St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1869-09-17
The Mining CGiantity.

The Mining C0ian,ity.
SCRANTON, Penn, Sept. S.-Thc ter
rib!e calamity at Avondale was proven
to the most doubling at the dawn of
when the eastern gangway was
penetrated | 200 feet from the bottom OF
the shaft, and the explorers came to Il
barr;cadc that had been securely placed
across the gangway. Tearing this down,
4 horrible sight was encountered. The
lamp shonc upon 4 heap OF dead. y
pile of human beings chokcd the pas>aTc,
as though they had fallen together in the
las; agony. Even Hughes, the inside
superintendent, lay but little apart from
the mass. lie had been resting on lis
hands, and there was a 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
kin, Is though they had been injured i'll
iallin" down. and some had an expires
son ct horIiiici oupplicatIun, as thlu.h
t!ic.r last OF earth had been an ay"nizcd
protest against tAeir latc These were
exceptions, The va; majority locked
like men who were rather sleeping than
dead, or like men who accepted the IN
cvitabIc WIKI dlgnitieI designations but
none had d.c'i until they had exhausted
al .l.;,.- OF S,lyl:L Me.
WHAT Ir.uuNhlY "c,lEI;J.p ~ THE MINE.
y hal been promised, il va, found
tina; at H.. 'ir-: alarm 81 darI-er these
hrayc m.n had lot boz. appalled,, but
tau-.t 10y instinct and experience, and
knowing the horrible fact that there was
no ~, IN ot r-rrs- from The mine cXccp;
10y the shaft, then ci"kcd with iirr, they
had lied to the iur,hc>t parts OF the mine.
They had not lied in panic, hut had
cone back in order and with tull knowl-
ed@e that their lives might depend upon
their actions. for they lad but closed all
the air tight doors behind them. and thus
kept the fresh ar already in the mine and
the foul air out. When they had re-
treated behind the last door. and found
poisonous vapors still tollowin" them.
they had then hastily thrown up the bar
ricade and filled the intcrSticcs 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
siNty-thrce persons, and without explor-
IN 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
apparatus had been destroyed by fire,
and an ;mprovi~ei platform and rope and
tackle was 4 poor substitute The actu-
al IaISln" OF each corpse from the bottom
ct the shaft 10 the tunnel consumed eight
minutes, and the horse III winding the
the rope upon the drum travelled some
thing over Il mile. Only one body could
be brought up at once, and with the time
occupied in gctttng 1t 10 the bottom of
the shaft and bringing II out through the
tunnel, it can be readily understood that
the work is not to be completed in day,
or even two.
DESCRIPTION OF TIE MINE AND TIE
PROBABLE THEORY OF THE ACCIDENT.
\ correspondent of New York paper
gives these facts which will help TO a
clear understanding of the recent terrible
accident at Plymouth, Pa -
The Avondale mine has perpendicu-
lar shaft. 1t is about 250 feet deep.
and is the only means of entrance or
exit. The mine was opened about 4
year ago last spring, and consequently
the galleries branching out from the bot
tom Of the shaft were not numerous.
though Of considerable extent, for the
mine was proving one of the richest own
cd by the company. Covering the mouth
ot the shaft Were the buildings, trcstlc
work, etc. Coutainin" the machinery for
clcvating the coal from the mine. and for
breaking it into Jumps suitable for ship
mcnt. Ihc mlne was ventilated by heat.
Vt the bottom Of the shalt was "a fur
mace, the heat from which rariiied the
air, and caused it 10 ascend, thus form
ING powerful draft, which carried Oft
The impurities, gas, etc, generated in the
galleries, and which would prove fatal to
lite were they from any cause suffered to
remain. branching cat in different di
reciion5 from the bottom of the shaft
were The galleries, each following vein
OF coal. These galleries were provided,
at convenient distances from their mouth
with doors for the purpose of regulating
ventilation. ii one gallery was free from
foul air-a fact which was ascertained
by the appearance of the candle fame
the door would be closed, and the benefit
of the draft be conveyed to other gal
leries which were not 50 pure.
The mine had been at rest since last
May. The strike Of the miners in this
region suspended work in all of the mines
OF the Delaware, Lackawanna and West
ern companys works, and therefore all