The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-29
FIRE-DAMP'S DIRE WORK.
SAD SCENES AT THE MOUTH OF
THE PIT AND IN THE COTTAGES.

One Hundred and Seven Bodies
Taken Out and Seventeen More
in the Pit-The Rescuing Party
at Work-The Exact Cause of the
Explosion Apt to Remain a Mystery
Forever.
YoUNGwooD, PA. Jan. eS.-One hundred
and seven bodies have been taken from the
ill-fated mine No. 1 of Frick & Co. at
Mammoth up to 10 o'clock this morning
At least seventeen more victims of yester-
days explosion are still in the pit.
Nobody slept at Mammoth last night In
every home in the little mining hamlet
there was mourning, yet therO was no dem
onstration. Little one-story houses, scentily
furnished, were illuminated with a tRllow
candle. and mother, wife, sister or sweet
heart sobbed in silenoe. They only know
that a mysterious accident has befallen
them. They cannot see the dead: they have
little care for the living. Their grief Is
deep and keen. After ths explosion yester-
day news of the awful fate of the scores of
miners at work in the shaft spread rapidly
among the mines and miners homes
Couriers carried the dreadful news hither
and thither, aud families were dashed from
the comforts Of home into the depths of
grief and despair.
SCENES OF SADNESS.
The scene at these miners cottages can
readily be imagined by those who have
known grief in Its more formidable forms,
but no artists pen can correctly picture
IL. Within an inoredibly short time the
entrance to the shaft swarmed with an
eager, anxious crowd Of men, women and
children, some of whom could only with
great difficulty be kept at a safe distance.
AS the bodies of the victims, mangled by
the terrible force of the explosion, or
burned almost out of human semblancs,
were brought from the yawning depths the
crowd Of watchers pushed forward TO the
The hearts of wives and sisters stood
still for fear their loved ones
wsee among the dead. The more disin-
terested ones quailed before the sceue
Tears coursed down bronzed and bearded
cheeks and were dashed away by brawny
hands that had swung the pick for many
years.
THE RESCUING PARTY.
The resouing party proceeded with their
grim task and the crowd of watchers
silently looked on. It was one Of those
scenes which. once witnessed, remain for
ever impressed upon the memory OF the
spectator. This catastrophe, while involving
more than Eve times the loss of life ocoa-
stoned by the Dunbar disaster, differs In
many respects from the latter. AT Dunbar
an explosion set fire TO the mine and shaft,
and for days and weeks a roaring furnace
added horrors to the great fatality. In
yesterdays occurrence this was not the
! case, and by the perfect work of the fan
pure air was forced into the mine and the
work Of rescuiag was permitted to begin at
once.
BRINGING IN THE ooFFINs.
Fifty cofflns arrived from Pittsburg thin
| morning, and another half hundred will
reach here Tonight An additional order
| for twenty-five more was sent this morn
| ing.
The cause of the explosion has not yet
been determined. The coroner is on the
ground and a thorough investigation will
| be made.
the funerals The victims win be buried
by the company. Many of the unfortu-
mates are Hungarians, and will be sent to
Scottdale for intermenk
The rescuing party Is working with
heroic energy. and the wreck in the shaft is
being fast cleared up.
THE PROBABLE CAUSE.
An official of the Frick company SAID this
morning: "It may never be known how or
why the explosion occurred. An accumula-
tion Of 6re-damp was probably the cause,
but it was never known to exist in any
quantity before-in fact. it may be said
that the Mammoth mine has been free from
damp There is a theory that pocket Of
natural gas was reached, and that the opera
ton of the ventilating fans now prevents any
accumulation Of 1t. 1t is not necessary that
every one in mine should be killed when
an explosion occurs. The explosion may
stay In one particular section, and may not
permeate the entire mine unless the volume
Is 30 great as to force 1t to every part of the
| pit. In this case the gas was confined to
one portion, and the miners who were In
the other localities escaped"
ENTIRELY UNExPECTED.
Never in the history Of American coal
mining has there been such an unexpected
accident, with such complete annihilation
| of all within its reach. The Mammoth
mine has been notable always as being par
ticnlarly free from gas Hundreds Of safety
| gauze lamps we're provided for the miners
by the company, but they were
| unnecessary. In their stead the men wore
the familiar little open-hame lamps on their
| hats, those small coffee pot shaped affairs Of
| tin. which are fastened above the forehead
| in the headRear Of the workmen, with little
| leaden images Of the saints to guard them
| In the mine. The mine boss put
| the night shift to work and
| found nothing to arouse his suspicion.
| Fire Boss Smith. man who had worked in
the mines in Great Britain and this country
for thirty years, made his usual careful In
| spection Of all the rooms and headings at
the customary time, between aud o'clock
in the morning, and his reports were on file
indicating everything safe.
FALLING OVER THE CoRPsEs.
Supt Keighley says no man living knows
the cause Of the accident, and it will never
be known for certainty. He said 300 feet
from the bottom OF the shaft the rsscuers
encountered fall Of rock In the gaugway
which was caused by the explosion.
empty cars completely wrecked We're
piled up against it We cut our
way through and fell down into a
dip where the men were working, and then
we were constantly falling over dead bodies.
Not so many were killed by the explosion,
but the dreaded after-damp came on the
poor fellows and they succumbed to IL.
This is evident from the fact that only q
small proportion Of the dead taken out were
j Il