The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-02-29
DEADLY FIRE DAMP.
Terrible Explosion in a Pennsyl-
vania Mine.
Nineteen Bodies Brought to the Sur
ace--Feart1i Scenes.

The little village of West Leisenring, four
miles north of Uniontown, Penn, was the
other morning the scene of the most terrific
expt sion ever known in that region. The
Connellsville Coal aud Iron com9any, of
which Judge Leisenring, of Mauch Chunk,
Is president has POO coke ovens there which
have been in operation about year. The
works give employment to about 100 men,
and quite little town has sprung up, named
after the president of the company. The
coal is obtained by means of shaft, which
reaches the mine at distance of 500 feet
from the surface.
On the morning of the disaster part of
the force, who had worked during the night,
left the mine a little after O'clock, and
seventy others took their places, making the
usual morning shift. At about Il. 30 o'clock,
while the men were digging suddenly and
without warning, there occurred an explo-
sion that shook the mine in every apart
ment and threw the men into the utmost
CONSERVATION.
The scene of the explosion was in an apart
ment fully 500 feet from the bottom of the
shaft and, therefore, about 200 feet from
the opening at the surface: yet the report
was heard outside for considerable distance,
and the conclusion wa SO great that the top
of the rrick, 100 feet high was knocked off.
terror-striken miners cannot be described.
All their lamps were blown out and they
were left in darkness and confusion. They
had not time to recover from the shock
to breathe. The explosion, which
was caused by firedamp, term
which miners apply to the light
Carbonated hydrogen, or coal gas, that issues
from crevices in roofs of mines, left the
mine filed with afterdamp, which contains
no iupnoSSihln for fa
to be sustainei for any time This after
damp is densest in the upper part of mines,
and the men, therefore, congregated near
the bottom. But even here they did not long
find relief.
Of all the men who were in the heading
where the explosion occurred Dick Balsley
alone escaped to tell the awful story. When
the explosion came and all the lights were
blown out, Balsley was just changing his
clothing He at once wound part of his
clothes tightly around his face and mouth
to keep the foul air from choking him, and
gave the rest of his garments to his compan-
ion, with instructions to take the same pre-
cautions. He then started for the main en-
trance, bidding his companion to follow. They
ran over the bodies of men and over shattered
wagons. They could see nothing, but could
hear the groanS of dying men. Presently,
Balsleys companion protested that they were
not going in the right direction, and turned
back and persisted. Balsley pushed on until
escape is regarded by experienced miners
as one of the most marvellous on record. He
says that some of the men kept their heads
under water as long as they could and would
change from water to after-damp until
finally they succumbed.
When the explosion became known the
families of the miners gathered about the
shaft and awaited developments in breath
less suspense. Balseys story gave them
little ground to hope that any of them could
be got out alive. So dangerous was the
afterdamp that it was fully two
hours before any volunteers could enter the
mines. Many were on hand really to make
search, but were unable to do so until all
hope of rescung the unfortunaUes alive had
fled 1t was about s o'clock when the first
body was brought out. 1t was that of
Michal Ripke, a hungarian, whose wife and
two little children were wailing and weeping
at the shaft. His face bore no marks of
violence and he had evidently died from suf-
location.
The work of recovering the bodies then
went on rapidly, it being done by willing
volunteers, and at noon nineteen bodies had
been carried out of the shaft The company's
books were then examined and the roll ca He'd
1t was found that all the men We're accounted
for The work proceeded with quietness and
orler, amid the Subduei sobs and wringing
Of hands of the grief stricken families The
bodies Were taken to Il cir homes near by and
lai out. Nearly every one of the nineteen
victims left wives aud children. Most of
the dead bore no visible mark of violence and
died from sufocaton.