Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-09-09
FIRE IN A COAL MINE.
IL Is Feared Two Hunersd d Miners Have
Been sufocaIed.

II ts Feared Two Huner.d d Miners Have
Been suEocated.
PLYMOUTH. Pa. September 5.
A fire broke out this morning i'll the
fine and bottom at Steuben shalt. owned
by the Delaware, Lackawanna aud
Western Company, in this place, and III
n short time the whole breaker and out
buildings were in flames, and the host
ing APPARATUS, the only avenue OF es-
cape for the miners, destroyed. All ef-
forts to stay the flames were unavailable.
and the whole structure iell, filling up
the shaft, and have no communication
out, with no chaneesfor air, as the only
way for getting air into the shaft was
through the main opening, and that was
filed with burning timbers and debris
OF the flames. 1t is feared the whole
number have been suffocated hy smoke,
or persisted for want OF air.
The fire departments OF Scranton,
Wilkesbarre and Lingston are play ing
streams down The shaft for the purpose
of quenching the fire there, SO the rub
bish can be cleared out and the condltlon
of the men ascertained. 1t Will prooa-
bly, take till tomorrow morning before
tidings can be received from them. Inc
scene is heart rending. Families are
congregated in great numbers, miners
from all parts of the country are at
work, and merchants, and in fact the
whole population of the town turned
out to assist.
PLYMOUTH, PA, September G, ler N.
After the rubbish from the bottom of
the shaft was cleared away, two miners
descended in a bucket, and sent woru
up To send down pick and shovel to-
clear the doors with. The bucket was
brought up and two men started down
with the tools. As they started the men
at the bottom requested them to hurry,
and on their reaching the bottom both
were found dead. No hopes are enter
tanned for the men in the shaft The
black damp is very bad here.
SCRANTON. Sept :. 7.lA.M.
The donkey engine and fan were put
in operation about an hour since, driving
in fresh air at the shaft. Carson and
Davis then went down one hundred
feet and then lowered lights to within |
fifteen feet of the bottom of the shaft |
the lights burned freely. After making |
such observations as were possible, they
returned and the miners who forme'i
a committee to 60 down, are now pre-
pairing todescend to remove obStructionS
and explore in search of their brethren. |
Thousands Of miners, woman and chlId- |
rem cover the hills and the grounds IN
the vicinity. Committees are circulating |
among the immense throng for subscrlp- |
tions for the widows and orphans, who
number six hundred.
SCRANTON, Pa, Sept. 4.
AT eight O'Clock the crowd was cleared
and a rope enclosure made around the
mouth Of the shaft by the police. The
engine and fan were got to work at $40,
and shortly after it was connected with
the canvass conductor that reaches to
the bottom of the shaft. two hundred and
thirty-seven feet.
At 1920 Superintendent Corning, of
the Hampton mine. and j. 2. Davis
nf Avnn,iaie., descended ont
hundred feet and lowered three iall
to witiiin fifteen ;eet oi the 'oitou 1l
shaft. tile lamps burning freely. ~
m the shaft forty miuu,e-
they returned from r.cunnoitering Al
ILLS George Morgon, John Howells,
Thomas Davis and I E Davis, u COM
mittee OF miners. descended the shi.'
slowly and with care. Al 1875 they 80
cended TO the mouth Of tine shalt, report
ing that after leaving the platform on
which they weni down they proceeded
about Thirty feet into the gang way, and
finding a great deal of cartonic acid gas
and black damp, retreated. After con-
verging as far into the mine a. they
went, the damp was two and three feet
deep OH the bottom of the mine.
At Il:55 Rees Crane, Thomas Crega ~,
Charles Jones and Isaac Thomas. an
other miners" commiter, began the +
descent into the shaft. The fan was kept
in motion during these pro |
eeedings. At the shaft committee Of
fifty volunteers was formed and regular
ly oficere0 hy the miners 10 descend |
and recover the bodies of their c0tnpan-i
ions.
Rev. Mr. Hnut, headed a committee |
of twenty citizens, who caDvassed the |
imme,lse hrong with su Inscription books |
for the orphans and widows of the un |
fortunate victims. The most experienced
miners give up all hope Of finding any
one alive in The mine. Forty-SiX miners
were enrolled under the superintendent
of James George, of Plymouth. and
Henry w Evans, of Piitston. George |
Morgan. nf The Nanticook nIiues. was
appointed foreman Oh the part of the |
miners. and Thos. K. Davis. of Nanti |
cook, and John III. Powell, of Taylor
vile, as advisers. They have the direc-
tion of operations.
After the descent was made, three
hundred miners from COalville arrived,
and there are thousands upon the
grounds i'm the immediate vicinity, and
nearly one half are women and children.
ONE P. M.-The second party of men
returned safely, as did the first. They
penetrated the gangway to distance of
75 feet and found the large door wide
open. They then went a hundred feet
further in one of the passages and found
a small door closed. After opening this
door, to give free circulation of air around
to the entrance, they returned. Had
this small door been open there might
have been q shadow of hope, as the gas,
passage around the circuit and out again.
As it is, the fears are that the smoke has
penetrated into the mine and suffocated
all the men.
Tie main door leading to the mine
has not yet been reached. The third
set of men, four in number, went down
and came back in fifteen minutes, two
of them 80 overcome with the effect of
gas that they are being restored with
difficulty. The gas is coming out of the
outer mine very fast since the passage
was opened The widest excitement
prevails and the mass of people are kept
back with the great difficulty.
4:30 p. NJ. fhe ;tv0 miners are saved AT
last. 1t seems idle TO peril life 10y any
furthei atiem,, In go d"wn AS long a. the
gas is 10 strong. No aitempt can of
course be ma Ie to reach the main door
or to penetrate the mine until the outer
gang way is cleared of gas aud il is nm
certain how long this will take There
is really no ground to hope that a single