The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-09-24
THE SINKING TOWN.
Hsw Fences, Gardens and Other Property
Disappear.
Particularly Of tho Catastrophe at Mahanoy
Plane, Pennsylvania.

A recent Shenandoah special says: A
couple of New York ladies visiting. at the
house Of Mrs. Mary Crish, at Mahanoy Plane,
10 miles north of this place, were treated to
scene last Thursday night which gives them
new views of life in the coal regions. 1t was
their first visit to the region. and they had
made their visit to mine that day, being
greatly pleased with what they saw of under
ground kfe At halfpast 10 o'clock at night
they were sitting in the house alone awaiting
Mrs. Orish's return on a late train from
leighboring town, when there came sudden
piosion in the back yard. followed instantly
BY quick succession of rumbling, grinding
crashing noises, 'as if" said one who was
present, 1.-THE whole mountain was falling in"
The inhabitants of all the neighboring houses,
who knew the sound well, rushed into the
streets, some half naked, other just
Is they had sprung from their beds,
trembling and crying, waiting to see their
houses 90 down into the chasm which, not
withstanding the darkness of the night, they
knew had formed close in the rear of the
buildings. The houses, however, did not fall
and after a time the people gained courage
enough to remove their household goods, but
none Of them dared occupy their homes
again that night They took refuge in a
more securely situated neighborhood, and
the morning showed the extent of the disas-
ter A fresh hole had been added just north
Of Main street, and their gardens, and houses
and fences had gone down into it.
Your correspondent visited the town to-
day. The hole there was about 125 feet
long by rs feet wide and so feet deep. The
earth was cracked for long distance back
from the edge. There were cracks in the
street itself, and the houses were shaken and
thrown out of place. The people occupied
them during the day. but found other quar-
tors at night, and were all hunting other
houses to remove into-a difficult matter in
that town, for houses are scarce there. The
cause Of the accident was the mining opera
sions of of Miller, Hoch IL Co.'S Stanton col
liery whose workings underlie all this part
of the town. They work the Mammoth
vein, which is 40 feet thick, and
approaches the surface at an angle
of 65 degrees with the horizon. just at this
point, the coal is soft and very much inclined
to run or slip from its position and fall into
the lower workings, while the rock covering
is of shale, rotten and insecure.
At this point the vein is probably 100 feet
below the surface, and, according to the
usual mining experience, the surface ough,
to be secured by natural pillars, but this i:
an exception to ordinary rules. large
part of the town, containing some of the most
desirable properties has already been aban.
doned because of the sinking of the earth
and many more properties are now threaten
cd. The earth is still crumbling down al
the place of the hole, and every now and
then a large mass becomes dislocated and fall
with crash into the deposit
Mining experts say at least 40 feet more o
she surface to the southwark is likely to &c
down, and this will take the houses which
are the best in the place. The fall is sup
posed to have been started by a rush of Goa
in the lower level workings of the colliery
600 feet below the surface, as that in the up
per workings had not mined out at thi
point because of its soft and slippy nature
1t is not known how much damage ha
been done in the mine. but it will not proba
bly, be very much, unless the surface. as tn
miners cali it, should extend to the gangways
which is not feared 1t is raining hard to
night, and this will be likely to cause furthe
falls. So far the surface danger has beer
confined to the properties occupied by Mrs
Crish, John Criens, Jacob Heisler, Michae
Alish and Thomas ODonald. Several other
are considered insecure. All these house
will have to be abandoned. Much propert
in other parts of Mahanoy Valley has bee
rendered insecure in the same way and
similar sinking is looked for daily at Gilber
ton, two miles east of Mahanoy Plane
where block of Is houses is threatened
though the inmates persist in occupyin
them.