The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-10-30
DEATH In A Mine.
ANOTHER MINING DISASTER IN
PENNSYLVANIA-A NUM-
BER OF LIVES LOST.
An Explosion of Fire Damn
Shakes the Ground like
an Earthquake.
Eighteen Miners Injured in the
Shaft, and Fourteen
taken out Dead.
hOerner the Indiana Wife Muir.
derer to Hang-Crimes
and Casualties.
MINE ACCIDENT.
Eighteen Persons Shut Up in Mine, an
Fourteen Dead.

Eighteen Persons Shut Up in Mine, and
Fourteen Dead.
| UNIoNTOWN, Pa, October 28.-The
worst tears touching the fate of the
men who were imprisoned in the coal
mine at Youngstown, four miles FROM
this place, by an explosion Of fire damp,
which took place there at o'clock last
evening, have been fully confirmed.
| Six of the miners were taken out last
| evening soon after the disaster. Two
of them were dead and two of the
other four are so seriously injured that
there is no hope of their recovery.
This left from fourteen to eighteen
men supposed to be still imprisoned in
the mine. The exact number was not
certainly known. The work of reach
ing these men was continued indus
triously throughout the whole night,
and by this morning the dead bodies
twelve of them had been brought out
and delivered to their friends and re-
latives at the mouth of the pit. This
makes fourteen dead in all and togeth-
er with four injured, accounts for
eighteen of the whole number suppos-
ed to be in the mine.
Whether there are any more remains
yet to be discovered, but it is believed
that all have been found. The scenes
at the mouth of the pit, as the disfig-
ured bodies of the dead were brought
to the surface and given into the hands
of wives and relatives, was distressing
in the extreme.
1t can't be stated now whether the
explosion was due to carelessness of
the company or not. The miners al
lege that it was, but on the heels of a
calamity like this the first impulse
usually is to attribute it to the COM
pany. It is well known that the
Youngstown company has always
been cry careful, and the knowledge
that their mine was a dangerous one
and predispoSed to the generation of
| tiI e damp made them more careful. The
mine was inspected every morning
and whenever the presence of fire
damp was detected, it was a invari-
able order to deny the men admission
to it until the gas had been expelled.
This was the rule and the officials say
it was rigidly enforced, but it is
claimed, by the miners, that the COM
pany discharged competent fire boss
about two months ago, and have since
employed in that capacity one who
was not competent to determine
whether the mine was safe or not.
NAMES OF THE KILLED.
Joseph Zebley, pump tender, mar
ried.
Solomon Van Secale, miner, married.
James Price, father, and Jas. Price,
son, miners.
Thos, Cole, miner, married.
TncGn MillQr fathpr and TaGcn Q0n
miners.
III. j. Sape, rope rider, married.
Albert Taylor, miner.
Abe Wilson, miner, married.
Frank Nickolo, the father, and Will
lie, the son, married.
And George Cunningham-fourteen
in all.
DISTRESSING SCENES.
The mine inspector, STEINER, was in
the mines, ana he, together with the
men, worked all night to get out the
dead. Taylor and Cunningham were
found locked in each others arms and
faces buried in the water. Dead men
were found in every conceivable posi-
tion, the greater part OF them suffCcat-
ed by water damp. Some were burned
| to a crisp; many were badly bruised
by being knocked against the sides of
the pit. Those who were not killed
instantly showed evidence of great
endeavors to escape.
| THE SAVED.
| The following were saved alive, but
more or less burned and bruised
Welsh Keffer, Frank Miller, Jacob
Cole, Dovid Cole, Jas. Darbey, Jerry
Ringer, and Chauncy Wilson. The
two latter may yet die. Wilson's
right arm was broken and his face
burned to crisp. If he lives he can
never see again. The explosion shook
the earth mile away.
THE JURY OF INQUEST.
Coroner Balten has empannelled q
jury and, on Thursday morning,
will begin a thorough and search.
ing investigation. Notwithstand-
ing the talk of some of the
miners, it is the general impression
that explosion was unavoidable, and
the company at all times was care
full as possible. Daniel Ramage, fire
boss, has been in service several years
but the pit boss foF only few months
He is accounted q competent man
Indeed any careful and intelligen'
man, with safety lamp, can perform
the functions of fire boss, as the lamI
itself discloses by the swelling of itE
fame the presence of gas along tht
roof If the gas is heavy the lamI
will go out. Fourteen bodies were
recovered and seven men injured
making twenty-one in all-which ar,
believed to be all that were In tn,
mine at the time of the explosion
Most of the miners were natives, AM
nearly all those killed were marriet
and had families. There is great ex
citement. Many people from her
and Connellsville are at the village
; which has grown up around the mine
and altogether the scene is one of ami
nation, but deeply pervaded by a feel
ing of profound sadness. Fourteel
! coffins arrived from Plttsburg this af
ternoon. The dead have been laid ou
and tomorrow the bodies will be in
TERED.
CAUSE OF THE DISASTER.
, The generally accepted theory o
the cause ofthe explosion tonight, i
that the gas which is known to hay
/ gathered in a portion of fiat numbe
six. escaped into the place where tn
, me,i were at work, through a doc
left open by careless driver. Severa
of tae men who were working at thi
5 place had open lamps, and it was from
j these that the gas ignited.