| Show The Mammoth Coal Mine Disaster YOU GWOOD Pa Jan 280no hundred and seven bodies have been taken from the illfated mine of Frick i Co at Mammoth Mam-moth up to 10 oclock this morning I is estimated that the remains of at least seventeen sev-enteen more victims of yesterdays explosion ex-plosion are still in the pit I is thought all will bo out in a few hours Nobody slept last night At the little mining hamlet there was mourning and in little onestory houses scantily furnished and illuminated with a tallow candle mother talow a wife sister or sweetheart sobbed in silence After tho explosion yesterday news of the awful fate of scores of miners at work in the shaft spreadrapidly among tne mines mnes and miners homes Couriers carried the dreadful news hither and thither and families rushed from the comforts of home into the depths of grief and despair The scenes at these miners cottages can readily be imagined im-agined Within an incredibly short time the entrance to the shaftswarmed with uneager un-eager anxious crowd of men women and children sonic of whom coujd only with great difficulty be kept at a safe distance As the bodies of the victims mangled by the terrible force of tho explosion or burnt almost out of human semblance were brought up out of the yawning depths the crowd of watchers pushed forward to the nitts mouth for a crlimose of recognition The heart ot wIves and mothers stood still in fear that loved ones were among sti dead Tears coursed down bronzed and bearded cheeks and were dashed away by brawny bands that had swung the pick for many years The rescuing party proceeded with their grim task and the crowd of watchers silently looked on Fifty coffins arrived from Pittsburg this morning and another halfhundred will reach here tonight An additional order for twentyfive more was sent this evening The cause of the explosion is not yet do termined The coroner is on the ground and a thorough investigation will be made A roll call of all tee men is in progress and by this the exact number of missing will be known The rescuing party is working with energy and tho wreck in the shaft is being fast cleared up The officials of the Frick company said this morning It may never be known how or why the explosion occurred An accumulation o firedamp was probably the cause but it was never known to exist in any quantity before in fact it may be said the Mammoth mine has been free from damp There is a theory that a pocket of natural gas was reached and that the operation oper-ation of the ventilating fans now prevents any accumulation of it Itis not necessary that everyone in a mine should be killed when an explosion occurs The explosive gas may stay in one particular section and may not permeate the entire mine unless the volume is so great as to force it to every part of the pit In this case the gas was nnnflnnd to one portion und the minc who were in other localities escaped Never in the history of American coal mining has there been such an unexpected accident with such completq annihilation of all within its reach The Mammoth mine has been notable aJways as being particu larly free from gas Hundreds of safety gaugo lamps were provided for mines by the company but they were never used as they were regarded as unnecessary In theirstead the men wore the familiar little ltte open flame lamps in their hats The mine boss put the night shift to work and found nothing arouse his suspicion Monday there were 133 miners at work in the part of the mine affected by tho explosion ex-plosion I is not known exactly how many there were on Tuesday There has been found up to 2 oclock this afternoon 112 bodies and of this number fiftythree are identified ffythree |
