Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-01-29

I hIied with black damp can imagine IN
magnitude Of the undertaking and The
danger of the men who do the work
Every man who went with those reScU
ing parties was q hero in every sense o
the word, and too much credit canno
cannot be given them.
l Inspector Jenkins went into the min'
at o'clock in the afternon, and at
O'Clock ia the morning, when wen
down, I found him waiting for reen
forcementS. lie was tired and weary,
as were an the reScuerS, yet they stuck
0ravely % their work met Jenkin:
about 200 feet from the opening OF "a,
shaft and ln the few minutes conver.
sation / had with him he said:
There is no telling how this eXplo-
sion occurred. ] can see no reason fOI
il except lt is one Of the acts of PrOyi-
deube. / inspected this mine in No
yember and was In 10 later, and always
found the ventilation very good. You
can see for yourself that the ven
tilatiOn whore we are now is excel
lent. This was one OF the mines
supposed to be Singularly free
from gas, and was supposed TO be
enc OF the safest mines in the region. OF
course, We have not had time to inyeSti-
gate fully All of the niue has not as
yet been explored. When it is We may
get az the real cause.
The fire boss, VIM. Snaith, whose
duty il was 90 inspect the mine before
the men went in, evidently did his duty
yesterday morning, AZ he reported the
mine free from gas. He is an old miner.
tie has been in the business probably so
years, and it is hardly likely be would
stay in the niue himself II he had dis
covered any ga>. What We want To- do
now. however, is 20 get these bodies
out"
Mine Inspector Duncan, Of the adiOin-
ing district, was also down in the mine
while / was there. lie is one Of the men
who did considerable work az the Hill
Farm mine. Said he:
There are more lives lost in this,
bat there are not the same obstacles TO
overcome. We have easy access 10 this
mine and the ventilation is very good.
This mine was supposed to be free from
gas, but the explosion may have been
caused by one OF the 'trapperS leaving
the door open. However, / think it
was one OF those unforeseen things that
are liable Co happen at any time.
Inspector Duncan had just finished
this sentence. when there was a call for
some one 90 60 about 200 feet beyond
with safety lamp and explore
some OF the lower rooms. Dun
can volunteered and he was eau
toned to Doe careful on account
OF the deadly black damp. The old
mans only remark was that it was his
duty and be would 90 ahead. We
waited for fully ten minutes, when We
heard cries coming from the dark dis
,ance. and Inspector Duncan came run
ming out almost sutfOcated. Strong
arms and willing hands picked him up
and he was carried 20 the shaft. some
)ne started the report that the black
damp had broken loose again, and
there was general rush TO the mouth
)f the pit. However, duncan was
taken care OF and landed safely on the
top oi the ground,
The men were an a little afraid 10 60
back In the mine again, but Inspector
Jenkins volunteered 20 90 down first.
In about fifteen minutes he returned.
iud the men went down below 70 con-
iuue their work.
The miners from the Standard works
lid wonderful service. They all came
lyer 90 the Mammoth works after their
lays work was done. and worked con-
inuously until an the bodies were re-
moved. talked with at least fifteen OF
Them aud they one aud an said they
.ould not tell what caused the eNplo-
sion. as this mine was considered the
safest one 90 work In Of all the mines in
This district. They said that 10 had
been worked Cor over four years and
they had never heard of there being any
gas in the mine. Too much credit can
not be- given these men.