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Diamond Coal and Coke Company
Diamondville No. 1 Mine Asphyxiations

Diamondville, Lincoln County, Wyoming
February 12, 1899
No. Killed - 2



Rescuer Deaths
Ten brave men were risking their lives endeavoring to reopen the Diamondville No. 1 coal mine.  They were all knocked down, one by one, by blackdamp.  When help arrived, two were already dead, and the others were resuscitated with great difficulty.  The names of the dead are John L. Russell and Lee Wright.

See also: Diamondville No. 1 Mine Fire, Feb. 25, 1901
  Diamondville No. 1 Mine Explosion, Oct. 26, 1901
  Diamondville No. 1 Mine Explosion, Dec. 2, 1905

From the Google News Archives:  External Link
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The Deseret News
February 14, 1899

Special Correspondence from Diamondville, Wyoming:

Last night while ten brave men were risking their lives endeavoring to reopen the Diamondville coal mine No. 1, and while trying to put up a breaker in the slope to prevent the air from going further in the mine, they were all knocked down, but one, by black damp.

The one that escaped ran out the length of four levels for assistance.  The watchman outside blew the fire signal and in a very few minutes there were plenty of brave men ready to go and rescue their fellows.

A party of men, headed by Thomas Snedden, mine foreman, took safety lamps and went to the rescue.  They found all the men down on the floor and no light near them, as the damp had put out their lamps.  The rescuing party faced the damp and dragged out all the men and put them in the cars and brought them out as quickly as possible.  Two were already dead and the others were resuscitated with great difficulty, but are now resting pretty easy.

The names of the dead are John L. Russell, of Provo, Utah, and Lee Wright from the East.  Lee Wright was a single man, but J. L. Russell was a married man with a large family of eight children.  He lived and died a faithful Latter-day Saint, and was the beloved and respected president of the T. M. M. I. A. of Diamondville ward.  He was a model man of virtue, honesty, integrity and truth.

The mine is closed again for a while, until the dead are laid to rest in Mother Earth.




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