The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-03
DISASTER.
The Great Explosion ut the Haydock COlIiery-
Loss of Forty Lives.

following
On the morning of the 2ist ult.. about II
o'clock another terrible explosion occurred in
the Queen" pit Haydock near St Helene the
scene of the explosion in December last when
some twenty-siX lives were sacrificed Messrs
Richard Evans ~ Co. are the proprietors The
pit has been worked about ten years. 1t is 2G0
ynrrs deep and is worked in two seams, known
as the Wgan nine feet and the Ravenhead main
deli. The explosion of last year took place i'm
the former rs yet 1t has been impossible to
ascertain with any degree of certainty the site of
the still more appalling calamity which took
place yesterday. Ordinarily some 800 persons
are employed nt this pit, but latterly the
number Of collicrs has varied from f5O to
200, owing to the depression i'm trade The
Liverpool Courier of the 22d ult. says that
though two explosions have now taken place in
this pitt has never been considered u dangerous
one. Shortly before the first occurred the under
locker visited the exact spot where the ignition
took place, everything being then apparently
safe, and no indications whatever are said to
have been perceived of the second disaster pre-
yiOus to its occurrence. IL Is alleged that the
usual inspections have been regularly made up
to yesterday morning, when the pit was reported
all right before the men descended. Work was
commenced ut o'clock in the morning.
The exact number of workmcu who were
lowered into the pit is not yet known,
being variously estimated at from $50 to 10.
Though apparently of u terribly violent charac-
ter, the explosion seems to have spent itself in
the internal workings. Nothing whatever had
been disturbed at the mouth of the pit and
happily the means of communication were left
entirely unimpaired. Everything proceeded in
the ordinary manner till about five minutes
| past eleven o'clock. At that time bnnisman
| named Thomas Taylor, who was working near
| the mouth of the pit had his attention attracted
| by volume of smoke and dust which was sud
| denly elected from 1t, and NJ once cOniectured
| that something serious had occurred.
| girl standing near him was thrown backwards
| by the gust but was not injured. An immed
| ate conference OF the worllmen employed out
| side took place. and while messenger was dcs-
patched for Mr.. Isaac Billings, the undcrloOker,
| repeated signals were sent to the bottom of the
! shaft, but were unanswered for Mt least five
! minutes when u young man came up and
brought the sad intelligence that frightful eN-
| plOSlOn had occurred. In very short time the
| neighborhood of the pit was thrOnged by crowds
| of men and women in the widest state of eX-
| citemcnt, imploring information respecting the
| fate of relatives or friends employed there.
Mr.. Isaac Billings, underlooker, at once organ
| lied a staff of searchcrs, among the earliest
| volunteers being John Baines and James Lea
| thcrbarrow. The exploring parties commenced
| their pcrllous operations about o'clock, from
| which hour till early this morning fifty or sixty
| men have been continuously at work. in relays,
| displaying the most commGndablc anxiety to do
| everything in their power to save life Evil
| dcncC of the lrightiul nature of the explosion
| was soon met with. The airways and stOppings
| were found To be extensively damaged, the
| wagons were In many cases blown TO pieces
| and the first and second party OF searchcrs soon
| reported that they had met with more than
| twenty bodies in the main delft Twcnty-thrcc
carts were obtained and In these over sixty
sufferers sent up from the piJ-cyc were carefully
taken To their own homes. Only Two OF this
| large number of Injured were suffering from
| burns, one Of whom, boy, being since dead,
| the rest having been more or less affected
| by the chOke-danp. The prOpriCtOrs were in
| Manchester when the explosion took place. A
! telegram was forwarded to them, and in the
| course of few hours Mcssrs. Joseph and Josiah
| a l-n
| despatched to Mr.. Shield, the county coroner,
| and to Mr.. Peter Higson, the Government in
| spector for the district, informing them of the
| catastrophe. Mr.. Mercer, of the Park lane col
liery, and Mr.. Chadwick the surveyor, remained
for some time at the pit-eye experimenting the
| labors OF the exploring parties. 1t is said that
the underlooker made thorough inspection OF
| the various workings on Tuesday, reporting
them to be in good working order. When
our reporter left the pit last night he was
informed that thrty-thrce bodies were lying al
the pit eye; but it was greatly feared the list OF
dead would at least reach forty. Most of the
deaths have resulted from the choke-damp
these bodies presenting n remarkable contrast
to those of the poor fellows who fell victims tC
the fiery blast In the former cases death wear
the precise aspect of calm and peaceful sleep
while in the latter there are horrible instances
of mutation and Disagreement. 1t would bC
impossible to convey even a faint picture of th'
| heartrcnding scenes witnessed on the pit bank
| There are lew OF the cottages III the nCighhOr
ing hamlcts but contain some sufferer, auC
many n family has been bcreft of its hrcad-wiu
ncr. The inhabitants appear almost stupcdet
| by their double ailliction, and IL will he yer,
long ere the universally pervading feeling q
| crushing sorrow ahatcs.
| Destructive CONFEDERATION In Swcdcn-SOOi
People HOusclCss.
An appalling disaster had fallen upon tn
| usually busy and thriving town of GChe, ia SwC
| den. On Saturday, July 10, fire broke out i
| II carpenters shop in the centre of the town
| and strong gale from the west blowing at tn
| time, the fire spread rapidly, and in Il few hour
| the whole Of that part of the town which Is stu
| ated on the north side of the river was burn
| down; 200 houses and tCnemcnts were destroye
| and 5000 hOusclcss persons out of populatio
| of $4,000 having lost almost everything the
| possessed, are now camping in the open all
| The loss Is estimated at above G5OO,OOO, an
| many of the working-classes are, as Is usual
| the case, uninsured. Committees for assistln
| the sufferers had been Immediately formed /
| Sweden, and all having business connection
with Gcfc, or otherwise taking an interest 1
| Sweden, had been invited to come forward Wit
. | their aid toward the same object.
A Mishnp to Schneider.
An English paper says:-An alarming acciden
happened TO the eminent French artist an
SINGER MadIle Schneider, at the st. Jane
Theatre At the fall of the curtain in the las
/ | scene of OrDhee altr ERferS her dress wa
e | ionited bv the flame used in making the ettec
q | 0f liphtnng and I'm moment was III u Dlaze
, | Great alarm and excitement prevailed and TIVE
or three gentlemen jumped from the private
| boXes ON the stage and from the stalls, but, Dl
4 | the rapid action of the actors who surrounded
! | her the flames were eNtlnSulshed' Inns "t
! i not done however, until almost the whole o.
4 / had