The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1890-05-18
THE CALAMITY AT ASHLEY.
ONLY TWO OF THE THIRTY-oNE I'M
PRISONED MINERS SAVED.

AIlan's Attempt 10 Light His lamp
Brave Peter Murphy First 10 Venture
into the Rns-ladeu AtmOsphero OF the
CollIory and Begin tho Work or Rescue.
W1IKEsBARRE May 1T-It will be q sad Sun
day in and about the borough Of Ashley. The
terrible calamity at tho ersey mines which on
Thursday last, crushed out the lives Of twenty
eight sturdy miners. threw pail OF grief over
the community. and plunged hundreds ofiheats
into the depths Of despair. In the funeral
process ions tomorrow no less than twenty
stricken widows and seventy orphans will be
numbered. Three days ago these same WEI o
happy and contented. A long idleness had only
recently been followed by work. and tho Jersey
was the only colliery In the vicinity which was
ordered to start up. In consequence those en-
ployed in that mine were congratulated and
enyed by thousands OF other miners who
cav no eign Of returning employment for them
Tho little homes OF the twenty-eiGht men.
whose blackened, torn, and blistered bodies
were brought up from the dark chambers on
Friday. took on a brighter appearance. The
worn faces Of the wives became radiant with
newborn Joy. Tho wan faces OF the children
were transformed into rudy countenances
The lsrdor was filed with good things. The
corn meal, which had served so long as the
steady article OF diet. was thrown to the chick
ems. The Jersey had resumed and all was well.
1t costs good deal to supply the glowing
anthracite to Its consumers. There Ia no other
business in tho world that demands such n
sacrifice OF human life. Any railway corpora
ton which at the end Of the year should report
as many calamities among its employees as
the average coal corporation does would quick
ly DO arraiGned by public opinion and violently
denounced by the newspapers from one end OF
the land to the other. But lives 20 out In the
mines Of PENNSYLVANIA every day and nobody
tn II ia only pvhaD Enph apDallin0
disasters as that OF Thursday occur that the
world isl lkartled for a day. And only for day.
And yet in nine cases out of ten accidents in
the collieries are the result OF individual care
lessness. The miner himself is largely TO blame
for them. Look at the calamity OF Thursday
at the Jersey mine for instance.
Thirty-one men are at work in an upper vein.
There are four veins In this colliery. but these
thirty-one miners are not moro than 100 feet
below the surface. They are nearly a mile
away from the main slope down which they
passed In the morning on their way to work
The vein is large and the chambers roomy
There Is no inconvenience in working down
there. The big fan at the breaker supplies
them with plenty OF fresh air. and while out
side workmen are compelled to labor with the
mercury Mt so and q hot sun pouring down
upon them, here In these subterraneRn
Vaults the thermometer stands at TO-
and work Is made peasant by reason
of the cool concomitants Presently the
mon in the upper lift are startled by
friGhtful echoes that come laundering through
the dark. honey combed galleries of the COL
liery. Their trained ears tell them what has
happened. The earth has dropped somewhere
of In the distance and they know that between
them and their means OF exit an impossible
barrier is placed, 1t is a moment OF supreme
alarm. They are hemmed in 100 feet below the
surface and with no posi- Bile way OF getting
OUT, How long before the deadly gases will
question each man puts to himself.
a. The poment the drop occurred that made
Jersey. also plunged them In total darkness
for every light was extnguished in an Instant
aGins Il possible What Kind Of dartness was
that that. s sSH these men Naturally they
nience from the lack Of air, This encouraged
t ahey that the
or through the barriers beyond. One
sssss va" rRsS T6sy would mot b
that rescuers Would begin work ct once, and
their III dinner pals as well as the reGollec-
after ten days imprisonmentin a colliepy there.
two men who lives to tell the story Of that sub.
torranean convention. says that as soon as
sufTocated, propositions were considered as to
whether 1t would not be advisable to make the
ins WhieE Fire Boss Allan VINO u" was SG AMONG
the imprisoned, said was certainly not more
than twelve OF fifteen hundred feet from where
1t was doubtful suggestion. to say the least
for their movements in the direction Of escape
must be made in the awful darkness that sur
POUNDS them. as each miner knew that 1t would
be counting death by explosion to light lamp.
rs after all caye-ins gas accumuates in great
Quantities and In places previously considered
safe. After a long elaboration tire Boss Allan
9dd t cry two to oow bs eNd snd
take the, chances. With q, good by to those
who DECLINED to go, the three started Upon Upon
sought the Gangwqy and slowly followed
is clrcultous Tindings. Every now and
behind who replied with encouraging shouts: |
After awhile. however, they reached point
cd. For two long hours the three men worked !
their way toward the old opening which Allan |
bad reference to. At last they came TO a point
In the gRngway which marked the foot Of a |
steep decline. 1t had a pitch OF thirty degrees
and iTU was over ?OI ieet long. Here Allan hecame
steep was slippery and uncertainA by the aid
OF light 1t could easily be surmounted. and
did old opening and the surface It was worth
the venture. he thought, to tempt fate by
him not to Do 80, but to qHiet their fears he
assured them there was, no possible danger
Tnhspp p@R Like the roar OF ten
thousand cannon was the awful detonations
that thai followed lie Y4St aTat Of gas Was iGi
have known better. because he WAS an official
who was SUPPRESSED TO Guard against all acct
COMPANIONS were knocked t. the ground sense
less. but moi, dead. But like "a shot from
cannon the burning gas flew onward toward
tho little group OF twenty; eight, who were hud-
died together. waiting and h0Eing with patience
TO hear the music OF the pick overhead which
should tell them that rescue WAS near. In the
twinkling of an eye they we're transformed
into torn bleeding and bacEened corpses
Loaded cars that stood on the gangway track
near them were shvcred to atoms and the
mules attached 10 Thorn roasted alive. II was
terrible sight 10 look upon when, later On.
those mangled remnants OF men we're lifted
out OF the mine and borne away TO the impro-
yised morgue at Ashley
In all the calamities like that OF Thursday at
at the Jersey mine heroes are developed After
the explosion. the work OF rescue became moro
difficult and dangerous. The cOllery was full
OF gas and deadly afterdamD. 1t was necessary
that these poisonous vapors should be swept
out by floods of fresh air before any attempt at
rescue could be made. 1t should DO borne In
mind that only a few experienced miners knew
OF tho explosion. and even they thought that 1t
might not DO fatal to the imprisoned men. SO
the work of in the fond bona