Shortly before 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon an explosion of fire damp in No. 4 shaft of the Northwestern Improvement coal mines, which cost eleven men their lives. The explosion started a fire in shaft, which soon destroyed it together with the entire building and made the work of rescuing of the bodies of the dead hazardous. Those in position to know, place the loss at not less than $150,000.
It was the greatest disaster in the history of the Roslyn mines since the frightful disaster of May 10, 1892, when forty-five men lost their lives, and had the explosion last Saturday instead of Sunday, it is highly possible that five hundred men would have perished.
Without warning of any kind, the terrific explosion shook the town and broke windows half a mile away from the shaft.  A sheet of flames shot out of the shaft 150 feet in the air for several minutes.  There were two distinct explosions following close after each other like rapid gun firing.  The tiple (sic) over the shaft and the other outbuildings instantly broke into flames before any one got near.

 The dead are:

 James E. Jones, pumpman, aged 21, single.
 Ben Hardy, tracklayer, aged 60, married.
 Dominick Bartolera, helper, aged 45, married.
 Philip Pozarich, laborer, aged 45, married.
 Aaron Isaacson, tracklayer, aged 30, married.
 Carl Berger, foreman, aged 36, married.
 Tom Marsolich, laborer, aged 30, married.
 Geo. Tomich, laborer, aged 28, married.
 Otis Newhouse, outside superintendent, aged 40 married.
 James Gurrell, trackman, aged 50, married.
 William Arundale, trackman, aged 40, married.

  James X. Jones, an engineer, was standing near the mouth of the shaft when the explosion took place and he was severely burned and may recover. The fire department was soon out and an appeal sent to Cle Elum far (sic) help and department responded promptly to assist in subduing the flames. The general superintendent of the company, J. E. Menzies, who is down with typhoid fever, gave order for fire fighting from his bed, assisted by John G. Green, superintendent. The disaster nearly resulted in the burning of the town.  Flaming brands were thrown into the air by the explosion and settled on roofs of nearby buildings, and kept rescuers busy. The shaft was soon surrounded by a frenzied throng of several thousand people, men, women, and children, who did not know who was lost or who was spared. Screaming and struggling to reach the burning shaft, and when the bodies of the men who were injured on top of the ground were picked up the scene was pathetic in the extreme. Berger was on the tipple with Newhouse and Gurrell.  His body was found beneath a heap of ashes at the bottom of the 640 foot shaft.  Hardy, Bartelero and J. E. Jones were at the bottom of the shaft at the time of the accident.  They were repairing tracks for the coal cars.  Jones was a pumpman and was on duty also. If the explosion was caused by fire damp, the second explosion was believed to have been caused by coal dust.
 More than 500 miners are thrown out of employment by the disaster. It is thought that fire in the shaft will not seriously affect the other mines, but it will be six months at best before the shaft can be put in working order again, if ever.  It is said that the shaft is caving in, and other explosions are likely to occur at any time. At an early hour Monday R. F. Thomes (sic), one of the foremen, asked for volunteers to aid in the work of rescuing the imprisoned men.  A party of five entered slope No. 1 to within a short distance of shaft No. 4, when they had to turn back on account of a cavein (sic). The party then attempted to reach the shaft by going in on the dip and following a circuitous route to within 2,500 feet of the shaft when it encountered black damp and had to turn back.  Two of the party were overcome and a second crew had to go to bring them out. The third explosion, which occurred about 6 p. m. was less severe than then (sic) the two previous ones. The latest report from Roslyn is to the effect that fire no longer exists and no further damage is anticipated.

The Ellensburg Dawn 10-7-1909 Page 1

COAL MINE EXPLODES
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Main Shaft of the Roslyn Coal Mines
Wrecked by Terrible Explosion.--
Ten Lives Lost.
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MOST FORTUNATE MISFORTUNE--
ONE INJURED.
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Work of Years Destroyed in an Instant---Great Financial Loss

 The main shaft of the Northwestern Inprovement Company's mines, known as No. 4, from  unknown cause, exploded Sunday at one o'clock, completely wrecking the mine, in the opinion of experienced coal miners, and ten employees are known to be dead and one seriously burned, with chances of recovery.
 The city of Roslyn is situated on land directly over the tunnel of Mine No. 4, and the shock caused by the explosion was not unlike an earthquake, shaking buildings in all parts of the city, while the burning, oil soaked timbers, vomited out of the shaft, were scattered in all directions, falling upon shingled roofs and causing over twenty roof fires, which were controlled by bucket brigades, all the city water and the fire department being concentrated upon the shaft and abutting frame structures, in spite of this all frame structures within two hundred feet of the shaft and tipple No. 4 were entirely destroyed.
 The known dead are:
 Otis Newhouse, outside foreman, working on tipple, blown 300 feet and died from burns and internal injuries received from fall, every bone in body broken.  Leaves wife.
 Carl Berger, assistant foreman, blown from tipple, burnt beyond all semblance to human form.  Leaves a wife.
 Wm. Arundell, trackman, blown from tipple, died in a hospital at 4 o'clock Sunday.  Leaves wife and four children.
 Aaron Isaacson, laboror, single.
 James Gurnell, laboror.  Leaves grown children.
 
UNDER GROUND

 Men known to have been down in the mine and who probably will never be found, as the intense heat must have cremated them:
 Daniel Hardy, company man; married.
 Dom Bartolero, company man; leaves a family.
 J. E. Jones, assistant company man; single, son of hoising engineer.
 Tom Marsolyn, company man; single.
 Philip Pozarich, company man; single.

INJURED

 John X. Jones, hoist engineer; severly burned about the face: will recover.
 Had the explosion occured on a working day four hundred lives would have been snuffed out, as that number work in No. 4, and often fifty more.
 The flames shot up over four hundred feet, carrying oil-soaked timbers, live coals and human bodies.  Fortunately there was no wind , otherwise Roslyn would, today, be a heap of ashes, as the city has no water to cope with such a catastrophe.
 Efforts have been made to smother the fire by closing all entrances.  Attempts have been made to enter the mine, but little progress has been made on account of the fumes and the smoke.
 Car sheds, tipple, railroad track and all frame structures within three hundred feet of the shaft were destroyed within an hour.
 All miners will be put to work in other mines and in opening new shafts and tunnels.  The financial loss will run into hundreds of thousands, and it will be months before the mine can be worked again.  The best coal was taken from this mine.  Although the casualty is awful, still everyone is thankful that the explosion did not occur on a working day.
 The N. W. I. Co. has posted notices that all the 500 men thrown out of employment will be given work in other parts of the company mines.  This has caused general rejoicing as they all feared they would be compelled to leave Roslyn to find employment.
 Funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon and at least 2,500 union miners were in the procession to pay last respects to William Arundale, who was killed in the explosion.  The remains of Otis Newhouse and James Gurrell were shipped east on Wednesday afternoon.  Newhouse to Virginia, Gurrell to Red Lodge, Montana.  An immense concourse of friends gathered at the station to bid farewell to the departing families.  The Odd Fellows of both Roslyn and Cle Elum turned out in funeral regalia, and accompanied the remaines to the depot.
 All mines, except the shaft and dip, resumed full operations on Thursday.

RECUE WORK

 From the moment the explosion occured every effort has been put forth to rescue the entombed miners dead or alive, and several corps of men, directed by the general superintendent, have been working night and day to reach the lower workings of the mine, where it was known the men and animals were when the disaster occured.
 Thursday afternoon one party succeeded in reaching the lower tunnel and to their surprise found seven mules alive and one dead.  The animals were wild for want of water and when supplied, in their eagerness, knocked the buckets around in all directions, but were finally satisfied.  There is no way of getting the animals out, and they will be cared for until a means of escape has been made.  A pet cat was also found alive and suffered for water and food.
 Friday morning the new pump, near the bottom of the main shaft was reached and the body of John E. Jones was found, burned to a crisp.  He died at his post, having been let down but a few minutes before the explosion by his father, the mine hoise engineer.  By hard work the body was dragged out through small man-holes made by the rescuers and taken to the morgue.
 There is little if any ground to hope to find any of the others known to have been in the mine alive, yet the finding of the mules alive has given hope, and every effort is being made to reach the chambers where the men were known to be at work.
 As we go to press the rescue work is being crowned and hopes are entertained to reach every chamber before the end of the week.

The Cle Elum Echo
Cle Elum, Washington
October 9, 1909