The Express.
London, England, 1851-06-23 00:00:00

ALARMING COLLIERY ACCIDENT NEAR
BRISTOL-NEARLY FIFTY MEN BURIED
1 ALIVE.

The city of Bristol. nod its iesighbouring suburb
Bedminster, were thesugheot Pelday night and Saturday
scenes of the most were
aid intense excitement and sus-
pense, in consequence of its becoming known that a portion
of the shaft of the North Side Colliery at the latter place
had given way, and that from forty to fifty men and boys
were buried alive in the pit.
The accident is stated to have been occasioned during the
raising of a cart load of coal, which, when at above ninety
fathoms from the surface of the shaft, swayed against the
aide, and carried away some of the timbers with which the
wall was packed, thus loosening and thro down a
wingdointo
considerable portion of the side of the shaft, and ' mis-
chief to so serious an extent, that for very many an
little hope was entertained that any of the poor fellows
below would ever be got out alive. The men and hays to
the number of between 40 and 50 had descended to thew work
1 at 6 °lock on Friday morning, and the accident occurred
about four or five hours afterwards; but its occurrence
did not become generally known out of the pit-yard for
some considerable time afterwards, when the wives and re-
lations of the missing colliers began to rush to the colliery,
giving vent to their fears and grief in piercing shrieks and
piteous cries, and producing a scene of the most painful kind
which it has ever been our lot to witness.
The full of the shaft was distinctly heard from above
ground, and as soon as the cart had been la ded, men were
sent down to examine the mischief, and they returned with
heavy hearts and gloomy countenances, perceiving, as they
did, that the work of repairing the shaft so as to enable
persons with safety to descend to the bottom of the pit, a
depth of 135 fathoms, would occupy a very lengthened pe-
riod, as it could only be reached by men suspended in the
bucket, only three of whom could be employed at a time.
However, the reparation seemed to be the only effort that
could be used, and it was set about heartily, the men work-
ing in relays, and evincing a readiness and unanimity to
rescue the sufferers in the pit which reflected honour on
them.
From eleven in the day, till nine on Friday night was
consumed in this way, the men working incessantly, but
without making any perceptible progress, with further por-
tions of the shaft occasionally giving way and falling to the
bottom, and without any intelligence having been gained
of the men below, whose fate was considered as being an a
moat precarious mite. The only hope that could be in-
dulged in was that they at the time of the fall were in the
roadways of the veins too remote from the shaft to have
been struck by any of the detached matter, and that the
water which was continually running into the pit would
carry with it sufficient air to enable the poor fellows to hold
out till they could be reached.
At about half-past 9 o'clock, Mr. Knight, proprietor of
the Ashton Vale coal-pit, volunteered his services to descend
as far as the mischief, in order to ace if he could ascertain
anything to enable him to judge of the position of the men
and boys below. The period of Mr. Knight's absence was,
to the numbers gathered around the mouth of the pit, one
of the most painful anxiety. Upon his return, however, he
was enabled to announce the gratifying intelligence that two
of the hands, at all events, were alive. He stated that
having got as far u it was safe to go, he listened and heard
somebody below open and close the air hatch; suit, upon
his hailing them, a man answered him and asked for lights
and something to eat. Great efforts were now used, and
candles were carried down and, being fastened to a wire,
were passed below, and at 10 o'clock a conversation was
held with the men, who stated themselves to be the only
two in the upper vein, via., Bmine and Morgan Phillips,
and accompanied their statement with the nielanchely in-
telligence that all their fellow colliers were in the bottom
vein, and that they (Brune and Phillips) had been unable
to approach the top, and could hear nothing of them. The
mon team above continued working to get the shaft repaired
and succeeded in passing some food to the two men in the
top vein, who made other efforts to make those below hear,
but could get no answer; so that the fate of the forty below
seemed to be of the most hopeless kind. At about 3 o'clock
on Saturday morning it becoming increasingly evident that
to repair the shaft so as to admit of the usual pit bucket,
descending would be a work occupying a very long time.
Mr. Itennold, of the Malago Vale colliery, made a proposi-
tion for attempting in some decided manner the rescue of
the two poor fellows who were known to bo alive. lie pro.
posed that one or two extra shields or bonnets should be
fixed above the bucket chains, that some ropes with nooses,
through which might pass their legs, should be suspended
under them, and that this apparatus should be lowered to
Braiuc ,and Phillips, so 06 to enable them to escape by its
use. The matter was discussed, and many thinking that
the danger of passing up the shaft in its present state
would be greater than that of remaining below for a time,
it was resolved to send a messenger down to put it to the
men whether they would risk the danger. They gladly ac-
cepted the offer, but it being feared that they might be in
too exhausted a state to cling to the chains, it was de-
termined so far to alter the original plan as to append a
small bucket, the diameter of which should only be about
equal to that of the ,' bonnet."f his was prepared, and amen
named North having in the most gallant manner volun-
teer,al to peril the descent, he was lowered to the first vein,
and iu a short time brought up the two men. Their ac-
counts ipive little hope of the others. Phillips said he did
nut believe that there was a soul alive below, as he had
himself crawled to the mouth of the tip leading to the bot-
tom vein, and had hammered and holloaed, but without
having been able to evoke any answer. Brains also ex-
pressed his apprehensions, but considered it possible that
the men might have got to a part of the vein remote from
the tip, and thought that some efforts ought to be made to
descend into the bottom vein, which he thought might be
done by means of a reel or windlass. Several men under-
took to make this attempt; and having cautiously de-
scended in three parties to the upper vein, a bucket was
lowered to them, in which were a windlass prepared for
erection, a canvas tube for an air shaft, and a piece of rope
to lower into the tette= vein. After waiting for
some time below, the signal was given to haul ,
up, and the men returned to the surface, having been un- I
able to accomplish their purpose. They stated that the
air was so foul that it was impossible to bum any lights there, ,
and they did not think it possible to descend the tip-shaft.
North, who accompanied them, stated that he crawled on
his hands and knees to the mouth of the tip, where ho ,
hammered for ten minutes, and that he called with all his
might, and could obtain no answer from which he inferred
that all the hands below had been suffocated by the foul
air. The men concurred in stating that any further
attempts at descent would be attended with the most
imminent danger, and it now seemed that no chance
remained open but by passing a wind-sail down the pit and
forcing air down by means of a revolving fan, so as to
afford the men a chance of surviving till the reparation
could be sufficiently com pletcd. '1 his plan was at once resolved
upon, and the women and men around set to work with such
extraordinary alacrity that in an hour and a quarter an air
tube of canvas, 80 fathoms in length, was completed. This was
lowered down the pit, and air forced in in the manner de-
scribed. The men went on with the work as rapidly as pos-
sible, but it was necessarily so tedious, and threatened to
occupy such a length of time, that it was thought some
other attempt ought to be made for the deliverance, if
alive, of the imprisoned men. The general feeling seemed
to he that the descent would be too d ,ngerous to undertake,
but at length a man named Francis Smith, who had been 1
before down, consented to make another effort, and he was I
lowered into the lower vein. Others followed his example,
and their c urageous conduct was rewarded with success,
for, after a time, they had the satisfaction of making them-
selves heard by some of the men below, and of learning
from them that there were none of them dead, although
some of them were sinking front despair, hunger, and ex-
haustion. It was now felt that no time was to be lost. The
pumping down of the fresh air had so improved the atmos-
phere that candles could be kept alight, and the
men, having first passed some food down below, rigged
a windlass and prepared to haul up the men. By half
past three o'clock the first of them, • man named James
l'eddar, had been hoisted from the bottom vein to the top
one • and efforts were being used to bring up a second,
married James Wellon, when •• fresh difficulty presented
itself. The poor fellows had to crawl through a very small
air shaft, and Welkin, being a lusty man, experienced the
greatest difficulty in making the passage, whereby a great
deal of time was exhausted, during which the imprisoned
men in the bottom vein were kept m a state of the most
anxious suspense. At length he was got through, and the
work of raising the poor fellows was commenced and car-
ried on amidst considerable danger until seven o'clock at
night, by which hour the whole of them, 41 in number, had
been brought oat of the pit—rescued from what at one
time appeared to be the moat certain death.
Many of them, when got out, were in • very exhausted
state, and some of them had to be carried in men's arms,
but the proprietors of the colliery had procured the pre-
sence of medial gentleman to attend upon the poor fellows
as they were brought up, and by the administration of suit-
able remedies they were sufficiently recovered to admit of
their being removed to their respective homes. They
state that they heard the earth and stones fall, and felt
themselves blocked in; that the air at times became so foul
that they could hardly exist, and that they must have
perished bad they not succeeded, by dint of great labour,
in twice " tapping," and had not the occasional filling of
earth and water brought a little air with it. They say
that they worked till 8 o'clock on Saturday morning, when
their candles were all gone, and themselves completely ex-
hausted, and they gave themselves up, and abandoned all
hope of ever returning to the earth alive. Finding that
the best air was in the bottom pit, they took to that, where
some of them went to sleep ; others betook themselves to
prayer. Subsequently, two of them forced their way to
the entrance to the tip, where they heard, and were heard
by, their gallant deliverers, who never desisted from their
exertions until every man and boy was got out.
It is stated that an application will be made to the Se-
cretary of State to send down an inspector of collieries to
investigate the causes of an accident which had nearly re-
sulted in so awful a sacrifice of human life, and that that
officer will also be requested to examine the state of some
other of the west of hngland collieries to ascertain if they
are being worked upon a safe principle.

Tag Ron EXHIBITION.—Saturday had been
named for the inauguration of the Rose Show of the Royal
Botanic Society, in the Regent's Park, but on account of
the backwardness of the Rowers the council allowed all
tickets then preheated the right of admission to the grand
peon the 2nd of July. The rose garden is laid out
with undulating walks, and there is sulholent colour in the
plants to titre a picturesque effect, but in no degree eam-
parable with the gorgeous profusion of the rhod,odeadrons
and azaleas, though there are the varieties of red, white,
yellow, and black roses. The exhibitors in the roes garden
are milY three, but all from the famous rose district of
Hertfordshire—Messrs. Paul and Son, of Cheihunt ; Me.
Lane and Son, of Berkhampstead ; and Mears. Rivers, of
Bowbridgolawths each of whom has a large collection.