Evening journal., 1892-10-14
MINERS ENGULFED ALIVE
Thirteen Unfortunates Buried
by a Mass of Falling Rock.
DBATHBYFIREDAMP AWAITS THEM

Two of the Victims brought to the Sur
face I'm an Exhausted and Critical Con-
dltion-A Volunteer Receiving Party
Striving TO Save the Remainder.
SHAMoKIN, Pa, Oct 14-By an explo-
sion of gas at the Sterling mine it is prob
able that thirteen men have been killed.
The explosion was caused by a fall of rock
In an old breast, driving a body of gas
down gangway, touching a naked light
William Mack, sitting on the bumper Of a
mine wagon, saw his four mules killed, and
the body of Thomas Ogara hurled past him
like flash. Twenty yards beyond Daniel
Reed, another driver, saw his two mules
Drained by falling rock, and he was scorched
by volume of fire lighting the gloom for
100 feet.
While eighty men quarter Of mile in
the rear wondered at the loud report, an
other body Of the gas tore along the smok
ing gangway, and meeting a ball of flame
in an alcove ignited with terrific force,
causing great falls on top, creating the
power of tornado and causing lamps to
90 out and closing different passages.
The missing men are imprisoned between
two falls, and the black damp which arose
Immediately after the explosion had been
so strong that the officials and experienced
miners have faint hope of finding them
alive. At great peril men are taking turns
in forcing their way to where the men are
Supposed TO be imprisoned. The inside
foreman was brought out, oyerpowered by
gas, and taken home in a special train. He
says the men are certainly dead.
Many Hairbreadth Escapes.
When the second explosion came men
CROPPED along different routes to get out Of
the place before the black damp set in
Falls were occurring along the line, and
many were the hairbreadth escapes In a
few minutes the bottom of the slope was
filled with terrified men. The huge en-
gines started to work, and for half an hour
drew the half smothered toilers to the sur
face.
Then a count was made, thirty men be-
ing missing News reached town of the
explosion and that six bodies had been re-
ceived, while the remainder were entombed.
Doctors, ambulances, a special train and
hundreds of people flocked to the scene.
By this time all of the eighty men, except
thirteen, had got out, including the in
jured.
Ogara's body was recovered and an hour
later the two Mccall brothers rang to
come up. They were almost dead, having
been wandering through old workings and
carrying two fainting Polish men along.
The party finally ran up against a small
opening, through which they worked their
way Irvine Edwards was found fainting
in ditch. His experience was thrilling
Having lodged many falls he escaped
the fire by jumping in a ditch and severely
injuring himself by falling over dead
mule. He brought tidings Of the rest of
the missing, having been with them when
the second explosion came. His comrades
ran up passage which was a quarter of a
mile nearer the foot Of the slope He would
have followed, but lost the way, and finally
struck the main gangway.
A Call for Volunteers.
Superintendents Moore, Shrefiier and
jefferson, who had been summoned, called
for volunteers. A number responded, but
ten were sufficient for the first attempt AS
the wagon went down great cheer went
up. Bad air soon drove the men back, but
others took their places Whenever one
was overcome another would respond.
Thus the work went on. The main object
Of the work was TO brush the gas back and
establish an air current.
In this attempt small progress had been
made up to dusk. The great quantity OF
black damp renders it impossible for any
body to live where the damp is thickest
and unfortunately it hangs in body near
the point where the men are supposed to be
penned up. Everything in the power of the
company is being used to push the work
and there is no lack of men to enter the
mine. Crowds of men, women and chill
dren wait patiently at the entrance of the
slope for news. The work will 60 on until
all the men are found, dead or alive.
Later the rescuers succeeded in pene
trating the gangway finding the remain:
of one MinstOck. Twenty yards further
two miners McDevitt and Bitcavage-
were discovered alive but unconscious
They were removed to their homes.