The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-22 00:00:00

THE COLLIERY EXPLOSION in NORTH
STAFFORDSHIRE.

On Thuraday morning in la,t week a terrible
explosion of fire damp vectored at the Talk-o'dh%
Hill Colliery, near Tunstall. Staff trdshire, attended
with a lore of many liven. The colliery in situated in
the parish of Talke, about a mile from the flarecaatle
Station ; it belongs ti the North Staffordshire Coal
and Iron Company, Limited, and has been worked
about eighteen month". The coal which it produces
is known as Banbury coal. From the mouth of the
shafts—two in number—to the bottom t.f the pit is a
depth of 350 yards, and the workings extend about
501 yards in various directions. The number of men
and boys employed was about 150. Three poor fellows
descended the pit at five o'clock on Thursday morning,
and engaged in their hazardous occupation till eleven
o'clock.
About that hour a smothered report was beard by those
standing en the pit bank, fl ones rushed furiously from the
mouth of the pit, and an 'natant afterwards the sealant of
the country for a aaaaa exttnt on all sides was covers with
thick soot The *hock canted ho the explosion was felt at
the distance if half • mile Qulckly the colliery was thronged
with anxious relatives, who, to sae ft oughtlessinss of their
trouble, would unwittingly have hindered the attempts
erlith were at once started to revue the purified miners
Mr. J,thnson, the company's manager, got the pit bank cleared
as 80011 as possltele, and the c.a.,s were lowered into the
woe In a short time arnent fifty terrifitel Men sod la Is
were brolight t • the surface by way of No 2 shaft. The
efforts at Ni' I saatt were rots, success'ul, several men who
were raised at that ponit being fluent more Cr lees severely.
The scene at the time of ihveaely reintues was mess tt Itching,
the joy f mothew, wives, and child en bring I tense sod
lomoy .Iprectied on finding that their ',deltas were only
burned. Throverthout toe a'ternoon the search Wa, continued,
and as. flout the Buff ocatin; at roo.phere witnin the pit, fre-
quent relays of asshtatit, were net:eatery, the services of
ttioae who .sc sped were rated into requisition. Toe willing.
with which they came forward was truly adrnitarle,
write their sympaehy was once as may thme aerpiainted
wl b he danger. of their natio-mm.lld fully appreciate they
bravely descended the depth from lunch they ha Isorarrowly
escaped with their lives, tettotted for their mate.,
and, piscine these they Mond i.e the eace, Were
with them drawn up No 1 shaft to the outage. Toe
exploration retellered the searchers almost to chn.c'ous, aid
as each oat Cam, to the surf •Ce every TIP &OS were taken
to revive biro. So ne of them re.nalned for along teme half
ineensehle, while others, on whom brandy and chloroform
had a more salutary effect, soon came round, and vs, re ready
for another descent. The bodies brought up from time to
time were F :endued by the surgeons, arid were, with few
excep 1.a., mormunced dead. The fatal wet was tinily
heard by the men at the pit bank. At this time women and
children hint helm prohibited from approaching the shed 4,
and thus many painful "ernonstrattoos were prey. Itted
Additional melancholy was given to the scene at the pit
tn 'nth, by the shade, es cast upon the grin.y laces of toe
ecereed by the lurid glare of the fires whtc had been
kindled to “sist identification. The lot ter reeult wits aitaineo
to very few Instances, smoke and Flivignratlon rendering it
iffiCillt. th•ce a lookernen •entured to gores that "it woe
Dick nonnti.so," while soother asserted that it was him as
worked with Jack Knowles In pairs the Mattes if the un-
fortunate men were placed in carts, and conveyed to the
"Swan -on, the road many women atitionely asked
about their hilahattoll end Dona, hut seldom wentd their
tmeetions be answered. One poor woman pa- had forward rOll
coolie near the pi', and plaintively pot the donhtlt g question
that she reckoned they'd heard noWt o' Jim pet?'
Ihe Mello in the pints. recribed as frightful. /Indies arid
limbs lay apart, and several headless trunks were cent up
One collier, wore had aided in the extrication of tie dead
tom his comrades Fin reaching the bit hank in a fanning
'date, that he had seen four men lying dead In a heap
Several who, like this man, had become worwed by their
laboillW, Were ordered to remain quiet upon one side, hut
the 'rave fellows hoisted, in tones awl with the appearauce
of drank.. men, occasioned by the gas, that they "could
goo again"
the labour of dlsentomhing the victims was earnestly
carried mit, and up Co Friday neorniog flny.eight bodies had
been reCoVereti. Sixteen I.ltrit Mole had been Min in
various parts of the pit, hut owing to the presence of foul
at, iv was determined tee neer the remaining work of . so-t-
-eat ..... 10th,, end a Wody of men were employed during
rhreday night and Onid.y in ventilating the pit Drain
wart, tool tee have r suited In the mtef etity of c wee from
evil ,eateste by the after liantp, othery were kind ivy the
f,, 0" of the ,uplii,t sr and ihe NM g debris. Most of the
Injured men are going on favourably.
rne free Of tne eat Joel ni, *Bernie. ced by the appearance
of the pit's werkingt hOt t have been intense, the Ma Veil
on ell sides having vein Moon 'awry, tie plat t Ca. t IVA in
OirtClollll, an the roadway., for the moet pain, cdoc-
qnently telocked np. Nothing WWI perceived by toe misers
prior to toe .acctlei t to Pane then, IQ Clap Ct lb. ep-
pro .ch of danger. the f-Xp.osion, iii. said, clouting on them'
with s'l the in idetiness of a gunshot. the lalkas'-ile,
lilt' Ciii! cry gas worked day and nigt,t by two
en Is of men Had the tinloslote exerted little
more thee half an hour later, most of the col-
lier. woad have been sway at dinner, anti thus the loss
of life wou'd have been conaiderably less. As it Is the slum-
ber killed • ile, lilt inollvint, he smiler be ; tor of thesa be-
lieved on Thuivd.y night to be still underground many it
appears, contrive" to escape by No, 2 s heti. The 'tuella of
h Taws tooled was follow n. 8 roe of the bereaved are in a
sleet pitiable plutA. A widow, named B .nth, has log two
ibenewho were her only stippert Ano.her Woman I,as lost her
hitsband, son, and an adopted child, and is tuft with four
young girls. Several families hay, been deprived of father
aid Fon. Jo another case, six youtg Children nine!
• KnOWlee, whose mother died only a few weeks sg have now
h come orphan,- to one row of foto houses, *very window
blind is drawn down.

A correepondeut, welting on Sunday from the scene
of Ur. late sechi*nt, eaym
" "

The s xcite-ment at the Talk-o thwHill pit, on Saturday, had
somewhat 'unaided. rhere Web ° but fm pelple there that
day hesldel the reablents of the localitl, and the relatives
and [Helots of the men who have lost their ice. L .ne after
the ad ,urumeat of the inquest on Fri, ay afternoon, the
netighhairhood was much crowded with sp. et .t.,ra, many of
whorls had coma front the Potteriel. rile work of exploring
the mine In leartkol the dead bad been ottulluuell rlivroutty