The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-09-10

FATAL EFFECTS OF j FALSE THEORY
Tue DEADLY AND SUFFOCATING
BLACK DAMP or TIE MISES-RERCIC
EFFORTS TO FTNETRATE Tue RE-
CESSES or THE MINES. Ere.
SCRANTON, Pa, September 9.-The grcai
disaster ana loss Of life in the mines at
hvoadalc forcshadowcd in The dispatches
since Monday has become certainty. All
efforts SO far 10 relieve the men or get of
them have been worse than fruitlcss. There
is now scarcely hope that single one Of
the men cntombcd Will he found alive.
At first it was supposed that 200 men
were in the mine when The fire broke out.
but later Investigations have shown that the
number Was exaggerated. Not less than
l3S nor more than 100 men and bows were
IL and down the shaft NJ the time. There
are hGty-ninc chambers in the mine, and in
each Of these chambers are one miner and
one helper; but US some Of these men, it is
known, were not at work, 100 is the num-
her allowed for miners and helpers. There
were, in addition, nine drivers, nine door
boys, eight gangway men, one oilcr, one
boss mule-dciver, one rOdman, one roof
man, one footman, and six extra hands.
This places the number shut up at 1885, The
general agent will not admit that there were
any more in the mine. But whether there
are two hundred or less, they are all dead,
and, probably, from q fatal mistake made
by their friends above.
AFATAL THEORY.
Some of the men who went down the
shaft last night reported that the fire in
the furnace was all out. The presumption
was that when the fire broke out the miners
had kept their senses, and having dragged
the fire, had fled to the upper chambers,
closing the doors behind them. Surprising
this 10 he true, the rescucrs proceeded on
the simple plan Of forcing fresh air into
the mine By means of q fan working by an
engine, both machines having been taken
from Scranton. Forty-six men had been
enrolled as volunteers 10 descend the shaft,
and in less than half an hour the first two
went down 100 feet to rcconnoitre. They
lowered lamps, which burned freely.
Nearly an hour later, four men descended.
but quickly returned, reporting that they
had encountered :" black damp" or % blue
damp" as the miners call the deadly car
bcnic acid gas, which had forced them TO
retire. They penetrated the gangway thirty
feet. In another hour, more men went
down seventy five feet, and opened set of
doors. Thus it went on until nearly 4 2.
NJ. ycsterday, when 4 party Of men, penc-
trating 200 feet and opening the door, made
The discovery that the fire was still burning
in the furnace, and had even ignited the
coal piled outside Of it.
ALL HOPE GONE,
Those understanding the situation, upon
hearing this Fact saw in a moment that AL
hope was at an end, and that all that could
he done vas to drag the lost miners from
their fiery tomb for Christian burial They
saw. too, that all the labor Of the day had
been more than thrown away, and that they
had unwiilinalv been ENGAGED in making
certain the death Of their comrades below,
If any of them had CHANGED to remain alive,
by forcing air down the shaft to feed the
flames, to brced deadly gases, aud to fiji
the entire mine with !ifc-dcstroyinr vapors.
TIE OPERATIONS CHANGED.
\ change ofopcratiOns was then instantly
decided on. Il was determined to direct
immediate effort TO the extinguishmcnt Of
the fire. Means are row arranged to that
end, and the day was occupied by dcluging
the mine with water. IF the mine is not
cleared Of dangerous gases sufficient TO
allow Of its exploration other remedies vii!
be tried. The risks thus far attendant
upon the attempts 10 penetrate the mine
have been extreme, and although no life
has been lost, four Of the brave men who
descended were drought to the surface in
an inscnsble condition, and were only
revived after great labor and The applica-
ton Of the most powerful remedies.
THE SCENE or THE DISASTER.
The scene OF this catastrophe, unparal
Ieled in the history Of American mining, is
on the Lackuwanna and Bloomsbury rail
road, twenty-five miles from Scranton,
about ak from NilkcSbarrc, and about one
and q halt below the hamlet of Plymouth.
The shaft is sunk in the side of Il steep
mountain, is 237 feet deep and 40 feet be-
low the mountain; has tunnel opening
into il which is dug through the mountain.
The main gangways vi the mines arc nearly
cast and west from the SHAFT, the first being
about ! POO feet in length, and the latter
about $40. Both east and west the inclincs
are upward, and the gangways about ten
feet in the clear. The sides of the shaft
are numbered with wooden fixtures. The
great wooden building, III which was the
breaking machinery, Was Immediately upon
the mouth, and all OF this inilammablc ma
tcrial was a. dry as finder. If n spark Of
fire touched any OF this wood anywhere,
even outside the mine, & grcat coniiagration
was inevitable, and its communication TO
the interior Of the shaft and mine almost
certain. TO these facts must be added
that the mine had 10 air-hole distinct from
the shaft The miners, working far down
in the bowels OF the earth, had but that ono
aperture by which to secure egress to the
surface; that cat off, the Wholesale destruc-
ton Of human life which has occurred was
surc to happen.
DEADLY EFFECT OF TIE BLUE DAMP"
At II o'clock David ). Jones, Henry Ath-
erell Samuel Morgan, and John Williams,
went down, and after twenty-five minutes
came up in a very bad condition, the blue
damp" that now commenced arising making
them quite sick, but not insenaible. They
threw water upon the fire, and think it out.
About the time that this gang asked to
be hoistcd, George Morgan, who was watch
ing at the opening OF the shaft, had to be
removed, and all except four or five were
driven from the tunncl-thc blue damp
that WAS coming up the shaft making Nor
gan sick, and placing all who might be IN
the tunnel in a very perilouS situation. no
further attempt VIII be made TO 90 down Tor
an hour. Water is going down.
FLOODING THE NINE.
Things al this time eos A. NJ are at