The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1891-01-30
DEADLY DAMP
Awful Explosion in Pennsylvania
Nine
ONE HUNDRED AND TEN HEN DEAD.
-2zaay OF the Bodies shOcE1ingIy ATutIIated-
Stricken Wives and Children sorrow Ia
Their Huts-An Unfortunate
superintendent.

est page in the history of the coke
regions was written yesterday, 40
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 Prick 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 o'clock a 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
thing was wrong but the faint cloud of
dust
Soon the worst began to be feared
and a 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
the miners, scattered over the hills. pre-
scented the usual scenes incident to the
busy house wives duties about the
place. Many of the cottages faced the
entrance to the mine, and when the IN
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,
3 and were all killed.
Superintendent Keighly, who was
mine inspector in the Dunbar district
when the horror occurred, was at the
mine when the explosion took place.
he Immediately called for volunteers,
and gathering a few about him de-
seconded the shaft. Before doing SO he
notified General Superintendent Lynch,
who ordered all the superintendent in
the region to the scene.
When the volunteers entered the
mines a sight impossible to picture met
them. Bank cars, mules and men were
piled in a compact mass against the
ribs or walls of coal, and not living
thing was in the wreckage. The mass
was almost as solid as the coal itself so
terrific was the force of the explosion.
This obstruction was removed with diff
riculty.
Then the rescuers entered a chamber
OF horrors. The first object they dis
covered after leaving the main entry
was gum boot. In 1T was the lamp of
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
way. One unfortunate met death while
on his knees in prayer, with his hands
cIasped and his eyes uS0lifted- The
headless trunk did not move the res
cuers, nor were their emotions betrayed
by the shapeless head itself, but the
sight of the corpse in the attitude of
prayer brought tears to every eve. 1t
was a pathetic picture.
Dead bodies were brought up every
few minutes and the crowd at the shaft
mouth simply fell back to allow the
,mea carrying the stretchers room to
pass. Every corpse was covered and
no one even ventured TO inquire whose
body it was, for they knew every one
an that part of the mine at the time of
the explosion was dead.
One hundred and ten men were en-
.pIOyed in that part of the mine in which
the 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 torn, burned and mutilated,
others were found with their teeth
.cienched on the iron rail OF the pit
road, others with faces plunged into the
water and not few upon their knees
as If engaged in prayer.
There is little information regarding
the horror. Everybody in the pit was
KILLED. The position of their bodies
told the story of the end. The force of
the explosion was felt for miles around
Up to midnight sixty bodies had been
.xecovered. Every five minutes corpse
would be brought to the surface and it
-seuId pass through the line of watchers
ssVsitSzouE comment, save the expression,
Another one" 4 notable feature of
che crowd at the shaft was the absence
81 women. They had returned to their
little vvhitewashed homes, for they
knew all hope was gone
The only man who escaped from the
fatal mine was Mine Boss Eaton.
Ex-Afine Inspector Keighiy, the su-
uerinSendent of the fatal shaft, is near
-. - sSv 20, AFr~.k