The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1881-05-21
BURIED FOR A WEEK.
A Coal Miners Awful Expert ence---A Reminis-
cence of the Carbonate Disaster of 1916.


Coal Miners Awful Experimental Remins-
cence of the CarbondaIe Disaster of 1916.
! [scranton, Pa, Dispatch, May ~
John Hosie, veteran coal operator,
| the hero of the Carbonate mine disaster.
of 1916, died here to-day. He was well
known throughout the anthracite region
as superintendent of c0llieries, but his
principal prominence was gained by his
thrilling adventure in the mines OF the
Delaware and Hudson Canal company,
at the head of the Lackawanna Valley,
Sc years ago, when he was imprisoned
for week IN the bowels of the earth and
was given up for dead The disaster oc-
CURED on the morning of January II,
| 1916, about an hour after the men had
gone to work. First there was a rum
| bling sound like that of distant thunder,
and this was followed by the collapse of
about SO acres of mine along the noun
tain-side, filling the underground gal
leries with death and terror. Fifty
miners were instantly killed where they
stood. Others were imprisoned III their
narrow chambers, where their skeletons
were found weeks afterward, the rats
having stripped tho flesh from their
| bones.
AS soon as Hosie recovered from the
first shock of the collapse he found HIM
self face downward, tightly wedged into
a narrow crevice, with scarcely room
enough to breathe. Being man of
iron will, and having had great experience
in mining matters, his first resolve was
that he should not die without a strug-
! gle. He set to work with bis fingers to
pick away among the debris, and when
he had made an aperture wide enough
to drag his body through, he was dis
mayed by a Violent connection among
the rocks around him, which resulted in
barring his way. For the first time he
was disheartened. He must have been at
work twenty-fOur hours to earn that
slender means of hope, and he realized
feeling of despair at finding it cut off.
The grinding of the rocks caused him
fresh fear lest they would finally crush
him III his narrow resting place. It was
with great suffering that LIE managed to
mhale some air from the crevices through
which it was pumped by the action of
the ragged mass overhead. A terrible
thirst came over him, and the only thing
he had to allay it with was the oil in his
lamp, which he drank eagerly. After
lying IN this cramped position for some
time, working with his fingers to force
way through, he was Mortified to find
that he had worn the flesh to the bone,
/ and the intense pain prevented further
operations of that kind Then there was
another movement. The rocks and the
narrow fissure widened, making a way
through which he could creep on hands
and knees. Every minute IN that ter
nble darkness seemed an eternity of
time, but it was some relief when he
| discovered at length place III which he
could stand erect He knew he was in
side the fall, that is, next the mountain,
and that between himself and the out
side world lay all that shattered mass of
1ock and coal. A fruitless effort was
made to reach an air-shaft Then Mr.
Hosie thought that by feeling his way
IN the rocks and learning thereby the
direction of the break, he might make
his way to the main entrance For
several hours he grouped about to as
certain the desired information. Swarms
of rats rushed squealing, past him, and
ON various occasions he feared they
would fall upon and devour him, but he
managed to fight his way successfully,
eeAA,t "O 1NLASooL S5NNt IlltO tllC lllotI1
entrance he had SO eagerly sought. Here
his thirst was overpowering, and, meet
ing little pool of water, he lay down
and put his lips to it, after which he
was so completely overcome that he
could not rise again. He was discovered
in that position soon afterward by a
party of miners, and carried to his home.
where his wife had been mourning him
for dead. The clothing was torn from
his body, his fnger-tips were worn to the
bones, and he presented a sorry specta-
Gle, but after careful nursing rallied
again, and soon afterward engaged in
mining.
He has filled several large railroad
contracts at various times, and in 1853
built portion of the Covington & Ohio
railroad in Virginia, for which that state
still owes him $4,000. He was also in
terested as a mine owner in this county
and in Schuylkill, and was known
as a man of great force of character.
Mr.. Hosie was born in Stirlingshire
Scotland, in 1912, and was a splendid
type of the hardy, Industrious Scottish
race, which has done so much to develop
the coal fields of Pennsylvania.