The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1886-02-23 00:00:00

COLLIERY EXPLOSION AT EASTON.

FIVE LIVES LUST.

°au of Ow mod disaltnati etplotion* that has
...Armd for many years in tie. Bristol c took
plan. on Friday morning at Nlessrs. Leonard, Bonk,
and Co.'s colliery, Ka,ton, awl resulted in the death*
heir men and the inillry of 13 other*. 'l'lte
pit, which im weldknown in t city awl neighbour-
hood, work.' for a long whitlow of yeAr*;
and, iii conjunction with the mine at NVllitehall, give.
.miployinent. to 3 large number of men and Ipopi, over
Will bawls being engaged in the workings at I.:astou.
11,4, the C:ilittility Witol not at preemt
knovvo, hilt it W.lei 1104 iliaa•itroil, in it. effect., The
'‘1.1..i...1 loCal, and only affected :I
&MI. Tue.. Wa• ut 'lnn of *woke and dint lip the
*haft, the general ventilttion .1 the mine was not
interfesed with, and for many hour* after thu mad
event 111,11 working in different parts of tin'
colliery w,re twit, unaware of the cant4l.oole which
had rao wlddl•nlY (oar of their cmisrade* into
eternity. iloite Imlf an hone elained after the
Aecal,sit hapleaw.l Is.fore any intimation of it n,telesl
dee.. of the surface, Anil it %VW{ then rejawted
.11bert the ognalinan engaged at time hotting,
111 th.• *haft, on the I,(3iilit if the
iiitellittenee Mr. W. B. 51milts, jan. (inanarr,
Meson, M./4,4 o.lk, ./.1...1111C0N1k ("verb atkero, John
Ford (fireman I, Cowley, with the staiincit
twroi.iii so eliaracteri•tic of collii.ry in-is, desemeleil
the pit, awl wen. joined At the leading to the
" Fiery Vein" hy Frederick Ford, anotlwr firenion,
awl tho gallant lvlui.l protsssleil to the scone of the
et plosion, taking with them as assistants sow. own
who, having heinl of the disaster, had made their
way to the bottom of ti,' shaft. Fortunately, no fulls
had taken place, the roadm ware in good inlet, and
though ...yarnl floor* had lawn blown away, the
tentilAtion hail not lesm materially interfensl with,
though the air was laden with the chokedamp winch
alwAyy. •iiiceio•tin all Lighted by Itavy
lamps and battling their way throne; the dew%
onfrocating the toi ',hirers presetsh forward
and ...sin came nisei a number of men who had Issot
atriwk dottel while zittempting Lu noir before tho fiery
Wag. Th.,. i° 'or fellow* were quickly attended to,
awl carried to Ow the .isaft, Awl It w,.
Weil for twiny id them that the reacurro W.TI•a.
.1. s.dily at work for the afteedaim. began to tell upon
them, awl Icel thy wit been aidod when they wore
they would aoon have succumbed to the isnemous
ir.., imiswese crowd collected at the entrances to
the colliery-yard, and great eteitement prevailed,
but a atrong body of the D division, melee Auperiw
tendon Turner and inspector Smith, pet...erred order
amongst the assembly. The injured nwn were sent
up first, awl on reaching the surface they were taken
into the office ou the pit bank, and treated by
Dr. l irace and Mr. Hey. A *lock of flannel, lint, and
oil ia kept in readiness for any emergency, and the
poor fellows were rapidly anointed with iii, bandrunsl
with lint, and wrapped in flannel, and oiliveyed in
cabs to the Infirmary. Several of the colliers wen,
horribly binned about the legs, back, arins, and head*,
awl preaentell a Knocking tisetacle, the skin and th•sli
peeling idf ..pm.. od them, while misers were slightly
sc. welled, and were sintering wore from the effects of
chokislaint, than from tire. As each sufferer was
tenderly ninveyisl from the cage to the bailiff's office,
there wax a deep inanifeAtAtion of emotion amongst
the luphule congregated kround the colliery gate*, and
the wueping and wailing of the women and children
who had relatives and frwthlt in the mine moved even
the *terne,t of the “pectatort to tear+, The grief of
the pair people who believed theitatultea bereft of
their neoremt and fltran.4 wit* most diatreaKing to
witnevt, and the sad *note will linger long in the
memories of the spectat,ws. After all the injured
men hail Issm conveyed to the surface, the bodies id
Ow dead were brought is;., and the libilead forms were
*lowly and reverently conveyed to one of the mit.
buildings Amid outbursts of liaitaiituaty grief amongst
the ewrow-stricken onlookers.