Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1884-03-19
DREADFUL MINE DISASTER.
One Hundred and Fifty-fiVe Men
Killed by an Explosion.

ment Company of this place. One
! hundred and fifty-fve men were at
work there at the time, and such was
the force of the explosion that every one
was killed, and the tanning machine,
engine. and cars were blown 800 feet
| from the entrance. The engineer at
work near the mouth of the mine, as
well as his assistant and a cOlored boy,
were blown hundreds of feet away, and
their mangled bodies were found scat
tered in every direction The engi-
neer's head was found in a ravine, and
his.legs and arms were picked up near
the mine. OF those at work in or
about the mine not one was left to tell
| the story.
The little hamlet, whose population
numbers about 500, and made up en-
tirelv of the houses of the miners, was
resting quietly when the explosion oc-
Cured, but soon afterward the whole
place was aroused, and the scene which
followed beggars description, q The
few living beings who saw the puff O.
smoke shoot from the mine, and the
sudden upheaval of the engines and
cars, FASTENED into the town with loud
cries for help Men, women and chill
dren were reused, and as soon as they
comprehended the dreadful news they
made wild rnsh for the scene Of the
disaster. Despite the cold night, wom-
en-. as well as men, ran of scantily
clad. Experienced miners, on reaching
the scene, were satisfied that no man
in the mine was living. A slight rain
and snow and rain was falling, which
added to the horrors Of the situation,
which has been intensified by the dis
covery that the mine was on fire.
The Laurel Creek mine is the only
one in this part of the State, and has
been operated for about two years. 1t
consists of a tunnel running three-quar
ters of mile in the mountain side,
and railroad runs the entire length
of the mine. There are lateral galleries
at intervals. The mine is situated
above the water level. and for this rea-
son it has been worked with little
trouble and has been free from accident,
not a single fatal casualty having oc-
cured since operations were begun.
w. A. Lathron, the superintendent, is
an expert mining engineer and has had
many years. experience. The mines
have been worked by reliefs every six
hours.
A train of cars, drawn by small en-
CINE, was near the entrance and moving
in the mine at the time of the explosion.
Four cars and the engine were blown
out, and car axle was propelled by
the force of the explosion into the side
of small frame house occupied by
two miners, William Amomy and
Jake Sexton. Both were asleep, hav-
ing left the mine at o'clock. The
noise awoke them. Their escape was
wonderful, the iron wheel of the car
falling by the the side of their hunks.
They struck light, and, SO far as can
be learned, were the first to realize the
situation and give the alarm.
The cause Of the explosion is not yet
definitely ascertained, as the entries OF
the mine are all full of bad air but the
presumption is that one Of the miners
struck a fssure of gas. Several par
ties ventured into the mine this morn
ing, but could not long endure the foul
atmosphere A number Of bodies
were discovered horribly manged,
some of their heads torn from their
trunks, and others with their limbs all
gone, presenting a horrible spectacle.
The work Of destruction was not con-
fined entirely to the interior of the mines,
but houses 200 or 800 feet removed
from the mines were overturned, and
in several instances entirely demolished.
The large ventiat0r of the Southwest
Improvement Company was blown to
atoms, and the mines cannot be entered
until another is constructed for the
purpose of freeing the atmosphere of
the suffocating fumes. This work is
now progressing speedily. A large
force is engaged on the outside Of the
mines, constructing collins and perfect
ing other arrangements for the inter-
ment of the dead Those who were
not kill outright by the terrible force
of the explosion most likely were from
the after-damp.
Fire can now be seen at the mouth
of the mine, and no one can enter. AS
soon as the fan house and fan can be
repaired attempts will be made to go
into the mines Everything possible
is being done to reach the victims.
The men employed in the mines were
mostly Hungarians without families.
A number of negroes from Lynchburg
and the surrounding country were also
employed.
What effect the disasterswill have on
the operations Of the mines can only
be coDjectured until the full extent Of
the damage is known The mines
have not been long opened, but the
company had gotten well under way,
and was supplying large section of
country with coal, and the prospect
was most encouraging. a large coaling
station for the supply of ocean steam
ers being in process of construction at
Norfolk. While the accident will have
the effect of retarding work at the
mines, it is not believed that it will
cause a permanent discontinuance of
operations, as a great deal of money
has been expended there by Northern
capitalists composing the Southwest
improvement Company
PETERSBURG, March l3-The latest
intelligence concerning the Pocahontas
mines is to the effect that about l5C
men were killed and that the accident
was caused by the men going too far
into the mines with their lamps, A
relief train, with physicians and force
Of workmen on board, has gone to th'
scene Of the accident from here. A
dispatch has been received here asking
that safety lamps be sent to- PocahOnta.
at once to facilitate the work Of recov
ering the bodies.