Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-05
LIKE RATS IN A HOLE.
Eighteen Miners Drowned in . Mining
shaft.

LIKE RATS IN A HOLE.
| shaft.
GAINESVILLE. the pretty little mining village Of
J. c. Hayden 4 Co.. two mil,s across the
mountains from Hazeiton, Pa, is the scene Of
the disaster announced in the dispatches to
THE STAR yesterday. Eighteen men en-
tombed III watery graves marks the result OF
the most awful mine horror that has ever oc-
Cured in that region.
THE FLOOD.
At II o'clock in the morning, while Charles
Boyle and Patrick Coll of Lewiston were en-
gagged in drilling a hole in their chamber In
the lower lift of No. I slope OF J. G. Hayden
& Co., at GAINESVILLE. they broke into the old
Nc. slope that has been idle for I've years
and had been flooded to the mouth with water.
VIM. Brislln, driver, was driving at the bot
tom Of the slope when he felt the wind coming
and cried out, Boys, run for your lives
will all be drowned In a moment the force
of water came, and Brislin barely escaped with
his life. Besides him six others were saved.
They are Henry Gibbon, John Mems, John
Boyle. Charles Boyle. VIM. Coyle, doortender,
and Patrick Coll John Boyle's laborer was
drowned. The water rose rapidly, and before
any attempt could be made to rescue the rest of
the workmen it flowed in, and in five minutes
time the slope, which is ga feet deep,
hhSN w thc HoNtn, ciButccI iHcu hdu
persisted.
The news of the disaster created the widest
excitement, and the mouth of the slope
| soon thronged with people frantic in their
| efforts to obtain information Of the inmates Of
| the mines. When all the men who escaped
reached the surface and il wns known who the
| lost were the excitement increased. and in less
| than half an hour hundreds of men. women
and children gathered around the slope and the
terrible scenes of anguish that cnsued cannot
hA sIxr of tha
miners standing by. who only knew too well the
| fatal result, to save their husbands from the
terrors OF a watery grave; little children cry
ing for the papa who would never return rcla-
| tives and friends ringing their hands in sorrow
and distress and appealing to merciful Provi-
dence.
| The weather. which was bitter cold, did not
have any effect toward diminishing the crowd,
and Messrs. J. C. Hayden Co. soon had a
large force of men at work, under Master Me-
chanic Rude, placing pumps in position. One
| was got in working order In a very short time,
and black and sulphurous water was being
forced from the mouths Of the huge column
| pipes at the entrance Of the slope. large
duplex Cameron pump was also in working
| order by O'Clock last night and every minute
| takes 1.500 gallons from the slope where the
men are entombed. The firm of Hayden 4 Co.
will pump the water out as rapidly as ma
chinery placed in position can do the work.
How long it will take is a question. since no
1
| certained. Some of the miners say il will take
| four weeks before the bodies can be reached
| others say twice as long, since all the water
that had collected in the abandoned No. 8
slope will run into this lift Of No. slope. and
will, of course, have to be pumped out.
SURVIVORS STORY.
Mr.. Brislin, one Of the escaped miners ct the
bottom of the slope, said: II waiting at
the bottom of the slope for a trip to come out.
| Su1Iap1, II 10, anJ I
was the trip coming out. Then frighttul
blast of wind came and knocked me down the
gangway. i cried out to James Griffiths. Then
| the wind blew his light out suddenly as it
did mine. l tried to run for the slope, but
stumbled and fell. Then John Boyle and John
Mems came running out. Mems lamp was
burning and through the aid of Mems light
we got to the slope. The water came pouring
after us as We ran We got to the slope and
then the light weni ont. We clambered up
fast could and the water came rushing
| after us. rising very quickly. In five minutes
the water raised 20S yards to the mouth Of the
slope, the pitch of which is eighty-th-se de-
grees."
LIST OF THE DEAD.
| The lost are: Lawrence Reed, married. eight
children; James Griffiths, married, one child
Edward Gallagher married. two children: Jas.
Ward, married, eight children; Harry Bull,
married, seven childre.,; Joseph MatskowitscE,
single; Patrick Kelly, single; Jake Waste, single;
Mike Smith, Hungarian; John Berno, Tom
Gilk, married. one child: Tom Tomaskaskay,
married, three children; Joe Astro, single;
Bosco Frinko, single; Thomas Greko, single:
John Boyle. single, and Samuel Porter, single.
THEORIES AS TO THE DISASTER.
The civil engineer in charge of the GAINESVILLE
mine was man from Pottsville, La Fevre
Womelsdorf. Many theories are advanced as
to the cause of the disaster. Some charge it to
neglect to notify the workmen Of the dangerous
proximity of the water. The slope in question
where the accident occurred is a new one, which
was sunk from the bottom of a worked-out
slope. The latter has been flooded for at least
sixteen months, and only few OF the old
miners knew of the presence Of the great body
of water, and many time had the remark been
made that if the lower gangway workings were
driven up too near dreadful accident would
be the result. None of the workmen had any
idea that the workings were driven as near to
the water as they were.
IMPRISONED IN FLOODED MINE.
A cavern occurred at 3 o'clock yesterday
afternoon in No. slope at Grand Tunnel, OPP
posite the river from Nantroke. Three men
were shut in. and the place was filled with
water it is supposed they were drowned. They
are Polanders and names thus far unknown.
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