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*Please note that archival source materials are original historical documents that have not been censored, reviewed or otherwise altered by the Royal BC Museum.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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from one half to one inch of gas. I cannot give my opinion as to the danger which might ensure from the mixing of the gas with the coal dust. I am not [?so] used or acquainted with that. It must have been coal dust which caused the explosion as there is no gas. It [? He] shifts are [?latter} up with two shifts of men in hosting coal. There are three shifts for firemen of eight hours each. The night fireman goes on at ten oclock. My duty was to examine all the working and non working places. I sometimes went one way and sometimes another. It would take me an hour to examine the diagonal slope. I often examined the diagonal three times in a shift and on the night shift as well I had special instructions from Mr McGregor to pay particular attention to the diagonal. It is about [?] past five when I [?] the diagonal. The last time I [?metr he?] in the diagonal [?mile ] be about half past five in the morning. I was {?sheathing] of the night shift. It is about two oclock in the morning when I made my last visit to number one North The men examine the old workings in the night shift. The fireman of the other two shifts attend to that. To the Juryman The stalls were watered some nine days before the explosion. Took particular notice of it on a Sunday. The evidence of the slope having been watered lasted for some days after the watering. I understood that instructions were given to water on the following Saturday but I got no instructions. I was at the home on the following Saturday. I might have noticed the watering on Monday morning but I cannot say whether it was done as I did not notice it. There was no gas in the mine on the morning shift of the day of the explosion. I cannot say that there was appshen apprehension of any danger from the dust. I never thought for one moment that there would be an explosion down that shaft. I paid all my attention to the gas. As a practical miner I have no