New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-18
SEVENTY MEN BURIED IN A MINE.
,p,r.11AND SLIDE AT DIAMOND, ILL.

AF.TAI, LAND SLIDE AT DIAMOND, ILL.
rr,r n,s.srrp CAUSED BY THE ACCUMULATION oP
,y,rpp FROM THE RECENT STORMS AND THAws.
p,.nwoon III Feb. 1.-THE disaster yesterday
by which seventy persons we're killed IN mine ny
1o,d slide has caused great sorrow here. The
place where the accident occurred was In inc hoi'n
east side Of shaft No. 2 of the Wilmington Coal
Mining and Manufacturing COmpany's mine. lhiS
company is one of four which form the wilmington
Coal Association. Each company employs ltS own
men. has its individual mines and transac's ouSi,
ness privately, but all the coal mined Is ''inou
over to the association, which dlsposeS Oh IT, s's
back to each company proper proportion oi 'n0
proceeds 1t is pooling arrangement anu the Cum
NAMES forming this association, or pool, are Vno
Chicago, Wilmington and Vermiiiion Coal Cohi,
pany. which has three shafts; the Eureka ooai
Comnanv two shafts the Wilmington Coal Mining
and Manufacturing Company. two shafts; ana Vne
Wilmington Star Coal Company OF Coal CITY, TWO
shafts. The three Lrst mehtioncu cohP""i0' Wv
Braidwood.
These mines were the first to sink shafts IN TINS
norton of the country sixteen years ago. Inc
shaft IN which tho accident occurred mas peeh
working for the past eight years IL Is sltua'eu a'
Diamond little village about four miles south-
west of Wilmington and two miles northwest Vi
Bradwood The country there is as level as noor'
| with perhaps slight inclination towards tho
mines. The sudden thaw and heavy rainfall nave
transformed the prairie into lake Tor miles ana
miles About Diamond the water stands from SIX
| inch TO three feet IN depth. with scarcey any
| warning there suddenly appeared an opening from
| the surface of the earth into the mine. lho sur
face being covered with water it took only short
time for the water to permeate the entire inine'
drowning all who were unable get out before the
| thpu
! shaft seventy-five feet deep sunk into the
earth At righ, an gles TO this two main galleries
| were run nearly parallel with the surface
| of the earth and about sevcnty-five feet he
| low ii. From these main galleries nafro"
spurs or gangways are dug out III various direc-
| tions The spurs rise and fall with the ledRe OF
coal sometimes rising TO within twelve or fifteen
| feet of the surface. Ii at such point, very
| near the top, where the break occurred
| While yIng on their backs picking away at the
| coal above. the earth must have fallen upon the
miners Through the opening thus made, the water
poured in filing one gangwav after another. and
cutting of escape 10 the central shaft There was
little time to give an alarm for soon after tine break
occurred. every avenue of escape cut of. The
galleries were low and narrow, and only by pain
! fuIlv slow crawling could the victims escape. No
| noise accompanied the rising of the water and the
| first indication of their danger. to many OF the
miners was thrilling sensation of cold water trick
ling along the pathway in which they lay ut Work.
There was an air shaft offering an additional avenue
| of escape OF which many availed themselves hut
| the water came too rapidly 10 allow all 10 rcach
| il The mine was not considered especially dan
! gerous thOugh break ha occurred once pri"re AT
about the same place. In order To rcach the bodies
| Mir Fordyce general manager of the company. has
gone TO the scene of the disaster with two steam
| numps IL is said that an effort viii be made 70
| reach the mine from shaft No. |, but there Is not
,bo Ia
Tnc ,vagcs Maid averaged between $50 and $75
| a month and the majority uf the men owned their
| b.w.s There viii be- .uifrTiDg but the miners AS a
| class are not imprOv!dcnt, The majority ot the
| workers under-round are iorcighers-Engilsn'
One more maine was added TO the list of vict inns
to-night-ihat of II. Eads. Work was continued All
| nighi last night. twenty teams aud 100 men Frre
! hari AT work building dam. large number oi
proplc have been at the scene to-day watching the
developments. The. company Is constantly IN
receipt OF inquiries from all parts oi
th, country asking il some one l. safe. FlVe more
| sink holes have been discovered. Ihc engineer
VISITED the scene to-day lie estimated the amount
of water in the mine at several miion barrels ana
with the present pumping capacity II VIII iak'
twenty-five days 10 pump out the sbait. Morc
pumps are expected soon. On MONDAY, Sup'Ilh-
| ;cndeuts Sweet Cherry aud FcrdSe Wlll Visit thc
scene and consult TO the best ana quickest means
of recovering the bodies. No pains and expense
will be- spared Special services viii w Hciu III 'n'
churches Tomorrow.
JnIIEr. H.. Feb 1.-THE number drowned IS
|
the families VINO sutler of foreign birth ami
have been residents of this country only a snort
time The urall1es about the shafts are a Wlde
waste of water. some persons blame the corpora,
| tlon for the disaster, because more eApenencod
man wa not kept at the bottom OF the shaft, hose
duty il is to watcn the pumps aud sound an alarm
i'm casr of danger. Thomas Daily. n new hand'st0od
| Al the post and when he saw the waei
| gaining on him, instead of sounding the alarm he
rushed to the top oi the shaft to Zee II the pump
80 - cor1 non his return he found the wafer
up to ms waist. He then directed the dnye[ tC
rim hack and escape by the air shaft, and yell e
ibc men He saved one boy, all that h. could reach
and then ascendcd ami sounded the steam whistle,
| winch called out the villagers
| When tnc company heard of the accident the
manners at once telrgi iaphcd 10 have as many
! dnnkry pumps AZ could Ue collected sent out "a
| ossst In removing the water from the nine. In
| then organized movement 10 render
aid TO those who were IN the mine. lhel
. | eVauincd and found the eartn cayed IN nearly III
the same spot that it had on previous occasions
Welded TO the weight OF water that reStet
mon lt The families were looked up an,
| everything done was done To assist them. one oI
| the saddcst features of the case is the fact tina
mos of the drowned men were men with iamiile