Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-05-29

FIRST DISPATCH.
PIFTsToN Pa, May 27.-The West Pittston
shaft, owned by the Lehigh Valley railroad and
worked by Blake & Co., of New York. is burn.
ing. There is only one outlet. The scene about
the shaft is one of great distress and anguish.
Two fire engines one from Scranton and one
from Wilkes6arre, are on the ground. 1t is
thought no water will be thrown into the shaft
from the top, but it is said the shaft will fill with
water within twenty-four hours, so that even If
they are not sutfiocated the poor fellows must
drown. There is, apparently, no escape for
| them. From thirty to forty men and boys are
in the mine. The fire engines are playing on the
| ruins, which are so hot that no one can proba-
| bly, approach them before morning.
SECOND DISPATCH.
| Ecening-A dog has just been sent down the
shaft of the mine, and has been brought up
| alive, which fact encourages the belief that the
men may yet be saved. 1t has now been ascer-
tanned to a certainty that there are thirty-seven
| men down i'll the mine. At hali-past six the
| shaft was cleared of the debris and made ready
| for operations. Timbers and pulleys were
| rugged, and dog was let down, as at AvOndale,
| aud drawn up alive about eight o'clock. VIM.
| Law, mining engineer for the Pennsylvania coal
| company, was lowered a distance of twenty-five
| feet, as far as he could penetrate with safety,
! and, when drawn up, reported air at that dis
| lance below the surface favorable for the en-
| tomDcd victims. Every eXerion is being made,
and it is thought that the bottom shaft will be
| reached at midnight, and hopes are entertained
| for the safety of the men. The widest excite
ment prevails throughout the whole valley, and
remains unabated since the mine first took fire.
THIRD DISPATCH.
HidHight-Communcat has at last been
| had with the men in the mine, and it is known
| that all of them are alive, though none have as
| yet reached the surface
FOURTH DISPATCH.
May 2S-2 80 P. M.-All the men who were
thn ~
| the thirty-eight are dead
| At half-past twelve, last night, they succeeded
| IN etfecting an entrance to the bottom of the
| shaft, and brought to the surface Andrew Nor
| gan, who was perfectly insensible. They also
! found Hiram Curtis, dead lying with his face in
| the water.
AT PAS they sent up word that the men had
barricaded themselves in, and sent up the cage
| for more men and tools. This morning the eX-
citement was greater than ever. Up TO eight
| O'Clock this morning, twenty-four men had been
| brought to the top, of whom six were dead, but
| all were insensihle when brought out; but one
or two has so far recovered as to be able to give
| an account of themselves. Morgan, who was
first discovered, is still alive, though his recov-
cry is doubtful. He is still unconscious.
Exploring parties were compelled to proceed
| with the utmost caution, and were frequently
| brought out asphyXated with foul gases. At
| ten A. NJ. thirty men had been brought out, ten
| OF whom were dead, and not more than one or
| two remained in the mine. Every one brought
| up for the past two hours was found stone dead.
| At the scene Of the catastrophe the excitement
| is almost Undesirable. Thousands of people
crowded around the mouth of the pit and with
| dlf1culty were kept outside the rope which was
stretched around the shaft.
| When the fire was discovered, at ten minutes
| past two yesterday afternoon, it was time to
| change shifts, and three carriage loads of n en-
| had been hoisted. The engineer, McDermott,
was soon developed in smoke, but stood to his
! pest bravely. He hOsted the carriage four
| times again, but no men came up. The
| seventh time the rope burned and broke and
| the carriage fell into the shaft. The engineer
could stand no longer. His arms were severely
| burned, and it was with the utmost difficulty
that he escaped with life By this time the
| breaker and the engine house were a mass of
| fire, and by three O'Clock burning debris covered
| the ground. Thousands OF people repaired to
the scene. Fire engines were telegraphed for,
| and brought water in barrels from the Susque-
| hanna, half mile distant A line of five hun
| dred men was formed; buckets were passed
| from one TO the other, and the water was finally
| passed into the shaft out of which dense black
| smoke was continually pouring. Shortly fire
| engines from Pittston, Kingston, Wilkesbarre
and Scranton arrived, and stream of water
was soon playing into the mouth of the mine.
Locomotives were at once engaged in conveying
water in tanks for the fire engines supply, and
by six O'Clock, the heat had been so far eXtin-
guiShed as to allow an inspection of the shaft.
AT eighteen minutes to seven O'Clock a dog
was let down, and, in three minutes, raised
alive. In few minutes he was again let down.
and, after remaining five minutes, was raised
with the same result as before.
At 6 $50, VIM. Law, assistant superintendent
OF the Pennsylvania coal company, went down
seventy-tive feet, with rope around his leg. A
carriage and platform over the mouth of the
shaft were completed, and at T;54, Davis Har-
ris and VIM. Warren, miners, began the descent
iuTO tlp mine rpnairiOU the Oarfitinn
the up cast and the down cast, clearing away
distractions of fallen timber as they went. The
shaft of the mine was two hundred and eighty
feet deep, and the work of rescuing the mper-
illed miners was pushed with the greatest vigor
until, as above stated soon after midnight the
first man was reached and sent up.
The fire was originated by the friction of the
wooden machinery of the breaker, and was com
municate1 to the surrounding wood work by
the oily wrapping in the packing. The shaft
has but one opening, and is in precisely the
same condition as the AYondae shaft was preyf-
GUS to that great disaster. The operators of the
mine were notified about month ago that, ac-
cording to the provisions Of the ventilation bill
no more than twenty miners would be allowed
to work on one shaft until second opening had
been secured, and work upon second shaft was
in progress at the time of the disaster
FIFTH DISPATCH,
Martin Cox, taken out alive, makes the fol-
lowing statements The first intimatiou we had
Vi NI6 was llG eOuHu lulOuSl luS IllHb us IL |
there was an explosion Of gas. English,
miner, said; "There is fire." We were then
working about fifty yards from the bottom of |
the shaft, on the west side | then ran to the |
bottom of the shaft and saw the FIRE coming |
down. | ran back to my comrades, and told |
them; eve are all losti The shaft is on fire." |
We then ran to the foot Of the shaft, and, the |
burning timbers coming down. threw on water |
to put out the fire; the smoke became so intense
that we were nearly sutfocated, Dense volumes |
came down the shaft and filled the place. We |
then ran over to the west side, and got in at the
door with eleven others, making eighteen alto, |
gether in that place,
The smoke came in upon us so badly that we |
gathered up lot Of fine stuff from the rock, 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 |
Ayondale, We all sang hymns and prayed,
calling upon God, minis mercy, to save us, as we
all fet doomed and beyond human aid. We |
ran back and forth through the gaugways for
fresh air,
At 3;15 P. NJ, Patrick Farley fell, groaned
twice, and was found dead when the men came
in the place after the fire, | then went over 10
the west side for my coat to help stop out the
smoke, as we would all be sutfocated very soon.
The men then passed me carrying back their
comrades, who were dying in their arms, More
men were outside the doors, crying out in dis
tress and anguish, calling upon God for safety
and succor,
None expected to come out alive, The mules
were kicking and negbiug. A boy told his
father, with horrible oath, ITO stop praying
and crying; we will come out safe, and if we
must die, let us die like men," The father and
son both came out alive. AT 80 p. NJ. | became
lnsenslble, and remained so until was brought
out by my brother, Robert, about FIVE O'Clock
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