The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-24
THE |P0CAHONTAS MINE.
Meeting of the Relatives of the Victims
"A Demand to Open the Mines.

CENTRAL, Va, March pa meeting of the
residents Of Pocahontas was held last night TO
compel the mining company to open the mine
and rescue the bodies Of the 153 men buried
in the burning coal pit. The meeting was held
in the Union Church. The building was crowd
cd and the doors and windows were left open
in order that the throng congregated outside
might participate in the proceedings. The
church was Illuminated by sickly coal oil lamps,
and the 600 or 700 people outside each wore a
miners 'Davy' lamp, the faint glow of which
was again and again eelipsed by livid flashes Of
lightning as the meeting progressed. Before
the proceedings had been conducted five min
utes the threatening thunderstorm swooped over
the mountain and the rain fell in torrents. The
men inside the church walked outside and let
the women and children have the shelter, while
they donned oil coats and maintained their in
terest and place in the meeting despite the fall
ing water.
The presiding officer was a venerable and su-
perannuated miner named VIM. Forster, who,
with trembling voice, said:
Men, | for one, am here to see if | can't get
the bodies of my two boys, who, so far as | can
calculate, are buried almost underneath our feet,
surrounded by a hell of fire"
Peter Smith, whose brother is another victim,
asked permission to pray, which, being accorded,
he arose, and dofing his hat, made a touching
appeal. The men outside the building, also,
stood uncovered. and, with the rain beating on
their heads, listened to the following: 20, God
Almighty, we ask that you will give us some
comfort in this hour of affection. We pray you
to let us have back the bodies of our poor rela-
tives, and not refuse us the chance of burying
them. 0, Lord God Almighty, put out the fire
and help us so that we can give back the bodies
to that earth from which they came. If some
poor fellow down below is yet alive, o, God,
kill him quick, or show us how to help him. In
the name of a merciful Jesus, we beseech you to
show pity on this town, and help US bear the
burden you have given us to bear. God help us
and teach US TO live your life, so we can die in
peace when our time comes. If, as some say,
the dead go to purgatory, then we pray you to be
merciful to our dead. Let their agony in this
deadly mine help to square their accounts. God
help and comfort all in PocahOntas for the sweet
sake of Jesus Christ. Amen"
During the roughly spoken invocation the cry
ing of the women, at first almost inaudible, rose
in unison until the volume nearly drowned the
speakers voice. As he sat down tears were flow
ing from every eye, and great confusion pre-
vailed, as several of the women became unman-
ageable. Tho Grooming of the Irish wives,
mingled with the frenzied lamentations of the
colored women, made the scene distressing in the
extreme to the few strangers who witnessed il.
T.. c. Blair. a Scotchman, moved that a com
mittee of five be appointed to wait on Superin-
tendent Lathrop and demand that the mine be
opened and a search for the bodies commenced.
The committee was appointed and Immediately
proceeded to the superintendent's house, where
their request was fatty refused. When the com
mittee reported there was a murmur, which soon
broke into an uprOar. Threats against the COM
pany, Lathrop and other officials were freely ut
tered, aud one man suggested that they imme-
diately proceed to open the mine themselves.
At this j~uncture, and before the more conserv-
alive white men had a chance to allay the eX-
element, u colored man named Hinton sprang
up, and, standing on the backs of two Of the
pews, asked leave to say a few things. With
much conciseness he then proceeded to say that
he thought they were acting hastily and with
out thinking over the situation. Suppose
we open that mine now he said, would
any of you men go into itr He paused
for o reply, and, not receiving one, con
tinued: Not one of you would dare to
do it. You know no man could live in there five
minutes. Now, l don't know nothing about how
to put out that fire. The company says we can
smother it by stopping up the drifts. If any
body knows a better way to put out the fire, let
him tell us; but until that fire is out we can't go
into that mine, and we might us we'll take the
~company's word for it as not. This is no fun for
them, either. 1t costs them heaps of money, and
we ought to allow that they are just as willing
to put out the fire as we are"
The rough speech made a favorable impress
sion on some, and the officers of the meeting
being cool, sensible men. they embraced the op-
portunity to adjourn. The greater part of the
men, however, being very ignorant, they cannot
be induced to take the right view of the situa-
ton, and to-day they continue to mutter threats
of opening the mine.