Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1869-09-16
THE AyoNDALE DISASTER.
Recovery Of the Bodies Of khe Dead
Scene in the ReceSses of the Mine.

Recovery Of the Bodies Of the Dead
Scene in the Recesses Of the Mine.
Especial Correspondence of the New York Times ]
SCRANTON, PENN, September S.-The
terrible calamity at Avondale vas proven
to the most doubling at the dawn Of
incoming, when tie eastern gangway was
penetrated 1900 feet from the bottom o {
the shaft, and the explorers came to a
barricade that had been securely placed
across the gangWay. Tearing this down,
horrible. sight was encountered. The
lamp shone upon q heap of dead. A pile
of human beings choked the passage, as
though they had fallen together in the
last agony. Even Hughes, the inside
Superintendent, lay but a little apart
from the mass. He had been resting on
his hands, and there was look Of placid
content upon his rigid features. This was
true, too, of nearly all in the great heap.
Some few had abrasions of the skin, as
| though they had been injured in falling
down, and some had an expression of
Mortified supplication, as though their last
of earth had been an agonized protest
against their fate. These were exceptions.
The vast majority looked like meu who
were rather sleeping than dead, or like
men who accepted the inevitable with dig
niied resignation hut none had died un-
til they had exhausted all means Of saving
life.
WHAT PROBABLY OCCURRED IN TIE NINE.
As had been promised, it was found
that at the first alarm of danger these
brave men had not been appalled,, but,
taught by instinct and experience, and
knowing the horrible fact that there was
no means of egress from the mine except
by the shaft, then choked with fire they
had fed to the furtherest part of the mine.
They had not fed in panic, but had gone
back in order and with full knowledge
thet their lives might depend upon their
actions, for they had closed all the air
tight doors behind them, and thus kept
the fresh air alread in the niue and the
foul air out When they had rstreated
behind the last door, and found poison
GUS vapors still following them, they had
then hastily thrown up the barricade and
filled the interstices with clothing. which
they had stripped from their persons.
THE WORK OF REMOVAL.
When this mass of dead had been care
fully examined it was found to contain
sixty three persons, and without explor
ing the mine to discover the spots where
the others met their fate, the work of re-
moving them to the surface was begun.
The air in the mine was still very bad,
and the horrible heap was necessarily
very slowly diminished The raising ap-
paratus had been destroyed by fire, and
an Impoverished platform and rope and
tackle was poor substitute. The actual
raising of each corpse from the bottom of
the shaft to the tunnel consumed eight
minutes, and the horse in winding the
rope upon the drum travelled something
over mile. Only one body could be
brought up at once, and with the time oc-
cupied in getting it to the bottom of the
shaft and bringing it out through the
tunnel, it can be readily understood that
the work is not to be completed in day,
or even two.
AT THE MOUTH OF THE NINE.
The scenes outside the shaft were scarce
ly what were anticipated The crowd
was as great as on the previous day. and
hardly more in keeping with the
scene. AS each corpse was brought out
upon stretcher, and covered with a
coarse cangas cloth, it was placed under a
tree, and the cloth removed. Mr.. Phil
lips, the outside Superintendent of the
mine, then stepped up to identify the
dead. The coroner's jury viewed the
body, and it was carried to the temporary
dead house The name and residence Of
the deceased was then announced to the
surrounding crowd by James George
Very rarely did violent outbreak of
feeling follow. The friends Of the dead
came forward, claimed the body and it
was removed. In some cases wall of
woman's anguish was heard, in others
low cry of woe rippled through the crowd,
but generally the dead were received
without audible sorrow and hurried away
with decent ceremony. In every case
coffin was on hand, provided by the Della
ware, Lackawanna and Western Com
paay, and it was decent, being of polished
wood aud mounted in imitation silver.
PREPARATIONS FOR INTERMENT.
In consequence of the slowness with
which the bodies are removed, the idea of
a great public funeral of. all together has
been abandoned. The bodies are deliver
ed to friends for immediate burial most
Of these. however, will occur on the 9th
and 18th, and Mayor Hall, of Scranton,
has requested general suspension of bu-
siness ON those days. Samuel Sloan,
President of the Company ownin the
mine, has also telegraphed orders for a
general suspension of work and free trains
on these days. The flags on all depots
and buildings generally are now displayed
at half mast.
THE CoRoNERs REQUEST.
Justice Wadhams, of Plymouth. Act
ing Coroner, has issued notices to the Mi
ners' Union and the Railroad Company
osa;ng the mine that testimony as to the
calamity will be taken on Saturday, at ten
A. NJ; at Plymouth, and requesting
both IN ha ,resent with evidence as tn