The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1895-12-21
MINERS ENTOMBED ALIVE,
Explosion OF Fire Damp Kills TWEEN
ty-Four Miners.
SCENES OF GRIEF AND DESPAI.
Men Working Day mud Night 10 Save
Them-ihe ID at ut the
Egypt NJ nes.

Nashville. Tenn, December 2o.--A spe-
cial TO the American from Chattanooga
says:
Twenty-four miners lost their lives today
IN the Nelson, entry No. 10, near Dayton
Tenn. oy an explosion of fire damp. The
explosion was succeeded by terrinc
crash. which indicated that the roof of
me passage through which they had en-
tered had fallen In. NO avenue OF escape
"as left and there is no possibility that
any of the mel. will be found alive. rhe
nine Is The property OF the Dayton Coal
town OF Dayton and reached by spur
track. The men are both white and col-
ored including several boys, and entered
the mine TO so to work at o'clock tbs
morning, but nothing of the awful catas-
tfophe was known until IL o'clock, when
,he drivers in entry No 10 found their way
blocked by SOLD wall of coal and slate.
The Nelson has been worked for twelve
years or more and the entry where the
unfortunate miners are entombed ran back
more IMAM Two miles from the mouth of
he mine: I he mine Is of the kinu con-
mon In Sou bern coal fields, known as a
dliit or level Veined mine. worked IN the
direcilon Of the vein Straight into the fact
OF tie mountain, but before the entry Is
reached a long slope extends 10 a level
of about % degrees. The cars are pulled
up nom the foot of the slope where ira Iii
cars drawn by mules connect With il, to
The reseIlng Parties have beer working
~ dny like grim deA,h trying to reach
,h,ln, but n IS probable that they will be
several days FORCING an opening through
The wall of the falling roofing. when must
be be. mao ma, safe as they proceed. The foul
relieved by fresh hands. The work will
con ~ day ana night unui the oou.es
and children soon gathered aad the pic
lur of heir grief and despair is heart
rending. Mothers, wringing their hands,
sweethearts and gray-ha.red grandparentt.s
9l' In the greatest distress. for they have
bq,eM toli there IS no hope, is a spectacle
lfon which one turns sick at heart
The mine IT ventilated by air shafts or
passages. so the cavins in oil the wan enlr '
cnt on escape. and death was certain to
The latest details and corrected account
Is as follows:
At 4 o'clock this afternoon way had
passage of entry 10 and the blackenod
corpsos OF the dead miners were carried
G i4I,,,t on me outside where the work of
TINS first reported at twenty-five has
reached twentynine.
Two bodies recovered are those of
negroes, which have not been recognized
a. foday, colored laborer WAS
one, of the last to be brought out. Life
had long been extinct in all the poor re-
mains of humanity at the mouth of the
Latest reports say that the gas was
first ienited in No. By Tom Hawkins, in
spector. on his usual morning round of
the mines. The flameT were rapidly com
m1unicated to entry No 10 by means OF
side pas sages. All the men at work in
entry No. . escaped except Hawkins. No
49, which forms an angle In the banks and
| connects with the outside world at the
foot Of the lower slope the deadly gas
/ ignited, doing Its work so we'll tfat hot
one of the men who Were at work IN the
cross passage are alive 20 tell the story.
fFr- Ftf . A..~t
no. viii also die, making the twenty
ninth life sacrificed.