The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1892-04-02
AFTER Two YEARs.
Bodies OF the Entombed YIstIms Of the rs
Fated Hill Farp Mlae In Psnnsylvanla
Recovered After Two Years--Thelr Dssa

perate Struggle For Life.
DUNBAR Pa, March 90. The dead
have been wrested from their untimety |
tomb. and all that remains Is to accord
Christian burial to the miners who
met their fate in the Hill Farm mine |
at Dunbar, June 16, 1890. The bodies
Of twenty-three OF the mine1s have |
been found and have been brought to |
the surface for burial The bodies |
found were those of John Mitchell, Dam
iel Smith, John McCleary, Jim McCleary,
Peter Devlin, John Cope, Andrew Cope,
James Shearin, Elmer Dewey, John
Devanney, Richard Bigley, Daniel Nc
Castino, John Kirnau, Martin Kava-
nagh, Patrick Cahill, John Courtney,
Patrick Courtney, John Devanuey, Jr.,
James x Ivey, Thomas Davis, Daniel
Davis, James McCune and William Ca
hill. Yet in the tenacious grasp of the
mine are William Hay, Peter Egan,
Joseph Rigley, Milton Turner and Bar-
ney Naust. The latter unfortunates
were in the dip at the time of the ex-
plosion, and their bodies will not be
recovered until all the water is pumped
out
The struggle for life of the entombed
miners was as terrible as it was brief.
They were suffocated-not burned or
starved-and it is improbable that any
lived longer than half an hour. There
is an unwritten law of protection
among miners, by which they rush to-
gether at the sound of an explosion.
impelled by common instinct of self
preservation, for together they stand
better chance of fighting for freedom.
So was 1t with the Hill Farm victims.
When found they were huddled togeth-
er in fat No. 10, showing that they had
rushed deeper into the mine, and that
moment later a scorching breath of
death filed the fiat, choking their lungs
bursting their veins and striking them
to the earth, to linger in horrible tor
lures a few moments and then die. A
few of the miners took refuge in one
little room. When found they were
piled on top of one another, contorted
in ghastly shapes-heads thrown back;
mouths, where the lips had fallen
away, open; heshless hands, clinched,
and nails soaring the bones of palms
all sickuiug evidence OF death which
was preceded by tortures unimagin-
able. A short distance away were
three miners, two of whom, the broth
ers McCourtney, aft orded an affecting
spectacle OF love strong even
unto death. They alone were clasped
in each others arms, and
their faces were composed, even
though time had ravaged their manly
forms and drilled great wells where
their eyes comforted each other in that
last dread hour when hope had fled.
The third man, David Davis, it is sup
pose this is the man, sat beside them,
his head between his knees. He had
evidently kept his mouth close to the
ground until the last vital breath of
air had been exhausted. The fourteen
other miners were entombed in a space
thirteen feet square One had an open
knife in his hand, as though he intended
to kill himself, but was stricken by a
more sudden death of suffocation.
AS soon as. the bodies were found
word was telegraphed to Mine In
\ spectors Blick, Evans, Louttit, Jenlk-
ins aud Striver TO come to the scene
at once. The coroner was also mott
fed, and an order was sent to Pitts
burgh for cofins The finding of the
bodies has caused fever among the
families of the dead men still living
here. Two of the widows have again
married, and a few others have
moved away from the place in which
they felt the great blow that the
mine horror brought them. The search
for the bodies has been carried OF
unremittingly by the owners of tht
Hill Farm since the awful disaster,
twenty months ago, at q cost of over
s1OO, 600 After two weeks work the
searchers were compelled to abandon
the work for a time until the fire which
followed the explosion could be extin
guished. The mine was then sealed NJ
and flooded to subdue the fire, afte
which months were required to cleal
the mine OF water and the tons of col
lected debris produced by the fire.
Coroner Colbert arrived from Union
town at Q o'clock yesterday morning,
and after impaneling jury proceeded
to the mine, where he met Superin
tendent Hill The party went down tc
the point where the bodies were dis
covered, 4,2OO feet from the surface.
After viewing the remains the coroner
adjourned. the inquest until the bodies
could be positively identified, and or
dered them brought out at once.
The twenty-three bodies of victims
of the Hill Farm mine explosion, found
Wednesday after a search of twenty
months, were buried this morning The
remains were placed in rough boxe
down in the mines, and the relatives ant
friends OF the dead men were not per
mitted to see them. ALI but two wer
identified by trinkets in their posses
sion. The names were written on tn,
boxes, which were securely naile
down. Father Milady conducts
the services at the Catholic ceme
terry, where twenty-one of tn
victims were buried side by side
During the services, brother of Rich
ard Bigley insisted upon seeing tn
face of his dead brother once again
but this was refused At this he grev
frantic. "I3y heaven, shall see him,
said he, and seizing hatchet he a
tackled the rough box to cut hole
it. He was seized by several men an
after a-struggle elected from the Gem,
terry. The other two bodies wer
buried in Franklin cemetery.