Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-01-29
DEAD IN THE MIGE
TnIRY-NINE MEN ENroNBED.
Sad Scenes AT the NeWburg
Shaft.

covered slope a group Oi ANXIOUS
watchers, collected no the mouth
of MDuntain-BrOOk shaft, where
the explosion OF Thursday last
caused the probably instantane-
GUS death of thirty-nine men. All
night long relays or shifts ofplucky
miners had been working hard TO
repair the damage to the ventilat-
ing shaft and clear away the d bris
which chOked up the bottom Of the
pit, in order to gain access to the
places where the men lay entombed
With the return of day the work was
renewed with even greater energy.
Four shifts, Of five or six men each,
descended into the mine at iintcr-
walls of about two hours, each shift
relieving the one at work below
Mr.. Charles Mackall, OF Baltimore,
manager of the company, WAS on
the spot giving general directions,
assisted by the mining superiutcnd.
ent, Mr.. John LaXtOn. TIL latter
is an Englishman Of long expert
ence in working Welsh and Eng
lish mines. He is more recently
from the coal fields of Cambria
county, Pa. He was deeply at
fected by the,catastrophc, which APP
pears to have been one OF those ac-
cidents which are never anticlpat-
ed, but are always liable to hap
pen in almost any mine.
HEROES OF THE MINE.
The men who compose the shifts
are experienced miners who take
their lives in their hands. Each
one OF them is hero in an humble
way; for the danger of entering
the mine until it is thoroughly ven.
tilated is conceded on all sides to
be great. They carry Davy lamps,
and are safe so long as their lamps
are in order, but should there bc a
defect in any Of them, by means Of
which the gas could he ignitcd,
there would be an explosion more
terrific than that which on Thurs.
day last resulted in so much loss OF
life. "There is enough gas in the
mine now said one of the miners
who had just come up from the
mine, "to blow the top Of the hill
off, One OF the men composing a
shift was about to descend yester-
day morning, when a small boy
pluckcd his sleeve, and whispered.
"Your wife says not to go down in
the NINE The brave miner, who
was slipping a cup OF hot collec,
paused moment, and said, simp-
~, "Tcll her that's all right ; "l'm
going down. Such incidents are
of common occurrence. The lead
ers of these daring men are David
Evans. Richard Edwards, Riley
Metz and Robert Jack. Evans and
Edwards have relatives among the
dead miners Edwards was about
10 90 down in the mine when The
explosion occurred. Besides the
miners from the immediate vicinity
men have locked INTO Ncwburg
from Fairmont, Clarksburg and
other ncighboring towns, all anNi-
Gus to lend helping hand, aud
many of them ready to risk their
lives if need be.
ABANDONING HOPE.
All hope Of resculng the men
alive was abandoned yesterday
morning, and any illusion that
might have been cherished was
finally disslpated when the black
ened forms OF three Of ;he victims
were brought to the surface. The
party which rendered this sad duty
was composed of Richd. Edwards,
leader, NJ. f. Grimes, Matthew
Green, Peter Rowe and Jack Gaul.
Clothed in their mining suits OF oil
skin and carrying Dayy lamps they
took their position on the "cagc,
or platform, which is lowered into
the mouth of the mine by steam,
and at seven minutes to nine the
order was given to lower away. 1t
had become generally known that
their errand was to bring up the
bodies of some Of the men, and a
large crowd had gathered about
the shaft. An Enclosure had been
erected to keep back the throng,
and Coroner J. =. Jones, OF Terra
Alta, detailed number Of special
policemen to keep the immediate
scene of operations clear 1t was
a solemn and impressive sight
Men and boys stood shiveriLg IN
the keen mountain breeze, which
swept across the western slope OF
tue Allcghanies, and pressed for.
ward with anxious faces for the first
glimpse of dead relatives and
friends. There were no women IN
the asscmblage. The mothers,
wives and sweethearts Of the We
tins all stayed at home awaiting
the sad intelligence.