Vancouver Coal Company
As part of the Chinese Historical Wrongs Legacy Initiative, we’ve digitized a small selection of inquests and inquiries from 1872 to 1934, found in series GR-0431. These were chosen to reflect the experiences of early Chinese immigrants to B.C. – their living and working conditions, and their unfortunate accidental or unusual deaths. They range from a woman working in a brothel in Barkerville who died of natural causes to three sawmill workers who died from malnutrition. Learn more.
*All transcriptions are provided by volunteers, and the accuracy of the transcriptions is not guaranteed. Please be sure to verify the information by viewing the image record, or visiting the BC Archives in person.
*Please note that archival source materials are original historical documents that have not been censored, reviewed or otherwise altered by the Royal BC Museum. Some materials may contain content that is racist, sexist or otherwise offensive. The Royal BC Museum is only the custodian of archival materials; the content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Royal BC Museum.
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30 depends upon its temperature. The dust in the slope is not dry as that in Mount Diablo. To the Juryman: If I threw a short pile of dust it would not create a very thick cloud but a little cloud. If the room was filled with dust and well stirred up it would be dangerous. But it must have air with it. It must be dry before it will light. If it was stirred up and heated to an explosion point it would explode with a light. When it by is lying it will not explode light. To the Comer: The Mount Diablo dust was sent flying about the shuts but this was quiescent. If a small portion was stirred up it would not explode to any great distance. IF there was a small quantity of gas mixed with the fine coal dust when in a state of interaction and a light were applied it would probably go off. Taken upon oath and acknowledged this 25th day of May in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight seven before me } Archie Cowie W Wymond Walkem Coronier
William Edmunds Miner Nanaimo being duly saith: To Mr Young. It was part of my duty to attend to the {?runs} of the boxes on the new or diagonal slope. I know the number four level on the diagonal slope. As you go in to it there is a curtain stretched from side to side. The boxes had all to pass under this curtain in going into the number four level. This would raise the curtain as the run was going through. If nothing happened it would take about two seconds for the run to pass through. Boxes