On the British Columbia/Alberta border at Crowsnest Pass, lies a coal-rich zone that made some men rich, some men strong and some men dead. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, thousands of would-be colliers flocked to the prolific Crowsnest coalmines. Farmers, homesteaders, leftover Caribou Gold Rushers and hardrock miners-these men and boys were hungry for the high wages that would rejuvenate farms and restock family larders. For many, those dreams would never be fulfilled. Mining was a dangerous business.
Coal mining embodied constant threats: methane or coal dust explosions, black-damp or C02 poisoning, cave-ins. The death of the resident canary might signal dangerously high gas levels, but sometimes there was no warning, as in the case of the feared "bump"-a geological shift that squeezed together the mine roof and floor.
Each miner trusted explicitly the blackened face next to his-trusted it not to make a mistake and to dig him out if someone else did. Rugged as the terrain itself, these men laboured hard. Pickaxes and shovels in hand, they ventured into pitch black chambers, their way illuminated only by feeble lantern light.
At the end of the long shift, the men emerged to turn in the copper identification tags that served as roll call. Sadly June 19, 1914 would be the last roll call for most of the morning shift at Hillcrest Collieries Company.
The day had begun routinely at the double mine. Fireboss William Adkin posed a warning of low levels of the ever-present methane gas as well as some cave-ins-neither serious enough to interrupt the day's work. But by 9:30 routine was banished. A gas-induced explosion had ripped through the mine, followed by second and purportedly third explosions. Black smoke poured from the entrance, alerting shocked observers at the surface.
Of 235 miners who went underground that Friday morning, 189 never again saw the light of day. Forty-six survivors were left to wonder why they had been spared; four hundred orphans and one hundred and twenty widows wondered why their men hadn't. Those in the bowels of the earth had little chance of survival-crushed by tons of rock or poisoned by black-damp or methane. Some, like Charles Elick, had danced with death before. In 1903 he survived the Frank's Slide Disaster that crushed 70 of his neighbours; today death led Elick's dance.
Others might have escaped, but they chose to stay to help co-workers and family members. David Murray, Sr went deeper into the mine to search for his three sons, only to die along with them. Of the handful of survivors, many filed back into the mine to help the rescue parties. Survivors like Joe Atkinson-whom it took three hours to revive, headed back into the mine as soon as they were back on their feet.
Deadly black-damp posed the greatest danger for rescuers. The Cranbrook Herald described the discouraging efforts.
The rescuers are working desperately to get the entombed miners to the fresh air . . . each truck contains the charred remains of a victim of the worst mining catastrophe in the history of Canada and even the friends and relatives of the men who are still missing have given up hope of ever seeing them alive . . . Every carrier that comes up now contains a lifeless form.
The report also cites collieries' general manager Brown:
I have not been able to make any investigation of the circumstances surrounding the disaster, all my time having been occupied since the explosion occurred in superintending the work of recovering the bodies . . . [which] will be . . . placed in the wash house to be made as presentable as possible to their grief-stricken relatives.
Brown promised to "stay till every man is accounted for by his living presence or his dead body." Rescuers found tangled piles of rock and coal, steel and wood, but far too few survivors. The second last body was not found until July; one body remains forever entombed.
Coal mining changed the face of Canada, bringing the iron horse to the rugged Crowsnest Past, employing thousands, and for decades feeding the fires of home and industry. Over time mining conditions improved, but North America's love affair with coal paled. Petroleum paved the way for diesel locomotives to replace steam, and hydroelectric power engulfed commercial and domestic markets. Japan's demand for low sulphur content coal put a new face on Canadian coalmines, with metallurgical coal mined in huge open pits instead of underground, but the industry would never be the same.
Still we can never forget coal mining's part in our history, nor can we forget those men who braved chilly darkness and the constant threat of explosions to bring light and warmth above ground. These were the men who helped carve out Canada's industrial landscape.
Today this monument stands near the site of the Hillcrest Disaster, serving as a tribute to all Canadian miners who gave up their lives to bring us heat, light and industry.
(photo by Shirley Collingridge)
Did You Know
Coal is found in sedimentary rock formations, formed from crushed layers of plant materials dating from the Lower Cretaceous period.
The Hudson Bay Company discovered coal on Vancouver Island in 1849.
For almost a century, coal was the critical fuel for Canadian homes and industry.
Deposits deep within mountains or tantalizingly exposed at the surface can have seams as thick as 200 feet.
Only compressed air locomotives could be operated underground-powerful but spark free.
Lightning often travelled along mine tramways, igniting black-damp deep in the heart of the mine.
Oil-burning lamps lit early mines, their open flames often igniting methane and coal dust.
From 1902 to 1938 in the Crowsnest Pass area, 468 coal miners lost their lives in nine different disasters.
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collingridge@sk.sympatico.ca