The New York herald., 1869-09-16
THE COAL Mine HORROR.
Review Of the Testimony Already Taken
Conflicting Ideas as to the Origin Of
the Calamity-Subscriptions In Aid Of
the Sufferers Still Pouring In, &c.

the Calamity-SubscriptiO In Aid OF
the Sufferers Still Pouring In, SC.
Explanation ef the Evidence-Parpose Of
the NIiners-The Relief Fund-AvOudaie
silent and Deserted.
WILKEsBARRE, Pa, Sept. Is, 1869.
The origin OF the Av0ndale calamity may forever
remain mystery, but the question as to whether
the fire began at the top or the bottom OF the shai
seems In a fair way towards a satisfactory ana de-
Clded settlement. few words OF explanation will
make the evidence taken at the inquest. and to
which intend alluding, clear and ineligible. The
shaft OF the Avoldale mine was twenty-one teet by
twelve, divided into three compartments seven feet
wide Que OF which was called the air shaft, or up-
cast, through which the foul air from below
sscended 10 the top; the other two were used for
hosting ana lowering the coal cars, letting the men
down to work and admitting pure air
TO the mine. The inside OF the partition
separating the air shalt from the hosting snafr was
lined with two-inch boards, nearly alright as
possible, and that account called u brettice.
within four feet Of the bottom OF this compartment
the nue from the furnace opened like The mouth OF
an oven, only being four times Az large. Through
this fue, 150 feet In length, the dragght from the
furnace carrying with 1t all the noxios gases or the
mine, entered the shaft and was borne upwards.
The furnace was OF The ordinary KIND but with
out doors 1t faced a wide gangway. where the
fresh air entering the mine. a ter coursng through
all the corridors and chambers finished its circuit
and piercing through the furnace fires carried Off all
the impurities. The lue brick lined, was large
enough for man to walk In, and pursued a per-
fectly horizontal course through the solid COAL at an
elevation Of about five feet above the floor OF the
tnah hntto <,f fha hat
In the early morning 1t was customary TO start the
nre with wood, from which good deal OF smoke
was emitted, that found its way nrougn the nue. into
the air shaft and ordinarily made but a light vol
ume, that occasiOned no inconvenience to the men
working at the head Of the SHAFT There was no
woodwork in the fiue or near the furnace, as most
OF the reports agreed IN asserting With tins expa-
nation IL is only necessary TO review the evidence to
show the impossiblty OF the lire having originated
from the furnace.
REVIEW AND EXPLANATION OF EVIDENCE.
Isaac Thomas, an experienced MINER would not
believe that the air current could carry fire TO the
shaft SO long distance as $50 feet aGd even If 1t Old
the sparks carried would have lost much OF their
momentum ana power OF ignition after the Journey,
together with having to contend with damp wood at
tho bottom Of the snaft and for this reason very
unlikely to create such a fire as would
sistbIe force. There is good deal OF truth in this.
The wood OF the brettlce was necessarily damp at
ana near the bottom, where the "samps," or ressr-
vOirs situated for the reception OF water now
Ing from the mine. Then ths mine had been closed
for period OF three months before the accident;
tnie dampness Of the wood had increased. and no
time had been given to overcome 1t.
Thomas +. Davis, another miner OF experience,
who worked for ten mouths In AvOndale said he
never heard Of danger from the urance; others said
the same; in fact there was as little heard about
risks on that score IS man might hear about a
stove In his kitchen. This witness made
. strong point against the original theory
In reference 10 the nre when he swore that
he had seen men working in the 1ue while the fur
mace was in fun blast. True, they could not con-
tnue to work very long In such situation; but that
they entered the place at oil and remained even for
ten minutes is pretty conclusive evidence that no
great heat prevailed, and certainly that sparks
capable OF igniting heavy, damp partition disturbed
their minds. Again, no sparks could have come
from the anthracite fire the furnace for anthra-
cite coal throws or none. Neither could they nave
emanated from the WOOD employed to start the fire
In the morning aS 1t was long burned oIt before the
shaft was found In flames. On this head we need
have no doubts; for AnsOn Dunn, VINO went down
to look for work and came up nfteen minutes before
the disaster passed the furnace twice and found it
rs usual burning with steady red heat. The
theory OF sparks flying or through the hue with
force enough 10 set the shaft blaze Is not borne
out by the evidence.
william Thomas discovered portion OF the bret
tice, near the middle, untouched by the ire; it was
merely scorchcd by flame, and from the middle
down to within twenty feet OF the bottom the same
extraordinary circumstance was noticed. One man.
who believes the furnace was the source OF the accl
dent, accounts for II on the ground that when the
oxygen was exhausted at the bottom Of the shaft
the life giving clement Of ar and fastened upon the
brettce at that distance from the bottom. This is
rather an unsclcnthc way OF putting 1t; for 1t is
difficult to see how the oxygen could be exhausted
long q current OF air intact mad the chance 10
pass down the shaft before 1t was blocked up by
the fallen debris. Davis thought the fire took place
near the mouth OF the tunnel, which gives color to
my story about Its being fired. George Morgan,
miner of unusual intelligence and who took par
tcular pains to examine the brettice, thought the
same. Alexander Weir, the engineer, testified that
the flames burst out at the top OF the shaft with
near the mouth OF the shaft regulating the coal
up and down, ana surely II the fire began 2S7 feet
Ssow % ne ongnt 70 nave seen some lnuisatons OF "
point made was one OF Morgan's. where he states
that the upper edge OF the brettce boards show
the dead marks Of fire, wne the lower edge
ID perfectly sOund--strong evidence, inueed,
that the course of the danes was downward,
and also that the wooden guides regulating the
steady motion OF the cars IN going up ana down
were sound al bottom and destroyed above. The
next question to which the mind Is naturally led by
this series OF facts IL where and how, then did the
work OF destruction begin. Morgan thnKs 1t began
nj The mouth OF the tunnel Let me explain how this
Is situated.
Imagine steep hill side about The centre of which
q shaft IL driven straight down over two hundred
feet. Lower down on the slope Cv the hill and forty
feet in a vertical line below the top Of the shaft Is
n tunnel running straight IN TO The shaft and
measuring tlirty-sve feet in le 9Th This makes
exactly right augled triangle. The inside
opening OF the tunnel was boarded up, or brcttced,
as The miners say, SIX feel nigh 10 the centre or the
arch, and over eight feet wlde The breitico had
doorway. The tunnel was hardly eyer used II was
but the beginning OF a work which was intended 10
be carried forward at the other side Of the shaft
right into the heart OF the hui. striking the upward
slope OF the mine hundreds Of feet away and max
Ing q second mode oi ngrcss for mules and miners
Entering this tunnel under shelter OF the large shutc
which pressed over II from the mouth of the shaft
above to tile railroad track below an incendiary
could have opened the door all unnotced and,
sprinkliDB the wooden brettice opposite to
him with Kerosene OIL prepared ITS sur
face for sure and rapid ignition. match held
across at the end OF stick three or four feet long
would have cOnsuInnated his purpose, and the
strong current OF air rushing vthe shaft from
below would have quickly ianncd tne nciplent name