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*Please note that archival source materials are original historical documents that have not been censored, reviewed or otherwise altered by the Royal BC Museum.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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44 William Griffiths recalled.
To Mr Young. On the morning of the explosion I fried a shot in the cross cut at the bottom of the diagonal slope which lit some gas at the end of the cross cut over the timbers. The gas had accumulated in the roof in a little pot hole over the timbers at the end of the cross cut. There was a little flame as a result running along the roof. The flame came out from between the timbers. I drove the slope down quite a distance I worked at it from the eight or tenth of January. The height of the roof from the floor ranged from eight to twelve feet. The highest was thirteen feet. It was six feet and a half from the rails to the timbers. He used seven feet timbers. It filled most of the space between the timbers and the roof sometimes with timber and sometimes with dirt with anything one got hold of. Where timbers are placed above timers there are always vacancies where gas can lodge and accumulate. There is always space between the timbers and the roof where gas can accumulate. I had fired no shots in the diagonal slope on the day of the explosion. On the morning of the explosion I was don at the face and I imagine I saw an old hole there.
To Mr Eberts I was working in the lowest cross cut. There are no timbers in it. None saw dust in the diagonal slope
To Mr Drake [I.L] When tn The slope was not timbered all the way down. It was left free in many places. The accumulation of gas above the timbers never amounted to anything. To a Juryman – The parts are seven and a half feet long. It would make nine feet from the rail to the top of the lagging Had from one to four feet to of space to fill up above the laggings. Sometimes I filled from the top of the lagging to the roof and sometimes I didn’t when I hadn’t enough to fill up to the top of the roof. I could not tell how much space was left. He had a long handled shovel and in [?turn] in the stuff until it came