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Show DESOLATE HOMES X)ne Ilwlrei) nT Seven Bodies Already Tnken from the 111-1'ated 111-1'ated Frlek Mine. Msurnintr in Nearly Every Home in the Little Mining Hamlet of , Youngwood, . . , .S0EKE3 OF AWFUL DISTRESS. Terrible Grief of Wile, Mother wnd Sister as the Work of itet-ue Goes On. At Least Seventeen Bodies are Yet in the Pit Where the Explosion i Occurred. RECARDING THE CAUSE OF DISASTER Oao Th.nry I. That a Pecks! of Natural Wu 8t-nok, but Nothing D.fl-nit. D.fl-nit. I V.t Known. Volnowood, Pa., Jan. 28 One hundred and seven bodies have been taken from tho ill fated mine of Prick V Co., at Mammoth up to 10 o'clock this morning. It is estimated that the remains of at least seventeen more victims vic-tims of yesterday's explosion are still in the pit. It is thought all will be out in a few hours. Nobody slept at Mammoth last night, iu every home in the little mining hamlet ham-let there was mourning. In the little onestory houses, scantily furnished and illuminated with tallow candles, mother, wife, sister or sweetheart sobbed in silence. After the explosion yesterday the news of the awful fate of the scores of miners at work in the shaft spread rapidly rap-idly among the mines and miner's homes. Couriers carried the dreadful news hither and thither. The families of the men rushed from the comforts of home into depths of grief and despnir. The scenes at these miners' cottages can not be imagiuod. Within au incredible . short time tho entrance to the shaft swarmed with an eager, anxious crowd of men, women and children, some of whom could only with great difficulty be kept at a safe distance. As the bodies of the victims, mangled by tho terrible force of the explosion or buried almost out of human semblance, were brought up from the yawning depths, the crowd of watchers pushed forward to tb.6 pit's mouth for a glimpse of . recognition. I Hearts of wives" and mothers stood still In fear that loved ones were among the dead. .Tears coursed down bronzed and bearded cheeks and were dashed --"""" away by brawny hauds that had swung a pick for many years. The rejeuing party proceeded with its grim task ind the crowd of watchers silently looked on.' Fifty eollins arrived from Pittsburg this morning and another half hundred will reach here tonight. An additional order for twenty-five more was sent this morning. The cause of the explosion is not yet determined. The coroner is on the ground and it is thought an investigation investiga-tion will be made. A roll call of all the men is in progress and by this, the exact number of the missing will be know n. The rescuing party is working with energy and the wreck in the .shaft is being fust cleared up. The ollicbtls of tho I-rick company j said this morning: "it may never ' be known how or why the explosion I occurred. Accumulation of tire' damp' was probably the cause, but it was I never known to exist in any quantity before, in fact it may bo said the Mam- I moth mine has been free from lire damp. There is a theory that a pocket of natural gas was reached and that the operation of the ventilating fans now prevents any accumulation of it. It is not necessary that every one in the mino should be killed when an explosion occurs. Explosions may stay in one particular section and may not permeate the entire mine unless tho volume is so great as to force it to M-iT'r nart nf Ihe nit In th'm nAat rh gas was confined to one portion and the miners who were in other localities escaped." es-caped." Never in the history of American coal mining has there been such an unexpected unex-pected accident, with such complete annihilation of all within its reach. The Mammoth mine has been notabic always as being particularly free from gas. Hundreds of safety gauge lamps wero provided for I he miners by , tho company but they were never used as they were regarded as unnee- , essary. In their stead tho men worn tho familiar little open flame lamps in their hats. The mine boss put the night shift to work and found nothing to arouse his suspicions. |