(From Federal Geological Survey investigator's notes)
The explosion resulted in the loss of 83 men inside and 1 man on the outside of the mine and did much damage to the underground equipment.
The coal is mined by pick and is blasted with permissible explosives but dynamite is used for brushing the roof and for breaking the "middleman."
The mine liberates methane, and where ventilation is not properly conducted there are accumulations of the gas. The ventilating current is continuous throughout the mine.
Fine dry coal dust was much in evidence all through the mine. Miners used open-flame lamps, and the only flame safety lamps were those carried by the firebosses.
The explosion originated in the 6th right entry through the ignition of a body of gas by an open-flame lamp and dry coal dust propagated the explosion throughout the mine and out the mouth of the slope.
Source: Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States, Volume I
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