The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1884-03-15
In A TOMB OF FLAMES.
PARTICULARS or THE NINE HORROR,
Futlllty ~ the Erort, to Rescue the Im-
prisOned Miners, and All Hope Aban-
doned The shaft Being healed
Up e. Queooh the Flames
THE rooAuoNrAs DISASTER

THE rooAnoNTAs DISASTER
PETERSBURG, Va, March l4,-Further
reports from Pocalontas, tho scene OF tho
terrible oolllery explosion OF aThurSday
morning, show that the ilrst accounts were
not In tho lest exaggerated, A visit 10 the
place revealed q sad stats Of affairs II Is
impossible " convey In words even TO-
mote Idea OF the destruction wrought In q
few seconds
The entrance 10 the main draft had been
entirely torn out and scattered pell-nell Tor
hundreds OF fea- The little train track
was tom and twisted, and the shapeless llm'
beTs aud ties were mixed In confusion all
around The ears were taken up bodily,
torn In twain, and their iron wheels broken
aud ahlyOred, They we're thrown three
hundred and four hundred feet away, Tho
ridge and the timber 0n the rid 60 opposite
this drft were blacRened 10 the summit,
nix hundred feet away A searching party
found pair Of shoes that had been blown
10 the summit Of the RIDGE and mule was
found At the same place twisted Into an lil'
descrlbabl0 mass
The second entrance 10 the milne pre-
scented similar appearance tO the first AZ
this point lived q hungarian family named
Glassee whose house WIS ahyered almost
90 atoms but, wonderful ~ relate, tho In
mates escaped without serious Injury,
Al tho entrance 0f tho ian tunnel stood
the cOnpany'N large elevator which, with
house around H. WIS swept entirely away,
leaving the engine standing on tho l0unda-
ton and all shattered and broken, with the
pipes twisted aud forced. Tho force OF the
explosion must have been terrific Rocks
woru thrown through tho workshops,
and every object That stood In
the direct course uf the forced
air was demolished Several work.
men In the shulN Wcre seriously Injured,
and tho shops, us well q, the locomotive
house, were lcyOlod with tho ground,
or tho one hundred and litty men In the
mlne Vt the time of the explosion not ono
has returned Ia the surface to toll the story
Of the calamity There Is no probability
that single soul survives Parties who
ycnturcd into the mne yesterday morning
found seWral mangled bodies, one Of which
was Identified m that oi NJ. l., Hampton,
night foreman, who leaves q wife aud large
family About thIny-hyo llungrians aro
among tbs Victims The others are
coored men aud white miners Of
this State mud Pennsylvania. II Is
pretty we'll concluded that the explosion
was caused by hro.damp, though II Is mex,
pliCnblO how the horizontal coal vein above
tho water level contained No much explosive
gus. The churches and houses nj rOca-
h0nias ure duped In mourning, aud bual'
ness N entirely suspended Flat Top Mount
Hl NINA 4. htt lla n.nNTulalan
The hill under which tho mine Is dug was
rent In several places by the C0yngin OF
the mnnolling beneath,
The six bodies recovered have not yet
been recognized, a. they arc too badly dls,
figured, From the position In which they
lay II was evident that the explosion did not
Mko them unawarcs but that some promon.
i0ry warning was given, and they we're NJ
tempting 10 mako thor escape when the
fiery blast overlook lhom,
On Thursday night party Of mon
attempted 10 got IN, and had gone below
ground, when 4 volume Of llame shot up,
and they were huniedly assisted 10 the sur
face, one OF their number M Italian
named Carlo FmuCh was mlaSlng, aud had
evidently dropped from the cage, All Of
tho party were badly burned, and this
showed how ltutlesS were any hopes at
rescue The shaft at eight p, m, was u
roaring funnel OF flame All tho
oulbulIdlngs nj tho vicinity gnltod,
and the farmhouse, which had boon
looked 10 m the salvation Of any Of
the men who might be- alive below, caught
also A shrek Of despair went up again
at this catastrophe, which was regarded rs
fatal 20 al hopes Of rescue, Tho mon
fought mnnfully 70 save the building from
destruction, but without avail and u was
soon u mass Of cmdcrS II became evident
Ut This hour that the whole mine was abla1N,
and II Is doubtful whether II can bo OK.
tlngushed for weeks II ut all. This settles
tho fate OF tho unf0rtunalcs below tho
ground aud they have absolutely no chance
ior life
Not the least distressing Of phases OF tho
calamity Is the fact that all tho families NJ
tho dead will be LETT utterly homeless In tho
wild mountain region.
Such perfect scene Of destruction N hard
10 picture The passages IN The mine hay0
been entirely destroyed, and tho entire hill
Will have 10 DO OXclyatcd 10 80, 10 some OF
the chambers,
The mine In which tho disaster occurred
Ia known ~ the Flnttop NlnO aud Is sit
ualcd In the northeast portion OF Ta1Owell
County, ut the base Of the Flatlop Mount
aims which divide that section Of Virginia
flom West Virginia The company work.
Ink the mine Is known ~ the Southwest
Virginia Improvement Company but
the mines are really under tho control OF
tho Norfolk n Western Railroad Company,
who have branch road the New River III.
vision, running from New River TO poca.
honlas, about sixty miles j, c, llsey OF
Pennsylvania, h President Of the Improve.
ment Company, and william A, lathrop,
Superintendent The mines are compnr.
ntivcly new, having been In active operation
but little over u year From Ave hundred
10 six hundred hands were employed, and u
largo quantity Of coal was being tlcn out.
II has beon decided thai the only means
Of putting the fire ont ~ 70 close aud seu
tho minG This lssnow being done, aud the
mine will remain scaled probably for two
weeks
locuhonlns IL IA miles wost Of Lynch.
burg, the mining village being located NJ
thp foot OF Flat Top Mountain, II Il tho
western terminus OF the Now River branch
Of the Norfolk n Western Mllrond Tho
town Is u new one, OF frontlur character
htlcs, and has IN ordinary population Of
1000,
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Progress ~ tho Carpenter Ease.