The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-29

vHbc oOso BS8bOu DtOOu tO~0Hy with UOW0 0O
form and roverent hOsd while sixly-thres
dead minors, taken from the Mammoth
shaft, wore shrouded, confined ana laid 10
rcst for thoir long slsop. The ysmains and
mournsrs were carried 70 ~. John. Tho
Baptist cemetery at bcottdale, in q spscisl
train. Along the road hundreds Of citizens
TUNED out and wherever the train halted
great crowds gathered. Over 5000 persons
were present ~ the bodies we're placed side
BY side In common grave. Tho coachss,
behind the baggage car with the
corpses, were crowded with sobbine
women and sad faced men. The scenes
at the cemetery were very affecting.
Not until the bodies were being placed in
the grave did the women and children seem
to realize the full extent Of their beresve-
ment and then pitiful chorus Of cries and
mosns was heard. All day long the work
OF recovering bodies from the pit went ON
and the work 10 not yet concluded. H. G..
Frick. owner Of the Msmmoth mine. says
there were in all 16O men working in the
mine at the time Of the accident, nine Of
whom escaped with their lives. Some Of them
were badly injured. The rest, or 161 men.
were either killed outright or suhocated by
the terrible after damp. At two O'Clock
this afternoon ITO bodies had been re-
covered, of which Afty-three were identi-
fed.
Nobody slept at Mammoth last night. In
every home in the little hamlet there was
mourning In the little one-story houses,
tallow candles, mother, wife, sister or
sweetheart sObbed in silence. After the ex-
plosion Of yesterday the 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 dread.
full news hither and thither of families
dashed from the comforts of home into the
at these mine cottages can readily be imag-
ined.
Within an incredibly short time the en-.
trance to the shaft was crowded with an
eager, anxious crowd of men, women and
children, some of whom could only with
great difficulty be kept at a safe distance.
Az the bodies Of the victims, mangled By
the terrible forcs Of the explosion or
burned almost out 81 human, 'selnbiance,
were brought up from tho yawning depths
the crowd of watchers pushed forward to
the pits mouth for a glimpse Of reoogni-
ton. The hearts of wives and mothers
stood still in fear that their loved ones were
bronzed and bearded cheeks. and were
dashed away by the brawny hands that had
swung the pick for many years.
The rescuers proceeded with their grim
task and the crowd of watchers stood ST.
lently looking on. Fifty cofiDs arrived
from Pittsburg this mornins and another
half hundred will reach here tonight. An
additional order for twenty-f more was
sent this morning. The cause of the ex-
plosion is not yet determined and the cor
Oner is on the ground and thorough inyes-
tiRation will be made.
The rescuing party is working with en-
ergy and the wreck III the shaft is being
company said this morning: "Itmay never
be known how or why the explosion oc-
CURED. Accumulation of fire damp was
probably the cause, but it was never known
to exist in any quantity before. In fact, it
may be said the Mammoth mine has been
free from fire damp. There ia theory that
a pocket Of natural gas was reached
and that the operation of the ventiIating
fans now prevents any accumulation of il.
1t is not necessary that every one in the
mine would be killed when an explosion
occurs. The explosive gas may stay in one
particular section and may not permeate
the entire mine, unless the volume is so
great as to force it to every part of the pit.
In this case the gas is confined to one por-
tion and the miners who are in other locali-
ties escape
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
free from gas. Hundreds of safety
gauge lamps were provided for the miners
by the company, but they were never used
as they were regarded as unnecessary. In
their stead the men wore the familiar little
open flame lamps in their hats. The mine
boss put the night shift to work and found
nothing to arouse his suspicion.