The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-02-16
A FIRE UNDERGROUND.
TURNING OF a CoAL MINE

DOnN1NO OE IL OOAL
A COAL NINE AT Usage, KS, ON FIRB-THE
TERRIBLE SCENES wITNESSED-THIRTY-
TWO PERSONS IMPRISONED IN THE BOWELS
OF THE EARTH-A WONDERFUL ESCAPE.
The correspondent Of the Kansas City
inst, gives very full and graphic account
OF the fire in the coal mine at that place,
from which the following extracts are taken:
Having its very inception in the interests
surrounding coal and coal mining, Usage
City years since became to Middle Kansas
as Scranton TO Pennsylvania and the great
coal regions of the Keystone State. Here
are settled In life from 600 to 500 strong
sturdy men, who in the bowels of the earth
delve, the day long, emerging from
the narrow, dingy burrows OF the mine at
night only 10 return the next morning
! These men are, for the most part, heads OF
families, their plain but neat hsbitations
dotting the evenly rolling prairie land on
either side of the railroad track that centers
through the mining region. What wonder
/ then that to-day when the first fearful rIl-
mors of dire disaster at the Usage Com
psny's mine startled the entire town as it
never was before. Then, when in plain
sight shot up the great lurid Jet Of flame
/ from the mouth of the shafts, hearts for the
|
a death blow. An instant later, and from
every avenue, lane and byway there poured
| forth men, women and children; the men
with blanched faces, women screaming, and
children, frightened 1T what they knew not,
| clingiDg to skirts. Business ceased as
though lightning had striczen commerce to
the earth. In ten minutes time thousand
people crowded about the mouth of the
shaft, forgetting the intensity of the cold,
thinking only of the men buried 80 feet
under ground, entOmbed, as it WERE in the
| tomb down to which they had gone but
few hours before In full possession cflifs and
strength. Women, bareheaded, unshswled,
rushing from their homes st the signal note
of alarm, with no thought Of self, surged
about the outside of the circle of men at the
mouth OF the shaft, wringing their hands in
awful anguish, beseeching in agOniZing tone
for some words of comfort, of hope and assur-
ance that, instead of horribly disfgured
bodies, there would again come forth from
the mines loved ones strong in health as
when they went down. The winter drought
that, for week upon week, has continued so
necessarily. proved almost q calamity of
itself, as the wells throughout this entire
section were hardly wet, let alone affording
such supply as required in SO terrible an
emergency.
THE CRY FOR WATER
for time proved unsvsiliHg, but soon 1t
commenced running from all sides, men,
women and children bringing from kitchen,
chamber and store such as could be carried
by epailful, pitcherlul, basnful-anything
and everything in fact that could be grasped
by hand. AS fast as brought TO the scene,
down it went with barrel upon barrel
of salt, the flames Kissing back their
defiance. For two hours was this battle so
uneven fought fiercely, and thsn came the |
engine of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa |
Fe, her tank full TO the brim. The engi- |
neer waited not TO be asked |
Tor the liie-giving water, and with |
all haste possible it was showered down the |
shaft. just at this time, when the men |
above were pouring in the water and salt as
RAPIDLY as it could be handled, there occurred
an incident that no man of those present /
would have believed could happen. Rising |
out of the flame and smoke, singed by fire, |
blackeped by smoke, and saturated with |
wat, and salt, Thomas X. Jones reached the |
edge of the shaft, and there, at the very |
threshold of life, would have sank back to |
death had not eager hands dragged him be- |
yond the danger, For second the crowd |
looked upon him, then upon the blazing, |
smoking shaft, hardly believing their |
ewes that told them of this mans |
coming alive from such a place. |
The next second eager questions /
fell from nervous lips. What of his COM
rades? Might the crowd have spoken as
well to man of stone, for Jones lay in the
arms of his friends in a dead faint. How he |
escaped with his lite through the awful or
deal by fire is still looked upon as next to
miracle. From the mouth of the Shaft 10 its |
foot there ran rude ladder, up and down /
which the miners passed when not using |
the hosting cart. To this ladder Jones |
rushed the moment he learned his peril, |
and, though the flames scoTched him and |
the smoke blinded and choked him, the /
very ladder itself on fire, he reached the
earth above, suffering no material harm. he /
states tonight that the
WATER AND SALT
emptied down the shaft so theoretically /
saved him. He decl AIRED that at about every |
step the water and salt tell upon him just |
as the fire and smoke almost suffocated, |
thus refreshing and reviving him TO one
more effort Until his head and shoulders
appeared. not man above for moment |
dreamed of any any one coming up the lad |
der. Jones, even after recovering conscious
ness, could give no definite tidipgs OF
the others, and 1t was not
until fully an hour after his res
cue that anything. of the tate of his
fellow miners was learned. Finally the
flames were got under such control as per-
mitted those above to get near enough to /
the shaft to yell down, and in answer came
the assurance that two more at the least /
were within saving hand. The excitement
at this time battles description; the crowd |
surged about the shaft almost wild with /
fsverish suspense as to who the two were,
and it was with extreme difficulty that the /
words from below could be heard. Salts |
fed that the two were strong enough to |
retain their hold long enough to be raised,
a ladder was fastened to the end of strong
rope and lowered down. One at
time the men were speedily run to the sur
face, their appearance being crested with
Oats OF joy. Though faint from the effects
of smoke, they were able to answer some OF