Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-09-24
DOUBLE EXPLOSION IN A NINE AT
BROWNSVILLE, PA.
ONLY EIGHT FAILED TO ESCAPE
FIREDAMP EXPLOSION FOLLOWED A
GAS EXPLOSION.
Miners Were Compelled to Traverse n
Mile and n Half of Underground
workings to EscHpe-Excit-
ing Scenes When News
Became known.

BROW NSNlILE, IA, sept zo--SeVeilS
men were entombed to-day in the Empire
mine of Snowden, Gould * Co., one-fourth
OF n mile below town, as the result of an
explosion of gas, followed by another eX-
plosion of fire-damp. OF the number en-
tombed all escaped or We're taken out by
rescuing parties, uninjured except eight,
who We're killed outright, and three more
or less hurt
The dead are:
John Halston. miner; aged 35; colored;
wife and two children.
Salem Haiston, miner: aged 25; single.
Robert Davidson, MINER aged 40; white;
no family.
John Bennett. driver: aged %; single.
William Pritchard. miner; aged 5o wife
and seven children.
Henry Hagar, driver. aged Il.
John Cartwright, miner; aged so; mar
ried, but no children.
James Hall, miner, aged q; unmarried.
The following We're injured:
George Baker, miner, burned about face
and breast.
John Baker, slightly burned.
Samuel Mcintyre cut on head by fall of
slate.
The explosion is said to have been caused
by the loosening of a large block of coal
which opened a pocket of gas. lmmedi-
ately following the explosion of gas, there
was second explosion of fire-damp. There
were seventy men at work in the mine at
the time Of the disaster, and at first it
seemed an impossibiHty for any of the
fifty-four men in mines Nos. and TO- where
the explosion occurred, to escape. Four
men-JacObs, Davis, Whesea and Walker
who Were near the entrance, and the 9TH
ers. with the exception Of those caught by
. staa follf
mile and a half of underground passages,
coming out at the entrance near Lynn sta
ton. This point is four miles from the
opening of the mine, on the Monongahela
river.
1t is difficult to find words to describe
the scenes of to-day. Shortly after the
report was circulated that an explosion
had taken place at the Empire mine, and
that many miners were entombed, Water
street, narrow thoroughfare leading to
it, was crowded with men, women and chill
dren, all moving at breakneck speed to-
ward the mines. There were means and
sobs, and a general feeling of painful ap-
prehension. There We're conjectures of
whether husband, father, brother or sweet
heart were victims. When the mine was
| reached. willing hands at once went to
work. There was no waiting. Everybody
| seemed to want to go into the mine. I.
was by sheer force that those in charge
| at the entrance kept the crowd back 1t
was announced that there was a sufficient
| force of men inside to do rescue work, and
| weary and painful wait of hours took
place.
Just above the entrance to the mine there
| is anartificill plateau up aginst the hill
| side. From the edge of the plateau a good
view of the track leading to the mine could
| be had. Here women stood wringing their
| hands in anguish, weeping and wailing
| sobs. tears and cries made the air ring
| with echoes of aching hearts. The hum
| dreds of people realized that they stood
| at the entrance of a living tomb.
1t was several hours later that the tink-
| ling of the electric bell in the engine house
announced that a train of coal ears was
| coming from within. The scene of the dis
| aster is more than a mile from the en-
| trance, The cars are taken in and out by
| means of heavy iron cables wrapped and
| unwrapped by two large spools. 1t took
| about ten minutes for the first load to
| reach the outside world. While the cable
| was winding, there was a suspense that
bordered on the awful. No one knew what
was coming, but feared the worst, in which
| there was no disappointment. As one of
| the spools indicated that the load would
1
| greater. Here it comes" was an almost
| unanimous whisper.
| When the little train of cars emerged,
| a shudder was visible in the crowd. First
| there came two cars loaded with coal, then
three cars, in each of which there were
| two bodies. In one were two brothers
| side by side, John and Salem Halston. In
| the others were Robert Davidson and John
Bennett, William Pritchard and John Cart
wright. James Hill was in the last car.
Two wagons were in waiting and the
bodies were taken to undertaking estab-
| lishments. When the bodies were brough.
up from the mines they presented ghast-
ly appearance. Their faces We're begrimed
with the black dust of the mines. Before
they were brought out the rescuers tied
handkerchiefs around their heads to give
them better appearance.
| After the first lot of bodies had been
| brought out, the excitement grew more
| intense. There were yet many men IN the
mine, and there was more anxiety TO know
| who would be brought out next. During
| the entire afternoon there was desperate
| wait. 1t was announced that many men
had come out of the mine from an aban-
| doned entry nearly three miles distant
| This allayed the fears OF many, and as
fast as the men were accounted for to
their friends and families, rejoicings and
| congratulations followed.
AT o'clock tonight. the last of the ex
plorers from the mine came out and an
nounced that there was nothing livini
or dead behind in the mine. leaving the lis
of fatalities as given. Tonight there i
a constant stream of people passing in an
out of the undertaking establishment t
| view the bodies. There are hundreds o
strangers in the town, many of then
! miners from the surrounding country. Al
are discussing the disaster and advancin
| theories as to its cause. 1t is a blac
Friday evening, such as never before ha
been experienced in Brownsville.
Fire Boss Henry Farrar and Pit Bos
James Broderick were in the party tha
made the last search of the mine to-nigh,
When questioned as to the cause of tn
disaster they would not talk, merely say
ing they had nothing to say for publica
/ ton. Much interest is manifested in tn
cause of the explosion and Coroner F.
Smith, who arrived from Uniontown to
night, says a searching investigation wi
be made at the inquest tomorrow morn
ing.