The Panola weekly star. (Sardis, Miss.) 1882-18??, 1884-03-22
tinuisil mOnnOlI.

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ihs Nine sst ssai fatapes The taaHl
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Wfssh fhs HIss ~ tlames taeHiunu
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Shortly After miinirhl ifFfiHf etplo. /.
sim mraHsd Fl r,HAhunlAs. Tauwell |
County, w., aud soon thereafter . scene
81 lhc most lniensc exclteupm onaued
Men, women and children afust ffum
their he'd. all rushed out lnlo The open
alf IN thslf nlhhldreHsos The stfrets
wefe thrunaed, and aIl we're vt q loss 10 |
determine what had happened
wukr ~ WA,
twas not lona before The tfa,h vna
known, and ilicn tho excited crowd rush.
ed toward the principal coal mlne IN the |
southern suburb Upon arriving there
dense volume Of suiokd was found pour.
Ing forth from thu shaft Of the Minis,
whilst scattered around within a radius
Of 4 quarter Of q mile were broken tim.
bers and broken mining machinery of
every description Upon every slide laid
fragments OF human bodies, The shrlcka
Of The woman and children filled the air
air and added more horror Ia the scene
Everybody appeared paralylcd NJ the
spectacle, aud II was some time before
the braynst Of the men present realized
the extent oi the disaster, aud hogan TO
takr steps 10 ascertain H.
After two hours had elapsed and moth.
Ing accomplished by the pnnlc-strlckcn
crowd, q man with ghastly white face
mounted the debris and cried outi "for
Gods sake, men, let's stop this We all
have friends aud relatives down below,
and maybe we eau help them Let's see
about u, and let the women folks do the
crying"
LEADER WANTED.
Every one Of the officials Of the camp
were below, besides one hundred and
ffty laborcrs. There was no one 20
lead The resculng party, and Il was
with the utmost dlfllculty that yolun-
teers could be induced 10 go near the
mouth Of the mine. The leader again
addressed the men present, and then
throwing blanket around his head
made an effort 10 ascertain II II were
possible 20 enter the mine. lie soon
returned and announced that all attempts
ata rescue Of the poor creatures who
were cntombcd was useless.
A TERRIBLE SITUATION.
A dense volume OF flame then began
pouring out Of the mouth Of the mine and
Illuminated the country for miles around.
Crowds Of people collected In groups ola
half dozen or more, discussed the terrible
situation aud lamcnted the death OF either
father, brother OF husband.
| When II became evident that nothing
could be- done before daybrcak, every en-
dcayor was made by the men 10 quiet the
women, one Of whom, In her frenzy, tore
| thc hair from out Of her head by the hand
ful and cried out "Oh, mypoor husband,
he b burning to DEATH won't some one
help hlmY"
| udur At LAST.
When day dawned the horror became
apparent. The men were by this tine
more composed and the women Ina meas
urr quleted The latter began to gather up
thr fragments of the bodies of the unfortu-
nate miners who had been working near the
mouth of the shaft at the time Of the accl-
dent and were blown upward out Of the
mlnc. Every one Of the iiity men nj this
point was Killed, as the numerous frag-
mcnts OF limbs testified.
Tclcgrams were sent TO Lynchburg and
other cities for aid, but II was not until
noon that assistance arrived, and then
surgeons and physicians arrived from
Lynchburg by special train. All the
morning men from the surrounding coun-
try kept pouring to the scene, having been
attracted by the great volume Of black
smoke. The hunters In the mountains
were among the arrivals, and they were
invaluable In aiding the panlc-strickcn
residents.
The greater part Of the victims were
Italians and Germans, and their names
cannot, with any accuracy, be ascer.
hlned, except In a few Instances.
EARNEST woRKrRs.
party Of miners from Coaliield mines,
under command Of Co urge Dodds, ar
Iiyed during the afternoon aud took
charge Of affairs. The residents were
forced back from the vicinity oi the dis
astcr and the work Of collecting the hu.
man remains proceeded with. The frag-
mcnts were removed 10 house near by,
The collection was a ghaslly one, and the
800 population remaining above ground
seemed TO be crazed by the scene. None
had any hopes Of ever seeing any Of the
sntombed miners alive. yonng girls hall
naked dashed here and there, regardless
q those around them. Many had their
clothing stained with blood by theiI
search among the human fragments.
DRIVEN BAcK.
At brief Intervals man after man would
make n determined effort 10 force his
way Into the mine only Ia be driven back
by the flames aud smoke. AZ seven o'clock
last night II was thought an entrance
could be had n the smoke showed signs
OF decreasing. Apartyof men attempted
10 get IN, and had gone below ground,
when volume Of fame shot up, and II
was with difilcthty the men escaped with
their lives. Upon the party reaching ths
surface, II was discovered that one 0l
the resculng party, an Italian NAMED
Carlo franchl, was missing, and bad cyi'
IDENTIFY dropped from the cage into the
raging furnace below. The others of the
party were ali badly burned.
Tiig NINE BURNING.
AZ eight o'clock the mine was sending
forth roaring funnel Of fame, setting
FIRE 10 the ouibuildIngs and destroying
the fan house, which had been looked
npon a. the salvation of any of the mcr
who might BE- stIll alive. When this ias'
calamity was Witnessed BY the eyictet
residents heartrrndIng shrek went up
aud rush was made TO saye the build
Ing. The efforts wcm without avail, an,
Il was soon 4 mass Of ruins.
II II now certain that the entire mine Z
In flames, and Il viii be . week before !
will be cxtinguished u u can be st all
There are no hopes for the entombc'
miners whose families arr left pennIlcs
aud homeless.
No sprxp or lfrx.
AZ midnight Il was decided 10 make an
other attempt 10 enter the mine thl
j morning By an unused drift which con
meets q brsneh shaft alled with rubbish
! Men have gone into this branch an'
sounded the walls with hammers, hoplnI
4 20 hear some signal from below. Tn
, tapping was kept up for mofe than A
hour without avail aud was then aban
doned. The general opinion i that II th
men were not killed BY the explosion The
have been suffocaisd.
; THE scrSF.
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