The true Democrat., 1855-05-01
From the Richmond Despatch of Wednesday Terrible Coal Pit Explosion.

A terrific explosion occurred at the Midlo- thian coal-pits, in Chesterfield county, about thirteen miles south of this city, on Monday evening last, at o'clock, by which thirty-four persons were instantly killed, and number of others so badly burned that little or no hopes are entertained of their recovery. Up to the very moment of the accident, the superintend- ents and employers in the pits felt perfectly sa- tis6ed that there was not a particle of foul air ahoat around them, and Mr. John Atkins, the agent, looked upon the pits as being so entire- lly free from danger, that he declared to us that he would not have hesitated to take his family into them to remain. Even now, the cause of the explosion is entirely hid in mystery, and must ever continue so, though Mir. Atkins ln- cl1nes to the opinion that in making blast an old shalt sink was accidentally preached from which poured forth volume of gas, that be- came Ignlted, and swept as a bosom of destruc- tion through the various avenues, dealing death with an unsparing hand on all that came with in its course.
 The explosion, when it took place, caused the eayth for miles around the pits to wave and rock as twig in the wind. One gentleman, who was crossing the railroad about mile from the pits at the time, said he felt the rails reel under him; and another, who was passing the road on horseback, declared that his beast stag gered and trembled as if suddenly shocked by a tremendous galvanic battery. The centre boards around the shafts were blown off as if they had been paper, and at the western shaft two large chains were broken in two as easily as if they had been pipestems. At the time of the explosion there were three carpenters at work on the top of the eastern shaft, about thirty-fve feet above the ground. One of them was so badly frightened that he leaped to the ground without mourning any injury, but "Old Squire" and the other one held on to the beams until the shock was over and then came down.
 The Midlothian pits have always been look ed upon as free from danger, consequently the company found no difficulty in employing as many steady white miners as they desired, and if the explosion had taken place between the hours of six and twelve o'clock, we have no hesitation in saying that the loss of life would have been trebled, and the number of widows and or phans thereby created five times as great as that caused by the accident at the English pits in May last; but, fortunately, the men were not allowed to make over-work, the supply of coal realized being greater than the demand consequently most of the white men left the pits at twelve o'clock and thereby saved their lives.
 As soon as the explosion was heard all the workmen above ground from the Midlothian and English pits hastened to the scene and pre- pared to descend the western shaft, to rescue those who might still be alive. Mir. Job Att kins, the agent for the English pits, in comlna- ny with number of noble hearted volunteers descended the eastern shaft as soon as they could do so, and the two parties immediately set about in search of such of tho miners as they might find alive They succeeded in res- cuing sixteen persons more or less burned four whites and 12 blacks-and took them to their houses and hospitals where they were i'm mediately placed under medical treatment.- They then discovered about thirty dead men, some of whom they removed, and others that they were preparing to remove when we left the pits at three -and-a-half o'clock yesterday afternoon. MT. Atkins describes the scene as heart-rendng in the extreme. Some of the dead men, the flesh charred on their bones, held their shovels in their hands; others were hold ing to their picks and drills, and Samuel Hunt, who had been deprived of reason for the time, by the concussion, was calling loudly to the mule be had been driving to go along. Those who were not dead, as soon as they heard the voices of their friends begged earnestly not to be left, and then prayed loudly for few drops of cold water to quench their burning thirst.
 In one of the avenues several tons of stone and dirt had been thrown down, beneath which were discovered the bodies of two of Mir. Wool bridges servants.
 We visited the hospitals, and of all the hor- rid spectacles our eyes ever beheld, the one there presented to our view was the worst.- Some seven or eight negro men lay there, the skin burned from their faces, eyes, hands, arms, and bodies, as if they had been roasted, and the groans that escaped from those who were conscious, of their suferings, could not fail to pierce the hardest heart.
 Out of the fifty persons in the pits at the time of the accident, but three escaped serious injury, and these were colored persons, though there can be very little doubt that many of them were sufocated by the 'after damp" ra- ther than killed by the explosion.
 Five valuable mules employed in the pits, which are seven hundred and seventy feet deep, were killed by the explosion.
 'FOrcigner'' after Office.
 A cnmmttee of the Now Vork citu cornoro