The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1867-01-31

you, and has gone into the states to join hi
| corps" Tie fellow was afraid to face any
of orr party ogain. None of us however
said a word, which could deprive him of tht
honor he won when doing duty as spy
III. D. S.
THE ENGLISH C0LLIERY EXPLOSIONS
Four Hundred and Fifty Lives Lost
Appalling Scenes.
The English mails received by the Aus
trGtiGn bring full accounts of the terribI,
explosions at the Oaks and TaIk-o the Hill
collieries in Yorkshire and Statfordshire
The latter occurred twenty-five hours aftel
the Yorkshire disaster The total number
Of lives lost was about four hundred and
fifty.
Cable dispatches, a few days ago. gave
an outline Of these terrible accidents, but
the following Details gathered from the
English papers, show that the worst was
not told
THE OAKS CoLLIERY EXPLOSION.
The Oaks coliery explosion occurred on
Wednesday, December 18th, about P NJ.
This colliery is about mile and half from
Barnsley, near Hoyle Mill, and is the prop
erty Of Mr.. K, Micklethwaite, who has
leased it to Messrs. Firth, Barber & Co. Its
workings were probably of greater extent
than those OF any other colliery in the South
Yorkshire district, and the number Of hands
employed was little short of four hundred
aud fifty. The ramifcations under ground
extended over a large area, and the most
distant points of the colliery were over three
miles from each other. g
So far as could be ascertained, it is be-
lieved that three hundred and twenty four
persons went into the pit at six o'clock on
Wednesday morning, and they were subse-
quently followed by at least six more :;
there is strong reason for believing that the
number was over six. and that in round
numbers nearly three hundred and fifty men
and boys were in the pit when the accident
happened. Nearly all We're killed.
THE EXPLOSION.
The first intimation Of the disaster was at
twenty minutes past one o'clock in the af-
ternoon, when the people engaged about the
pit mouth observed slight tremuIous mo-
ton of the earth, followed by dull, heavy
explosion, that could be heard more than
mile off. Dense columns of smoke and dust
shot into the air from each of the shafts, and
in few seconds the pit bank was wrapped
in thick black cloud, that hung like
funeral pail over the i'll fated spot. The
shock Of the explosion startled the people
living in the neighborhood, and rush was
made to the pit bank. Frantic women,
terrified children and GOLFERS from adjoining
works, eagerly crowded round the place to
ascertain the cause and the results; and the
anxiety and despair depicted by that motley
throng was scene no pen can describe. On
recovering from the first shock of alarm, the
viewers and under viewers, several of whom
had fortunately come to the surface few
minutes before the occurrence, inspected
the gear and machinery of the down cast
shafts, and information of the accident was
simultaneously sent to Mr.. Z. Dymond,
the managing partner, and to Mr.. Superin-
tendent Greenhaigh of Barnsly, who short
ly arrived with number of policemen.
BEGINNING THE SEARCH.
AS soon as possible party of men eau
tiously descended, and, at the bottom of the
shaft found about eighteen men and boys
much affected by the after damp, and many
OF them seriously burned. They were at
once sent to the surface. A search was
made for others of the living, and as it was
also important to learn whether the coal
had caught fire, Mr.. Dymond and party of
viewers and coliery managers from adioin-
ing works proceeded to make an examina-
ton u the pit. They proceeded about five
hundred or 7 hundred yards from the bot
tom of the up cast shaft. The air was load
ed with noxious gas to such an extent that
one OF the party was near y overpoweredsby
it. It was found that an immense amount
of damage had been caused to the sides and
roofs of the workings, that the air ways
were literally blown to pieces, and that not
a living man was to be found in the pit OF
dead they counted many within a space of
htty yards there were not fewer than thirty
eight and at every few PAGES the number
was increased 1t was also found that the
stables were destroyed and about eighteen
or twenty horses killed. Some of the party
returned to the surface and called for more
volunteers to repair the air ways and get
out the dead. Plenty of willing hands
joined heartily in the dangerous task, and
in the course of the evening and night more
than one hundred men were thus EMPLOYED
sEAROHERs KILLED.
One exploring party, when about seven
hundred yards from the shaft, felt the air
sucking and made every haste out and
saved their lives, but another party con-
sisting of David Stuart, William Sugden.
Christopher Siddons, Thomas Nadin, Viii,
liam Stephenson (workmen,) and Mr.. JEFF
lock, mining engineer, lost their lives.
SECOND EXPLOSION.
A second explosion took place on Thurs
day morning, while the parties in CHARGE
were in the act of drawing out the dead con
sequent upon the previous explosion tn,
report was like that Of a cannon. The new,
Of this second disaster spread like Lightning
aud hundreds of the friends and relatives o
the poor creatures in the pit were ouickI
on the spot. The scene of Wednesday wa,
again renewed. The poor women could b.
met on the road to the colliery fainting witl
excessive grief while others were seen tear
ing. their hair, apparently wild with excite
ment. The scene in the neighborhood O
the colliery vas truly heart rending.
THIRD EXPLOSION. .
/ At 8 A. NJ, the pit exploded again, kill
ing all the volunteers who were searcbin,
for the dead Happily the fouluess of tb
pit had been so great previously, that abou
ten minutes to nine all the searchers to tn