Twenty-Three Dead, and a Jury Clears the Company

Whatcom, April 11.—Special. The inquest over the bodies of the twenty-three men killed by the explosion in the Blue Canyon mine Monday afternoon was concluded tonight, and the finding of the jury is that the accident was caused by an explosion of gas or dust, or both combined, ignited by means unknown to the jury; that the jury are unable to find any negligence or fault in the conduct of the management of the Blue Canyon Company or any of the employes of said company. The jury was out but a little while, and agreed from the first.

Mine Inspector Edmunds and James Kerns and Gellum, the only two men in the mine who survived the explosion; Fire Boss Ecklund, John Evans, a miner injured by a slight explosion last week; General Superintendent Donovan, Mr. Blakesby, the carpenter, and others testified today, and there was absolutely nothing in the evidence of any of them to indicate negligence on the part of the company, or lack of caution in the employes. All testified that there was good ventilation and ample circulation of air for a much larger force under ordinary circumstances. Work will be immediately resumed.

Mr. Donovan is in consultation tonight with Inspectors Edmunds and James, getting their recommendations with a view to taking every possible precaution for the safety of the men. Old miners say that the mine is exceptionally well supplied with air. Inspector Edmunds says the exact cause of the explosion will always be a mystery, and it is his theory that it was due to a gas pocket uncovered and ignited by a blast. It is true other accidents of a similar nature may possibly occur in the future, but that danger is one that miners are always aware of and one that exists to some extent in nearly all mines. He thinks every possible precaution had been taken at Blue Canyon and fully exonerates the company.

The remains of John Morgan and William Evans, two of the victims of the Blue Canyon mining disaster, arrived in Seattle last night. The funeral services over the former will be held at Bonney Stewart's chapel this morning at 10 o'clock, under the auspices of Mystic Lodge, No. 21, I.O.O.F. The interment will take place in Lake View cemetery. Harry Roberts, father of George Roberts, who was killed in the same disaster, has arrived from Yakima, and will take the remains of his son home on the 2:10 o'clock train this afternoon. Roberts' remains were easily identified, as the scars on the head were the only visible wounds.