The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-28
THE AWFUL DETAILS.

Scenes Sad Beyond Thought and Imagina-
tion-ArOund the Pit.
scorTDALE, Jan. 27.-This evening par
tial story of the disaster was obtained. An
| unexpected flow of gas was struck and the
miners working in headings connected with
flats 2, 8 and 4, were all killed. The fire
boss, as is his duty, had been in the mine
and examined the workings of the places
His mangled body lies at the morgue. The
only evidence that he attended to his du-
ties are the certificates of inspection re-
ceived from him this morning, which guar
anteed the mines safe. The miners knew
these certificates had been filled out and
went to work. They never returned. Su-
perintendent Keighly. who was mine in
spector in the Dunbar district
when that horror occurred, was
at the mine when the explosion took
place. He Immediately called for volun-
teers and gathering few about him, de
scended the shaft. Before doing SO he no.
tilted General Superintendent Dinch, an d
that gentleman ordered all mine superin-
tendents in the region to the scene. When
the volunteers entered the mine a sight i'm
possible to picture met them. bank of
cars, mules, and more terrible than all,
men were piled in a compact mass, against
ribs or walls of coal, and not &
living thing was in the wreckage.
It was almost solid as the coal itself. So
terrific was the force of the explosion that
Guilty, and they entered the chamber of
horrors. The first object they discovered
after leaving the main entry was a gum
boot. In it was the leg of a man. Farther
on they found human head. but nowhere
in sight was the trunk that had borne it.
d. fnv ,kon nfA H.,
distance, surrounded by dangers unseen,
they found the trunk. The ragged neck,
with blood oozing, from it, told a story of
appalling disaster.
Working their way in they found bodies
strewn along the gangway. One unfortu-
nate met death while on his knees in pray
er, with hands clasped ald eyes uplifted
His body was found in this position. 1t
was pathetic picture. While all this was
occurring the people of the region were
concentrating at the scene of the great dis
nster. Women, children and relatives and
friends of the unfortunate victims rushed
to the mouth Of the pit shrieking and Sob
bing, and the scene was one never to be
forgotten. Following them came physi-
clans and undertakers fyom Scottdale,
Mount Pleasant and Greensburgh, and after
them Father LambinR, of Scottdale. who
went among the bereaved with words of
sympathy and coincidence. besides urging
might be alive and imprisoned. The SER
vices of the physicians is little needed, for
every man in the heading, where the eXplo-
sion occurred. was killed. None were
injured and dead bodies were brought up
in very few minutes. Every corpse was
covered and no one even ventured to in
quire which bodYit WAS. for they knew that
every one in that part of the mine at the
time of the explosion WAS dead.
Superintendent keighly was sorely dis
tres sed. He had been in two other mine
disasters, Dunbar and ioungstown,-but|
this was far the worst He said: mo man
living knows the cause of the accident, and
ii will never be known for a certainty,
Not 30 many were killed by the explosion,
hut the dreaded after damp came and the
unfortnuates sucoumbsd to it. This is
shown by the fact that only thoae bodies
in the immediate vicinity Of the worst
wreckage were mutilated."
One foreman connected with the mine
said that safety lamps were not used in it.
The presence OF gas had not been sus-
pected.
Superintendent Lynch said tonight that
he thought il possible that in drawing ribs
or pillars some miner tapped gas All
lights were open and gas was an unexpected
thing. Up to one O'Clock u. m. sixty bodies
were recovered. Every five minutes a
corpse would be brought to the surface, and
pass through the line of watchers without
comment save the expression of "another
one" II 10 impossible to obtain n list of the
deed, as not even the bosses know just who
went down in tho morning.
!, john w. Bell, frs boss at Heokla No. !,
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