The Sun.
London, England, 1867-11-13 00:00:00

FERJNDAL.

RHONDDA VALLEY, Monday.
In addition to what has already been reported re-
specting the explosion which took place here on
Friday afternoon last the following particulars may
be given : —The Ferndale Colliery has been -vigo-
rously worked for the past six or seven years, more
particularly within the last two years, the demand
for its coal having steadily increased, until the out-
put reached 500 and sometimes 600 tons per diem.
The colliery is a steam-coal colliery, anal gave em-
ployment to upwards of three hundred and fifty
men and boys, of whom three hundred generally
worked during the day and fifty at night. Thirty-
five horses were also employed below the surface.
In consequence of the pit being a " fiery" and a
deep one—one of the deepest, indeed, in the Prin-
cipality—every precaution that skill and experience
could suggest was adopted by the proprietors,
Messrs. D. Davies and Son, to secure immunity from
explosion from fire-damp, in which they were hap-
pily successful until the time of this lamentable ca-
tastrophe. As far as we can gather, only patent
safety lamps were used, and every attention was
paid to the proper locking of each lamp before the
men descended into the pit to their work. Mr. John
Williams, the resident manager, made it a rule to
go down every day and satisfy himself that every-
thing was going on aright, and that nothing was
being done contrary to the regulations which have
been adopted for the safe working of the coal ; the
consulting engineer, Mr. Adams, never failed in the
performance of his duties, and over all the officials

the members of the firm of owners exercised, we are

told, the most watchful vigilance, which was so far
successful that Messrs. D. Davies and Sons earned
the reputation of owning the best-managed pits in
the Rhondda Valley.
Ferndale Colliery has been known variously as
Blaengwawr, Blanllecha, and Ferndale, and is distant
five miles from the Porth Station of the Taff Vale
Railway, in the "Ithondda Fach," or "Little
Rhondda Valley." The output of coal from this
valley is carried almost entirely to Cardiff by the
Taff Vale Railway, and there shipped. Being so
isolated and so cut off from quick communication
with the large towns of the district, it was Satur-

day evening before intelligence of the explosion had
become publicly disseminated in Newport and Car-
diff ; and it was not until this (Monday) morning
that the dreadful truth became fully known.
Like all the Welsh coal valleys, Rhondda Fach is
romantically wild and beautiful; and this calamity,
hurling so many human creatures instantly into
eternity, taking place hundreds of feet below the
surface of the earth, is difficult but horrible to con-
ceive in the vicinity of so lovely a spot. In dripping
passages, in dim " workings," where only the dis-
tant lamp of a collier and the reflections of lights as

they are moved to and fro are seen—where all is
black darkness around—where no sound is heard
but an occasional hoarse cry in the,midst of silence,
the collier's pick as it breaks into walls of coal, the
tramp of a horse as it drags heavy loads along the
narrow tramways—in the midst of this strange but
everyday working life some three hundred human
beings were busy in the performance of their seve-
ral duties, when the first faint crack announcing the
ignition of fire-damp must have been heard by the
terror-stricken men, and a rush made by them for
the headings—a useless race for life on the part of
most, for scarce a man in the east workings escaped
to tell the tale. Many, doubtless, overcome by
terror, heard the fearful "rush" in the midst of their
work, gave one terrified glance at the awful fire as
it played on the walls, and then passed like a flash
of light, leaving death, destruction, and ruin in its
rear, and then fell dead, scorched, burnt almost to
a cinder. Others, overtaken i❑ a frantic effort to
save their lives, were probably overtaken and
struck down instantly ; and others, escaping in-
stant death, died gradually in far-off corners, of
suffocation and of choke-damp; and others, too,
were crushed by falling masses from the sides
and tops of the workings. AU this death
and havoc occurred chiefly in the east and west
workings ; nearly one hundrel men, it is computed,

who were in the south district, having been brough
up alive.

The cause of the ignition of fire-damp can only
be conjectured, but, as several carpenters were at
work in the pit putting up sonic stalls for horses, it
is thought that one of them, trusting in the im-
munity from accident which the colliery had
hitherto enjoyed, or, more probably, thinking of
little else than to get the best light he could to go
on with his work, managed to open his lamp, and
thus ignited the fire-damp which was so plentiful in
some of the workings.

Everything that money, skill, and experience
could do to secure the safety of the pit seems to
have been done by the owners. The lamps have
been, we are informed, rigidly locked before the
colliers descended, and the ventilation of the pit

properly attended to, the passage of air-120,000
cubit feet per minute—being considered ample for
ordinary security. Our report in yesterday's im-
pression was brought down to Saturday night, and
we now proceed to state what has been since done,
from inquiry on the spot.

On Saturday night the gangs of " shifts,"
organised by Mr. Wales, the Government inspector,
proceeded to work in a systematic and energetic
manner, and, after incessant exertions, one poor
fellow was brought out alive, about nine o'clock on
Saturday night, but, being ill and much exhausted,
he was unable to give any coherent account of the
disaster. During Sunday no more bodies were
found, but two have been brought out since. To-

day the most strenuous exertions are being made to
get at a heading, where it is believed that many of

the poor fellows will be found. The nu'uber of
dead bodies viewed by the coroner, Mr. Overton,
up to Saturday night, was 51. Six of the poor
fellows brought up alive have since died, and several
more are scarcely expected to live. On Sunday
thousands of men, women, and boys visited the
colliery, many being attracted merely by curiosity.
The Cardiff town missionary also attended, ad-
dressed the multitude during the day, and gave
away a large number of tracts.

One hundred coffins, ordered in Cardiff, were
taken up to the colliery by a special train on Satur-
day night, and fimerAls have taken place constantly
throughout Sunday and to-day. The bulk of them
were buried to-day.

MERTHYR TYDFIL, Monday Night.
We regret to report that although operations for
the recovery of the bodies in the east district have
been continued incessantly by relays of workmen
up to 8 o'clock to-night, none of them had been got
at, and a considerable amount of labour would be
necessary before the fall could be cleared away.
One of the greatest obstacles which have had to be
overcome has been the foulness of the air in the
workings ; this has been such that lights would not
burn, and the work has bad to be pushed forward
in total darkness. It was with extreme difficulty,
too, that brattices were put up for the conveyance
of the air to the front. On Sunday evening a con-
sultation was held by the engineers who were head-
ing the working parties, and, after deliberation, it
was determined by Mr. Wales, the Government in-
spector, to attempt the lighting of the ventilating
furnaces, by means of which it was calculated there
would be created such a powerful draught as would
draw off all the foul air in the workings that ren-
dered it dangerous to introduce lights. The pro-
position was fraught with the utmost danger, inas-
much as in a tempting to effect it a second explosion
t
might r,'sult as disastrous to the explorers as the
first was to the colliery and the colliers before.
Ilowever, it was necessary to do something, the state
of the workings being such that it was questionable
whether it would be possible to remain below
even without light except at the imminent peril
of life. The task was, therefore, attempted, and
we rejoice to say that shortly after midday to-
day the furnace was blazing away and absorbing
streams of vitiated air from the workings. The
men were thus enabled to work with greater
vigour, and towards the evening spoke hopefully
of reaching the bodies soon. But all these hopes
are merely hopes—it is beyond human knowledge
when the bodies can be recovered, for the simple
reason that the falls are dead MaeSCS of rubbish, the
thickness of which nobody knows. All efforts up to
the present moment have been directed to the release

Y EXPLOSION. of the bodies confined in the east district, about 20
in number, and nothing will be done towards clear-
ing the falls, which, it is believed, are still more ex-
tensive in the west district ; or the rise, where many
people think the explosion was felt with the most
terrible effect. In all cases of disaster of this
melancholy description and magnitude, and occur-
ring as this has in such an unfrequented and inac-
cessible spot, the truth is got at only with great
difficulty, and many statements go forth which have
to be partially contradicted or explained. We arc
now enabled to give some figures with tolerable
exactness, which show the extent of the calamity.
The number of hands employed in the pit does not
greatly exceed 350, and at the time of the explo-
sion 328 of them were in the workings. Of those
170 were distributed in the east district, which de-
scends with the dip, and the west district, which is
the " rise ;" and in two other districts, the Rhondda
and south, there were nearly as many more. The
explosion occurred in one of the first two, and
affected with dire results the whole of their work-
ings,
and reached as far as the latter ; but by the
time it got there its force bad been almost expended,
and though the airways, &c., were considerably
shaken, only a small proportion of the men were
injured, and not one of them killed. They made
their way to the bottom of the shaft, and were
brought up as speedily as possible. They had been
so frightened that nearly all of them refused to go
back to the assistance of their comrades. Of the
men in the east and west districts, 53 have been re-
covered dead up to the time we write, 138 came up
uninjured, and 21 who were hurt, some of them
badly, from the Rhondda and south districts.
'I here now remains down the pit 117 persons in the
east and west districts. These figures have been ob-
tained from the returns of the police, who have
made a careful house to house inquiry, and ascer-
tained in every place the number of persons missing.
When the young man named Rowlands was brought
up alive on Saturday night it led the people to en-
tertain a hope that others might still be living, but,
considering the horrible condition of the pit and the
fact that they have been incarcerated between the
falls ever since midday on Friday without the
slightest means of sustenance, even supposing they
obtain air, this hope is now abandoned. The
mining engineers, who are the best judges in this
matter, believe that every man beyond the falls is
dead.

To-day a number of the bodies were interred ;
the greater number in Llanwonno churchyard, a
burial-ground about two miles from the scene of the
explosion, on the plateau of the mountain. A few
were conveyed to their friends at Aberdare and
Merthyr. The writer, who has witnessed many
similar scenes in South Wales, certainly never
visted a more poverty-stricken lot of houses than
the cottages of those poor people last Saturday ;
nearly all of them were destitute of the comforts
which are ordinarily found in the Welsh collier's
home. But how this happens it is beyond his
ability to explain, since it is a fact that men and
boys at Ferndale earned 50, 60, and 70 per cent.
more than the colliers of the Merthyr and Aber-
dare-valleys. The mourning is very widespread.
Blaenllechan or Ferndale had no population of its
own before the colliery was opened, and the resi-
dents are all immigrants from the neighbouring
valleys ; consequently, families in all the towns and
villages of earlier growth in the district are thrown
into mourning, and Ferndale will be peopled by

new settlers.
The damage done to the pit is immense, and the
loss will fall heavily upon the owners, for the force
of the explosion was so great that, in the words of
one of the engineers, " the pit has been blown to
pieces," and the shock was such that the houses on
the mountain side rocked over the heads of their
occupants. Among the mining engineers who have
gone down the pit and assisted in clearing the wind-
ways, restoring ventilation, &c., are Messrs. W.
Adams, C.E., G. Brown, D. Curnew, H. Lewis,
W. T. Lewis, L. Lewis, Jones, Morgan Joseph,
Williams (Taff Vale Railway), Burns, Fruvan
(Dowlais), Walker, &c.

RIOTS AT OXFORD.

OXFORD, Monday (8.15 p.m.)

Considerable apprehension exists that disturb-
ances of a still more serious character than those of
Saturday last will be attempted to-night, as a num-
ber of workmen engaged in the erection of the new
buildings at Balliol College and the new London
and County Bank, in the High-street, are out on
strike, having left their work on Saturday. Large
numbers of the citizens have during the day been
sworn in as special constables, and the members,
both of the University and City Rifle Corps, have
enrolled themselves for the prevention of a breach
of the peace. In addition to these extraordinary
measures, the publichouses are ordered to be closed
at 9 o'clock to-night by the mayor and another
justice of the peace, and two companies of the
Guards are expected from Windsor. The shops
are closed, and trade entirely suspended. Up to
the time of our parcel leaving no rioting had taken
place, although the streets were thronged with
people. The University authorities have rendered
every assistance in their power to preserve order by
" gating" the undergraduates of the various col-
leges who are not in lodgings, and but few Univer-
sity men are visible in the streets.
The strike at Balliol is said to be at an end, and
that the artisans will return to their work on Tues-
day morning.

Anticipating an attack upon their grain stores the
Great Western Railway officials had cleared them by
sending all the grain away by train.

DESPATCH OF TnE GUARDS FROM
WINDSOR.

WINDSOR, Monday Night.
At twenty minutes past five o'clock this evening
a telegram was received at the Sheet-street Infantry
Barracks, Windsor, from, it is understood, the
commander-in-chief's department of the War Office,
London, ordering a detachment of the Ist Battalion
Grenadier Guards to proceed immediately to Oxford,
to assist in preserving the peace of that city. Within
a quarter of an hour from the reception of the tele-
gram a detachment, consisting of Captain Cust,
Lieutenant Wellesley, nine sergeants, eight cor-
porals, and 100 men, with four buglers, accoutred
for active service, bad paraded in the barrack-
square. Forty rounds of ammunition were served
out to each man, and at six o'clock the troops
marched to the Windsor station of the Great
Western Railway, where, in the meantime, a special
train and engine had been got hi readiness for con-
veyance to Oxford. Colonel Ponsonby, of the Ist
Battalion Grenadier Guards, personally wit nessed
the departure of the detachment, and Major-General
Seymour, C. 8., and others were also upon the plat-
form. The special train left Windsor, at 6.15 p.m.
for Slough, whence the troops were forwarded by
express train to Oxford.

OXFORD, Monday Night.
Lieutenant Wellesley and Captain Custance,
with two companies of the gat battalion of the
Grenadier Guards, arrived in Oxford by special
train from Windsor at half-past eight o'clock. The
men, 121 strong, are located at the Corn Exchange.
Several thousand persons congregated in the streets,
but no serious riot occurred. The windows of the
police station and of some of the bakers' shops were
broken. The Mayor real the Riot Act, and ap-
pealed to the populace to di4perse, as he did not
wish to call out the military. 400 special constables
and military with arms tiled are ready for any
emergencies. At eleven o'clock great crowds of
people were parading the streets, but hopes are
entertained that they will disperse without the
soldiers being called upon to act.

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