Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-09-17
Terrible CALAMITY.

tha, place, caught FIRE and the shaft of the
Iaiue became choked with burning rubbish.
Over TWO hundred men and boys wore 10
the mine al the time, al of whom perishaI
The origin Of The FIRE has been Gscertained
10 be as follows 0n Monday morning. asi
usual fire was kindlei in the fernaca
situated 10 a chamber of from eancWay ol
the mine, about so feet from lhe bottom Of
the shaft, the object Of the FIRE being to ur1-
luce a draft which venti'a ed the mine The
ire was started with wood, and tho blaze
set fire TO the gas IN the shaft, and the fame
sptgad 70 the breaker, which was instantly
SIT on FIRE The umbers from the breaker
and building above falling into tlla shaft SIT
fire 10 the lining of the shaft, ana thus pre-
vented all entrance or exit from lie miUe
1lr. Archbold, considered competent
authority, is fully of the opinion that all llie
In the mine was destroyed veiy soon after
tha fire began-that the cutie force Of the
heat GB3 fame drew directly into the mine,
sweeping the whole extent Of the working
as with the besom Of destruction The ac-
cUraey of this theory may be said 10 be de-
monstrated beyond qusstiea by the discovery
made last evening that the carcases OF the
two dead mules, which he about fifty yards
from the mouth of the shaft, are crasjci
tFIA VIII Nfltt a tAa4 VA bk UA Ail-A ttA.AhF
But If this TACT had left any ground for hope,
If must have been dissipated By the un-
fortunate operations Of yesterday, which
during the whole day tended directly to
qCeuch whatever spark of life might possibly
still have fingered aud covered in some re-
mote nook OF the workings
An entrance into the mine was made on
Wednesday, morning at three o clock The
chambers were reached without serious di,h
Guilty. The first body discovered was thar OF
Mr.. Steele. Further out, IN the most re-
mote chamber an appalling spectacle pre-
sentCd itself TO the explorers. There. lD
heap, and IN all sorts Of positions in which
their last agonies bad placed them, lay Che
bodies OF 202 men, dead, not a yestiee 0FH.e
being vislb!eln the c3untcuancc or form oE
any OF the unfortunate men who had met
death So untlmely and horrible The widest
excitement prevailed at the entrance 10 the
shaft, and the shrieks Of the friends cf the
dead as the bodies were brought up were
dealeuing
Nothing can approximate 60 a description
OF The scene. NO pen can portray It. Tho
pent up grief Of those who still hoped
against agony The endearing and tend
words OF the mother or wife as she rra~agt
the lieless form Of her son or husband an
tried to bring it again to life, refusing 90
believe it could be dead aud deieu5iag l
against all attempts at removal, touched jaG
stoBtest heart. At the latest account most
Of he bodies had been brought up oug af
the mine
A Aeorrespondent Of the New York Tribune
writing from Plymouth, under date OF the
SLh inst. gives this account of the entrance
into The mine, and the incidents occurring
Ia and about the place
About eight o clock this morning the first
door OF the gangway was broken In au sixty
bodies were found there Their situation
was awful; fathers lay stiff In death with
arms about their departed sons. Some were
also kUeeling, as though in PRAYER. strong
men were hand in hand with their fellows
The FickaXes and shOvels which thew had
used in making an embaukmeut to prevent
The entrance Of foul air, lay on one side It
seemed, then, that they bad fled few steps,
when IN au agony they fell In one auothar-
arms, sufocated by the deadly damp. In
another chamber every man was without "a
shirt. They had stripped themselves of
clothes TO use them IN f ling up creviua- and
craunles- Dae man had pu shed q part gl
hiz garment into an aperture when % gust
OF he gas rushed through and sfrangfed him
70 death. Wagon loads Of cofiins Iine Gle
road, and lltters filed with sheere5 dead pass
along the line every few minutes. As they
are brought 0ut OF the tunnel an iu0uest Is
hel1; he dead are exposed for recognition.
aud. when one Is identified. the Justice calls
out ms name and home: bis friends take the
body ana convey IL 70 their homes
Already the dozen mules have caused an
n-n'arahle-, stencil, havinr -u-'e 'e-.. end
uurstea. ne men who go down 10 baHg
up the dead, have to pass these c8gcgseF,
and the stencil together with the gas which
ha. not yet been pumped ont, makes it
difficult to bring hem up. The salemuity
of the place IS not alone that which ir-
presses the spectator The weeping women
and loudly crying Children strike the spec
t8tor with sadness. but the active ra-cuar..
and the Provision Committee. and The police
aud huekstcrs, aud the uncm0tiaugl miners.
make it painfully obvious that the present
a time for business and not for mourning
alone.
Fortyfyo have olrcaIy been taken up.
Bae Of them showed signs Of lite II was
bleeding and moved He was found with
his face iu the water, lying Gan CA tie
bottom ofths mine. Efforts are being made
60 resU state him now
The error Of the men Uho, on their ascent
rom The pit Monday night reported that
hc ire In the ycnu'atiDg furnace within the
mine was oxtiuguishei, was a fatal error.
. Treating their report as true, the mine man
showed that the most favorable ciraait
/ through which to drive the air carraut
created by the fan was that which had
I oTmeriy been the ''up-c8st, or current ont
5t the mlae. This, Of course, led rich,
through the furnace AT six in the morn
ng a brisk current was started through thi.
avenue and 1t was not until four In the
afternoon that It was discovered that the
furnace was glowing mass af authmese.
and that Tor ten hours the fan intended 90
puuty the mine had been driving into its
depths the fu'l volume Of poisonous aud
s.ttnug gases thrown off by the furnace.
Ihe misfortune was terrible, aud lis o1l
alleEiatlon Is found 10 the probability tb
misfortune had done It's worst even ilor.
the first efforts for relief began
News from Cuba-DesertiOus to the Pa
trIot Army-FoIuateer OUtrages.
A Southern gentleman who visited Cuba
Tor he purpose OF ascertaining the state ot
affairs for himself aud friends, writes under
late Of September J. as follows :-
The news Of the recent successes Of the
tubans near Puerto Principe, Sagua Ia
Graudc and Los IUnas, have given an lmpa-
,us and new HE 20 the Patriot cause, winch
vii prove irresistible The cXuhaiion of
the CubaBs knows no bounds They are
rising ca DldSsc and H5cking 10 the ibera-
ting army by HUNDREDS. The Spauiards
openly assert that the revolution will be suc-
aes-iUl; that the Spanish force is almost
destroyed and that Spain cannot send suf-
hglpuf rfIBt1raar4ant. IN raf4iU 2 lts ...-sts.