The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-05-22
Terrible Accident in q Virginia
Coal Pit.
EIGHT MINERS KILLED.
Heartrending Scene Upon the Re-
covery Of the Bodies.
CAUSES OF THE DISASTER.


RICHMOND, May q, 1870.
Intelligence reached this city this afternoon OF a
terrified county resulting in the loss OF eight lives and
two severely injured, besides number of others
This mine is owned by Mr. r. A. Burrows, OF Albion,
N. Y, Mr.. Oswald Heinrich being tho mining cngi-
CURED precisely at TWENTY-FIVE minutes past T. NJ.
There werc only eleven working in the shaft the
company bong about to wind up their mining prepara
tons preparatory to putting in new fan for tho pur
pose OF aIordng necessary badly needed ventila
ton These eleven mon were working at depth OF
about 700 feet and in a tunnel running horizontally
about 500 feet in eastery direction 1t at tho
end OF this tunnel, which very poorly vcn
tLated, that there had accumulated a large
QUANTITY OF FOUL AIR AND GAS,
which caused the explosion From subsequent invcst
cations and indications 1t is believed that ofhe
fortunate miners probably the foreman must have ven
tured into the region OF this foul with open lamp
which ignitod the gas and caused the accident The
report Inc explosion, tnouSu 30
surface OF the EARTH distinctly heard at distance
OF a mile attracting to tho nearly every
person in tho immediate neighborhood The mining
population quick to discover anything pertaining to
explosion, wero soon Mt the mouth OF the pit
LARGE AND EXCITED CROWD.
It was soon surrounded BY men, women and children
OF every ago and color the frantic and heart
rcnding of tho latter creating OF confusion
and disorder that was painful to witness These poor
people almost instantly realized the fact that tho
miners below must have suffered instant death, and
this added to great excitement and utter OF
the power to do anything by those present Mr..
Oswald Heinrich, tho mining engineer in charge,
was SO overawcd and confused by tho surroundings,
that he seemed to loso all presence OF mind, and,
ike everybody else, was totally helpless Indeed,
so terrible and so awful was tho that everybody
lost
THEIR PRESENCE
in the midst Of death and disaster Fortunately at this
juncture Colonel O'Brcn the manager. and the
proprctors OF the Black Heath coal pits with William
Marshall and John Render, two old and experienced
miners, arrived upon the scene, and boldly and fear
lcssiy the two latter at
DRscxxpED INTO THE PIT.
Immediately upon their arrival at the bottom they
found two men, who wcro apparently dead, but who
they At oncc brought up and were afterward re-
stored 10 consciousness and life These heroic men,
accompanied by miners from tho other pit again
descended, and the
WORK OF EXPLORATION
. fearful condition Wrecked timbers, machinery and
dSoris OF every sort pertaining 10 coal mine.
scattered and piled ovcry direction, and Il requi rod
great exertion 70 reach
Of tho Inflated minera These at last found,
by ono, and At long intervals eight in number, five
being white and three coorcd Among tho killed, Mr.
William Marshal OF tho Black Heath mine, who rem.
dcrcd such efficient and signal In exploring the
disaster, discovered tho body Of his own son, Ohm
Marshal It
SAD AND AWFUL SIGHT
for tho poor father Tho bodies OF the killed presented
terrible appearance being scorched perfectly black
and otherwise SO terribly dsngured TO be barely
recognizable
The body OF James Carroll, tho foreman Of the gang
or sshf" working the tunnel, found about forty
feet from the place where is supposed the explosion
occurred his watch mbedded in his body and the
past ono p NJ All the bodies recovered at vari-
GUS periods from the time the search bcsan but tho
work Of getting them out was not completed until four
this morning Throughout tho coal mining egion OF
Chesterfield the news OF tho catastrophe created
THE Widest EXCITEMENT,
the friends and immediate relatives or tho dead miners
being overwhelmed with grief The following arc the
NAMES OF KILLED.
James Carroll, foreman white.
Charles Holder, white.
John Marshal, white.
Thomas Golden, white.
Robert Hall, white.
Joseph Hendly, colorcd.
william Norris, colored
Phillip Elliott, colored.
4 MEETING
was called to-day by the Masons and Odd Fellows OF
Manchester and the coal factories take steps for the
in,ermcnt Of the deceased miners Work will be en-
place.
CAUSE rnE ACCIDENT
Among experienced and old miners tho accident Is
attributable to csrcessncss and pcnuriousncss
nf fho n