Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-05-18
From the Richmond Dispatch.
COAL MEME EXPLOSEON!!!
rERnInLE LOSS OF LIE.
TWENTY PERSONS KILLED.

On the arrival of the D,uville cars yesterday
afternoon we learned Of terrible explosion and
great loss Of life ut the "English Coal Pits, in
| Chesterfield county, about fourteen miles from
this city, and in order to become possessed OF all
the particulars, we procured fast team from
/ Mr. Cosby on wall street, and at once repaired 10
| the fatal scene.
When we reached the pits our heart became
appalled, at the shrieks and groans Of the widow
ed wives, whose husbands, many of them in the
prime of life, had been hurried into eternity; of
! the sobs and tears of children lamentng the
| death of their fathers; and of mothers, who, but
few hours before, had parted from their darling
boys, the picture of health and checrfulness, now
| in the cold embrace of death. Sad and heart
rending indeed was the sight before us, and we
could but exclam, from the deepest recesscs of
our heart, "What shadows and what shad
ows pursue"
On arriving at the location Of the shaft be-
meath which the accident had occurred, we
grouped around it some twenty thirty men.
apparently dumb founded, laboring earnestly TO
secure from the depths beneath the remains of
their co-laborers, friends and acquaintances.-
From Mr. JOSEPH foley, the manager we learned
that there were at least twenty white persons in
the pit, and that there very little reason TO
hope tLat any of them were alive.
Mr.. jon ATKINS, an experienced miner, and
one of the superintendent of the "Mdothan
at once volunteered to descend to ascertain the
result of the explosion, and if possible secure any
of the miners who might not be dead. Fresh
air was Immediately pumped in, the pit speedily
purified and Mr. A., with other volunteers, step
ped into the bucket and were instantly lowered
They had only been down short time, when
the signal was given, and the bucket. containing
the crushed, mangled and lifeless body of MOSES
CYRIE drawn up. The bucket being again
lowered. the sipnal rpppntpu, and WIN. Ell
LOTT drawn up, drendfully burned and
bruised, but not dead. He Immediately ia
ken TO his boarding house near by, where medi-
cal aid was promptly given, but it is greatly fear
ed that he cannot recover
The thld body rescued was that of JOSEPH
RIGHrsnAw an intelligent lad about IA years
of age. whose father was killed by an explosion
in the same pit in 1851. This poor little fellow
had helpless widowed mother, and perhaps
brothers and sisters, for whose support he was
aborng at the time of his death. His remains
badly burned and charred, but his counte-
nance W rs calm and placid as if only asleep.
The foufs- signal brought up the backened and
eharred corpse of ROBERT CRosIICK, Il man of
family, and very worthy citizen, who, from APP
pearances was just in the act of putting his hand
to his mouth when the explosion, which killed
him, took place.
Mr.. jon ATKINS, who had descended the pit,
came up, and reported that there were five
or six other dead bodies at the end of tho shaft
on the first inclined plain, and that farther down
there were ten or twelve others, all of which
were more or less blackencd, dsfgured and char.
red by the sad accident. He further stated that
the four mules i'll the pit were all dead; and that
there were no hopes of finding any of the miners
alive. On this report, new volunteers were pre-
pairing to descend the pit to recover the dead
bodies, when we left the scene, at 10 o'clock, PM.
The explosion took place about half past IL
O'Clock, and must have happened just at the time
when the miners had ceased their labors, and
eating their dinners. How it originated, it
is impossible to tell at this time though the pre-
sumption is that some of the men thoughtessly
approached some of the old clamps" with their
lamps, and that the explosion was caused by the
escape of gas from unknown leaks Certain it
is, that not ten minutes before the accident, two
of the miners assembled the shaft, and up to the
time that they left no gas or foul air had been
discovered. This pit is 625 feet deep, and expo-
sons have occurred i'll it two or three times be-
! fore.
We give below the names of the persons who
were in the pit at the time of the explosion the
first twelve of whom were married men, and have
left helpless and destitute families to mourn their
! loss:
Moses Cyrie John Thurman,
Albert Branch, Henry Godsey,
! Thos. Tompkns, William Elliott,