The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-03-24
ANOTHER MINING HORROR.
The Light or q Naked lamp Causes q
Terrible Explosion six Men Probn.
bly, Fatally Burned.

A Pottsville. Pa, special to the Phlladel
phia Times. dated Thursday, says: sis
miners were ~drcadfully burned and other
wise injured by an explosion Of gas in
Packer Coiliery, No. ,. this afternoon,
The nine, n OF the largest IN the Schuyl-
kill region, Is midway between Lost creek
and shenandoah, which are six miles apart.
After dinner William McAndrew, Mar
tin Toohey, James Murray. james Light
man, his son. William Lightman. and an
unknown Pole lett the foot OF the shaft and
went TO a breast an eighth OF n mile away.
All carried "Dayy" lamps. The breast
they were working in contained some gas,
and adj dining breasts were chokcd win II.
Shortly after rcsumiug work IL was found
necessary to brace y mass OF STATE winch
threatened 10 fall. Toohey and the Pole
were sent after 4 stick Of timber which was
supposed to be in an adjoining breast.
I Their safety lamps gave but little light, and
they were unable 10 find the brace they
wanted. Toohcy then carelessly fred an
omen lamp. The place was filed with
damn. and I'm m instant 4 terrific explosion
took place.
TERRIFIC FORCE OF THE EXPLOSION.
The explosion Carried everything before
n. and tn air was filed with monster
Jumps OF coal. heavy beams and battery
FINDERS. Three ears in the ganeway hear
tho breast in which the explosion took
place were thrown from the track. and two
mules had their hair sinCcd OH 20 the hide.
The explosion was felt in al parts 81 the
workings, md the air-fanS were stopped
by IL. Miners in other parts Of the colliery
FASTENED along the gaugways tOthe shaft
and were hQi~tpd 70 the surface.
The news % tie catastrophe spread 10
Shenandoah. Lost Greek, Giro-dsyille. and
Intermediate mining patches with iucredi-
hle r9pidity. In less than au hour an i'm
mcnSe crowd 81 men, women. and chill
dren surrounded the breaker and the
mouth OF the shaft. Ten minutes after the
explosion acall was made for volunteers to
form q reScuing party. More than one
hundred instantly responded 10 the call.
From that number twenty Of the most oX-
perIenccd and 90 0St courage uS unmarried
miners were selected. They entered The
cage and were lowered eight hundred feet
10 the lower workings. ON reaching the
bottom the rescuers found indications OF
white damp, a sufOcating Gas which COM
monty appears Immediately after an eXplo-
sion.
THE RESCUE OF TIE VICTIMS.
They pushed forward. however. Is rapid
l. as possible over the Debris in The gang
way, until they reached the mouth o. the
entrance 10 the breast in when the LIGHT
man party had workcd. Il was clicked
with coal. slate, aud falling timberS. The
explorers assembled, however. and found
the unfortunate victims OF the explosion on
the bed % the breast. All we're ~drCadfully
burned aud cut and bruised by fying TIM
hers and pieces Of coal. Not one u The
victims was able to talk. The LichtmanS
were first carried 10 the shaft and hol.ted
out. The others reached the surface q few
minutes later. The injured men were
coated with lime water and sweet oh and
then hauled ia ambulances - their homes.
The elder Li,htman lives in Gir1rdyille,
where lie has a wife and seven children,
and the scene when he reached home was
painful beyond description. William
Ljchtman i, twenty-three years old, and
WIS TO be- married in a few weeks.
He lived with hIs father. The other men
live in Deauesyilie. one mile from the scene
o. the accident. They are I'll married and
have families. The men are all alive to-
night, but the physicians who attended
them have but little hopes Of their re-
c0yery. T0ohey, the Pole, McAndrew
and Jane, Lehman had their hair, eye
brows. and hear,ls burned OF, and their
faces and haGds were scorched black. VIII
liam Lichtman and Murray are also badly
burned.