St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-09
Ten killed IN A Mine
An Explosion Of Gas Spreads
Ruin and Death Among
Miners
Besides the Widows, a Score
Of Orphans Mourn Their
Protectors.
SoProwful, Affecting Scenes
at the Mouth Of the Fatal
Pit.
Wonderful Escape Of a Brave
Engineer From Torture
and DEATH

NANTICOKE, Pa, Nov. S.-The usual
quiet Sunday Of this mining village was
disturbed about 80 o'clock this after
noon by the announcement that terri
ble explosion Of gas had occurred in No.
l shaft of the SusQuehanna Coal COM
pany by which a number of men had
been killed and others terribly injured.
But short time elapsed before the
news spread through the town and a
large crowd gathered at the scene, in
GLIDING relatives and friends of the
miners employed in the mine, and while
they waited for news from the shaft the
scene was narrowing in the extreme. 1t
was soon learned, however that owing
to the fact that this was Sunday there
were but fourteen men at work in the
mine. OF this number six were in
stantly killed and several others so
badly burned and injured that they can
not survive, many fearing they were in
such condition that they could not bear
removal from the mine.
Widows and Orphans.
The killed are: William j. Williams,
aged fifty years, wife and four children;
Henry K. Jones, town clerk of Nanti-
coke, fire boss, aged forty years, wife
and two children; William Jonathan,
aged thirty-1ive years, wife and four
children; John ArnOtt, aged forty years,
wife and four children; Caleb Jaething,
aged thirty yealS, wife and four chill
dren; Thomas Lloyd. driver, aged
eighteen years; Howell Jones, aged
thirty-two years, wife and family: John
Maloney, thirty years, wife and three
children; David r. James, thirty-seYen
years; w. j. Williams Jr.. tWenty-three
years, son of w. j. Williams, who was
killed. -Four more are badly injured and
one Of them will die.
The critically injured are: David
Howell, aged tnirty-tWO years; David
a. Smith, aged thirty-seven years, sin
gle; Thomas Thomas, aged nineteen
years: Henry Williams. son of William
j. Williams, who was killed instantly.
wife and six children; Howell Jofren-
Ski, Pole. and two POanders whose
names could not be learned.
The accident was caused by the eX-
plosiOn of safety lamp, the flames of
which ignited the gas. The existence
OF this element had become known, and
the safety lamp, which is generally
used successfully in the presence OF
gas, was being used by the men during
their operations. The mine. which is
one of the best operated by the Susque-
hanna Coal company, Is not seriously
damaged.
SOrr0TVfui Scenes.
The scene about the mouth of the
shaft was heart-rending. AS soon as
the news of the explosion was nOised
about town the wives and children of
the men who were imprisoned gathered
about the opening. The wives wept
frantically, while the smaller children
played about unconscious of the fearful
doom their fathers had met. A search
ing party was organized as soon as DOS
slble, and brave men went into the mine
TO rescue their fellow men. They had
to struggle with the dangerous after
damp, and after almost losing them
selves in the cavern, cropping in the
dark, came upon the bodies of the vic
tins.
The force of The explosion had dashed
to pieces several mine cars standing on
the tracks. Some were beheaded and
others disembOWled. 1t was a fearful
spectacle. The remains were taken TO
the mouth of the shaft and from there
TO their late homes in ambulances and
on stretchers. After each one followed
the mans wife and children.
The explosion was caused by the at
tempt of one of the men to change the
air current, when his lamp exploded.