The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-15
BURIED In A BURNING NINE.
The PocahORtas Mines Take Fire, and
Are Closed and Firmly Sealed.
ALI Efforts to Rescue the Imprisoned Work
men Without Avail-SpeculatiOn as
to the Cause of the Explosion.

the scene Of the disaster. The special train
which left Central at s o'clock last night, with
the Midlothian relief party and newspaper CORE
! spondents ran into slide twenty three miles
east of Pocahontas, and the party
were beated five hours The track
is still blockaded, making transfer
around the wreck necessary A visit to the
mines, this morning, presented to the gaze a
spectacle which battles all attempts at descrip-
ton. From mountain peak to mountain base
were evidences of the frightful havoc wrought
/ by the explosions. The hillsdes in every direc-
ton, were strewn with debris and blackened with
! coal dust blown with terrific force from
| the entrance ( o the mines The scene of de
Structlon, annihlation and desolation Is appall-
! ing to the last degree, when attention is at
tracted to the blaekened and smoking entrances
to the mines and one reflects upon the horrible
tate of the l54 human beings whose charred and
| mangled remains are smouiderlng III that chaInel
| house. The very trees the mountain sides
| that have withstood the storms of ages were
! shrivep, torn and blasted. and their branches
scatteredln every conceivable direction. Portions
1 OF the wreck were blown clear over the mountain
1 ridge, fronting the approaches to the mines, and
| picked up more than half mile distant. Even
| coal dust was blown over the mountain and
| covers the earth on the opposite side to depth
| OF half an inch; and a blackened and rent over
nearly half mile away. All the laborers'
shanties in the vicinity were more or less
wrecked, and those in the line of the mine APP
| pFOaches were COMPLETELY demolished. So
terrific was the force of the explosion that
| windows in the house of a farmer two miles
off were shivered few minutes before the
| explosion a train of coal cars had been backed
into one of the entrances to the mine, and the
| locomotive had moved some distance down the
track. Many of the cars were hurled down the
track, and others wrecked and the debris thrown
a great distance up on the mountain sides
Heavy aXles were wrung and twisted into all
sorts of shapes and wheels cracked and broken.
The gulches in front of the mines filed with
4 wreckage.
| The Pocahontas mines embrace an area of
! twenty-five miles, that Is to say, person trav
| ersing all the chambers and galleries of the
| mines would have covered that distance. There
are five entrances. every one of which seemed
as though pent with fury within The entrances
\ are all filled with foul air, which renders
/ the recovery of dead bodies impossible
| Every attempt made to enter the mines
has been attended with bad results, and in sew
| eral instances the men have barely escaped dy-
| ing from the oyePpowering gas The physicians
were kept busy. yesterday, ministering to such
! cases. The fu1thest entry effected was by a
1 Hungarian, whose son was buried in the mines
\ He nearly crazed by grief and he could not
| be restrained and penetrated to n considerable
| distance but eventually was forced TO retire
| He reported seeing number of bodies III one
| chamber torn and mangled beyond the sem
| blanee of recognition One was that of youth
| aged thirteen, employed as door boy, who was
\ the pet OF the mining camp The little fellow
/ had Just entered the mine when the explosion
| occurred.
| Colonel Geo. Dodds, of the Mid
| lothian mines, and other expe-
| rienced mining engineers visited the mines
| this morning, and made examination 1t
WAS decided unsafe to attempt to use the fan
| and orders were Immediately issued TO have the
mines closed and sealed as the only means of
| suppressing the fires which are burning. The
higher coal drifts are not burning 1t is the free
| coal at the bottom Of the mines which is afire
| The entrances will be tightly sealed, SO as to
| smother the fire. In of the entrances
| tube will be inserted to permit the escape of
gas 1t is impossible to get from the officials of
| the mining company the amount of damage,
| which must be enormous. The mines will re-
main sealed for at least two weeks, and perhaps
| longer When opened, there must be extensive
repairs before the resumption of work For
| tunately the mining company has a considerable
supply of coal on hand, and will not suffer loss
in the matter of supplying the trade.
Most of the miners killed were
unmarried. The night force was mainly com
| posed of the youngest and most vigorous men.
! The night foremen leaves an invalid wife and
several helpless children. One of the young
men killed was the only son of a widow, whose
| husband persisted in the mines several weeks
ago. The physicians sent up from Lynchburg
| have returned, and only the mining engineers
and press representatives remain on the ground
tonight.
The generally accepted explanation of the ex-
plosion is that it was occasiened by e-damp.
Some claim-what has always been contradicted
by mine offieials-that there is gas in Pocahontas
coul and that the explosion was caused by
| miner striking gas assure. On the contrary,
experienced engineers say they have never known
of case of an explosion from striking gas
assures in nne above the water level,
as is the case with the Pocahontas. Those who
contend for the aforementioned theory cite the
instance of the recent killing of men in the Po-
cahontas as alleged from effects of gas explosion.
The men were blasting and after the charge had
been fixed retired behind a ledge where they
would be safe from flying debris, but both were
killed, and it believed by gas.
Philadelphia dispatch says: The directors of
the Southwest Virginia Improvement Company,
owners of the mine at Poeahontas, Va. have
adopted resolutions authorizing the superintend
ent of the mines to take al necessary means to
alleviate the sutferings of the wounded and
furnish food and clothing to the families of thu
dead and injured. The introduction of electric
lights in the mines to guard against a repetition
of the disaster is being considered.
The following dispatch from the superintend
ent of the mine has been received:
VIII make desperate attempt TO get in to-
night Have a temporary fan up. The indica-
tons are that the mine is on fire. VIII know in
a few hours, and if such is found to be the case,
will seal all the openings at once and will fill the
mine with steam. Have five boilers placed
ready, and steam pipe will be on hand by II
p. NJ. No life was saved. No one can live in
the atmosphere inside. The railroad company
is giving me every assistance. Have also physi-
clans. Have wired Superintendent Midlothian
for advice and help He is on his way in
special with seventeen men. My men have
nearly played out, chiefly from effects of after
damp.
A later dispatehfrom the superintendent states
that two expert mining engineers arrived this
morning who agreed that the bodies could not
be recovered, unless the mine be sealed and the
fire smothered.
Rusiness Failures