Huerfano County, Colorado Starkville Mine Disaster
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Starkville Mine Disaster of October 8, 1910
Telluride Daily Journal – October 10, 1910 – Fans Are Working and Rescuing Party Hopes to Reach Imprisoned Men Today – Explosion in Mine From Unknown Causes – Starkville, Oct. 10 – High hope spread over this stricken mining camp this morning, when the news was brought out of the Starkville mine of the C. F. & I. Co., where two score or more miners are entombed from an explosion last Saturday, that fans providing pure air to the mine have been put in operation systematically, and that the imprisoned men will undoubtedly be located within the day, unless the efforts of the rescuers were further blocked by wreckage. This information was given out officially by State Mine Inspector John E. Jones. A portable fan in the Starkville mine is forcing pure air along the cuts and in walls separating that mine from the Engleville mine. At the same time, Engleville is bringing air out of the mine workings of that mine, forming a suction that is pulling the gaseous air into Engleville and out into the air. Several theories for the explosion are clung to by many who have thought over all possible causes for the catastrophe. The mine was non-gaseous, and explosives were not used for any purpose. Fifty miners in the Starkville workings are reported missing today after a recheck of the list of employes.
Aspen Democrat-Times – October 11, 1910 – Ten Bodies of Miners Recovered at Starkville – Starkville, Oct. 11 – Fifty-four hours after the explosion which occurred in the Starkville mine of the Colorado Fuel & Iron company, entombing 55 men, the first of the bodies of the victims were found by searchers this morning. Two men were located at 4 o’clock in a chamber 12,000 feet from the mouth of the mine. Two hours later eight more were discovered 100 feet farther back in the property. The bodies were badly charred and burned almost beyond recognition. The condition of the corpses indicated that the men were instantly killed by the terrific force of the explosion. President Welbourn of the Colorado Fuel & Iron company, who arrived here last night and took active charge of the rescue work, stated that he did not believe any more bodies would be found very soon for the reason that the other entombed men were scattered throughout the various workings engaged in tram work and other pursuits. The hope that any of the miners were alive has practically been abandoned as a result of the evidence found today with the discovery of the ten bodies. It is probable that every one of the 55 men in the mine were killed when the explosion occurred. The remains of two of the ten men have been brought to the surface. These were identified through the metal checks found in their pockets. Both were foreigners. It will probably be late tonight before the others can be brought out owing to the fact that cave-ins have filled the main passage way and much time will be required to carry the bodies over the debris one by one. The United States government sent word today that it was dispatching a special corps of rescue men and mine experts to aid in the work at this point. They are coming from the Seattle, Wash., station, superintended by the chief of the rescue department of the government.
Steamboat Pilot – October 12, 1910 – Mine Not Sprinkled is the Cause of Explosion – Saturday’s Disaster at Starkville Due to Similar Causes of Explosion at Primero in Which Seventy-Five Miners Were Killed – Investigation – Starkville, Oct. 12 – The bodies of three men, victims of Saturday night’s explosion in the Colorado Fuel & Iron company’s mine at this place, were discovered by the rescue crew which went to work at midnight last night, coming off duty at 8 o’clock this morning. Two of the bodies were identified as Thomas Upperdin, a nipper, and Wilbert Hedquist, a motorman. Hedquist’s body was found in an upright position on the seat of the motor, his right hand was clasping the controller and his left hand was on the brake. The motor and cars were headed for the mouth of the entry and Hedquist with his train was probably on the way out when the explosion occurred. The cars were overturned by the force of the explosion. Washington, 1:30 p.m. – A special car carrying government mining experts and miners trained in first aid rescue work, left Seattle today for Starkville, Colo., to assist in taking out the bodies of the miners entombed by the explosion which caused the death of more than 50 men last Saturday. Denver – According to a report given out here today the responsibility of the great disaster at the Starkville coal mine of the Colorado Fuel & Iron company last Saturday night by which it is variously estimated that 50 odd lives were lost, was due to similar causes that caused the explosion in January in the Primero mine, owned by the same company, in which some 75 miners were killed. Following the latter catastrophe the state labor bureau commission(er), Edward V. Brake, sent E. G. Corey, one of the factory inspectors, and who by the way, is practically versed in mining affairs, to Primero to make a personal investigation with the purpose in view of determining just what caused the explosion. After thoroughly investigating the mine and conditions surrounding it, he came to the conclusion that the disaster was caused by coal dust explosion. Corey also visited other mines in the southern part of the state, among them the Starkville property, where he found that similar unfavorable conditions prevailed there as he found at Primero, and he is now of the opinion that the late disaster was caused by coal dust explosion. Despite the instructions that have been given the superintendent and the managers of these coal mines, which are gaseous, to constantly keep them sprinkled. Mr. Corey discovered that this precaution was only partially observed in all the mines of that section of the state. And because of this neglect, he attributes the Starkville explosion to that cause. State Coal Mine Commissioner Jones also made an investigation following the two Primero disasters, and his reports in the main attribute the cause to dust explosions. He has repeatedly tried to have a law passed regulating this feature of coal mining, but thus far the legislatures of the past have ignored the request. He has gone so far as to introduce bills covering the matter, but they have always been killed in committee. It is now likely that when the Eighteenth general assembly convenes in January he will offer another bill of like nature which, in view of the great loss of life from the two recent explosions, may get through the legislature.
Grand Valley News – October 13, 1910 – Last Hope Abandoned – Starkville – The rescue parties who have penetrated further and further into the fated mine, in spite of poisonous gases and after-damp, find no encouraging indications of any of the miners having been able to shut themselves off from the deathly atmosphere. Rescuers have reached a distance of three miles underground and have nearly reached the tomb of the miners.
Fairplay Flume – October 14, 1910 – Black Damp May Have Killed 50 – Little Hope of Finding Any of the Entombed Miners Alive – Rescuers Overcome – Officials and Miners Face Death in Vain Attempts at Rescue – Trinidad, Colo. – Driven back repeatedly by the deadly afterdamp, rescuers working in relays to reach the victims of the explosions in the Starkville mine, five miles southwest of Trinidad, have made no headway. It seems almost impossible that the entombed men will be reached soon; in fact, it may be days before the inner workings, where the men were entrapped, will be penetrated. The last ray of hope that any of the imprisoned men can be taken out of the mine alive was lost when the rescuers were compelled to abandon work temporarily by the rush of afterdamp and gaseous fumes which filled the mine. Many of the rescuers were overcome and were resuscitated only after the most vigorous emergency treatment. A large force of men chopped through the cement wall which separated the Engleville mine and the main slope of the Starkville property, and after the work was completed, the fans were reversed, and the bad air in the wrecked mine is now being sucked out through the Engleville shaft. This, with the work being done by the rescue parties in the new slope, and with the emergency fan driving the air before it, may result in the rescuers reaching the cross-cuts in the main haulage-way. Details of the disaster only add to the horror of it. After a long day of suspense and unceasing toil on the part of the company officials and hundreds of heroic miners who have voluntarily, yes, insistently, faced death in a vain endeavor so far to reach their comrades imprisoned in the mine, the full extent of the catastrophe can only be guessed. The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company estimates that at least fifty-one are imprisoned in the mine.
Yuma Pioneer – October 14, 1910 – Eleven Bodies Are Recovered – 55 Are Known To Have Been Lost in the Starkville Mine – Trinidad, Colo. – Toiling and fighting desperately, beset with danger from loosened rocks and the deadly, subtle after damps, heroic miners, and their none the less heroic leaders who directed the work were rewarded for their bravery, their persistence and their heart-tearing efforts by recovering eleven bodies of the fifty-five miners now known to have been lost in the terrible explosion Saturday night far inside the workings of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company’s Starkville mine. The first of the bodies were reached early Tuesday morning in J entry, their position showing how sudden had been their fate. Death is believed to have been instantaneous. The rescuers are at work with the same dogged courage, but it is impossible that more of the bodies can be recovered before Wednesday, as the deadly black damp is fighting every inch of the way.
Steamboat Pilot – October 19, 1910 – Identification Impossible – Bodies of Miners Brought From Starkville Mine Badly Decomposed – Trinidad, Colo., Oct. 15 – Bodies of the miners who met death in the Starkville mine of the Colorado Iron & Fuel company last Saturday, and brought to surface, are in such a state of decomposition that identification is practically impossible. Rescue parties today brought to surface eight more bodies, all horribly decomposed. To date 22 bodies have been buried or are resting in the morgue. Rescuers are still working for the rest of the miners who met death in the ill-fated mine and a party is now diligently searching for the rescue crew who met death in the galleries of the mine last Sunday night. A report that dynamite had been found on the track near the private car, Senna, standing on the sidetrack near the mine, is denied by the officials of the company. It was at first intimated that the explosion had been brought about by the placing of dynamite in one of the entries of the mine but this is discredited from every source.
Durango Wage Earner – October 20, 1910 – Starkville, Colo., Oct. 14 – A total of twenty-six bodies have now been taken out of the Starkville mine, where the explosion Saturday night wrecked the mine property and snuffed out fifty-five lives. They have been taken to a temporary morgue and are now being prepared for burial. Four out of the twenty-six which were reported to have been uncovered yesterday were this morning turned over to the coroner. Among these was the corpse of Carpio Lopez. The other three have not been identified, owing to the horrible condition of the bodies when found.
Telluride Daily Journal – October 15, 1910 – Twenty-Five Bodies Still in Starkville Mine – Starkville, Colo., Oct. 15 – Thirty bodies have now been removed from the Starkville mine. Twenty-five bodies that are still in the mine have not been located.
Steamboat Pilot – October 19, 1910 – To Introduce Measure Affecting Coal Mines – Law to Enforce Regulations that Will Keep Mines in Proper Condition so that Disasters Like Starkville May Be Averted in the Future – Denver, Oct. 19 – That there will be remedial laws regulating the operation of coal mines in this state passed at the next regular session of the legislature is indicated by a resolution that was passed last week by the special session, and which was introduced by Senator Kennedy and later amended by Senator Gove. There was faint opposition by some of the members because of the phraseology of the resolution, in that it sought to brand existing laws as inadequate. The word “inadequate” is what brought out the opposition and when this was eliminated the resolution was passed unanimously. It was made clear by the discussion that followed that the law now on the statute books was workable if properly enforced, but that there can be no question on this score it is said that present laws that are supposed to regulate the coal mining business of the state will either be so amended or new laws passed at the Eighteenth general session that there will be no question of their efficiency to cover existing conditions throughout the mines of the state; that they will be of such a character as will be applicable to such horrors as occurred recently in the Starkville district. The prime object to be reached in the passage of a more clearcut statute regulating this matter, is to enforce regulations that will keep coal mines in proper condition so that disasters like the Primero and Starkville affairs will be the exception rather than the rule. Better ventilation and a proper sprinkling of mines, it is the claim of experts, is the remedy for these fearful catastrophes, and neither of these have been followed out by the operators in Colorado, in a general way. That the special legislature favored more adequate laws along these lines is indicated by action taken last Saturday in the senate, when a resolution was unanimously passed directing that the governor at once cause to make either a personal investigation into the situation as it relates to the condition of the mines in the state or appoint a commission with the power of doing the same thing. Members of the senate believed that not only the Starkville disaster should be investigated but other properties in the state should be looked into to the end that further catastrophes be averted if such a thing lies within the power of law and man. Senator Tully Scott was one of the most ardent supporters of the resolution and urged that it is the duty of the state to discover if possible causes which so often result in these mine disasters and to provide a remedy, to the end that many lives may be saved that otherwise would be snuffed out. Scott urged the passage of the resolution to the end that men who take their lives in their hands and work under ground will be better protected. Senator Barela was of the opinion that the present law was ample if vigorously enforced; he thought that there was no necessity for additional laws along these lines, but urged a more vigorous enforcement of the present statute regulating the matter of coal mining in Colorado. He stated that the governor already had sufficient powers to bring about better mine conditions and “that it was not now necessary to delegate any greater power upon him.” However, he wanted to be understood as not averse to any other precaution that would add to the safety of the miners in the coal fields of this state. Other leading members of the senate also expressed similar views along these lines, and suggested that more rigid efforts should be taken by the state to see that the present laws were more fully carried out relating to the business of mining in Colorado. It is said that the present law will either be amended or a new law introducted at the next regular session that can not fail to protect the miner as well as the interests of the operators.
Fort Collins Weekly Courier – October 20, 1910 – Thirty Bodies Found in Starkville Mine – Starkville, Oct. 13 – Thirty more bodies were found this morning by the searching party in the ill-fated mine of the Colorado Fuel & Iron company, in which an explosion occurred last Saturday night. This makes the total 48 and there are still seven men missing. The bodies found today have not yet been brought out.
Steamboat Pilot – November 9, 1910 – Coroner’s Jury Empaneled to Look Into Mine Disaster – Trinidad, Nov. 4 – The coroner’s jury empaneled to investigate the causes leading to the explosion in the Starkville mine of the Colorado Fuel & Iron company at Starkville on October 8, entombing 57 miners, made a trip through the Cokedale mine yesterday and today are inspecting the ill-fated Starkville mine. It is expected their report will give the exact cause of the explosion.
San Juan Prospector – November 26, 1910 – Mines Not Properly Sprinkled – Trinidad, Colo. – Officers of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company admitted before the coroner’s jury investigating the Starkville explosion of Oct. 8, that in view of the developments the mine was not adequately sprinkled and that dust lay between the trains in the main haulage way, rail deep. It was brought out in the evidence that a short circuit or spark from the trolley wire igniting the dust raised by the derailment of a string of trip cars entering the mine probably caused the explosion.
Colorado Transcript – December 1, 1910 – Testimony before the coroner’s jury in Trinidad, investigating the Starkville mine disaster was that gas existed in the mine in small pockets.
Aspen Democrat-Times – December 1, 1910 – Company Responsible for Death of Fifty Miners – Trinidad, Colo., Dec. 1 – Gross negligence on the part of the Colorado Fuel & Iron company in failing to properly sprinkle and clean their Starkville mine in accordance with the laws of the state of Colorado, is charged in the verdict of the coroner’s jury on deaths caused by an explosion in the mine October 8, resulting in the death of fifty-six miners. The report was made public last night after five days of testimony. Dust ignited by an electric spark produced by short circuiting of trolley wires was given as the cause of the explosion. The reports find that if the mine, including haulage road rooms and workings had been sprinkled properly the explosion would not and could not have taken place. It is also found in the report that the mine contained fine coal dust in an inflammable condition and was known to have generated explosive gases. December 5 was the date set for beginning an inquest into the mine explosion at Delagua in which seventy-five men were killed.
Victims of the disaster are listed below. Cause of death was Explosion of dust arc from runaway trip.
1. BALDAZARI, G. Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 25
Marital Status: M
Surviving children:
2. BALTUSZNIK, PAUL Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: RUSSIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 40
Marital Status: S
3. BARONSKI, JOSEF Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 34
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 4
4. BRANKA, PETE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: TIMBERMAN
Age at death: 32
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
5. CHOVENSKI, MEKER Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 40
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 3
6. CYSZ, JOHN Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 37
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 3
7. DERMICH, JOE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: SERIVAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 20
Marital Status: S
8. DOBRANSKI, JOSEJ Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 40
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 4
9. DYLENSKI, JON Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: RUSSIAN
Occupation: DRIVER
Age at death: 21
Marital Status: S
10. FARO, JOHN Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 20
Marital Status: S
11. FARO, PETE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 24
Marital Status: S
12. GALLEGOS, ALEX Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: MEXICAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 19
Marital Status: S
13. GALLEGOS, E. Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: MEXICAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 24
Marital Status: S
14. GIACOMO, GOYO Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 34
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
15. GOGGIN, FRANCIS Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: AMERICAN
Occupation: DRIVER
Age at death: 18
Marital Status: S
16. GREER, FRANK Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: AMERICAN
Occupation: TRIPRIDER
Age at death: 22
Marital Status: S
17. GREGOR, SAVATO Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: AUSTRIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 28
Marital Status: S
18. GUT, PETER Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 28
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
19. HEDQUIST, WILBERT Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: AMERICAN
Occupation: MOTORMAN
Age at death: 23
Marital Status: S
20. HORVATT, E Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: SERVIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 31
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 1
21. KEMPANY, RUDOLPH Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 28
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
22. KLIMEK, FRANK Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 19
Marital Status: S
23. KOBARA, LAWRENCE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 50
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 6
24. KRAWCZYK, FRANK Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 34
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 4
25. KRAWCZYK, JOHN Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 25
Marital Status: S
26. KUMOREK, MIKE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 35
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 4
27. LAVUSKI, ALBERT Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: RUSSIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 24
Marital Status: S
28. LEGH, ALBERY Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 25
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 1
29. LKIMEK, JAN Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 23
Marital Status: S
30. LONDON, HENRY Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: COLORED
Occupation: DRIVER
Age at death: 31
Marital Status: M
Surviving children:
31. LOPEZ, CARPLO Death Date: 1910OCT8 (Newspaper identifies him as Carpio Lopez)
Nationality: MEXICAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 22
Marital Status: S
32. LUBRANSKI, JOE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 36
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 3
33. LUKASICH, FRANK Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 27
Marital Status: S
34. LYSCZARA, ANTON Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 25
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 3
35. MADAY, MIKE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 35
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 1
36. MAES, EMILIO Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: MEXICAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 24
Marital Status: S
37. MALACARNE, ANTON Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 44
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 1
38. MEHORA, JOHN Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 50
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 3
39. MUSSATI, STEFANO Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 24
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 4
40. NYZLO, WIT Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 38
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
41. PLUTTO, TOM Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 24
Marital Status: S
42. PORCIE, FELIX Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 24
Marital Status: S
43. PTASCHEK, RUDOLF Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 29
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 3
44. SANTOGROSSI, SAVINO Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 23
Marital Status: S
45. SANTOGROSSI, U. Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 19
Marital Status: S
46. SCAFRANSKI, JOSEF Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 38
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 4
47. SEPPLE, FRED Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: AMERICAN
Occupation: MOTORMAN
Age at death: 23
Marital Status: S
48. SILANO, JOE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 24
Marital Status: S
49. SZEVCZYK, ALOOIS Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 37
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
50. TOBLAS, JOHN Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 31
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 3
51. TOMAZINO, DOMINIC Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: ITALIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 35
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
52. UPPERDINE, LUKE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: AMERICAN
Occupation: NIGHT BOSS
Age at death: 50
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
53. UPPERDINE, THOMAS Death Date: 1910OCT8 (Newspaper identifies him as Thomas Upperdin)
Nationality: AMERICAN
Occupation: TRIPRIDER
Age at death: 28
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 2
54. ZIMBRA, PETE Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: POLE
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 36
Marital Status: M
Surviving children: 1
55. ZISKOWSKI, FRANK Death Date: 1910OCT8
Nationality: RUSSIAN
Occupation: MINER
Age at death: 37
Marital Status: S
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