The Tragedy of the Forgotten Mine
A suspected mining accident in Whatcom County may finally explain the mysterious disappearance of four Finnish laborers months earlier.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The mysterious disappearance last July of four Finns who were cutting shingle bolts for the United Shingle company near Kendall seems to have been accounted for beyond peradventure. A discovery made a few days ago revealed that the abandoned tunnel of the old Paine or Eagle coal mine, two miles from Kendall, has been almost closed by an explosion. It is now believed the blast was triggered by the Finns, who, ignorant of the danger and unable to read the warning sign displayed at the mouth of the mine, entered the tunnel with a light to explore it. People living in the vicinity now recall what they thought was an earthquake shock at that time, which was not felt elsewhere. As the men left valuable stores and provisions behind, the theory of the accident seems entirely plausible. A search is planned for Sunday.
“The Finns, who, ignorant of the danger, and unable to read the warning sign displayed on its mouth, entered the tunnel with a light.”
This tragedy highlights the perilous reality for immigrant laborers at the turn of the century, where language barriers and a lack of safety infrastructure proved fatal. Similar stories of industrial accidents in rural Washington remind us that the state's natural resource boom was often built on the unrecorded lives of transient workers.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.