Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-09-24
THE AvoNDALE HORROR. Dis
COYFRY OF THE VICTIMS
From A. Z. Richardson's letter 20 "a IN
DEPENDENT

THE AVOMDAAE hORROA. DAS
COYERY OF THE YICTIMs1zb
From A. D. RIchardson.s letter 20 the In
DEPENDENT
Asl3eH "Wednesday morning the first
victims were found-two men who had
charge Of ne They were lying
on their faces, upon the stable moor,
tone dead, with necks bloated and
mouths bloody. When the bodies were
borne out through the Tunnel, the null
titrf3ea esvaFing all the hillside as IN q
great amphftheaters and their races
lighted mp by the glowing embankmtnt
16Okedo on with a hushofBtleuces Next g I
party OF three old miners discovered
that q passage in agTemote sectl5n OF
TIE mine a clOs ed up with coal aud
dust. Breaking through this barrier,
and another like it, they came upon the
lndst@ Startling scene in all the great
tragedy. Hither si3tySthree HIth and
boys had retreateds On first taking the
alarm, they evidently huddled here. as
into \ bottle, and tried TO sead up the
mouth before the deadly carbonie acid
gas-resulting from the exhaustion 81
The pure air-should flow in and poison
them. In the passage a car was stand
ing. They turned this aers IS flfetrack,
piled coal beside n upon it, - Ill the
the "gangWay'' took off their wooden
shirts, and, using them for sacks
brought fine coal-dukt 70 close the in
t~erstics and then we're their shirts 10
rags. and stnffed them in also. Thus
they raised an almost air-tight barrl-
eade aeathst Death. Then they fell
back a feW feet and same man
her built a second, which now stood
equally complete, except that near the
top hole wa left large efiough fer a
inau to creep through And between
the two there was a man, like the rest,
stark in death. Whether h had staid
outside to plaster up all the crevices
but this, and then enter again through
It., or stood inside and made the aper-
ture in a vain e~ntleavoT to escape after
he saw HE egpBd~s ayiva meme can
In tbs passage twenty fees wide, ten
feet high and lie feet long, the q. oU"d
npn lad Witnessed the approach of
that enemy sVstO IapRhs a. all baFri-
raaFss What was h Charge OF the
Sfx Hundred, with the wild shout, the
Eush ofair, and The ~ 1nsciousntss OF
peril Whichfhested blood brings, totbe
waiting Of these, with srt teeth and
elenched hands, and staring eyes, for
the silent, subtle death to Gomez Hap
ply il did come, stealing into their for
Iress, and snItting them Down with its
swift poison, Instead Of leaving them
to the slower poison which ihei own
bTeathsalope wof1a syonhqy engender-
d.
Now, the fixed faces of most were
rasyAAuds placid. Haf1aAdO25h Wtres1t-
ing in asgrQnps ha careless pesiiionss as
ifthey had be- couyersing. One, with
h5HeVH wide open, stood Upright, feanr
ing against \ pile of coal. Another
held ais pipe in his hand, and was in
the act of filling it-SOme lay upon
their races, with foreheads resting on
their crossed arms. Others were hud-
died one upon another, There were
SOME feB @eahHEborted waEE agonFsb ui
whether from terror OF from physical
pain It was impossible to determine.
There were races which had fairly
ground themselves into the coal-dust rs
if to catch the last morsel Of fresh air.
There were mouths with great masses
offOam standing out, and uostrils from
which blood had trickled. and neeEs
and breasts all swollen and blitted.
The most ~toulhing sight WIS array
Hatred father, Who h5u three : ans in
the mine. He sat with his young
est boys, twelve and fifteen years old
one c1asped in either arut. So firm vas
the cnrpses could not be se.aratef, bat
both were br0Hght6o9haNHrfac togStti-
er There were ntheE ftthers in that
horrible pit, all with their sons locked
in their arms and there were Two 'lttle
hrcthPrS with 0parentss Whe lay ~
each others embrace az if7n psaceful
Many additional bodies were found
alone, and in pa rties-of two and four in
different parts ofathe mfNeI Those IN
FL AAE lLkAE3E ph11aEG1 4 GU AO4AG0Et OGA
none, its believed, survived the OUT
breakoFs6e frefor wohours. Through
ont Wednesday and Wednesday, night
and ThuFsaRy these corpsest wnhgrlmY
faces and atalwart frames, bare above
theN Wais68 were slowly boosted u by
one, and delivered to thpF friends
The scene "Wednesday night was one
never to be 4Orgottef The slow and
aHdless cheak OF the windlass AMI fhe
sharpshrieB Of the woneP broke the
sHenc9s 10 the dense crowd which was
EepbD8ck ff0TatheShaft byrOpes, miners
With lamps IN their hats, and men car
rying lanterns. hurried to aud fro; ST.
lent parties of four. hearing what had
been man, emerged nom lh@ mouth
ofthe tunnel; blue. s Ring flames fr3m
he-coa1-dnst lighted up the whole; and
outside the black darkness, k wall
shut in the weird, solemn picture,
mAt4R.M n. OF ThurSd- Ythe last podA
was taken Out-the n hundred anC
eighth. Up to the 1aSE Trm Mt many
hoped against hoDeEhatsomeone nigh
be found alivtt orthat ut least, q pencil
record on paper or board, Woul Civ
an account of the last moments ofthi
victims whose lives went cut With thel
hampssJ But no scrap oErwfHIpg IA
yet appeared. OF the dead, over seven
ty were Welchmaen. twenty-five Irish
men. and h rest Wrrs ATffericans.-
Some bwelve or nfteeH were youn
BOYS. There are seventy4three widow
duQ046 Al5y~AOuE orphan
newly made. Several of the dead
newcomer in America, have left fan
lilies in Wales and ireland, littl
building near the mine is still file
with collins waiting for more of til
dead. should more be found.ANO recor
of thesWorkmen was kept outside tn
mine but on the Saturday previou
there were g12s down the shaft. TIL
.number was steadily increasing ane
had the disaster occurred a week Later
two hundred lives would doubles
have been sacrificed. In the dwelling
hard by the air is still full of wailing
forthe dead One poor woRlRn lost
nephew, an uncle, a father, a brother
and 8 husband. Another lost ever
male membersOf her f~anIify-the hus
band and three sons, who were fOuni
among the SO. After those four bodies
rom which b fashion Of this WorI
had passed away were gathered 70
the last time under her roof, She rushe
from n coffin to another, kissing tn
cold lips and stroking the pale cheek.
while tears streamed from the ewes (
seNerE lookep~0n.
Dna~ar