The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-09-24
SUPERINTENDENT
Deadly Explosions Of Gas and Fire.
= damp Near Brownsville, Pa.
EIGHT MEN KILLED OUTRIGHT

And Three Others Injured-The Rest
Escaped by Traversing a Mile and a
Half of Underground Passages-A
Pathetic Wait For Rescu ers.
Brownsville, Pa, Sept. 24.-Seventy
men were entombed yesterday in the
Empire mine of Snowden, Gould & Co.,
one-fourth of a mile below town, as
the result of an explosion of gas, fol-
lowed by another explosion of firedamp.
Of the number entombed all escaped or
were taken out by rescuing parties
except eight, who were killed outright,
and three more or less hurt
| Following is the list of the dead:
| John Haiston, miner, aged IS, colored,
wife and two children: Salem Haiston,
miner, his brother, aged 25, single; Rob-
ert Davidson, miner, aged As, white, no
FAMILY; John Bennett, driver. aged 20,
single; William P. Ritchard, miner,
aged so, wife and seven children;
Henry Hagar, driver. aged II: John
Cartwright. miner, aged so, married.
but no children: James Hall, miner
aged 27, 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 large
block of coal, which opened pocket
OF gas. Immediately following the ex-
plosloh OF gas there was second ex-
plosion of tiredamp. There were 10 men
at work in the mine at the time of the
disaster. Four men, Jacobs, Davis,
Whetzell and Walker who were near
the entrance. managed to crawl out,
and the others, with the exception of
those caught by falling coal. escaped
by traversing a mile and a half under
ground, coming out at the entrance
near Lynn Station. This point is four
miles from the opening of the mine on
the Monongahela river.
Shortly after the report was circu-
lated that an explosion had taken place
at the Empire mine, and that many
miners were entombed Water street,
a narrow thoroughfare leading to II,
was crowded with men, women and
children moving toward the mines.
There We're means and sobs and gen.
eral feeling of painful apprehension.
When the mine was reached willing
hands at once went to work Every
body seemed to want to go into the
mine. 1t was by sheer force that those
In charge at the entrance kept the
r.
there was a sufficient force of men in
side to do rescue work, when a weary
and painful wait of hours took place.
Just above the entrance to the mine
there is an artificial plateau. From
the edge of the plateau a good view
of the track leading to the mine could
be had. Here women stood wrnging
their hands in anguish and weeping.
The hundreds of people realized that
they stood at the entrance of living
tomb 1t was several hours later that
the tinkle of the electric bell in the
engine house announcd that a train of
coal cars was coming from within.
The scene of the disaster Is more
than mile from the entry. It took
about ten minutes for the first load
to reach the outside world 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 Haiston.
In the others We're Robert Davidson
and John Bennett, William Pritchard
and John Cartwright. James Hall was
In the last car.
The wagons were in waiting, and the
bodies were taken to undertaking es-
Lablshments. When the bodies were
brought up from the mines they pre-
sented a CHASTITY appearance. After
he first lot of bodies had been brought
out the excitement and anxiety grew
more intense. During the entire af-
ternoon there was a desperate wait.
It was first announced that many men
had come out of the mine through an
abandoned entry nearly three miles
listant. This alayed the fear of many,
md as fast as the men were accounted
or to their friends and families re-
olcings and congratulations followed.
At o'clock last night the last of
he explorers came out and announced
hat there was nothing living or dead
eft behind in the mine, leaving the {
lst of fatalities as given above.