St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-28
SCORES LIE DEAD.
A Terrific Explosion Occurs
in a Mine in Texas,
in Which
MANY MINERS PERISH.
Reseuers, After Much Effort,
Succeed in Saving the
Lives Of Eleven.
TWENTY FIVE coRPsES
Taken From the Debris
Heartrending Scenes at
the Pits Mouth.

CERRILLOS, N. NJ, Feb. Phone
of the most serious mine accidents
in the territory of New Mexico oc-
Cured at White Ash, three miles
from here, this afternoon, when an
explosion of gas wrecked the coal
mine of the Santa Fe Railroad COM
pany. Owing to the smoke, dust
and noxious vapors that filled every
approach to -theWorkings, two hours
elapsed before any progress could
be made toward effecting a rescue,
and up to o'clock but one miner
had been reached. His dead body
was found near the entrance. Three
hours later the reScuerS succeeded
in reaching the left fourth level and
the dead bodies of several more were
brought out. The sight about tho
mine was heart-rending in the eX-
treme. Frantic wives, many OF them
carrying babies in their arms, haV-
ing children clinging to their skirts,
stood at the entrance of the mine
for hours, amid tears and prayers,
watching and waiting while hun
dreds of men Vainly struggled to
gain an entrance further into the
mine. SO dense was the smoke at
one time during the afternoon that
many thought the mine had taken
fire, and the conduct of the wives
and mothers when this was an
nounced as a probability was pitiful
in the extreme. Up to 5 o'clock the
GAS CONTINUED TO POUR OUT
from the single opening in the mine
in such volumes as to make the pro-
gress of the rescuers very difficult,
but an hour later the noXious va
pors cleared away and the work of
recovering the dead bodies began
to prove more successful.
Twenty-Five men are still in the
lower workings of the mine and it is
not thought possible that they are
alive.
The work of rescue goes bravely
on. Many heroic scenes have been
witnessed during the afternoon and
at night a gruesome spectacle is
presented. Many camp-fires dot the
scene, and the anguish of the women
and children lowering about them
hoping for the best and urging the
men on in their endeaVorS to reach
the entombed, while others are cling
ing to their dead or ministering to
those brought out alive, presents a
PICTURE OF HUMAN ANGUISH
seldom witnessed. The mine was
worked through a single incline shaft
extending 1900 feet in at an incline of
so degrees, and seems to have been
defective as respects ventilation.
The mouth of the shaft is the sole
means of egress. Nobody seems to
know just how many men went into
the mine this morning. Ordinarily $50
men are employed, but this being
Wednesday, it is said scarcely half
the usual quota of men were at work.
Repre- sentative Laeden, lately en-
ployed there, says tonight he is conf
dent that not less than eighty-fve
men must have been in the workings
at the time of the explosion. The lat
est reports from the scene by tele-
phone are that twenty-five dead bodies
have thus far been recovered.
TWENTY FIVE DEAD BODIES.
DENVER, Feb. PA special tothe
Rocky MouStain News from Cerrillos,
n. NJ, says: Up to 10 p. m. twenty
five dead bodies have been taken out,
horribly burned and mutilated and diff
ficult of Identification. One of the
rescued, John Stuhes, says that he
heard the explosion, and himself and
five comrades started for the main
slope, but could not get out, and re-
treated back into the mine to a pool Of
water, where they immersed them
selves, and, by agitating the water.
managed to get air enough to live on
for the four hours of their confine-
ment, but when the rescuing party
reached them they were in the last
stages of asphyxiation.