Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-10-12


for Eighteen Months.
Dunbar. Pa, October 1.-THE Dun
bar Furnace Company, owners OF the
famous Pin Farm mine, in which 81
miners persisted June rs. 1880. have
been notified by the mine inspectors
thar the pit is dangerous. An inspector
who examined the mine said; "The
fire has loosoned the roof OF the slope
above the c-ibbiug The tmbers are
sccayed. and falls Of roof slate are Of
FREQUENT occurrence. The slope is in
Iv hor and che danger fron falls
IS constant The manway on the left
le Of the slope is thick with black
damp for a distance Of 500 feet az its
upper end. Lights viii nor burn In it,
and tits dangerous TO traverse it. 1t is,
Consequently. practically useless, and
The miners are forced to- 80 and come
from their working places by way or
-le slope"
The inspector further said tL2t The
fire may nj any time eat it's way into
jls- such q pocket Of gas as caused the
explosion ID 1880 and in case OF an-
other explosion the miners ON The right
OF tle main heading would be IN pre-
cisely the same fatal situation Us those
who lost their lives uve years ESQ.
There is no outlet from that portion Of
the mine other than the main heading.
The furnace company gave the mat
Ter prompt attention. and The mine Is
arain 5ei1g put in good condition. Per-
l.us no mine in this State has had so
many ui5iOrtunes and became so IA
nous rs this mine 10 was on the morn,
inc OF June l6, 1890. that the great dis
ls--r occurred in which 81 miners
We're lost, rs OF whom remained en~
toubel Tor period or Of months be-
tre they were found. To-day people
sreak Of the disaster eS an explosion.
referring 90 an explosion OF gas ia the
mine lut such was not the case.
bore hole was beins put through from
the surface TO- admit air into the mine,
and q miner was digging from The IN
side on the roof Of the mine 20 meet
the driller above RE dug through
quicker than he expected, and the force
OF gas that had collected in the hole
above rushed down into the mine. Az
the moment the gas came down @ traps
Der boy PASSED beneath with q lighted
lamp on his cap. The lamp exploded,
and the woodwork Of the ribbiIgs above
took ire and swept up the mine. carry
d .as. r..r. . -
soon began 10 dll the mine, and the 70
miners working on the left side were
suroca,ed.
For months the fire continued to
ga in the mine. in both the slope and
Che m2nw3y. The effort -hat was made
20 reach The men by way Of the Ma
h0nlng mine having been abandoned.
Sup- Lang preferred 10 put OUc the
flames and recover the bodies. The
fight with the Gre In the mine is prob
ably the most remarkable In the his
tory OF the world AS both The slope
and manway were on fire new man
way was opened between Che old slope
and manway and as every yard OF this
was opened the fire on bo-h sides was
fought. For eighteen months forty
men w0rEed q. this fire with hose and
water. putting i. ont inch by inch and
FOO, by foot and then walled &c mp 10
prevent it from breaking CU- again nc
any future time Three forces OF men
OF eight hours each worked here day
after day and night after night, sun
l'y and weel, day for eighteen months.
Often the WOrkmen We're overcome by
The fire and smoke and carried ont Un-
conscious. bu- others were there 20
take their places and the work went on.
40 last the tremendous task was ac-
complishei q new m3nway was made
and the fire walled up in The slope and
preparations made 20 pump out the
water. which had accumulated in rhe
run OF The mine some months were
spent I'm pumping and as the water
gradually lowered the bodies OF the en-
t0ubed miners We're approached. On
March TO- 1892. the water went down
below dat No. n, in which the men
were working when they me-. death.
a peculiar thing seen az that time
and which is somewhat visible even nc
the present. was the impression of the
forms Of the men on the rCol of the
mine so distinct thar one could almost
identify The person. The bodies were
lying on the floor of the mine beneath
the Impression The water having
arisen I'm rhe mine. The bodies rose end
remained fer months against The roof
of me mine. and as the water gradually
went down. the bodies moved down
with it
The Chronicle Telegraph correspond
emit visited this mine q shCr, time ago
and was taken into the haunted cham
Der where these forms lay. Every
thing is rha same to-day as on the day
when -ho gh2s-iT fud was made. aui
as long rs The mine is operated this
place win remain q sacred and hallow-
Oh spot Men are to-day working FIVE
headings further I'm and fear not any
more than those iid who went 10 work
on the moAnine OF the 18th of June.
1890.
Another wonderful feature about This
mine is @ few hundred fee, from the
mouth o. the slope On both sides Of
the slorc for distance Of several hun
drei>fact The walls are OF solid coke.
and whom the light shines On them they
s01rklc ike silver walls. The coke was
oralyzed and tested and was found 20
Do @ the very hes, quality. The walls
are solid coke fer q depth of four feet.
and Judging from this one may form
~ - ~ ~ G ~