Twenty-Three Miners Died in a Nearly Undamaged Mine
Inspector Edmunds told a Seattle paper that the Blue Canyon explosion was one of the strangest disasters he had ever seen: the mine was barely damaged, yet 23 men were dead, most killed by concussion and gas.
WHATCOM, Wash., April 13.—Mine Inspector Edmunds, of Whatcom, yesterday completed the inquiry into the death of the twenty-three miners in the Blue Canyon coal mine. Mr. Edmunds says that it was one of the strangest disasters he ever heard of. The mine was not damaged in the least, the gangways and breasts being intact, and the appearance of the mine would not indicate that any kind of accident had occurred. He said that the immediate damage to the mine as a result of the explosion will not amount to over $500. Concerning the affair he said:
"Before my examination of the mine and the condition in which the dead men were found, it is my opinion that the length of the flame resulting from the explosion was not over 50 feet. I do not place much credence in the story that the gas fired as well as a gas explosion, for the mine is a wet one, and there is hardly any dust in the workings. There was a space of about 500 feet, however, where it was dry, and some dust might have fired there, but the explosion must have been so slight that no attention was paid to it. Altogether there was but little flame, and death was due more to concussion than to any other cause. But few of the men were burned, and I don't think any of them were fatally burned.
"Hardly any of the men were mutilated. You know the explosion resulted from a shot, and the gas ignited. I was told by some of the miners that on last Friday and Saturday they heard a peculiar sound in the workings—a thumping and occasionally a sound as if something was dropping. Last Saturday some of the miners heard a sound under them, as if there was a stream of water somewhere running along a subterranean channel. This alone indicates that there was a quantity of gas in there somewhere that was under heavy pressure, and it was undoubtedly released when the shot was fired. Some of the boys there report encountering gas in pockets, and they have said that it came out from the water in sacks.
"My opinion that the majority of the men died from the result of concussion is borne out by the fact that George Roberts, who was furthest out, was more mutilated than any of the rest. He was knocked off the car by the force of the explosion. The death of McNulty was another strange thing. He could not have been killed outright by the force of the explosion, and his death was due very likely to asphyxiation. Developments prove that after the explosion he had time to tie a handkerchief around his mouth and crawl about 125 feet before death overtook him. Superintendent Jones was in the mine about 260 feet from the face. His face was blistered, but he was not fatally burned. He would have been out shortly had he not suffocated from gas.
"The mine is a small one, the gangways are narrow and the concussion naturally must have been very great."
“Altogether there was but little flame, and death was due more to concussion than to any other cause.”
Coal mine explosions like Blue Canyon helped build the case for stronger mine-safety laws and better ventilation, though the work remained dangerous for decades. The disaster's strange details—an intact mine, men killed by concussion—are a reminder that industrial disasters often defy simple explanations. In Washington, the memory of such accidents still shadows the state's extractive industries.
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