The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-23
Additional Details of the Disastrous
Mine Explosion in West Virginia.
The Number of Men Imprisoned Now Report
ed as Thirty-Nine, and There Is Reason
to Think that ALI Are Dead.
The Disaster Believed To Be the Result
of a Drain Digger's Stupidity.
Rescuing Parties Hard at Work in an Effort
to Reach the Imprisoned Men-The-
ories of Mining Experts.


THE NEwBURG DISASTER.
The List Of Lost SweIled to Thirty-Nine--
Scenes About the Mine.
WHEELING. w. Va, Jan. 22.-The Intelli-
gencer has the following from Newburg: Lit
orally, Newburg, w. Va, stands in the shadow
of great grief. and her sorrow has invaded
homes for miles along the B. s. 0. railroad, for
many little communities are represented in the
bottom of the pit. I had but stepped off a be-
lated train from Wheeling and turned toward
the mine, when heard the voices Of lamenta-
ton, women wailing and piercing the air with
shrieks of agony.
"Ah, that is a sad case," said gentleman with
two young women, brides of scarcely a month;
one of them was married on Christmas night.
The strong arms they leaned upon, the men they
loved, are lying down yonder."
These weeping women were the wives OF
Adolph Vein and Clint Albright, Industrious
young fellows, who set up housekeeping under
the same roof. The following is corrected
list of the men in the mines--a ghastly total of
thirty nine.
MORGAN FREEMAN, married. Ironton.
HENRY LAMBERT, married, Newburg.
ANDREW SCOTT, single, Scotch Hills.
CoRB WEAVER, married Independence.
A. OGDEN, married, Newburg.
f. FoRTNEY. single, Clarksburg.
Ross KELLEY, married, Newburg.
WILLIAM LAMIER, married, Independence.
FRANK LAMIER, single. independence.
M. KEANY, single. Newburg
NICHOLAS BIRTH boy, Newburg
A. M. WILLIAMS. married, Newburg.
JOHN HoRNBY, single, Newburg
DANIEL MILLER, married, Newburg.
BIRD MILLER, single. Newburg
ISAIAH TIMMoNs, married, Newburg.
VIM. TIMMONs, boy, Newburg.
CHARLES TUNLEY, married, Newburg.
PETER HowLEY, SINGLE Newburg
MICHAEL CLARK, single, Newburg.
NEWTON MOORE, married, Newburg.
WM STANsBURY, married, Independence.
ALVEY WEAVER, married, Independence.
JAMES MCGowEN, single, Newburg.
JOHN Carroll, married, Newburg.
WILDER SPENcEB, single, Newburg.
JOSEPH JOHNSON, married, Newburg.
HENRY Guy. single, Newburg.
THOMAS Guy, single. Newburg.
RICHARD BIRTLY, married, Newburg.
JOHN BYERS. married, Newburg
CLINTON ALBRIGHT married, Newburg
JOHN CoNAwAY, single. Newburg.
JOHN EDWARDS, single, Newburg.
e, u,
JOHN LAMBERT, married, Newburg.
GEO. BIGGENs, married, Scotch Hill.
The east-bound fast train brought great num-
Der from Clarksburg, Fairmont Grafton and in
termediate points, and sympathizing friends
came from as far east as Piedmont. They
swelled the hopeless. helpless crowd that hung
about the pit mouth. Men. women and children
were gathered there, pale, trembling, weeping,
staring at the shaft almost dumb with conster-
nation. Few words were exchanged, and those
in low tones. for the people there knew that they
stood above the tomb Of the thirty-nin men
who went down to death at o'clock yesterday
morning. In half an hour more they would have
been out so narrow was the margin of the sweet
welcome of home and the appalling fate that
overlook them.
As I reached the spot men were still at work
repairing the shattered timbers of the shaft, and
other men were in the bucket going down the
black hole into the blacker deep below. Return
ing, they brought no tidings for the anxious
crowd, but soon the rumor spread that the search
party had found at the bottom of the shaft,
Daniel Miller, the eager, and his son, fifteen
years old, driver; young Timmons, trapper,
and young Clark. driver. One of the party
was quoted as saying that they found Kinney's
mule blown sixty feet out of the stables, with
his halter on. The searehers themselves would
say nothing, It was thought better to keep
the dreadful secrets that the lamps revealed
below, until q wider search brought
more definite knowledge There could be no
certainty as to the identy of The blackened re-
mains. The bucket went down and up, the men
repairing the breaks in the air shaft as they
found them. The crowd growing larger and
larger, pressing harder on the ropes stretched
about the shaft. so eager were the people to get
even look down that terrible hole. tempo
rary fence of rough boards was hurriedly put up
to make an inclosure in which the work might
60 on without interference.
AS soon as the shaft was sufficiently repaired.
the cage was put on to take down larger work
ing force, in the hope of bringing up some bodies
and beginning the inquest. Coroner Jones' of
Terra Alta. summoned jury to be present at
the works at o'clock, but the progress was
slower than the coroner expected, and the in
quest was postponed for an hour It then be-
came apparent that there was little probability
of any bodies being brought up tonight, and the
inquest was adjourned till o'clock to-mor.
row morning, Work in the mine will be con-
tinued throughout the night by relief parties
composed in part of men who have fathers and
brothers below.
At this hour the crowds still stand about, dis
cussing the chance of life and death; crowds
of people from along the railroad, and farmers
from miles back in the country, eager to do
something and nothing for them to DO
The origin of the disaster is vasiously deter.
mined by experts, who vary in their theory. The
generally accepted theory. which is that of the
company's representative, is that Nick Williams,
who was cutting ditch through at the extreme
end Of the working to let water off, Knocked
down door to give him better chance at his
work. This door played an important part