Twenty-Two Miners Dead at Blue Canyon
A fire-damp explosion at the Blue Canyon coal mines kills twenty-two, and the paper turns to relief for widows and orphans.
The explosion of fire-damp at the Blue Canyon coal mines has flung twenty-two unfortunate miners into the arms of death. Humanity calls upon the people of the Sound country to hasten to the aid of the bereaved families, since the men are beyond our help. The hard life of a miner leaves little margin for provision against such calamities, and the first thought should be for the widows and orphans.
“Humanity calls upon the people of the Sound country to hasten to the aid of the bereaved families, since the men are beyond our help.”
The Blue Canyon explosion remains one of Washington's worst coal-mine disasters. The appeal to the 'Sound country' for widows and orphans is a reminder of how little safety net existed for workers' families—and echoes modern debates over who bears the cost of industrial risk.
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