The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1892-03-17
ESCAPE CUT OFF.
Fire Drives the Rescuers from the Fated
Belgium Mine-The Death List Is Esti-
mated at 1853.

| Fire Drives the RescuerR from the FAted
Belgium Mine-The Death List Is Esti-
mated at 1 s..
BRUSSELS, March IA According to a
report on the Anderluis mine disaster
sixty three persons were rescued un-
hurt, twenty injufed and 153 were
killed Twenty thousand persons on
Sunday attended the funeral of thirty
one of the victims.
Mining experts acquainted with the
Anderleus workings say that every per-
/ son who was working in the lower gal
lery must be dead, and few are expect
ed to be rescued alive from the upper
gallery, which is filled with deadly
gases
The bodies that have been recovered
We're covered with a thick, black dust,
which, in some instances, had been
blown deep in the skin. AS they were
taken into the Office they were placed
upon straw that had been spread on
the floor, and the faces were then
cleaned as far as possible to allow of
Identification. Many of the faces,
no wever, were entirely unrecognizable
The fire in the mine grew fercer and
has been SO intense that it has been
impossible for the rescuing parties to
remain in the pit After it was found
that the fire was growing in
strength a consultation was held
between the mine owners and the
engineers and it was decided that as
there was not the slightest doubt that
every body in the mine was dead, the
only course left open for them to fol-
low, if they hoped to recover the bod
les, was to flood the mine.
Preparations were being made to car
ry out this plan, but before any water
could be pumped in, cries of fire.
were heard on all sides, and at 2
o'clock the flames ascended to the
pits mouth and sparks were scat
tered in every direction. A few min.
utes later an immense column Of
fame shot through the ventilating-
shaft, piercing the thick clouds of
smoke that were overhanging the
shaft.
The sight was magnificent as the
mass of fire shot upward, but it
meant certain death for every
|
fully recognized by the on-lookers,
and the wailing and shrieks of those
near the pits mouth increased in vio-
lence, as the lurd flame tore their
last faint hope from them. For great
distance around the country was il
Illuminated to almost the brightness of
day by the vast column of fire pouring
out of the mine.
In the meantime water had been
ommenced to be thrown into the burn
ing pit Before it had descended any
distance it was converted into steam
and escaped with tremendous roaring
noise, which added to the horror of the
situation. The scene has seldom it ever
been equaled in the mining disasters
of Belgium.
All the heavy machinery at the
mouth of the pit was destroyed and
fell crashing down the shaft. This
acted as a damper against the flames
ascending the shaft to the surface, and
thereafter little fire could be seen But
it could he seen roaring and seething
through the galleries far below the sur
face.
aster, for many of the miners families
have lost their only means of support
The government has taken prompt ac-
ton to relieve SO far as possible the
suffering entailed by the catastrophe.
PICKS LAID ASIDE.
British Miners to the Number Of Thou
sands Strike-Their Object Is to Force
an Advance in Wages-Many Factories
Closed for Lack of Coal
LONDON, March 14.-The great coal
strike is on. The Durham miners did
not resume work, and the co!lieries OF
Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire,
North Wales and other districts are
idle. The miners of Scotland, South
Wales and Northum berland are work.
ing quietly.
In Durham the men to the number OF
so, 600 are ou strike against reduction
of wages, but in all other districts the
men have simply decided to take a
week or even three weeks holi.
day in order to restrict the out.
put of coal, thus insuring prices
teing kept up and the rate OF
wages maintained if not advanced
This movement on the part of the
miners has caused the greatest disturb
ance in the British labor world and
in the II manufacturing centers that has
been known since the American civil
war, when so many hundreds Of thou
sands of the cotton operatives of Lam
cashire would have starved but for a
boundless charity
The most startling rumors are in cir.
culation in this city. The fears of a
coal famine are widespread. The
stocks of coal in the great commercial
centers are not large and coll,ery own
ers have for some time declined to bind
themselves to execute orders. great
many orders have been refused and
the price of coal has risen by leaps and
bounds until it has reached a figure
which it has not known since the
memora BILE strike of Northum berland
and Durham miners fifteen years
ago. Some factories will be COM
PEELED to cease work this week for
want of fuel. A number of others will
4 have to close the week following.
if the miners determine to carry their
experiment into second week, and if
it is prolonged into a third week the
: disturb bahce of British man nufacturers
will be general and it's effects SO wide
spread that scarcely an estimate can
be formed of the loss to the communi-
ties which must ensue.
FLOOD AT LEAVENWORTH.
A Reservoir Collapses and Much Damage
Results.
LEAvENwoRTH, Kan. March IA
section Of the wall of reservoir No. OF