New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-11-17
A HORRIBLE MINE DISASTER
TnE RLANTYRE COLLIERY EXPLOsION

PRECAUTIONS TAKEN TO PkFNENi An ACDTMgfA-
ZION OF GAs-rHg EXPLOSION EFFOkrs TO
SAVE LIFE oyer TWO HUNDRED MINERS
KILLED CAUSE or THE DISASTER.
IRON Az OCcAsioSAL CORRESPONDENT Oy rHg ruBCSRl
LovDoN. Oct. 25-In the long record Of disasters
in British mines there i5 only one that caused tho
loss Of 50 many lives as the explosion at High Ban-
tyre, Monday, October %. The only comparable
disasteT-one which heads the list IN loss Of life
occurred at the Oaks Coliery, near Barnsley,
1866, and ca15ed the loss OF 80 lives. Barnsey is
village in York, about Gig 1t miles northOf Shelf
field. High Bantyre. the OF the last di-asts 4
by which y men and boys were killed. u situated
the valley Of the Cl,de amid some Of the finest
scenery in western Scotland. Across the valley
from the pits mouth is the Giants Tower Of Both
well, the crownng ornament Of n castle famed in
the wars of the Coyenanters and landmark in
Scottish history well-known alike 10 tourists and
antiquaries. II is said indeed. that tho numerous
structures connected with extensive mining opera
tons IN this vicinity. have fortunately not dis.
figured the landscape and writer ln The Guardian
declares that the neghoorhool Of High B.antyrs
would Offer n fair illustration for q discourse on
Beauty not Incompatible with Labor
On the day preceding the explosion. severe
storm, with record If very low barometer, passed
over the British Islands. and the loves. point n
barometric depression was IN Scotland. The fact
that there is greater danger Of the escape Of ire
damp when tie alr-prcssure is unusually low has
been fully recognized in British mining regulations.
II is also well known that there is greater risk If
the accumulation Of that gas in intervals
when the mincis not worled,as for instance between
Saturday I'D Monday. Care seems to have been
taken with reference 70 both these dangers, Tor
worllmen were sent down into the mine shortly be-
fore Sunday, midnight and reported The work free
from gas ami before / O'Clock on the fatal morning
the liremasters and The underground managers de-
seconded INTO the pits and examined the ventilation.
Their report was wholly favorable. 4 partial
record Of their exploration. with tie date October
%, has since been found written with chalk. m
some of the more remote parts Of pit number 3. IS
to pit number p the fr.uaster and Inspector DO not
live to tell whether their work done with equal
flithfulncss.
Of the three openings to the mine. pit / was m
old one. only partly in use; was the upcast shaft
for ventilation, 3 the dJwnca,t; their depths
were from 500 to 900 feet; the shortest passage m
the mine between shaft, . AID q. was about 500
feet. Three furnaces promoted the work II yeuf'ia-
tiou, and it was c- lltcl that 100000 cubic feet
Of air per minute were passed through the mine.
How thoroughly all parts Of the workings wero
reached by ventilation cannot now be asrcrt1iucd.
In general, the management Of the mine was re-
gard us good the ventilation was supposed to be
conducted on sound scientific nri cipes; there has
been no accident for four years, while the mine has
been constantly wor"ed
Last Monday morning 233 men and boys de-
cended into the mine. ADolt tire, hours after
ward-between AMI o'ciock--the neighborhool
was startled by a noise ike thunder. which was
heard a mile away. Dense volumes Of black smoke
were seen to issue from shaft 2 while from shaft
g. sheets OF flame shot up, followed by shower of
earth stones. aud fragment, of the cages amt OF tho
wooden brattice that had lined tn pit. II Is known
that "a number Of men were employed m removing
whatare technically known rs the stoops o. the
lower seam OF shaft p which would have finished
their labors at tha; point OF the two theories toac-
CONT for the firing OF the gas, one Is that "afa
consequence Of blasting ia taking oat a
"stoop"; the other is that the -as vas
fired from the naked lamps which TIE
miners carried in their hats. In the cyldo 90
since taken. some miners say flat naked lamps
were used Ia removing stoops. and Other, deny
this: one miner says tha. hc had himself fred
shots" and THAI once. when lhus engaged iu bhsi-
ing. d.. nId a cluIt-sUYH cred lamp. HUd beng ap-
proach.d by - boy carrying naked lann hr lnrc-
dlaiely left Che place y" clear ihot1aiIo. throws
hight on tie question ass to "htuc. iht -ieat volume
OF mLdGn al c "a INST issued ID ulu-t iaNe 'rtn
cuoUuous as the iarc trayri-ed the -al,"fi'- 'r-
tween th- shafts before hndNG rNl 81 uulnHrr
g. where men working at Or. pits mouth WOO
stricken down pad eeurchod. I'D. passages gu iHe
MINI. ,y..r. q demolished by f.. EXPLOSION and They
and shaft 3 were completely blocked, While .hatt
WIS iii-d with the fatal cuoh'-uanp tnai follows
the flame. There Was 800 Lack OF brave lu.l lu irk
their lives by descent into tir avail liable -h1li, ab
the most energetic eh'lt> were lhl'' IT'D i'.fI NV
who might be living. Bat communications below
were wholly obsrucied, and The Gleat ualouiY OK
tIo ucoulr iu the mine Nrr doubt -s -tflHrtt"d hY
choka-ll1p near fI. BOTTOM Of shaft .. where iheY
could not be reached. Ont OF fhe 2b3. who were en-
tomJed, only twenty-five were rescued, aId i"" *
those brought out alive q. ID sIOr.iN aIirrNuri,.s
Eighteen of those who escaped wen ~ Woih "a
shaft !. There are two or three hundred onc-toy
brick dwellings ~ NuprrI'i, TWO miles away, "ltie
the miner, lived. The blinds OF every on" If tho-e
house, weg. closely drawn I'D the !ay after the cN-
p,osiou; not family in that village escaped be-
reIYement
Here, then. was mine fitted with all modern
appliances for safety 10 the men working in ID;
inspected puuctually according 10 the Government
regulations and generally regarded - stc1le
against disaster yet IL has euguiied DO liam" and
sunocaung gases nearly every person DO 70. Science
has provided a salty lamp lor use IN mines Wl,ro
uaammable gases may 81 any time bust forth but
long immunity from accident aa made hcse miners
careless. AMI they took the risk oil using The
ordinary LAMPS. unprotected br wire .lIze Tu,y
alway, viii take th.s risk ID NOT pnvcn..t,
hrrru.o the naked lamps ape handler ior
Ms. and ave more light II seems po>.i-
be too that the great NIX of b'stug in -u'h
q mine Was not mlr, qucAt, AID iAAN nave n'ru l-o
cause Of the inai explosion. There i> Iir'tn...t
enough uof certainty. that some lifg' 1r. urH.l-
t'on of mn lmmabic Las WAS overlooked ODD iIr H"l-
ings inspection. perhaps 200 some oi tIe distant -
tious oi ilc mine, whore uO work U.S. going oN. .'
lesson j. sadly siupie-tf9t 30 maflrr WhIt ,il'-
guards inyen ION and system may supply they mIY
bc uuory set at naugAt by neg ,,t "a enforcing
strict rules.
CfPTIRTYG 4 IJRDFRER