Show i AWFUl DISASTER IN FRENCH MINE Eleven Hundred Men Meet Death as Result of an Explosion Most Appalling Mining Catastrophe In the History of the World Bringing Sorrow to Six Thousand Fathers Mothers Wives and Children larlsA mine catastrophe of Incalculable Incal-culable horror and magnitude has stricken the great coal center of northern France An explosion of firedamp fire-damp at 7 oclock Saturday morning carried death and destruction throughout through-out the not wurk of coal mines centered cen-tered at Courrlcrcs and lire following the explosion made rescue difficult And almost Impossible The death list number 1100 and the whole of the region stands appalled ap-palled at the terrible tragedy which has brought sorrow to six thousand fathers mothers wives and children About 2000 miners work the group of mines and with their families make a population of from 0000 to 8000 souls I Tho explosion took place shortly after 1795 men had descended Into Ibo mine There was ti deafening explosion ex-plosion which was followed by tho cagps and mining apparatus being hurled from the mouth of tho Cour rlers mine Men and horses nearby outside tho mine were either stunned or killed Tho roof of tho mine ot ic was torn off Immediately following the explosion explo-sion flames burst from the mouth of the pit driving back those without who sought to enter and dooming tho30 wlthln < < The work of attempting to rescue tho imprisoned miners was hastily begun be-gun by officials engineers and miners from the surrounding mines who formed parties and made heroic efforts ef-forts to penetrate tho smoke and foul gases and bring out tho Imprisoned menThe families of the entombed miners min-ers crowded about tho shaft seeking fathers or husbands and threatening In their efforts to obtain details to force back the gendarmes who kept them from the mouth of the pit The populace of the district IS appalled ap-palled by tho disaster which affects every household Those persons who wore rescued woro terribly burned Tho latest estimates es-timates place those taken out at Sill For the time being tho mine building build-Ing has been transferred Into a mortuary mor-tuary chamber and all about In It Ho tho carbonized and almost unrecognizable unrecog-nizable bodies of miners which wero taken there as they were brought up from the mine Stricken relatives arrive ar-rive at the mIne building from time to time searching for missing members mem-bers of their families and Indescribable Indescriba-ble scenes of grief occur as women recognize loved ones Heartrending scenes too arc witnessed wit-nessed about the mouth of pit No4 where In the presence Ministers Dublef and Gauthler the bands of rescuers res-cuers are continually descending and returning with bodies Tho women with children In their arms attempt to break through tho cordon of troops which forms a lane through which tho body bearers proceed pro-ceed to the mortuary chamber Sometimes Some-times the burden consists of a mere heap of burned flesh and In nearly every case the body Is terribly lacerated lac-erated Only onehalf of tho bodies recovered have been Identified The last great mine disaster In Franco occurred In 188C when 293 persons were killed and 80 Injured but that and all others sink Into Insignificance Insig-nificance before Courrierps |