The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1891-02-04
THE DEADLY DAMP.
Awful Explosion In q Pennsylvania
Coal Nine.
0D0e Hundred AID Ten Men Instantly Killed
0r Satisfactorily One Escaped From
the Deadly Pit-HaErowing
Scenes.

regions was written yesterday, 11O
names of dead miners being enrolled
On it. The mine is on fire and fifty
bodies will never be recovered
Early in the morning a merry shift
of miners at Mammoth mine No 1, OF
the Frick Coke Company, went down
Into the shaft, glad to be on the roll for
another days wages, as they were be.
coming far too few during the late de-
preston in the coke trade.
A few minutes after 9 o'clock faint
puff of dust rolled from the mine, but
1t carried with it over 100 souls into
eternity. There was no sound, no
shock and nothing to show that any
dust
Soon the worst began to be feared
and hasty investigation showed that
the puff of dust meant a fearful disas-
Aster, even the Dunbar explosion be-
ing nothing as compared to the disaster
at the Mammoth mines.
At the hour named the cottages Of
she miners, scattered over the hills, pre-
scented the usual scenes incident to the
busy housewives duties about the
place. Many of the cottages faced the
entrance to the mine, and when the un-
usual stir about the mouth of the pit
was noticed women and girls flew to the
place with shawls hastily thrown over
their heads, and with white faces,
which grew whittier when it was seen
that many willing men started down
the pit but that none came up.
The story of the disaster is easily
told An unexpected flow Of gas was
struck and the miners working in the
headings connected with floats Nos. 2,
8 and 4 were all killed.
Superintendent Keighly, who was
mine inspector in the Dunbar district
when the horror occurred, was at the
mime when the explosion took place.
He Immediately called for volunteers,
aud gathering few about him de-
seconded the shaft.
When the volunteers entered the
mines sight impossible to picture met
them. Bank cars, mules and men were
piled in a compact mass against the
4Hibs or walls Of coal, and not living
thing was in the wreckage. The mass
twas almost as solid as the coal itself SO
terrific was the force of the explosion.
This obstruction was removed with diff.
6culty.
Then the rescuers entered a chamber
OF horrors. The first object they dis
covered after leaving the main entry
was gum boot In it was the lamp of
n miner. Next they found a human
head, but nowhere in sight was the
trunk which had borne it. After a
walk of some distance they found the
TRUNK, the ragged neck with the oozing
blood from it telling the story Of the
appalling explosion.
Working their way on, the band
(. found the bodies strewn along the gang
,Nay. One unfortunate met death while
on his knees in prayer, with his hands
clasped and his eyes uplifted. The
headiess trunk did not move the res
cuers, nor were their emotions betrayed
Ny the shapeless head itself, but the
sight of the corpse in the attitude of
prayer brought tears to every eye. 1t
was a pathetic picture.
Dead bodies were brought up every
few minutes and the crowd ut the shaft
mouth simply fell back to allow the
men carrying the stretchers room to
PASS Every corpse was covered and
mo one even ventured to inquire whose
body it was, for they knew every one
I'm that part of the mine at the time of
the explosion was dead.
One hundred and ten men were en-
ployed in that part of the mine in which
che explosion occurred. Not more than
fifty men were killed by the explosion.
The others were overcome by the fire
damp and while some of the bodies are
horribly +orn, burned and mutilated.
Others were found with their teeth
- lenched on the iron rail of the pit
road, others with faces plunged into the
water and not q few upon their knees
as if engaged in prayer.
Up to midnight sixty bodies had been
recovered. Every five minutes corpse
would be. brought to the surface and it
would pass through the line of watchers
= without comment, save the expression.
another one" A notable feature of
the crowd at the shaft was the absence
of women. They had returned to their
little whitewashed homes, for they
knew all hope was gone.
The only man who escaped from the
fatal mine was Mine Boss Eaton.
Ex-Mine Inspector Keighly. the SUI
,perintendent of the fatal shaft, is near
ny distracted. 1t is a singular fact that
misfortune seems to have followed him.
His experience in the Hill Farm disaster
resulted in his rendering his resigna-
zion as mine inspector.
xvo-,a,s E,,. E~rtv, Turned
Y CHICAGO, Jan. 2S.-The first stake
was driven and the first spadeful OF
earth turned or the lake front opposite
Harrison street in connection with the
Worlds Fair yesterday morning. The
digging was begun for the laying of the
foundation of temporary building to
be used by the chief of construction and
his assistants during the erection of the
Fair buildings proper. Some of the
property owners whose residences front