The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-09-29

o'clock yesterday morning and worked
until 3 D. m. They followed the usual
method in fighting mine fires. using
picks and props and extingulshing the
burning coal with water from hose
which ha d been run down into the mine
from the outside. The first shift"
when leaving the mine at o'clock re-
ported no gas and gave encouraging
stories of the progress In defeating the
fire. Foreman Johns, who was In the
mines all day. saw no immediate dan
ger to the men.
The three O'Clock shift-Gallagher,
smith, Tompkins, Franklin and Fire
Boss Watkins-entered the mine and
went at once to the affected part.
Foreman Johns saw them about an
hour later, he could not tell the exact
time and he probably was the last
man to see them alive. There was no
sign of gas there; the air being as pure
as usual At 80 early a time after the
catastrophe as last night no plau-
sible explanation of what caused the
sudden accumulation of the. deadly
black damp could be given by the
mine foreman. All that Is known is
that the men were found dead and that
everything goes to show that while
they were at work a wave of black
damp came in one of the gangways
and struck them. The men felt the
deadly influence and dropping their
tools they ran down the gangway in
a south western direction toward the
foot of the shaft. The place is about
a quarter of a mile distant by surface
measure. The first body was found at
a distance of about fifty yards from
| the place Of the fire.
The discovery was made by Robert
| White, John Way, George Schriver
| and Thomas Curley. These men were
| at work in another part of the mine
as company men," The last thing
which remained for them to do before
quitting work at $50 o'clock was to
| lead a truck with iron rails and trans
fer them through the mine to the place
where the "3 o'clock shift" was at work
on the fire. The rails were to be used,
after the fire had been extinguished, in
extnding the small road.
THE BODIES DISCOVERED.
The four men, seated upon the truck,
rode in to say good night, as they
|
Curley, a young man of % years, drove
| the mule. The four men were within
| fifty yards of Digwood's counter when
Curley who sat on the front part OF
the truck shouted "Whoa!" to the
mule, and grabbing two sprays from
the truck, jumped off and quickly
| thrust the sprays in the small wheels
of the truck, bringing 1t to stand
still. Without a word he dragged from
the track the body of a man. The
| mule had seen it and "shied" to the
side, the truck stopping within foot
of the body. BY the light of the min
| er's lamp the man was recognized as
| young Tompkins. They carried him tC
the bench" or side of the mine, and
thinking he had been made unconscious
by falling the men forced coffee be
tween his lips. There was no water
near by. Several minutes passed be-
fore they discovered that Tompkin!
was dead. They hurried up the tracl
toward the fire and ten yards ava.
they found William Franklin. He wa'
dead and his body lay between tn,
rails, his face buried in the dirt be
tween the ties. ABOUT the same dis
tance further up Joe Smith was four
He also was dead, and the position
of the body was exactly the same a
that of Franklin and Tompkins.
The last body was that of John Gal
lagher. He was within a few yards o
the place of the fire. The search wa
continued no farther. Leaving tn
three men to carry the bodies to tn
truck, young Curley ran to the foot o
the shaft and took the carriage for tn
outside. Reaching the surface h
rushed to the engine house and in
formed Engineer Kohler of the discov
cry. Then the whistle was sounde
three times, calling to the shaft Out
side Foreman Joseph Merritt and In
side Foreman Johns. Five minute
afterward the whistle again sounde
thrice. Hearing it the people in tn
, neighboring places started for the col
liery.
, WENT FOR THE BODIES.
Foreman Johns, with Curley and
l number of other miners who reache
= the engine house after securing
stretcher from the mine ambuanc,
r took the carriage for the bottom.
; was then $50 o'clock. Twenty mir
r utes afterward, when the body of youn
= | Ollphlllo was DlOuSill Oul, tue CTOW
numbered over a thousand peopl
The opening of the shaft is situate
about forty yards from the breake
and between this building and tn
u skeleton structure over the shaft thel
is wide level space covered with cor
Meeting tracks. To the east of til
/, shaft there is a high bank and benin
the shaft, on the west, is an embanl
ment. Packed in with scarcely ROOF
to move about in this narrow raj
u netted space We're the people. Most
. them were workingmen, some still
! their mining clothes, and here an
there were women and children. TT
narrowing entrance to the mouth
-' the shaft was choked with the frien(
of the men whose names passed abol
from tongue to tongue. A babble d,
r subdued voices arose and as the dus
d deepened into night the scene, lit |
/, the small lamps of the miners, We
e weird and impressive.
n suddenly three strokes of the gor
& at the top of the shaft announced III;
: the carriage was coming up. The el
y gines groaned, and the sound of Il
t carriage striking the sliding gate We
t, signal for rush for the openin
= Watchman Bell and a score Of mine
forced an aisle through the people ar
the body of young Tompkins. who