The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1895-12-26
4 HORRIBLE DISASTER.
FORTY-THREE rIINERS KILLED
BY AN EXPLOSION.
The Sad Affair Occurred at the Chat
ham County Coal Mines-A Pitiful
Scene Women aud Children
CryiDg-Reard for 20 Miles.


Scene Women and Children
CryiDg-Reard for 90 Miles.
From the Greensboro Record, Dec. 10
A report, considered authentic,
reaches US this P. m, that there was
an explosion in the coal mines at
Egypt this morning, whereby forty
three men were killed.
Egypt is not a telegraph station and
further particulars cannot be learned
It is on the G. F. & Y. V. Railway,
not far from Ore Hill.
LATER.
The following was sent US by con-
ductOr w. @. DOdsoD, of the G. E. &
Y. v, who passed there this p. N. on
his run:
'This a. m. between and O'Clock.
the coal mine at CummOck formerly
Egypt blew up. Sixty miners went
down to work early this morning and
only nineteen were taken out after the
explosion. Mine is five or six hundred
feet deep. There was large quantity
of dynamite in the mine. Cannot
learn the cause of disaster, probably
fire-damp. A large force of men are
at the shaft, trying to rescue the en-
tomhed miners.
There is little hope of taking out
any of the men alive. Those who sue
ceeded in escaping are badly burned,
some fatally"
STILL LATER.
Capt. Campbell passed Cumnock at
| o'clock today and says the exact
number killed was thirty-three.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
The News and Observer prints a
telegram from Sanford, n. c., regard
ing the terrible explosion. 1t says:
At o'clock a. m. Thursday, shortly
after Gay force numbering sixty
seven men had gone on duty at the
Cumnock coal mines, 6 miles west OF
here, terrible gas or fire damp explo
sion occurred with fatal effect.
Upon hearing the report the people
of the village and relatives OF the en-
tombed miners hastened to the scene,
but for some time they were unable
to gain any tidings from below. After
pumping fresh air into the shafts for
some time several miners were pre-
vailed upon to venture down and in
vestigate. They found and brought
out twenty five men from slopes num-
Der and 3.
Five or six of them were badly
wounded and some of them will prob
ably die; others were slightly wound
ed. A mule and two men were killed
in slope number 2
After considerable delay the search
ing party entered slope number l,
where they were greeted with a most
horrible and CHASTITY sight. Dead
men, fearfully mutilated, were found.
Some of them were partly covered up
with pieces Of coal, timber and other
debris.
The searching party came-up and
reported what they had found. At
O'Clock ten or twelve miners went
down to bring up the dead bodies, but
at last accounts none of the dead men
had been rescued.
1t is believed that 43 men were kill
eG Their names are not obtainable
at this writing. Several of them were
negroes and foreigners and the rest
natives of North Carolina. Several
had families living at Cumnock. Eight
of the dead miners were from Penn
sylvania and expected to return to
that State tomorrow to visit their rel
ativeS.
A quantity of dynamite was in the
mine and exploded, wrecking coal cars
and splitting missive pieces uf timber
into kindling wood.
Mothers, wives and sisters were
around in the mines all day, weeping
and wringing their hands with grief,
expecting every minute to see the life
less form of some loved one brought
up. EXcitem ent runs high.