Show TERRIFIC MINE EXPLOSION pa jan 27 by an explosion of firedamp fire damp in the mammoth haft of the H C fricke coke company today eighty sturdy miners were ushered into eternity and a number seriously erious ly injured the explosion occurred this morning shortly after 9 oll elock and it is supposed was the sulton of the ignition of a miners oil lump lamp the after damp which followed the fire damp explosion suffocated nearly every workman the few men who realized the awful situation fell to the ground thereby preventing tre preventing venting the gaa a striking r ing them T the e persons not selled are in such a critical condition that their deaths are momentarily expected up to this writing fifty bodies are recovered all ail without a sign of life A fire which broke out after the explosion was soon extinguished by an immense fan which was put in opera stion atlon the gas has about all been driven k from the pit and the work of rescuing the entombed miners has com commenced ed the mammoth plant bOO em embodo 0 4 overs one of the largest F alne I 1 coke region but it is hard of a access CR es it is situated near the united works where an explosion recently destroyed an entire shaft chaft the affair has cast a gloom over the entire coke region and tonight hundreds of miners ore are flocking to THE SCENE OF offering 0 assistance the appalling loss lose of life in the dunbar disaster is more than overshadowed by the destruction of life in the mammoth calamity the now news spread throughout the entire coke begron with great rapidity and everybody is awe stricken coffins have already been ordered for eighty persons from mount pleasant undertakers no one escaped from the mine in a condition to the story of the awful disaster it is estimated that there are fifty wives and families left choly de pendent on the charity odthe of the world for aute sustenance nance by this disaster in fact they are almost penniless As the plant has not been running full for c some time and work has been exceedingly scarce everything possible will be resorted to to supply the widows mothers and children with the necessaries of life the fricke company will act liberally in this direction and master workman porter has sent an appeal for aid to the miners and coker or of this region AT MIDNIGHT it is stated men were killed in the explosion sixty bodies have been taken out so far the mine is again on en fire and it to is feared all 11 the other bodies will be cremated A partial story of the disaster to is obtained an unexpected flow of gas was wag struck and the miners working in the headings connected with the flats flate 2 8 3 and 4 were all killed the fire boss boo as is his duty had been in the mine and examined the working places his mangled body lies at the morgue the only evidence that he attended to his bis duties are the regular certificates of inspection received from him this morning which guaranteed the mines safe the miners knew these certificates had been filed out and went to work they never returned superintendent keighly who was mine inspector in the dunbar district when that horror occurred was at the mine when the explosion took place he immediately called for volunteers and gathering a few about him descended the shaft before doing so he notified general superintendent nten dent lynch and that gentleman ordered all the mine superintendents in the region to the scene when the volunteers entered the mine a sight eight impossible to picture met them A bank of cars mules and more terrible than all men were PACKED IN A COMPACT MASS against the ribs or walls walla of coal and not a living thing was in the wreckage it was almost as solid as the coal itself so terrific was the force of the explosion this obstruction was removed with difficulty and they entered the chamber of horrors the first object they discovered after leaving the main entry was a gum boot in it was the leg of a man further on they found a human bead but nowhere in sight eight was the trunk that had borne it but in a few minu tep after walking a dis distance surrounded by dangers unseen they found the trunk the ragged neck with blood oozing irom it told the story of an appalling disaster working their way in they found bodies strewn along the gangway one unfortunate met death while on his knees in ia prayer with bands clasped and eyes uplifted his body was found 1 in this position it was a pathetic picture while all this was occurring the people e of the region were concentrated at the scene of the great disaster women children relatives and friends of the unfortunate victims rushed to the mouth of the pit pic shrieking and sobbing and the scene was one NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN following them came the physicians and undertakers from scottdale scottsdale Scott dale mount pleasant and Greene Greens burgh and after them father lambing of scottdale scottsdale Scott dale who went among the bereaved with words of sympathy anil and condolence besides urging the men to greater work to rescue any who might be alae and imprisoned the services of the physicians were little needed for every naan in the shea dings where the explosion P I 1 0 ion occurred was killed none were injured 1 and dead bodies were brought up every few minutes every corpse was covered and no one even ventured to inquire which body it was for they know knew that every one in that part of the mine at the time of the explosion was dead superintendent keighly was sorely distressed he had been in two other mine disasters at dunbar and youngstown but this was far worse he said no man maa living knows the cause of the accident and it will never be known for a certainty not so many were killed by the explosion but the after damp came and the unfortunates succumbed to it this is shown by the fact that only those bodies in the immediate vicinity of the worst wreckage were mutilated one foreman connected with the mine said that SAFETY LAMPS were not used in it the presence of the gas abs not suspected john jehn M bell fire boss boas at heels hecla no 1 said about two years ago there was an explosion of gas at the mine and one man was burned to death NO safety lamps were used here there was too much work here for one ode fire boss they discharged one a con couple we of weeks ago to reduce expenses and one man has been forced to do the work I 1 managed to secure the last report of the mine inspector and it is a very important document just now the latest examination of the mine by the state inspector was made on january it shows at the Inlet which is about a mile or more away from the shift shaft that there feet of air entering the general condition of the mine was marked YouN awooD pa jan 28 one hundred and seven bodies had been taken from the ill fated mine of prick frick and company at mammoth up to 10 this morning it is estimated that the remains aw ace at least seventeen more the victims of yesterdays explosion are still in the pit but it is thought all will be out in a few hours nobody slept at mammoth last night in every home in the 11 little t le mining ding hamlet was mourning little one story houses bouses scantily furnished were illuminated with a tallow candle and mother wife sister or sweetheart sobbed in silence after the explosion yesterday the news of the awful fate of scores of miners at work in the shaft spread rapidly among the mines and miners homes couriers carried the dreadful news hither and thither the families rushed from the comforts of home into the depths of grief and despair the scenes at these miners cottages can readily be imagined within incredibly short time the en trance to the shaft swarmed with an eager anxious crowd men women children some of whom could only with great difficulty be kept at a safe distance As the bodies of the victims mangled by the terrible force of the explosion or burned almost out of human semblance were brought up from the yawning depths the crowd of watchers pushed forward to the pits mouth for a glimpse of recognition hearts of wives and mothers stood still in fear of finding their loved ones among the dead fears coursed down the bronzed and bearded cheeks and were dashed away by brawny bands that had swung the pick for many years the rescuing party pr proceeded with their grim task and the crowd of watchers silently looked on fifty coffins arrived from pittsburg this morning and another half hundred will reach here tonight an additional order for twenty five more were sent this morning the cause of the explosion is not yet determined the coroner is ls on the ground and athor a thorough investigation will be made THE CAUSE OF THE DISASTER the roll call of all men is in progress and by this the exact number of missing will be known the rescuing party is working with energy and the wreck in the shaft in being fast cleared up the officials of the prick frick company said this morning it may never be known how or why the explosion occurred the accumulation of fire damp 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 of the ventilating fans now prevents any accumulation of it and it to is not necessary that every one in a mine shall be killed when an explosion occurs the explosive may stay in one particular section and may not permeate the entire mine dunles the volume is so great as to force it to every part of the pitin this case the gas is confined in one portion and the miners who alere were in theother localities escaped never in the history of american coal mining has there been such AN unexpected ACCIDENT with such complete annihilation of all within its reach the mammoth mine has been notable always as am being par ticul arly free from gas hundreds of safety gauge lamps were provided for the miners by the company but they were never used as they were regarded unnecessary in their stead the men wore the familiar open flame fiame lamps in their hats bate the mine boss boas put the night shift to work and found nothing to arouse lilb suspicion YOUNGWOOD jan 27 on monday there were thirteen miners at work on that part of the mine affected by the explosion it is not known exactly how many there were on tuesday there have been found up to 2 this afternoon bodies and of this nun nua her ber 53 are identified all the connellsville coke regions stood today with bowed forms and reverent heads while the THREN DEAD MINERS taken from the mammoth shaft were shrouded coffined coffiner cof fined and laid to rest for their long sleep the remains and mourners were carried to st john the baptists cemetery at Scott scottsdale scottdale dale in a special train along the road hundreds of citizens turned out and wherever the train halted great crowds gathered over three thousand persons were present pr entas as the bogies bodies were placed sideby side by side ride in a common grave the coaches behind the baggage oars cars with the corpses were crowded with sobbing women and sad pad faced men the scenes at the cemetery were very affecting not until the bodies were being placed in the graves did the women and children seem to realize the full extent of their bereavement and a pitiful chorus of cries and moans was wa heard sheard all day long the work of recovering the bodies from the pit went on and the work is not yet concluded ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ONE VICTIMS jan 28 M C prick frick owner of the mammoth mine the scene of yesterdays terrible explosion said cheru were in all mon men working in the mine at the time of the accident nine of whom escaped with their lives some of them badly injured thereat the rest of the men either killed out right or suffocated by the terrible firedamp CHICAGO jan 28 when asked this morning aa to the final disposition to be made of the indians at fort sheridan general miles said that its is a matter to be determined in the future now that sitting bull and other chiefs are killed and I 1 have most of the other indians left without leaders there is danger of a future outbreak on the reservation these men I 1 have brought to chicago are a crowd of outlaws three ahree hundred indians were arre arrested sted and sent to fort sully stilly and all the others are now under control of military authority and back on their reservations or on their way there I 1 could not tell what movement might be attempted in the spring and brought the ones now at fort sheridan as a precaution the chiefs who went through to washington are not so dangerous the rhe indians who remained loyal were not dot disarmed for the reason that it would have been an injustice to have treated them as hostiles ho stiles with the hostile tribes only a few guns are left simply enough for their personal protection tec tion I 1 anticipate no further trouble an and d if there is another war with the indians it will be on an entirely different matter general miles has detailed the fol lowing officers ceis to each command a company of indian scouts to be enlisted at pine ridge agency willis bclark OC lark twelfth infantry lieutenant godfrey H mcdonald first cavalry and lieutenant joe C byron eighth cavalry |