The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-02-20
r,,rrxLrxors MINE HORROR.
,s. Particulars seven'y-seven VIC
r.. r,sb, With the wa,crs-Eape-
-. os sc.nc Who Escaped.


go bni Judging from what has been
!, r,in fake considerable time to COM
gu II Neither In this work nor in any
pp,hcr i there any appearance OF interest.
thousand men competent to handle the
- ,oicbt have been secured as readily
.,s.,, sor the work. Instead OF hauling
a., .cross the intervening space, ana
$40 the horses through The ice,
,a,,snorary track might have been
n,,,It i'm two hours. All the matcrlals-ties,
al. and dunn. cars-are on hand, but IN
hannily there is no directing brain availa-
~ Hundreds % men stand idly by whom
a word from one in authority would set TO
,.oyk II Is not indifference on the part OF
r.cse men. for all OF them are miners or the
ycls.;yes al miners, and all would labor
no,ly n only shown i'm what way they
couiI De useful. The faculty OF organic
toc his inert force Is missing. The truth
,,,,.t be fold. even though il mag hurt men
WHO already have enough upon their hands
20 turn fhcm crazy, and the truth Is that
,bo mine authorities have lost their heads.
Tto,noS Smith. one Of the miners at
,,ort in the mines. gave his experience as
follows. 81 went into the mine about 6
o'clock. and made my way at once 10 the
cve.. din about one mile from the shaft.
when arrived at my layout | went to
work. after making some observations on
the strength OF the roof, as it is my custom
90 do With me there was working man
whose name | do not know. About II
O'Clock we ate our dinner, and had Just
Lcoiu 10 make a new insertion into the seam
whom The voice Of the driver, Joe Kelley,
WAS heard not far away calling out
that the water was coming into The mine.
had been I'm the mine when twas Hooded
in 1870. and so | knew Of the danger that
we must run II we stopped 10 block up our
coal. a. some OF the men did, and so we
made for the shaft, mile distant, at the
Ton az our speed. As yet ! had seen no
water. and was Just beginning TO think
I would get out safe and dry, when heard
a rushing sound Of moving water, end IN
few seconds wave OF water about one and
a half feet high came rushing around US.
compelling Us 10 retire before it TO place
moi FAR from where we had started and
where another side gallery led 10 the ar
shaft. Spurrcd on by the belief that escape
was almost impossible, we ran as hard as
we could down the crooked passage, bob
hing ND and down on tho undulating sur
face OF The roadway. When we were
about two hundred feet from the man
shaft the wafer again struck us, and quickly
rose IN n dep,h Of three feet--so high,
indeed. that it was utterly impossible for
us 10 make any speed. Near the air-shait
There are several places where the passage
dipped and then rose again. forming pit
between each rise Of the roadway. When
we reached this place the water was so high
that we had 10 swim across these holes, and
in doing 80 we iammed our heads against
the roof. Almost iaintIng from exhaustion,
we at last came out at the air-shait and
were helped up the stairs by willing hands.
forgot To say that when ] was nearly up
10 the shaft / came across two boys who
were swimming in the same direction |
was going. They cried out TO me 10 help
them. for they were tired out; but knew
INV only hope was in rapid move, and so
was compelled 20 leave them behind TO
perish.v Smith was the last man who ever
came out Of the mine alive, and he was as
happy a man as could be found anywhere.
Thomas DAILY, who was employed as
"cagcman " in the Diamond, was the
man who first discovered the rise Of water
m the shaft. In speaking Of the accident
he made the following statement: 81 am
regularly employed as 'cagcman' by the
Chicago and Wilmington Coal Company,
and was in charge Of the cage at he time
the accident happened. II was about 1880
when first became conscious that some
thing was wrong. was seated on an empty
car awaiting the arrival OF 'pusher,' when
saw wave Of dirty-loOking water COM
Ing down the dimly-lighted passage
10 the east where ! sat. / thought
nothing Of il at first, for water had often
before come in to the depth OF a foot and
been pumped out without any trouble.
Thinking that all that was necessary was to
get up some more steam i'm the engine that
was running the pump, gave the signal
and the paSsengcr-car descended, and i was
hOlsied 10 The surface. i at once went to
the engine-house and ordered on more
steam, but found that the engine was then
carrying all that she could stand. / then
went 10 the ear. and was going TO warn
the men that they had better come out
Of the mine until the water had sub
sided. When the car struck the SUFFICE Of
the water it began to sink, and before could
have chance 10 pull the hosting signal |
was up 10 my waist in water. The peril
OF the situation then came over me, and |
was almost paralyzed as | thought OF the
terrible consequences that would attend
such a sudden rising OF water; but. rcco-
L
the 'pushers' to warn the men OF the i'm
pending danger. ] then went into the
dark passage q short distance TO where
there was gate or trap, and there sue
cceded in libeTating young 'trapDer;
who was pinned in by the pressuTF Of the
water holding the trap shut. by this time
the water Wa up 10 my neck, and saw
nothing further could be done in that di-
rection. | could hear the men as
they ran toward the main air-shafl, and
was In hope that all would get out
in safety. All OF a sudden 4 occurred TO
me that ny brother was at work in the air.
shaft, and 50 as quick as | could get to the
surface | ran TO the shaft, a distance OF
about 100 feet, and descended the steps. in
tent on finding out whether he had escaped
or not. When | got 10 the bottom OF the
shaft the water was about three feet deep
and was boiling and seething as though
riled up by some internal agent. / went
into the main corridor as far as | could
and was met by two men, who said John
had been saved. IL can be imagined that a
great load was lifted off my mind when ]
heard this. and in company with the men
we made a run for the shaft, where we ar
rived SAFELY"
The dam around the siuk-hOle is about
hall completed. 1t is expected that it will
be finished tomorrow, and that the work
OF pumping out the water viii be begun.
Doubts are expressed as 10 whether the
dam, rs IL is being built, will be strong
enough 10 resist the water from the sur
rounding prairies after the pumping be-
gins, and IL may become necessary to dig q
ditch 10 Goose lake, distance Of fiye
lgItFn Of no ~
ter out can be successfully carried on. The
Mayor OF Braidwood has called mass