Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-02-05
WONDERFUL PRESERVATION OF
EIEE

10 New 1ofh, ous hOW tSstuSHf "
Eionesdaie, Pa, has sent to the Conner
cial Advertiser circumsiantial account
OF the recent calamity at Carbondale, eau
sed BY the falling Of the coal mines al
ths, place. The manner IN which the
life Of Mr.. John Husie. was preserved, j.
so remarkable that we cannat foibear co
Ipylng Mr.. Rowiand's description
! Mf. Hose went into mine No. ?, in
tending 10 join Mr.. Ciarkson presently,
| aud had proceeded about mile, when
INSTANTLY the mountain over his head des.
ceuded with an awful crush OF every
thing which opposed It's progress, aud
shot down over him, filing up the road
with crushed coal and bending him double,
leaving not fooi Of space between the
solid mass abevo and the crushed coal
below. The distance descended was The
height OF the mine, or from SIX to eight
feet. So great was the pressure OF air
that il produced q painful sensation as u
some sharp instrument had been thrust IN
| into his ears. All was total darkness, ev-
cry light in the mine being Instantly ex-
| tingushed. Ever and anon the thunder
! OF the falling masses roared through the
caverns. After waiting for a suitable
length of time Tor the rocks 10 cease fall
| ling, Mr.. Hosie began 10 remove the loose
materials around HIM and to creep. he
tried one way AMI il was closed. He
then proceeded in the other erection /;
aud after aine hours ;ncessant toll, creep.
ing, removing loose coal and slate, and
squeezing himself past obstacles, he made
his way into the open mine. Here he
tried light, but his matches had bcome
| damp and would not ignite. lie then
felt around him and discovered by the d.
rection of the railroad that, instead Of ma
king his way out, ne had gone farther in
| to the mine, aud was cut off from re.
turn b.. the mass which had settled down
upon the road He then belhought him
OF The air hole, attempted to reach ii but
that passage had been crushed in and clo-
sed Being in the vicinity Of the mining
operations he found some powder, and
spreading it on the floor, endeavotod with
pick to ignite il, but could not. He
found also can Of oil, which he resef-
we'd in case Of necessity TO use for food.
! All was total darkness, and the part OF
the mountain over him was also settling,
throwing off huge pieces of slate ard
Exposing him to emminent danger at
every step; for but part Of the mass
above had come down at once, and the
other seemed likely to follow. Sensible
ofhs danger, Mr.. Hosie protected himself
as well as he could he wound up his
watch and felt the time by the hands. -
He also, with piece Of chalk. wrote in
defferen; places his name and the hour
whom he was at certain points. Being in
total darkness, however he, missed his
way, but was enabled through his ac-
qua ntance with the mines 10 set himself
right. He first trl,d TO reach No. /, but
after toillng to that road, found it was oil.
so crushed in. His only chance seemed
then to proceed at right angles with the
main arteries of the mines and pass over
to No. 8, and this he labored to do in &C.
cordance with his best judgment.
At one time he passed through ner-
row entrance into chamber, and in en-
deavoring to creep on the other side, he
was caught in narrow place by the hill
above settling down upon him, and re-
manned IN this position an hour, expecting
to die there. But another settling OF the
mass crushed out some of the materials
around him. and he was enabled TO free
himself and draw back into the chamber
Of the mine. In returning, however, to
the hole by which he had effected his en-
trance, he found to his dismay that il was
closed and he was compelled to hunt a
new passage, and finally to dig his way
with his hands.
Thus, by working for more than thir-
ty-slx hours, he at length reached No, 8,
where he rested, and then when the bill
had partially ceased its working, procee-
ded toward the mouth of the mines. On
his way he met Mr.. Dryden. one of his
superintendents, who, with his men, was
exploring the cavern with lights, in search
of hun and at about FIVE o'clock in the
morning he emerged to tho light Of day,
having been given up as dead, and been
incarce9ated in utter darkness beneath a
settling mountain for foriv-eight hours. --
Mr.. Hosie told me many OF these particu-
lars, and the others CLEANED from the
principal officers Of the company, to whom
they were narrated.
AT one time MIR. Hosie saw lights al a
distance, but they soon vanished. They
were the lights of men in No. 3, seeking
for him. These lights however assured
him that he was pursuing the right
course. MIR. Hosie's hands were scratch
ed and cut up by working, so as TO
be completely covered with sores. He
never for one moment lost his self-pos.
session, and to this fact, added TO his tact
and perseverance is to be ascribed his de.
llverence.
There were about forty men in the
mines when the catastrophe occurred, and
the twenty-six who escaped owed their
preservation, in a gres: measure, to Mr..
Dryden, one at the superintendents, who
conducted them out with great GOODNESS
and sell possession, while portions Of the
hill, other than those which first fell were
settling down around them. Learning
that one poor Irish laborer, who had been
struck down by slate, was Jeff, with his