The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-25
IHE WALEs COLLlERY EXPLOSION.
One Hundred and Seventy Lives Lost
The Plt stiIl on Firs-GhastIy Scenes
In the Village.

The Pit Still on ktre-GhaatIy Scenes
In the village.
Ffomme London snip. and Mer. Gazette, Nov. IA.
The colliery explosion. already briefly re-
ported, which happened at the Ferndale OoIliery
on Friday afternoon, has proved to be the most
frightfuI calamity Of the kind that ever befei
South Wales. The Ferndale Colliery is situated
at the top OF the Rhonddavach Valley, a small
dingle branching out OF the Rhoudda Valley, at
Porth, on the Tan Vale Railway, and extending
for about five miles by railway. II is large
colliery, belonging 20 Messrs Davis q Son, the
coal owners, OF Aberdare, and gives employ
ment to three hundred hands, men and boys
Inc pit was sunk about eight years ago to the
lour leet seam which is the famous Merthyr
steam coal, at three hundred yards from the
surface and the output is very considerable.
Inc village Is of mushroom growth, having
two hundred and hfty houses, Including a con-
siderable number of wooden shanties of the
American type, but better constructed and far
more comfortable. Every house is inhabited
and most householders have dodgers, the gross
population OF the village being about eight
On Friday morning, and for several mornings
previously, there was q dense fog, so dense, in
fact, that nothing could be seen few yards of,
and this heavy condition of the atmosphere
had its deleterious effect upon the ventilation
men and boys went down to work on that
morning, but 1t does not appear that any mis-
givings were entertained as to the safety of the
pit, and things went on as usual until shortly
after one o'clock, when frightful explosion of
whole pit was in blaze. The blast swept along
the main drift, and extended into all the work.
lngs. The men at the bottom of the shaft
those employed to hitch the trains on the cage
were blown away, two of them being killed,
and the third escaping in the most extraordi-
nary manner without much injury. The blast
then assembled the shaft with tremendous
roar, and drove the men at the top from their
posts. 1t was at once evident that there had
been great explosion, and messengers were
sent of for the proprietors and TO neighboring
pits for assistance. III.
The report spread like wildfre, and it was not
long before the pits mouth was besleged by an
anxious and excited crowd of people who had
tn
60 down Immediately after the. explosions; but
went down. and returned with the intelligence
that the workings had been terribly damaged
and the ventilation interrupted. Measures
and after painful delay several bodies were
found, including that of Mr.. Williams, the
1t was found that enormous falls had been
effected by the explosion, and often the COM
which had to be removed before the bodies
could be got at. The clearance of these falls
occasioned vast amount of delay and corre-
friends of the hapless workmen at the bank
At O'Clock on Friday only twenty bodies
had been recovered, and although working par
ties were necessarily engaged in exploring the
wol kings, up to O'Clock on Saturday morning
only fifty three had been got out. As the bodies
of the unfortunate men were one by one
brought to the pits mouth, men and women
who had relatives working in the colliery
pressed forward to identify the features of bro
ther, father husband. as the case might be, and
easily imagined but painful to describe oc.
CURED constantly throughout that long and
lived at A6efdare and Merthyr, seven nor or eight 6d
miles of, going home every Saturday night,
ligence had reached about O'clock on Friday
afternoon, Hooked, with thousands of the peo,
females, to the scene of the catastrophe The
work of recovery proceeded Without intermls-
sion during the whole of Friday night. Out OF
the fifty three bodies brought to bank by Satur-
day morning, only hve were alive, but these
n a IN 4 n a
the work to q standstill, and the whole of Satur-
day was spent in clearing a fall In the Dufryn
men had been working. These falls shut out
all hope of any of the remaining one hundred
and twenty men being got out alive.
The workers in the pit sentfrequent messages
that the air was extremely oppressive The
crowd at the bank-some two or three thou
sand in number-who had pressed up close to
the pits mouth, were then sent back by the
e on1 ant @ PaS up SO as 10 nave an
was also sent down the shaft, aud about an
hour after this had been done. the report was
received that the air was greatly improved. Mr..
Wales, her Majesty's Inspector of Mines for
South Wales arrived about o'clock in the
afternoon and went down the Pltimmediately.
Mr. Davis, the principal proprietor, was present
soon after the explosion and went down the pit.
He was also down nearly the whole of Saturday,
and the pit has been visited by many viewers OF
the colleries in the adjoining valleys The levels
appear 10 nave oeen in1erso 10 an eXIent beyond
been subjected to a similar calamity, SO that, in
addition TO the awful and overwhelming sacri-
heavy loss in property. The Coroner for the
county of Glamorgan. Mr.. @. Overton, empan-
elled jury and inspected the bodies of the
dead A visit 10 the desolate homes where they
lay disclosed cases of the most distressing char
acter, whole families having been swept of.
In one house q father and three CONS lay
stretched in death as though they were calmly
doors off, leaving young widow in an agony Of
grief In another family of six that went out
well and hearty in the morning, only one had
been brought back alive and he Will be a Grip.
pie for life should he survive his injuries. In
some houses the poverty OF the occupants was
so great that they were destitute of the means
OF laying out the bodies, and consequently the
corpses In all their CHASTITY Disagreement, lay
on the stone floor as they were brought from the
pit The inmates fearing to touch them lest they
should kill them too soon. In most of the
houses the distress and sorrow were intensified
by the fact that others were to come to swell
the list OF victims, In all cases certificates OF
burial were given and the funeral OK penses, we
believe will be borne by the firm In whose SER
vice the unfortunate fellows have died, Orders
were given by Mr.. Davis for an unlimited
from the shops in the place. but, sad TO relate,
this generosity will not be largely drawn upon,
for OF all the one hundred and seventy souls
who were down the fatal pit at the outside, It
is feared, only two can survive their injuries.
Sunday morning all hope OF safety for those
still below was abandoned, as the managers OF
other eollieries who were down in the pit the
greater part of the night on reaching the sur
face declared IL to be an utter impssslbility for
Many of the bodies that have been brought TO
the surface are frightfully burned, the clothing
completely destroyed, and In some cases nor
tions OF the body have been literally burned