American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1877-11-17
DEATH IN THE PIT.

The Horrible Disaster at the High Blan-
tyre COlliery, Scotland, by Which $50
Lives were Lost.
From the London Telegraph, Oct. %
The little colliery village of High
Blantyre, near Hamilton, to-day was
the scene of most terrible colliery dis
aster. By this catastrophe, unparalleled
in the history of Scotch mining, it is
reckoned that fully 200 lives have been
lost, though the number who have per-
-ished can only be approximately deter
mined. This morning/about O'Clock
the men employed at Messrs. Dixon's
collieries, High Blantyre, departed to
their usual work, 126 men descending
the shaft of the pit known as No. 2,
while 107 entered pit No. 3. Statutory
communication exists between these
pits, and it seems that before the disas-
ter occurred number of men were en-
gagged removing stoops in the splint OF
the lower seam of No. 2 pit. This op-
Grafton is always regarded as hazardous,
and it appears that, with culpable and
almost inexplicable recklessness, the
hands employed to-day made use Of
naked lamps. While the men
were engaged in blasting in
the splint of No. 2 pit, about O'Clock,
an appalling explosion of fire-damp oc-
CURED, which spent itself in the shaft
of No. 3 pit. The explosion was at
tended by a sound resembling the loud
est thunder, flames burst forth at the
head of the shaft of No. 8, and dense
volumes of smoke rolled up from the
entrance to pit No. 2. Fragments of
coal and timber and clouds of dust were
shafts, large quantities of debris being
shot for a great height into the air.
The deSfening sound of the explosion
Immediately attracted large crowd to
the scene of the calamity, and with all
possible celebrity relief gangs were or
ganized, and every effort was made to
restore ventilation to the mines. An
hour, however, elapsed before air could
again be admitted to the pits, and all
efforts to descend the shaft of No 3
were found to be impracticable. Four
men then strove to enter No. 2 pit, but
were unable to proceed along the splint
seam from the damp, and after per-
severing at the imminent risk of their
lives, were brought up in a fainting con-
dition to the surface, one of them,
named Thomas Laidlaw, being, it is
feared, very seriously injured. Not
withstanding this, however,
ANOTHER RELIEF GANG
was Immediately formed, and the new
party of volunteers, after advancing
short way from the foot of the shaft,
found the bodies of six men, dreadfuIly
charred and disfgured, which were at
once drawn up to the bank. Although
a constant stream of water was poured
down the shaft that the reserve party
might be in measure relieved from the
noxious effects of the damp, the new re-
lief gang were finally forced to desist
from their perilous mission, and so Sc
riously were several of them affected
by the deadly atmosphere which they
had been inhaling that they had, on re-
turning to the surface, to be covered
with earth to free them from the influ-
ence of the choke-damp. Fresh bands
of volunteers at once took up the task
of exploring the workings, and several
other bodies, mostly mutilated beyond
recognition, were recovered. The cloud
of smoke which at first foated over the |
scene of the catastrophe cleared away,