The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-02-19
A TERRIBLE DISASTER.
An Illinois Coal Nine Deluged in
Water.
SEvENTY-FoUR MINERS IMPRISONED
AND DROWNED.


BRAIDwooD, Ill.,, Feb. 1.-THE city is filed
with lamentation, some 70 persons having been
overwhelmed by the land slide and killed. a
large number leaving families. The place
where the accident occurred was in the north
StCfO OF atrU rgC. ,cssf
Mining and Manufacturing Co.'s mine. This
company is one of four which forms the Will
mington Coal Association. Each company
employs its own men, has its individual mines
and trsnsaets business privately, but all the
coal mined is turned over to the association,
which disposes of it, giving back to each COM
pany its proper proportion OF the proceeds.
The companies forming this association or pool
are the Chicago, Wilmington and Vermillion
Coal Co., with three shafts; the Eureka Coal
Co. with two shafts; the Wilmington Coal Min
ing and Manufacturing Co. with two shafts,
and the Wilmington Star Coal Co. Of Coal
City, with two shafts. The three first mention
ed companies are of Braidwood. These mines
were the first 10 sink shaft in this portion of
the country 16 years ago. The shaft in which
the accident occurred has been working the
past eight years, situated at Diamond, little
village about fOur miles southwest of Whining
ton and two miles northwest of Braidwood.
The country thereabout is level as floor, with
perhaps slight inclination toward the mines.
The sudden thaw and heavy rainfall have
transformed the prairie into lake, and for
miles and miles about Diamond the water
stands from six inches TO three feet deep With
scarcely any warning there suddenly appeared
an opening from the surface of the earth into
theImine. The surface, being coveredEwith water
ii took but short time for that to permeate
the entire mine, drowning all who were unable
to get out before the rising water caught them.
In opening this mine shaft Is feet deep
was sunk into the earth. At right angles t.
this two main galleries were run, nearly par
allel with the surface of the earth and abo ut
Seventy-dve feet below it. From these main
galleries narrow spurs or gangways are dug out
in various directions. These spurs rise and
fail with the ledge of COAL sometimes rising to
within twelve or fifteen feet of the surface. IL
was at such point, very near the top, that the
picking away at the coal above, the earth must
have fallen upon the doomed miner. Through
the opening thus made the water poured in fl
ling one gangway after another, cutting Off all
escape to the central shaft. There was little
time to give an alarm, for in less than an hour
from the time the break occurred every ave
ue of escape was cut off, and every occupant of
the mine must have been drowned. These gal
| leries are low and narrow, and only by painful
| " crawling could the poor victims escape No
! the first indication had of their danger by
many of the dead was the chilling sensation of
cold water trickling along the pathway in
| which they lay at work. There WAS an air
| shaft Offering an additional avenue of escape,
of which many availed themselves, but the
water came in too rapidly to allow all to
reach it. The mine was not considered esp &C.
| tally dangerous, though break had occurred
once before at ABOUT the same place There is
no chance for rescue, but in order to reach the
bodies of the dead Mr.. Fordyce, General Man
| ager has gone to the scene with two steam
| pumps. 1t is said an effort will be made to
n reach the mine from pshaft No. 1. There is
not the remotest possibility of reaching any of
| the men alive. Only the drowned or snffoca.
| ted remains can be recovered. The wages paid
| averaged between $50 and $75 per month, and
| a majority of the men owned their homes
| There will be suffering, but sthsminers as q
| class. were not improyident. The majority of
the workers underground are foreigners Eng
' lish, Scotch and Irish.
LATER.
The situation at the scene of the disaster is
about the same as last night One more name
is added to the list of the victims, that of Har
| ~ Eads Work continued all last night set
ting pumps and appliances to remove the
water, but no pumping has begun as the sink
hole has not yet been damned up Some &c
| teams and 100 men are hard at work building q
dam. A large number of people assembled al
the scene today watching developments. The
company is constantly in receipt of inquiries
from all parts of the country, asking if some
loved one is safe. Five more sink holes were
discovered today, the extent of which canno
be ascertained on account of the ice and water
which covers the land fer miles around.
JOLIET, Feb. 1.-THE number of miner;
drowned at Diamond were IA. The greater
portion were foreigners who have been here
but short time. The fown is filled with gloom