Morning journal and courier., 1880-09-03
THE SOUTH.
Virginia.

Terrific Mine ExplOsion-Men Blown Around Like StraYs.
 SHENANDOAH, Sept 2.-Yesterday after
 noon at 4:3O o'clock short time before the
 men engaged inside the Kelley colliery mine
 had intended quitting work, an explosion of
 carburetted hydrogen took place, which
 proved terrific in it's results. It will be
 membered that this is the colliery which has for some time past been burning, and that
 work in effort to extinguish it has been ac- lively going on. The circumstances con
 nected with the explosion are as follows:
 party of men were engaged in building bat
 tery across the gangway, which was to be supplement to several other constructions of similar nature, when the explosive gas,
 knownsto them, began leaking through the crevices of the coal, and, gathering rapidly was ignited by their lamps and exploded with great violence. The force of the blast can be best estimated when it is stated that the l men were blown around the gangway like straws, and that the door of the travelingway on | the surface was shivered to atoms. Workmen engaged around the mines heard the concus- 1 sion The news of the event spread rapidly, l and in less than an hour after the occurrence l two thousand men, women and children were 1 on the scene AS yet nobody knew the ex- l tent of the damage and wives and mothers | whose husbands and sons were in the ] mine screamed and tore their hair with grief. | A party of volunteers descended into | the mine, and in a short time afterward re- ] turned with two of the men in the mine, 1 both of whom were unconscious. They r were Superintendent Hemingway and David | Linkham After these George Ormrod, as- 1 sistant superintendent, and Thomas Baird, l inside boss, were brought up The former l escaped with gash in the chin and fracture 1 of the ankle. The latter was unconscious. ! Motts, Beck and John Jones were next l brought to the surface. The body of Simon Gregory, assistant boss, cannot be found, 1 notwithstanding that persistent search is be- l ing made for it. A number of physicians 1 were in attendance on the surface and in 8 few hours Hemingway and Linkham were l brought to consciousness. Gregory is un- doubtediy dead, and it is expected his body
 will not be found before tomorrow. The water is up to the batteries, which greatly | impedes the men in their search.
 l Maritime Subjects Under Discu ssfon. NORFOLK, Sept. 2.-The board of steam
 navigators met this morning, E. W. Gould
 of St. Louis in the chair An interesting let ter was read from Surgeon General Hamilton, 1 of the United States Marine Hospital service, 1 in which he states that out of ?, 87O pilots ex
 amined for color blindness sixty five failed to
 pass If, 46S seamen were physically inca pacitated last year for sea service; 24,7SO l sailors were treated in the marine hospital 1 last year. The board recommended 8 nation al snug harbor for seamen and frst-elass marine hospital at New York. The abolition of compulsory pilotage discussed, and | the board adhered to it's former action 1 questing Congress to enact universal law l governing pilot rates and regulations. The l board by resolution asks Congress to foster | the system of training schoolships for naval | and mercantile sailors. Delegates were ap- 1 pointed to the convention of shipowners to | be held at Boston October 6.