The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-04-02
DEATH IN A PIT.
Tragedy of a Burning Coal
Mine.
TEN MEN TAKEN OUT DEAD.
Others Still Below, but the Fire Is
Too Fierce to Permit of Reach
ing Them.
Special to THE MORNING CALL

SyANoKIN. April lone more has been
added to the long list of horrors that have
marked the coal fields Of Pennsylvania, and
this time at least ten men, and probably if
Teen. have met with an awful death from
smoke and fire.
This time it was the lamp of careless
miner that caused the catastrophe, and the
accident took place in the Nelson shaft.
close to this town, operated by Langdon &
Co.
II seems that a large number of the
miners, being Catholics, took a holiday
Good Friday, and it is owing to the fact that
they extended their holiday over Easter
Sunday that great number of them are not
now lying burned and blackened far down in
the bowels of the earth. AS it was about
thirty men went to work when time was
called and of these it seems probable now
that half had time to get out after the ex-
plOsion occurred, while there are at least
thirty dead mules in the depths that had
neen employed in hauling coal from the
drifts 10 the shaft.
The miner whose lamp-carelessly IN
covered. perhaps, though that will never be
known-caused the explosion, was walking
in one of the lower levels several hundred
feet down, and the men whose bodies were
LabGQ OUT were al WOIh al l6dSL ZGU lGtb
above the point where the FIRE broke out.
They we're far back from the shaft, how
ever, and the smoke came pouring up in a
dense black volume after the first shock.
shutting them in and suffocating them like
rats in trap. Escape was utterly out of
the question. No human being could make
lead against the smoke and poisonous
gases that came pouring up from the depths
below.
When the noise of the explosion was
Heard and the smoke was seen puring from
the burning mine nearly everybody in town
collected about the mouth of the pit, and
there were the widest scenes of agony
as women and children came crying for
their loved ones. whose lives had gone out
IN the black depths.
For several hours nothing could be done
by those above ground, but at about mid
day a rescuing party at last succeeded in
fighting its way into the mine, though its
members were more than once driven back
by the smoke and were in mOmentary
danger of suffocation. Still they fought
their way through the levels and a short
distance from the shaft they came upon the
bodies of two men. locked in each others
arms. a little further on eight more bodies
were found, making ten in all for the first
searching party. and for the time being the
quest was abandoned. Human endurance
could no more.
The bodies found were brought to the
surface and taken to the blacksmith-shop at
the mines, where the wailing women col
lected about them, and here again the most
beartrendng scenes were enacted.
Ten men were killed. as follows:
Nicholas Dutah, leaves a widow and six
children.
John Robert.
John Burtt, leaves large family OF small
children. whose ages are unknown.
John BoxstTax.
John Garry.
Frederick Gently.
Frank Shupis.
John Ryan.
John Bremen.
Michael Brennan.
Although the hardest kind of work is
being done, 1t is impossible to extinguish
the flames. and orders have been issued to
turn Carbon Run Creek into the mine
Many months will follow before the mine
vii. be in condition to resume operations
aad thousands Of men are out OF work The
loss to LangdOn & Co., the operators of
the mine. will reach $4,000.