Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-05-31
Another Coal Mine Disaster.

On last Saturday q fire broke out at
the mouth Of a coal mine at Pittston,
Lehigh county, Pa, while ~thirty-eigkt
men were in the mine, which had only
one outlet. At midnight of Saturday an
entrance to the bottom of the shaft was
effected, and by s o'clock in the morning
t~wenty-four men had been brought up,
six of them dead. BY q O'Clock, P. M,
on Sunday, all the men had been brought
up-thirty-eight in number eighteen
dead.
In the meantime hundreds of women
and children had congregated near the
scene of the disaster, and their heart
rending cries pierced the air. At GAO
the mouth of the mine had been sufh-
GENTLY cleared to let down a dog. He
was Kept down the first time for three
minutes, and let down again, staying
five minutes. The dog came up alive
At : p. n. timber was brought to the
mouth Of the mine and q temporary
framework made TO cover the opening.
A platform carriage was constructed and
preparations made to enter. Ats P. NJ,
two men, David Harris and William
Warren were let down twenty feet They
A1A AA4NEH GlAA A0HG1F Ma4Nl AAAA AN1A1a
The7 removed the burned timber and
char-ed scantlings, and constructed q
! partition to secure an up and down cur
F! rent Of air. A few minutes previous to
this William Law was let down by a rope
s~eventY-fve feet into the SHAFT, but i'm
mediately gave the signal for hosting
A strong current Of air came from the
opening, carrying with it a thick smoke
and obnoxious gases. Preparations for
the rescu Of the miners continued to be
pushed with the greatest vigor until
1890, when, as above stated, the first
man was reached. The fire originated
from spontaneous combustion, by the
friction Of the woodwork Of the break
er.
Martin Cox, one of the miners taken
ont alive, makes the following state
ment:
ave went in at seven A. NJ. My
brother Robert cut through from one
air way to another, and turned in the
gas, and six miners came out with him
before their shaft was up. The air was
so bad they couldn't work. This was
about fifteen minutes before the fire,
and seven miners came up to the topfve
minutes before the fire wa discovered.
The first intimation we had Of the fire
was a sound through the mine rs if there
was 81 explosion Of gas. An English
miner said, 1T is fire. We were then
working about fifty yards from the bot
tom Of the shaft on the west side. I
then ran TO the bottom Of the shaft and
saw the fire coming down. I ran back
and told my comrades that we are all
lost; the shaft is on fire. We were sew
en- IN all. We then ran to the foot Of the
shaft and the burning timbers were COM
ing down, We threw N the water to put
out the fire, and the smoke became so
intense that we were nearly suffocated.
Dense volumes came down the shaft and
filed the place. We then a over to
the west side, in the direction Of the riv-
er bridge, down the slODe and got in at
the door, with eleven others, making
eighteen in ali. In that place the smoke
came in upon us so badly that we gath
cred up q COB o fire stuff from the track
and plastered up the cracks Of the door,
and also stuffed Goals in the holes, which
stopped the smoke for some time. We
now had time for thought and reflection.
] No one expected to see daylight again,
and we said it was a second Avondale.-
We all sang hymns and prayed, calling
upon God in His mercy to save US. We
all felt doomed and beyond human aid.
We ran back and forth through the gang
way for fresh air. At 3:l5 2. NJ, Pat
rick Farley fell on the ground twice, and
was found dead when b men came into
the place after fire. I then went over to
the west side for my coat to help stop out
the smoke, as we would all be suffOcated
very soon. The men then passed me,
earring back their comrades who were
] dying in their arms. There were more
men outside the doors crying out in
distress and anguish, calling uDOn God
for safety and succor. None expected to
come out alive. The mules were kick
ing and neighing.
A boy told his father with a horrible
crying, we will come out safe, and il
I we must die, let US die like men, Faith
er and son both came out alive. At T:3O
P. NJ, I became ~insensible and remained
so until I was brought out by my broth
er Robert, about five O'Clock on Sunday
morning"
Cox is an intelligent Irishman aged
about D years.
PTTTsToN, May 29.-EVery man who
was taken out Of the pit alive, yesterday
morning, is in imminent danger. Most
Of them can live but a few hours, andEa
few Of them are dead this morning. It
is impossible at this moment to obtain
the names of those who have died to-day,
but the physicians in attendance now
emphatically declare that not one Of
those thought to be rescued can recover
from the injuries sustained.