The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-17
- y aho.roor n1npnn.
Ar Ace,aeat Tnat Iiiusttsted the varisd Psriis
e watch CSsi psiRevr Are 1srpsssd.

e VVhten cssi rsiaevr Are 1sspsssd.
.rrhe varied pefiis Of coal Mines said a New
Yorker who was formerly q mining engineer in
the Laokawanna field, "were shown vividly TO
me bv an accident which occurred at the Harry
E. mine. This mine Is tho property Of the
Simpson a Watson Coal Company, and At the
time Of this occurrence Il was being worked in
what IL known asuhs eloven.foot coal vein, at q
depth Of $50 feet From that vein the shaft
was being sunk deeper, and was down about
lAO feet below the eleven-foot vein. The air
shaft was 400 feet deep. On one eide of the
mine shaft from the working vein to the Surface
was what is called by the miners the bunting
cleats fastened to the retaining timbers OF the
shaft and forming q sort ofrude perpendicular
ladder ESQ feet in length. The shaft, with the
exception Of the glimmer Of daylight q few feet
down from the opening ct the top, was one long
line Of absolute darkness. .
About b o'clock one afternoon one Of the
boilers on the surface that furnished power
for the machinery of the mine exploded, and In
stantly all tho machinery stopped. Tho direct
damage was serious enough. but the explosion
brought about q situation. still more serious.
Hundreds OF feet below the surface men were
at work in the dark depths fortunately. as It
happened, not the ustal.latEe force, for no coal
mining was being done that day, the work on
hand being shaft sinking andidriving of gang
ways. The former operation, were ct the bot
and In the air shaft 400 feet down. The gang
way driving was In the eley sn-foot vein, $50
the bottom Of the main shaft. ten in the air
shaft and o dozen in tho eleven.foot vein.
with time q viii SHfs 10 i mG@ vi as9 means @lns to Dg rescue 20 M their
fellows from their .precarious situation. The
rigging Of q hand windlass was the only means
by which they could hope to render aid. This
required a long time, and more than two hours
passed before the windlass was ready to be put
4"The report and shock OF the explosion, ter
rife as they were. did not reach the MEN in the
mine. 1t was not long. though, before they
fan at tho mouth Of Tho air.shaft was no longer
drawing foul air out of the mime and forcing
bet6oasht them Of the bunting side Of the perpen.
diculnr shaft as q means OF escape by Q bold,
exhausting, and extremely hazardous climb OF
shaft and in the air shaft far below them had no
even that periious avenue OF escape open.
hasrS ye Tas ~ The eu mem IN a. Tie Rs' latter SsiSw chamber fns f,syf fe.
solved to mako an effort to rescue their fel.
lows s, before I attempting ttsI Sdi wo 70 seek eoGn their he ih own safe,
them with suffocation. With all the haste
they could command. they fitted up a rope and
tenances at hand. and lowered ropes down The
shafts to the men imprisoned there. Thus the
DEPTHS %sat hSs Safely HpI to u The eel eieVen'foot Vein. Then ali
te saiasd 70 sso :hs f % tS S9 81! sso, Bsln i saefs ab bes sho
Gle Of light at the shafts mouth. that appears
from the mine depths no larger than a span.
this heroic action Of the imprisoned miners, and
they, ignorant OF what had caused tho sudden
and nnt prolonged US. tG 2 Ss n th So msS n 1Sr s,, n9sld
might. be s~eht;they afterward said they realized,
know. They chose rather not to wait.
tom Owen. q miner. was the first one to
% on the long e@S e S%Gn1,i tow sias Il the ' OPENING ming. a AND a si for.
tunate thing It was for oil those terrified mon
that he was the leader: He was young, strong,
,lorrible death would have been the fate of every
ITO climb a ladder $50 feet high. straight up
cure. with regular interspaces and with the full
light ot;day upon %it,would seem to be a task'that
would not care to undertake. Here was Q lad
der wrapped IN q darkness that the faint. filck;
more profound, its rude. rough cleats nailed to
the timber at irregular intervals. slippery with
the black ooze OF the shaft, and perhaps rotten
Fortified by'the courage of Owen, tho other
miners followed him upward as they could. We
gle for life in the shaft. worked necessarily at
the rigging with which we were to rescue the
unfortunate men from the fate we knew awaited
over the opening Of the shaft and were about to
very wall Of agony and we heard the words.
Hold, up there! For Gods sake, hold!'
tom Owen had struggled up the treacherous
ladder until he had reached a height where the
b.ackness of the shaft was giving way to the
penetrating light of the opening above. when
suddenly he saw tho daylight disappearing.
CHANGING upward he was almost frozen with
securing the light. 1t was the platform we had
rugged to send down to save the men. Tom
comprehended it all IN an instant and saw in the
well-planued means for their rescue a terrible
engine for their sure and swift destruction, for
if the platform catne down the shaft it would
Cling upward for their lives, and hurl them
headlong to death 200 feet below. Then 1t was
that Tom uttered the cry that was heard.
Ten minutes later we lifted. him out at the
shaft opening, and one by one his follow toilers
ing been more than MAI an hour and a hall or On n the
way. Some of them fell unconscious to tho
ground when they found themselves safe and
the unusual strain was over"