The black grime was everywhere. Once his face was clean of soot and blood, she inspected the deep gash above his ear, straight through to the skull, the bony cap no protection for a methane explosion.
Jamie wasn’t the only loss. There were sixty men missing and a half-dozen boys—trappers, brakers and mule tenders.
He opened his mouth, ready to say something but she put her hand up, fair warning. She wanted nothing but quiet now, some peace in the moment.
It was an old, bitter story, her cleaning black dust off boots and backs and scrubbing clothes that never came clean. It was yesterday’s sorrow that pinched her with worry about a boy with a mountain strapped to his back and a husband wheezing through the night
1 answer
The passage that is NOT based on historical records or sources is:
"He opened his mouth, ready to say something but she put her hand up, fair warning. She wanted nothing but quiet now, some peace in the moment."
This passage reflects a fictional moment of interaction and emotional response, rather than a specific historical event or detail. The other passages reference specific losses and conditions related to historical mining accidents, which can be anchored in historical context.
