those best informed
think the number is very likely between
pfty-five and sixty.
^resent is so intense, that efforts to se
cure a complete list is useless.
The excitement at
A dispatch from Pierce, Neb., says:
Rear-Admiral Fyffe, U. S. N., is seri
ously ill at his residence here.
MIIOOT1.NG I'KIMO.NKKM.
Spain'* lew Commander'» Vigarnu*
Policy.
Havana, Feb. 18.—It is said that sev
eral political prisoner's were shot last
night at the Cabanas fortress.
Lopez Coioma, who took part in the
revolt last year, is reported to have been
among those executed.
A mulatto who came ashore from the
Ward line steamship "City of Washing
ton,'*
Antonio
carrying Cuban newspapers pub
lished in Ne'
It is said he will be shot.
It is reported that it is the intention of
the rebel chiefs to move eastward at an
early day.
vacated Pinar del Rio province, the
chances are very favorable for saving
the tobacco crop, as the best part of the
tobacco raised on the island is grown
west of Havana. Tobacco has risen con
siderably in price during the last month.
The new crop is not due for six weeks.
Even if it can be saved, American buy
ers in Havana say this year's crop will
York, has been arrested
h
the insurgents have
be very poor, as farmers have been care
less in looking after it, not knowing
whether the rebels would destroy it
before the leaf was ripe for harvesting.
ISKKHIKABI.K IMMIGRANT*.
Hill to Keatrlet the \uMbt-r a* Far
a» Poaaible.
Washington, Feb. 18.—Senator Lodge'
chairman of the committee on immigra
tion, today reported a bill from that com
mittee for the restriction of immigra
tion The bill provides for the exclu
sion of all persons mho are so ignorant
as to be unable to read and write any
language. Senator Lodge presented a
written report on the bill in which he
says:
"This measure, if adopted, will ex
clude a large portion of the pres ent
migration, and, with few exceptions, will
fell exclusively on the most undesirable
immigration. No measure can be de
vised which will let in absolutely every
immigrant yvho ought to be shut
out, but the percentage of desirable im
migrants yvho would be excluded by this
bill yvould be reduced to the minimum."
The committee also says there can be
no doubt that there is a general and
very earnest desire among the people of
the United States to restrict immigra
tion.
"It is obvious that immigration in its
present unrestricted form," the report
continues, "threatens to injure the qual
ity of our citizenship and lower the rates
of American wages."
«HAT WILL HE HO!
Carlisle Considering Disposition of
Vnpald-for Bond».
Washington, Feb. 18.—Secretary Car
lisle has not yet decided to whom shall
be awarded the bonds upon which de
fault of payment of the first installment
was made, nor will he do so until the
exact amount of the default shall be as
certained. In his notices of the accept
ance the secretary required the deposits
to be made "on or before the 15th day of
February," and it is claimed on behalf of
several San Francisco bidders, that their
notice of acceptance yvas not received
until after hours on the 15th, and hence
they yvere unable to cemply with the
secretary's direction. The facts as to
this matter, and also as to the reliability
of one or more Chicago bidders, are
now being investigated, and until a con
clusion has been reached no official de
cision in regard to the disposition of the
defaulted bonds will be announced.
There seems to be no reasonable doubt,
however, that they will be awarded to
. P. Morgen and his associates, under
the blanket bid of $110.6877.
The gold yvithdrawals today yvere;
Coin, $806,700; bars, $35,Soo, leaving the
true amount of the gold reserve $90,
439,784. It is stated, however, that es
timates received of gold deposits at the
several sub-treasuries during the last
few days would increase the reserve to
j
about $110,000,000.
A Ll'CHY AWIDFXT.
Edison Believe» He Ha» Found a
Hardening For Aluminum.
New York, Feb. 16.—Edison in his ex.
periments with the Röntgen rays in
photography, believes that he has acci
dentally hit upon a process of hardening
aluminum that will make it a substitute
for steel in all the various commercial
uses of that metal, from ships to bicy
cles. This means a revolution in the
iron world.
This discovery was made by the wiz
ard last night. In happening to pick up
one of the aluminum disks used for the
cathod electrode in the course of his ex
periments, he tried to ber.d it, but found
that its nature had changed and that it
was as stiff as steel.
J. A. Strathy, manager of the Bank of
Commerce, Strathic, Ont., was shot and
fatally wounded by an unknown man
who called at his house.
WOMEN BURNED OR CRUSHED
A Score of Victims of a Fac
tory Fire,
Hanging From the Windows, and
Dropping to Death on the Pavement
Below—A Woman's Spine Forced by
the Shock Through Her Brain—The
Number of Lives Lost Cannot be
Ascertained.
Ir °y, *•> f17- A small boy
carelessly throwing a match into a pile
of oily waste, a mass of flames, 300 girls
and women frenzied with fright, fight
mg for life, as the hot flames chased
them with hungry tongues, was the be
ginning of a fire tonight that consumed
thousands of dollars' worth of property
and caused the destruction of manv
• T
lives.
From the outside of the high building
the first notice of impending disaster
was the sight of a body of girls as thev
rushed out upon the fire escapes from
the windows, those whs were more for
tunate crowding out the entrance. Fol
lowing them was a mass of smoke, with
flashes of hot flame in lurid streaks.
Then the mass of frenzied humanity,
finding the egresses too small for in
stant oseape, began climbing over the
sides of the escapes, and bundles of
clothing filled with writhing humanity
dropped at the feet of horrified passers
bv.
Within twenty minutes after the fire
started there were three dead women
laid upen the floor of an adjoining store,
and at least a dozen maimed and burn
ed girls and women taken to the hos
pital or to their homes.
Of the 350 girls and women in the
building, it is presumed that at least a
half dozen are in the ruins, for it is im
possible to locate all, and there may pos
sibly be a score dead.
It was just thirty minutes before clos
ing hour in Stettheimer x Co's, shirt
waist factory on river street, and the 350
girls and women were working rapidly
to finish up. In the cutting-room on
the fifth floor 150 girls were closing up |
their day's assignments and preparing to j
leave when the whistle blew.
Lillie
Kreiger, who was working near a ma
chine, called to a small boy to light the j
gas over her work.
The boy struck
threw the burning
stub to the floor. It struck a pile of oily
rags and in an instant the girl was en
veloped in flames. With her clothes and I
a match and
hair burning sh« rushed to th* window j
and at once the room became a strug- j
gling, shreiking mass of humanity, fiil
ing the windows, the fire-escapes and
the only stairway.
Jamming and push- j
ing, tearing each other's clothes from
their baeks, turning in narrow cor»ers to
find a sister, or mother or friend, the
number in the exits augmented every
minute by those trom the other floors, |
these girls and women fought for their
lives to get away from the lames that
seemed to be growing to a monstrous
size.
With rare presence of mind, Police
man Farrel, who yvas on the street see
ing that in the panic a number were lia
ble to jump, let down the awning over
the entrance. Barely was it down when
two or three forms came flying down
from the fifth and sixth stories, and
bouncing from the aw«ing fell to the
sidewalk.
Lillie Krieger, over whose machine
the fire started, was one of these. She
struck the awning, fell on her back and
bounced to her hands and knees on the
walk. She got up and staggered about
until people helped her to her feet
again. By this time nearly every win- |
dow had a female form dangling from it,
and when the firemen arrived there yvas |
a hustle to get the ladders up.
At the center window on the sixth I
floor, a woman hanging by her hands
was forced out by the flames licking her j
face. With a last shriek she let go and |
came tumbling over and over until she j
struck the pavement. When picked up i
it was found that she was Mrs Margaret J
Carrcll. Her spinal column was forced ]
through into her brain.
Just below her, in another window, |
hung a woman, turning appealing
glances to the crowd. The black amoke
was pouring from the window, but as yet |
1» flames were visible, and the crowd |
yelled encouragingly to her to hold on,
but a high red flame reached out just
then and licked her face, and in an in
stant her body was rebounding from the
pavement. She was Mrs. Foley, a
widow, and when picked up was dead.
On the same floor, hanging from an
other window, was another woma», and
salvation in the shape of a ladder was
almost within her grasp when her
strength failed and she went twirling
down to death. She was Mrs. Kane.
The firemen and police worked like
heroes, and to their energy was due a
great saving of life. At least a doaen
women and girla were carried down the
!' h "T°" l ''Yf ,h "
, the officers and firemen going into the
! midst of the smoke. The fire burned so
fiercely bv this time that no detailed
search of the building could be made
and from what can be learned there were
•s
many girls and women on the three
upper stories, either lying in fainting
fits or overcome by smoke. It was this
fact that led to the rumors that there
wer * at least twenty women dead, and
the story, even at this writing, does not
seem improbable.
■ECHEANT EOYKB HILLF.U.
ForHSkrn Girl Murder» Her Pars
mour and Commits Suicide,
St Louir> Feb l6 ._ Ba rbara Kossel, a
prettv German gj rl about lg vears old
tonight shot and kiUed John ' R ch lfi n g
her , ovcr< and then with the same wea .
pon> fired a bulIet into her own braini
dving a|most , nsUnt|jr .
The tragedy occurred in a room ad
[joining H. F. Sherman's printing office
at Olive and Third streets. John Rohl
flng and his brother Henry', both of
whom worked in the printing office,
lodged there. When Henry returned to
their lodgings this evening he found the
body of his brother, lying in the hall
way' The body of the dead giri he found
within the room.
John and Miss Kossel had lived to
gether for two years, though unmarried,
but recently they quarreled and broke
up housekeeping, when Rohlfing com
menced keeping company yvith another
girl. Miss Kossel had been in the habit
of visiting her former lover at the room
on Olive street, yvhere he had gone to
live with his brother, Henry. This
morning Henry left John asleep and
went out to spend the day. He say s he
knows nothing of what occurred after
that, but it is supposed that Miss
Kossel called on her recreant lover and
tried to get him to return to her. Fail
ing to do so, she shot and killed him and
then committed suicide.
** Might Be Agreed to. With Condi
tion» if Beaten.
BRITISH ARBITRATION.
London, Feb. 17.—The Daily News,
in an editorial, regrets that such a grave
as Venezuela had not been
subject
ra ised by a more influential man than
L. Atherly Jones the radical member,
who moved an amendment expressing
the regret of an assurance that the Ven
ezuela boundary dispute would be sub
nnitted to arbitration,
the Daily News continues.
"No liberal wishes to pick a quarrel
with Lord Salisbury over Venezuela,"
"Therefore
it is impossible that the house of com
m ons should adopt the Jones amend
It would be a virtual vote of cen
ment.
sure, which would, in the present case
be unpatriotic. The country yvould, we
hope, welcome from Mr. Balfouran an
nouncement of a general arbitration,
with a proviso that, in the event of the
a u- ar d
going against us. England
should purchase the settled districts."
Younff Kansan Prisoner.
Emporia, Kan., Feb. i 7 . — Charles
Christy of Waveriy, Kan., a young law
yer well knoyvn here, has just arrived
from Cuba, wher he was a prisoner!
He with about 400 others, was captured
in a battle near Havana. All but him
and fifteen other Americans were lined
The American Consul
up and shot,
saved them. Christy is a member of one
of the pioneer families of Coffey county
He is an enthusiastic Cuban patriot, and
claims they have everything on the
island except Havana, and that will soon
fall.
He also says that since the new
Spanish general has taken command no
prisoners are taken.
HAIARDOni «en PATIO*.
Bieyele Rider» Feared by Aeeident
Insuranre Companies.
Boston, Feb. 16.—The accident risks to
are being considered in
bicycle riders
the conferences of the Mutual Accident
Insurance underwriters, and an ultima
turn has practically been given out.
It
was agreed that bicyling is a hazardous
occupation, which insurance companies
cannot insure against at the present
rate °f premium.
this clause:
In the resolution was
should be covered by additional cost
reduction of the amount of the
'Resolved, That the use of the bicycle
° r a
death indemnity benefit«; and it ia rec
ommended that thia be provided lor by
either of the following methods: Firat,
the adequate increase of premiums to
cover the added risk, or, second, the
classification as an occupation of bicycle
riders in a class twice as hazardous as it
appeared; third, that benefits by acci
dents by bicycle riding be specifically
reduced ; fourth, the including of bicy
cling under the policies to be covered
only by specific'permits at an extra pre
mium."
A cool head and a warm heart should
o gether.
OUR INDIAN RESERVATIONS
Secretary Smith Wants to
Modify Treaties.
Shall Further^ Efforts be Made to In
duce Indians to Agree to Allotments
Êavorable'lOutlook for the - Bill
Restoring Mormon Church Property
Utah Senators' Assignments Satis
factory.
Washington, Feb. iS. —Secretary Car
lisle today submitted to the house of
representatives a copy of a draft sent to
him by Secretary Smith of an item tobe
inserted in the Indian appropriation bill
for $5,000 to enable the secretary of the
interior to negotiate with theJUncom
pahgre Indians residing upon the Uin
tah reservation in Utah for the modifi
cation of existing treaties and agree
ments with those Indians. Accompany
ing^the request for the ' appropriation
was a letter from Commissioner Brown
ing of the Indian bureau, giving a state
ment of facts relative to the work of the
commission, "showing what has been
do and some difficulties in the way of
succe. 'll accomplishment of the work.''*
The le. says that a matter which
causes serious concern is that there is in
reality - but very little, if any, land within
the entire Uncompahgre reservation
suitable for allotment for agricultural
land. The commissioner's report »ays
that certain parts of the reservation are
suitable for grazing purposes, but none
east of Green River, and but little, com
paratively speaking, west of that river,
is fit for agricultural purposes allotted to
the Indians.
The questioi which arise, savs Com
missioner Browning, are: "Shall the
commission use further effort to induce
the Uncompahgres to take allotments in.
severalty under the existing circum
stances?
Is it your desire (to Secretary
Smith) that they shall make further re
port of lands not'suited or required for
allotment, in order that such lands m ay
be restored to the public domain? Shall
the commission suspend work yvith the
LTncompahgres and go on with negotia
tions with the Uintahs for the reiin
puishment of their lands?"
Mr. Browning adds that the Uintah
reservation is admirably adapted to In
should be kept intact for their use and
occupation until it is ascertained beyond
question that there is a surplus over
present and prospective wants of.the In
dians thereon and in that region of the
country, when such portions as are real
ly not needed might be disposed of fos
white settlement.
Speaking about the vacancy - on the
commission, Mr. Broyvning say's that
with the present amount of money on
on hand, the commission can be run till
about the middle of May. He does not
know whether the act creating the com
mission is mandatory- as to three mem
bers or not.
The sub-committee of the house judi
ciary committee reported favorably to
day upon the resolution introduced by
Congressman Alien restoring to the
Mormon church the property now in the
hands of the receiver. Mr. Allen ap
peared before the full committee today,
yvhich now has the matter in charge, in
advocacy for its recommendation for pas
age, and consideration will probably be
finished upon it by Friday, when a fa
vorable report is looked for. Senator
Cannon has made arrangements to ap
pear before the senate committee on ju
diciary on Monday for a hearing upon
this matter.
On Friday Senator Cannon expects to
appear before the committee on terri
tories, with Delegate Murphy of Arizo
na, yvhen both sides of the question, of
the annexation of a portion of Arizonas
to Utah will be discussed.
War Material for Insurgent».
New York, Feb. 17.—A dispatch to the
World frem Kingston, Jamaica, says:
Several invalid Cubans who have ar
rived here report that immense stores of
munitious of war have been received by
the insurgents, which have enabled
them to take measures for the occupa
tion of the city of Santiago the moment
the United States government recog
nizes them. Gen. Weyler's advent hat
caused them to plan prompt and decU
sive action.
Information.
At a lecture on "The Decline of Lit
erature," the eloquent orator shouted:
"Where are the Chaucers and Shaks w
peares and Miltons and Macaulays?
Where are they, I say?" And a voice
answered, sadly, from the gallery "Al
dead." -