Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-03-31
THE DUNBAR yICrIMs.
Their Bodies Now Being Taken From the
Hill Farm Mine. After Having Been
Entombed Since JUNG, 1900.

EutunDcu SINCE juno, toou.
DUNBAR, Pa, March 23.--Grcat excite
ment was caused this morning by the re-
port that the bodies of % of the 81 miners
entombed in the Hill Farm mine on June
10th, 1880, had been recovered and that
one of the bodies had been identified. One
of the men who was in the rescuing party
when the explosion and fire occurred, and
who was afterwards among the number
that tried TO cut new way into the mine
where il. was supposed the men were still
alive. said.
Three weeks ago we drew ont the water
from No. 0 fiat. Two men entered the fiat
to investigate. They were General Superin-
tendent Hill and Superintendent Lang. At
that time they discovered that the fire had
not done any damage in the fiat, and the
men working there must have died from
suffocation. Near the slope entrance stood
three loaded coal cars untouched by the
flames. The numbers of the cars and the
name of the driver, Elmer Dewey, We're
upon the cards tackled to the frames. At
the time there was three feet os water in
the fiat.
"After satisfying ourselves that the men
in there had not been burned, we came out
and closed up the fiat entrance till the
water could be drawn from it. The pumps
were put in order and we made good pro.
gress, soon clearing the fiat.
AhE cLAFNih n oNEs
Before the week is over the bodies OF
the unfortunate men who persisted in the
mine will be brought to the surface The
search for them has been q horrible one.
The stencil in that flat was awful The
water taken out, the air bad, baclS-damp
prevalent-it was not much wonder that
we were sick. ] can tell you this, That we
have to use barrels of lime to purify the
air and to preserve the bodies of the dead
men.
why have we not brought out the
bodies Simply because of the excitement
that would be raised, and because. also,
they were not in Il condition to be brought
out. We have found three mules; two of
them are perfectly preserved and one Of
them is in bad shape. Not far up the fiat
entrance we came across Dan Shearin's
little dog, think that the bodies will be
taken out on Friday.
What the intentions of the company
are do not know, or where the remains
Of the bodies will be buried / know not
They will not be taken to the houses Of
their friends, at any rate. Only one has
been identitied-Dick BigIcy."
DuNBAR, Pa, March 2i.-The bodies
of 90 miners, found in the Hill Farm
mine, were brought to the surface for
burial to-day. Five bodies are still in
tHu MINT. lHtl Will iAL ut IGCONIIGu
until the water is pumped out.
When found tho bodies were huddled
together IN fiat No. /, indicating that the
men had rushed deeper into the mine
when the explosion occurred. The suf-
ferings of the unfortunate mon must
have been horrible. They were found
piled on top Of one another, contortcd
into CHASTITY heaps, heads thrown back,
mouths wide open, hands clenched with
mills soaring the palms, all sickening
evidence Of q death preceded by torture
unimaginable.
The bodies Of two brothers named
McCoutney afforded an affecting spec.
tacle Of love strong in death. They
We're found clasped in each others arms.
The finding of the bodies has caused
a fever among the families of the dead
men still residing here. Two of the
widows have married again. Search
for tile hodies has been carried on by
the owners Of the mine ever since the
disaster, at total cost Of over 100000.