Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1856-06-06
THRILL1NG ADVENTURES.
The Buried coaImiRers. 81

The Buried CoaIminers.
On the s5th OF April, Friday. about
leleven O'Clock In the forenoon, while q
number of men were mining cod in the
pit of Mr.. Guthrie, west side of the Musk
lingum river, at Blue Rock, near Zanes-
vile, the hill, which rises some two or
three hundred feet, fell in completely
closing the mine. 248 feet from the mouth.
and imprisoning four men in what TO all
appearance seemed living grave. OF
twenty men at work. sixteen nearest the
entrance. alarmed al some signs of the
earth giving away, effected their escape.
The opening of the mine was but few
feet from the river, and about twelve feet
above the usual water line. 1t entered
the hill in a straight line e81 feet, then
by a zig.z gag line. 2o1 feet-then by q
straight line several hundred feet further.
On the left of this straight line, 72 feet
from the termination of the zig-zag line,
557 feet from the mouth, and 3o9 feet
from the place where the obstruction or
caving in commenced, was room in which
Savage Gagged eighteen) and an old man
named Pearson, were at work at the time
of the accident. Another, named Edgell,
was wheeling coal from these men to tue
mouth of the pit-while a fourth, Get>
wood, was digging some fifty feet beyond.
in the main shaft.
The caving in was attributed to unskill-
full mining, in making the openings too
large, and leaving too few pillars to sus>
tain the mass above. Upon the top of
the hill there were found crevices wide
enough for mans legs, and percePtIbly
extending twenty or thirty feet down
Perhaps these supplied the men with air
and prevented their death by sutfoca-
ton.
There were four men, hundred yards.
in every direction, from the light of day
perhaps crushed to death by the falling
earth and rocks; but their fellow men did
not abandon them. Those who had es>
capped lost no time in the work of rescue,
but commenced at once, at no little risk,
to remove the obstruction which impris'
oned their comrades, while the captives
began at the almost hopeless task of dig
eing their way out Of the hill. The news
Of the disaster spread far and wide; work.
men focked to the spot, while others for
warded provisions and money to sustain
them while the labor went on. There
was seldom less than Eve hundred people
on the ground, alternately hoping their
rescue and fearing that the fall Of earth,
foul air. or the want of provisions-for
the dinner of but single man was sup.
posed to be within their reach-had
caused their death in that gloomy pri-
son
The work went on-a gang of eighty
relieved each other every few hours,
while the women (God bless them pre-
pared the food and cheered them with
words Of encouragement, while rendering
heartfelt sympathy to the families Of Ed
gell and Pearson, the only married men
Of the four in the mine.
At one time it was supposed that the
room might be reached through an ad-
Joining mine, situated on the loft, but an
accurate survey indicated distance of
five hundred feet which it would have
been necessary to excavate. All hope OF
reaching them in this way was therefore
abandoned, and the work in the main en-
trance was continued, although necessari-
! " slow. as the air was impure, and fresh
had to be forced in through hose from the
mouth Of the pit-and the rock above was
continually falling in. The correspon-
dent of Cincinnati paper, in announcing
the rescue, says:
The work OF rescue was herculean
work, but bravely undertaken and heroi-
cally consummated. 1t was the more
difficult as but about eighty men could
work at time. There were eighty men
constantly laboring day and night, reliev'
ing each other in gangs. The progress
was slow, and became slower the further
they went into the bank /; SO that since
Sabbath last not more than a foot an houl
has been realized. And this progress was
interrupted by the rock falling in, and bJ
the impure air. which rut out the lights
These boroic workmen were in constan
peril of their lives in all the fortnight'i
work. OF course they had propped NJ
with timber as they worked in; but a
times the timber bent like reed unde
the immense pressure, and. at times, gav'
way. The fragmentary condition OF tht
rock prevented the wOrkmen from making
themselves secure. They could not worl
without light. and when, on Sunday, the!
had cut in 236 feet, and were about L
despair, owing to the bad atmosphere ant
the counsels of some who thought it tO'
late TO save the men-Ihey took newvig
or and new hope, and still pressed on un
til Friday-a knocking within. The.
paused, and haIIooed. Again and agaiI
haIooed when the voices of the entOmb
ed we're heard family in responsive
Hurrah
The crowd without. on the river bank
soon caught the cheerful news, ant
F" Hurrah Hurrah u rent the air will
such Joy as never awoke the echoes Q
that beautiful valley before. The seem
go. H.. r,,s4 ttr;IliDo How dif