The New York herald., 1869-09-12
which Palmer Steele had was bound In bundle;
nof,ced no smokA nor ANYTHING ont of the WaY

where the furnace In the mine II l0cated-aD0us
ninety feet from the bottom Of the shaft have |
assisted building fires there; never heard any fears
expressed about the furnace; knew Of bratttce |
being fire in tho vicinity OF the furnace; it
was made Of wood, but brick was Afterwards sub |
stituted; know Of no means provided Dy the COM
psny for extlngalshing fires.
Mr.. Phillips-Did you ever say that % you were
not employed lately TO work in the mine you would
not allow any other damned B--lr TO work theref
| Witness-No, sir.
Mr.. Phillips--If bring a man face to face with
you who win prove you said 80 what answer would
| you give hmf
Witness-The same.
Roney procseded:-I was not at the Avondaie mike
from Thursday until Monday after the fire broke out;
never heard any one say the mine was actually un.
safe, but that it was liable to accident and that
such should occur in the shape Of fire in the shaft
none Of the men would escape think II there was
second shaft the men Of the Avondals mine might
| have got out.
| Edward Flynn, miner, of Steuben, testified that he
/ thought the accident would come one day or ano'
ther and that it was unsafe for any man to work In
the Avondale mine though he worked there himself
| for few days before the accident
The witness was asked several questions as to the
| feasibility or cutting passageway into the Union
mine, his answer being that 1t could be easily done
| and would only take a week.
Isaac Thomas Plymouth, miner, testifed:-I
always believed the cracker (the wooden building
over the shaf caught fire there was no hope for the
men below; II the men now dead had had another
shaft believe they would have escaped, because l
was among the first to go down the day
after the accident, and I could see by
| the size Of the brattce the men built
| to protect themselves they must have spent some
time at IT. don't believe the shaft ever took fire
1 from tha I'm for tha nd m a
| the pumps were accustomed to 60 round be-
| tween the nue and the air shaft, and If there
was great heat there, or sparks hying they
| could not do so; there is portion Of brat
| tice In the shaft not far from the bottom
| that is not burned at all, being merely scorched
The bottom of the bratce is burned, but that would
have been done by the lighted tlmbers falling from
above; am unable to say what the cause OF the fire
might have been, but don't believe the current of
air from the furnace could carry through the hue
| sparks to set the brattice on fire.
| Thomas q, Davis, miner, testi1ed-I worked in
the Avondale nine ten months; the furnace is l50
| feet from the shaft; have spoken with Mr.. Evan
Hughes, the inside boss, the subject Of providing
another means OF egress from the mine, and at the
| time of the suspension Of work last May he was
| engaged driving hole, which, when completed
would furnish the needed want; the work was never
| resumed since; don't think the fire ever caught
from the furnace, for have seen men working in the
hue and the furnace lighting; my impression ID that
| the fire began about the tunnel; some composition
| was thrown upon the wood work ana set fire to
about the tunnel; the greatest marks o! re found
here the boards at the bottom OF the shaft were too
wet to catch fire; the mine had been closed up some
! time and the shaft was consequently damp.
William Thomas OF Plymouth miner, testified
worked four months in the Avondale mine
and think II there was another shaft the might
have escaped, because there was quite number Of
| men made their way long distance back in the
NINE and built brattices, evidently after the fire
took place; consider 1t too bad that men should
have to 60 down IN mines with only o single open
ing; remember finding In the east gangway man
| who worked In the west; believe he had left on
| account OF the nre In search of place OF safety.
Alexander Weir, Of Avondale, late engineer of tho
| mine testined-I told the inside boss there was
danger of nre and name because Of the heat com.
ing through the nue; had hoisted car up and
dumped 1t when noticed to the foreman that
| there o good deal OF smoke ascending in
| one corner Of the shaft; minute two
AFTER in drawing up the cage. burst OF fame like
| an explosion OF powder, shot up in one corner OF
the shaft; 1t came from the inside OF the shaft;
| have frequently spoken to the inside boss Of the
| danger from the furnace in the mine and also to
other persons; my father constructed the furnace,
| but don't remember that we ever had conversation
| about It.
George Morgan, miner, Of Nanticoke testified ne
| had been employed in the mines since he was ten
years old; the upper part Of the brattice In the
| Avondale mine was completely burned out from
seventyAve feet from the top to within twenty feet
Of the bottom; Y was tolerably sound my belief ia
| that the IRE did not originate at the bottom
! but at point not far removed from the
| top, and II q committee OF thus body
Of miners be appointed will show that the upper
edge of the boards forming the prattice shows all
along the dead marks Of fire, while the lower edge
has no MARKS at oil; my opinion is that the fire
originated at the tunnel little below; heartily
| agree in condemning the plan of having but one
outlet to mines.
il. W. Evans-Tha Is just what the miners In
tended to condemn. They knew that to work o
mine with one outlet was dangerous ana had
known 1t all these years, but they must work In
them or starve, and they intended this occasion
to show the perils they are exposed to. Appause.)
Thomas L. Thomas, miner, testi1ed-I have
| worked thirty-fve years as O miner; worked two
months in Avondale; have spoken with Mr. Evan
Hughes upon the danger Of having but one opening
to the mine; we also had q talk about the fur
mace, and he asked my opinion Of it; told
him thought the ventilation very good; always
considered Mp. Hughes very careful man; we also
talked about opening q connection between Avon
| dale and Union Understanding very easy to &C
complish, as only fifty or sixty feet had to be tun.
nelled, and II this had been done would only have
taken week, all the men now dead might have
been saved.
The inquest was here adjourned until nine O'Clock
Tuesday morning.
The following circular is issued by the Relief Com.
mttee:--
PLYMOUTH Pa. Sept IL, 1892
The ReefC1ommittee, appointed during the disas-
ter at Avondae met last night at the First National
Bank, Plymouth, and organized permanently BY
eectng Il. 9. Wadhams President, H. Cav
lord Treasurer ana w. l.. Wilson Secre-
tary. committee OF seven persons was
appointed to look after and supply the Immediate
wants OF the afflicted 10 furnish them their require
ments for at least week, to take census OF the
families OF the unortunates and report their &C.
tlon at meeting to be held on Monday evening and