The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1866-12-18 00:00:00

TERRI 3LE CO,LIERY YLOAON N tR
BA RN SLEY.

Ne srly three hunted live* have been best by an ex•
n at the Oaks Colliery, tithe. I at Doyle Still, •
hood, t a mile and t hall from Bumlsy. The Oaks
GoShiny ir the proprrty of K. fillintleth wads'. Es+ of
Ardasey, sod is Mead to Bless.. Firth Barber, acid Cu.
Ii io about 2711 yarn deep, awl has been worked foe •
great number of yews, nil improvenieurs with regard to
ventilation, &a, being beou iutorluced, as the orasiag
Lag jr•risser. Mr. r. praCt464
wmnoig
'mimeor. It is our of the ins-sett Wolkuip in the dis-
trict, employing abut 400 men ausl boys, and extasidi
• des's°. of uteri) two miles from the srhaft-ltothiu.
'lto mere sight d a oat mine at ordivary times occa•
thrum sensations of 'intrust and gloom, such LS hardly
sue other eaperiesee can alliee. NO Stranger amid
worm his way aloe/ the two miles anthems over which
ih•s itt. Colliery stretcher limn tho bottom of the
shalt without suchsensaiims. Bet usc breeds in cid.
hem the ordlune result of helot. They descended,
doubtless, gaily cough in gauge to their dark end
arm y work on Weinealey morning. three hundred end
eighty of theru—ons huudred mei twenty of thr ru with
wives end children 'n dwelling. near the ',it'd mouth—
sod dispensed inanelyes industriously through the
waking. thinking t no bravery, taking darkness as a
erstier sinnifse, plevantly 00BACIOUil. perhap-, though
thinking little of thematter either way, that their rume
was better vetdated mil malaria than moat others.
Ito" ci Iwo o'clock tint day there Was heard over the
whole diatriotagreat mind of horror. They know it well
in that nalghbourlicod. In 1847 it was the knell A I
seveuty-thr e liver. In 1857 of one hundred and eighty
nine. In INS of flOymine. All who hear lt know
what it tarsus. It is only a question of more or fewer
• ant jo which pit they lie. This tune these was
seen ruthing upwards from one of tho Wks Colliosy
shafts, a. from a volcano, • great volume of smoke.
Thousands rushed to the pit mouth, and the thought of
all wee bow to help. At first there este &Menne&
" ',nth" could not at ones be facer by bingo with
human lungs, and the ropes of the cages bad been
I damaged by the shook. Them being quickly renewed,
and the foul vapour haring • little isomed away, descents
at once begoi, and soon the bodies lying immediately
around the bottom of the shaft began to be brought to
vow. It wan trope, apperently. that were most fuer-
fully disfigured, and beyond thee it was at first onpos.
sible to go. The roads and air-mouses were choked.
It was only by slow degrees Use wurkinis • gild
be explored, and the night was for gone before
even • score of the three hundred and eighty men
were drawn up into the open air only len murky
than the darkness below. As the search slow',
progressed, there began to appear to the practised
eyes of the femiliar si,,ghts of • arm& coal-pit calamity.
On entering the mine a few of the men were found,
their existence hanging in the most delicate Wan.—
blackened, scorched, bleeding, and disfigured. With all
haste these were sent up, and some of them died during
the afternoon and evening. The scene presto...l on
the "plaio"—• decline of rather lees than a wile, the
bighwej, so to speak, to all the main workirrgs—was
one which even the experience in coalmine ex-
plosion' describe as appalling. There were 40
hareem in the pit, every one of which perished,
and in many mars the horse and its young driver
lay together in the sleep of death. The boys hail
fallen at their poet of duty without • moment's waruiug,
and without the remotest chance of escape. As is
common in these explosions, the men bad hurried out
of their "banks" as soon a, the bltst took plate, and
hail hastened on the high road to the shaft in the hope
that peradventure they might escape; but the subt:ill
rdter-damp had overtaken them in one fugitive mama,
and like men drunken they had stumbled and fallen to
rise no U3O e. In speces of not more than thirty square
yards as wispy deed bodies were met with. The bulk
were uninjured. The countenances wore the placid
smile of untroubled repo.. Father and son were found
clustering together ; brothers fell in groups under
the folioseoe of the alter damp and all the 300 souls
must have been swept into enternity in • few minutes.
livery little obstruction in the road—the slightest hil-
lock or the smallest hole—had sufficed to douse the half.
suffocated retreating form to (alto the earth, and where
it fell it died. Meanwhile the expeditiooo frow above
go on, multiplying and quickening. Then there comes
a brief hiatus, and then another descent. But the Epee
return. The air in the pit i.e too tool to be braved even
in this holy and humane undertaking. But the bold
dwellers in these dark and treacherous places will not
believe it. 37 volunteers went to relieve souse of those
who had been working. But about nine o'clock on
Thursday morning the state of things grew wpm, and
at last the men mar the workings felt the air, to use
their own phrase, "sucking on them," and knew that an
explosion was imminent. Oiled them, named
Supten, the ground-steward, whose place was at the
bottom of the shaft, cried out, "Oh, lads, we're all
done for." Some sixteen of them, however, rushed
together to the bottom of the shalt. Seven were
immediately taken up in the cage, which was again
lowered, and the remaining nine entering it, they also
were carried to bank, trembling for their liven When
they reached the surface, with pale farm and trembling
limbs, they found seven men waiting to go down and
carry on the much, and thew men charged them
with cowardice for baying left the pit in such •
manner, and wished thins to return sena Thom
who had thus escaped from what they believed to be
• terrible peril were unmindful of the reproaches of
their comrades, and earnestly besought them not to put
their lives to a terrible risk by entering the pit. Their
entreaties were, however, of no avail; the whole party
entered the cage end went down. This was • few
minutes before nine o'clock. At nine exactly the pit
fired, and the whole of the poor fellows, together with
tho-e whom they had joined in the pit—twenty-eight in
all—were hurried into eternity. Let it be nisntioned,
to the honour of Bogdan, the groundoteward, that
though he was the first to discover the approach of the
second exploeion, be would not leave his met at the
bottom of the shaft, but nobly perished there, " only
an honest 011111 doing his duty." After the second
expiation, the platform Heelf wits completely covered
with soot, and pieces of rope, sloth, and wood, which
had been bulled up by the form of the explosion. 'the
signal wires running down the shaft had been broken,
and were hanging in tangled maws round the head.
gear, whilst the iron roof of the cage in which the men
had so lately been asoonding and descending
was crumpled up like a piece of paper, but
already Mr. Dymond, and the gentlemen who
were assisUng him, were takinr mevures to
ascertain an far as poonble the fate of those who had
been attaching for the dead at the time the second en'
plosion occurred. And first of all the signet wires were .
drawn out of the shalt; next the cage, which had not
been far from the surface when the explosion took place,
area sautiously raised, and then followed a scene more
thrilling than any that the most exciting "sensation
drama could present. All round the pit buildings
were gathered panieestricken men, awaiting the
. next act In this awful tragedy. On the plat. ,
! form itself there were only half-a-score or so of
! those more immediately connected with the colliery, and
&mooed those there were no tracts of the panic which
I seemed to have taken poonassion of the greater number
of those below. Presently, amongst these halfeeore
on the platform Mr. Dymond stepped forward with
uplifted hand, Ltd commanded all to preserve the
strictest silence - end all were immediately silent. Then
two of the workmen lay down at full length at the edge
of the shaft, with theie beads over the aide, and
together they raised • loud and long halloo, that
went echoing down the sides of the fatal pit. There
Was a pau.e that seemed to tut for • few minutes, and
again the shout was raised ; but there only came back I
from the pit the long-drawn echoes of the on, and
then all was silent as the grave. Then It was known
that there wax no hope for the brave men who had been
in the pit when the second explosion took pleas, and
slowly and mournfully the owners and the assembled
viewers withdrew to consult together the colliery
offices. Orders were given that the' pit platform
should be cleared, as it wan not at all Improbable
that another explosion might take place. Accordingly
moat of the persons near the mouth of the shaft moved
away, but a few still remained, and watched the ope-
ration of running the case upend down which was then
being performed When first it was lowered to the bottom
It was allowed to remain there • few minute, and then it
was brought quickly to the surface, in the hope—the
faintest of faint hopm—that some might bays beenliving
at the bottom and might have crawled into it. But it
only came up empty and dripping wet from the dreary
depths. I had just left the shaft, and had proceeded
about a wore of yards from it, when at ten o'clock pre-
cisely • third explosion took place equal in violence to
that which had occurred an hour before. The ground in
the neighbourhood was shaken by the shock, and again
there was the shower of smoke and amt. This time, too,
the cage which had been amending at the moment of the
explosion was caught up by the Man and hurled com-
pletely out of the shaft, and over the wheel of the
head-gear, on the off-tide of which it hung, disfigured
and useless. It hardly required the third catastrophe to
complete the disheartening of all who were interested in
the progress of the cock. Yet HS dull reverberation
tell like a knell upon the ears of all who heard it. It
showed bow useless any further attempts to resume the
search would be. .

A moopt those whose lives were thus sacrificed were
P. Jetkock, Esq., of Sheffield, a member of a wealthy
Yorkshire family long eonnected with the coal trade ;
Mr. David Ye eat, steward of Newcastle; Mr. Smith,
manager of the Lundbill Colliery: Mr. W. Darker, tis
Oaks under-viewer; Yr. C. Madeira and his sons, the
deputies. and several others, numbering altogether 28
persons. After this asseand catastrophe, or
whatever slight hope previously existed WAS dispelled,
and the sorrowful feces of the women and men whose
relatives were entombed wore painful to see. At preterit
the number of men brought out and living does not
mead eight, whilst those in the pit will be close upon
200, so that the number of lives eastrifieed will be up-
wards of 360. The colliery banks presents quits a
forlorn appearance. the cage—or part of it at least—
being closely jammed in the top gearieg, from which
II titters • portion of the clothing of 000 of the unfortanete
men. The greatest excitement prevails, nearly every
colliery in the district being closed, the miners appear-
ing in great numbers on the ground adjoining the
colliery.
. . - .

The envneers endeavoured to einother the fire in the
pit by closing up the &hefts, but their °coition. were
defeated by the !Lamm bursting forth with greet fury
from one of the drawing 'hat ta.

A oonsultation of mining engineer@ and colliery
viewers took pities in the afternoon, at which Mr.
Charles Morton, the government inspector of mines,
was present, for the purpose of considering what steps
should be taken in the present state of affairs, —whether
the mines should be closed at once, or whether flooding
should be resorted to. 'The conference was adjourned
without pronouncing in favour of either course; but it
was determined to telegraph for several enthused mining
engineers and oolliety viewers from the North of En&
land, to consult with them as to the best course to be
pursued under the circumstances.
The cause of this distressing accident will probably
never be known. Like r'l other collieries in the York.
hire district, the pit was worked with sr fety lamps, the

invrmtios of ficorge Bienloosen, being the one mad at
this 'articular mine. Fir some days previous to the
accident, it is stated, uneasiness existed swing the men
In coosequonoe of the nutsually hi.th temperature of
certain parts of the pit; but it has not been ascertained
that there use any remarkstble degree of foulneas in the
air before the ezolorion.
&rend of the buy., arreging from 12 t. 14 yeere, on
ba:ing brought, tip on WedostsOity, • all scarcely be
r . their elo4a •oil the button, on their
.111 g. were inientely evaluity ulno ea to dcc o clue g
Vie severer. goose of the mon app anal to les in tli•
ar atist agony, Ant most of them appeared tq have lost
sli Pnwer eiterweion. Ole of the tat drawn up on
%Veda's Ise, was Br. cupola babe. are Tanker, who
was vary little hurt. On reatilring tits top be bad the
dead bully of *eat in hie hand.
Out of th, Adel number in the pit PO wens sten
nearly all married ; and the remainder were youlig YAM
' sad lays.
I Mod of .he dollars 0..-n as if (boy had lisd mme
I warning, as they were all found with their el 4. ei on.
milting for the pit bottom. Where tke fatal blast
has o yet been earl
311, n'ilicatiou of the dead is in most caws impqrsible.
and th- only •if at of allowing an inspection would be
Li perpetuate confusion. Not more than ball a dozen
...oilcloth are employed in the tank of ri miring the dead.
With renqa bands they left them from the cage, sod
deposit them none the bier, over which there has been
prevon-ly placed it blanket; an soon ai the body is laid
ther, on it in unfolded and reneored to the extemporised
dead-hous• //i the lost of the bill.
The colliery carpanters are busily employed in the
work of making biers—rough wooden structures not
much unlike the police stretcher, some dozen, of which
are grouped in an upright position eon renieut an the
pit mouth. The pile of wooden fabrics lying adjairut
are the blanketing, to corer the dietorted and diaBgozed
remeine.
Her Majtaty addresecil a heiter to the Barnsley
Bench of agistratee on Thursday, asking for details
as to the probable extent of the espial's'', arta whether
the I we of life is an serious as has bean represented.

Thou. who here been is such parts of the mine as will
admit of their presence, state that huge stones of Immo
tone weight are blown to pieties, ss if they had been
✓ime paper.
The Lord Mayor of London, with • protntilude which
dee( him infinite honour, has .posed • anbseription lid
for the relief of the suff-rers at Barnsley. Tilling into
eecount the frightful extent of the catastrophe, and the
destitute condition in which great nutebeis of people
meet be left is this, the most inclement Name of the
year, it cannot be doubted thet his loritiliip'e appeal
will meet with a prompt and liberal respoose.
The south side of the pit, where it is supposed the
fatal blast ignited, has not yet been implored.
A large staff of surgeons were Present, who rendered
every mealtimes to the sulferere. (lawman, magi•tratet
end engineers were also there to give what help they
mold. The neighbouring coal proprietors —kiwis,
rendered every aid.
Some of the men found by the emerehere were linked
arm in arm. Conscious of their inimine nt peril, they
had adopted thit brotherly form of 'union" to help one
another through. In death they were not divided.
The wind of the explierion tore through the main road
of the mine with the force of a hurrimine. One of the
men who escaped was struck on several part, of his
body by the heavy substances brought along by the
rushing wind.
- - "

A remarkable escape was nude by • men named
Tanker, whose duty was to look after the furnace for
ventilating the pit. Ile was engend in his duties when
the esplosion occurred, and deuribev the noi,e produced
u resembling two heavy peals of thunder. A perfect
hurricane then swept toward the place where be was
standing, knocking hiss to the ground in • senseless COD -
dWon. When found he was still insensible.

This accident is by far the moat fatal oc
record in the annals of cool-mioitig. Five years ago
a terrible catastrophe imearred at Hartley, by which
about 200 lives were lost, and five years before that
there was an explosion at Lundhill, involving a sacri-
fice of 170 live,. The totality on the Present onws-
e'en, however, far elope& that in both of those eases.
Indeed, should the number killed be anything like
what it is reported to be, the lows of life will be
greater than liaa occurred at any single time In Great
Britain wince the battle of Culloden, the only other
fatality at all approaching it being the accident at
Rhntleld from the bursting of the Bradfield reservoir,
when 250 lives were sacrificed.

Bir T. Siddulph telegraphed on Friday evening am
follows :—"Tha Queen learns with deep regret the extent
of ais frightful calamity, and dream that, if a sub-
reriptlon be entered into, bar name shall be pat down
for £2OO. tor the relief of the families of the unfortunate
sufferera"

11r. Mammatt and Mr. limbleton, two mining
engineers, descended the shaft on Friday, bat found no
signs of hams. life in any of the workinp which they
were able to viDt.
The man Brown, no miraculously laved out of such
multitude of victims, happily found refuge in a 'amp-
horae at the bottom of the pit. Could others have
found their way 'hither, too, double.. the Dumber of
victims would not have )311180 no astounding.
There are divided opinion.., to the number of men
In the pit. The kmal Misters' Union estimate it at from
TX to 350. hr.Normsneell, secretary to that Union,
gives the following numbers of the deceased colliers
belonging to that society : Miners, 115; tramplers and
daymen, 100; and boys, 48, making • total of 263.
This is exclusive of men killed who do not belong to
that association.

One of the voluntems supposed to have been killed
has happily be-n rescued under almost miraculous
circumstances. On Thursday evening, between 10 and II
o'clock, one of the shafta of the mine took fire, and the
AMISS lamed from the pit'. mouth. Seeing these the
crowd around the pit moved off, as another explosion
was feared. It was thought necessary to send for the
firebrigade from Barnsley, but the dames abated soon
after the arrival of the enginese. The firemen thought
they could hear some one in the pit bottom. Others
also listened, and heard some faint cries, showing that
some one was still alive in the fatal mine. The excite-
' ment was intense. A mesmeriser was dessatehed for the
engineers, and at about 5 o'clock a.m. they arrived, and
being satisfied that some one was alive, let down a
bottle of brandy, which was received at the pit
bottom. Active steps were at ones taken to extra.
eate those who had thus given signs of life. A pulley
was erected, and two brave fellows volunteered to go
down the shaft. They were lowered slowly and
cautiously, signalling repeatedly to those at the top,
as they found they were able to proceed; and at last
they heard a voice which they found to come from one
of the explorers who descend, d the mine on Thursday
to bring up the dead bodies or rescue them-visors from
the first explosion. His name is Samuel Brown, of
Barttaley. He was at once placed in the cage, and the
signal for drawing up was given. As the three occupants
of the cage neared the bank, all eyes were directed on
.he poor fellow whose life bad been elloriat m:raonlously
preservel. He was conveyed to a fire, and restoratives
were given. From the first, however, he was perfectly
conscious, and spoke with distinctness. He states that
when the first explodion Wok place during the search 1
for which he had volunteered, be was caught by the
afteeblast, and became unconscious for some time.
Afterwards be revived, and wandered about the north
incline, falling over mangled corpses in the road, and
found his way to the pit mouth, where be pulled
the signal bell. Re thinks there was no other
living being in the pit, for after his consciousness re-
turned he never beard any voices or moaning, or any
other indication of life. The recovery of this mar,
however, is causing great excitement, and the people
bows to protest against the pit being closed.
The inquest was formally opened,by Mr. T. Tsylor,
'Droner, at the house of Kra Ridelale, White
Boar, Hoyle-mill. After the bodies bad been viewed
and identified, Mr. Charles Morton, Government Inspec-
tor. told the Coroner and jury that a meeting of the most
eminent mining engineers in the kingdom had been held
that day. He concurred in their unanimous opinion
that the workings were probably on fire, and it was not
likely that any one in the mine was alive. Re wag of
opinion that • three days' interval should take place
before any further dement we. attempted. AA be
recommended that the inquert should be adjourned, it
wasadjourned accordingly to Thursday next.

-
There were two or three slight explosions In the mine
between four and half-part six o'clock on Satorday even-
ing, and the work of filling up the cupola shaft with
send and earth Is slowly progressing. On Saturday
afternoon a telegram was received from the onnsulting
engineers, statutg that in their opinion it would
ultimately be necessary to flood the mine, and that for
this porpoise it is necessary to keep open the shaft
nearest the canal, at leant uotil after the eonferonoe of
engineers on Monday. It is stated that a telegram has
been received from a French firm offering to mad over
men provided with safety dresses to descend and esplore
the mine.