Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-12-24

Radcliffe went through the mine as
usual and found gas or fire damp in
two places. He detected about four
inches OF gas in the main entry about
100 yards from the main shaft, and
about an equal quantity in a room on a
side entry a short distance away. The
fire boss reported the presence of the
gas, but informed the superintendent
that 1t was
All Right For the Men
to enter. The men were lowered into
the mine in the cage descending the
main shaft, which is vertical. From
forty to fifty men had entered the mine
and dispersed through it when the gas
ignited in some manner not yet discov-
cradle. A tremendous explosion oc-
CURED. Its force must have reached
every man in the mine. The cage in
the main shaft, which was. at the bot
tom. was blown into splinters and the
hosting machinery wrecked. About
100 yards from the main entrance was
an air shaft, also vertical, and brick
lined. 1t was torn by the blast and
the bricks were thrown to the very
top.
Altogether there were from As to 90
workers in the mine. The men de-
seended in the cage of the main shaft
from eight to ten at a time. A moment
after the fifth load had descended there
was a roar that shook the immense
iron tipple above the main shaft and re-
rrop1ta-otnI frcya Tho hi11ci1n- Thnro
was no need to tell what had happened.
Frantic women and frightened chill
dren dashed out of their dwellings just
across the railroad track and rushed to-
word the mouth of the shaft. They
were driven back by the smoke that
poured up from the mine. A minute
later everything was quiet. The big
engines stopped and the fan was hush
ed. There was no possibility of aiding
The Imprisoned Men
through the main shaft, and a rush was
made for the ventilating shaft 150 feet
away. This is 112 feet deep, bricked
inside to strengthen it and had iron
steps from top to bottom. A shout
came from below and it was known
that not all were killed, but who had
drawn the few prizes in life and death?
The anxious ones at the top waited a
few moments for the men to appear.
They did not come and an investiga-
ton was made. 1t was discovered that
the explosion had torn away the brick
lining of the shaft taking with it about
twenty feet Of the iron steps. The men
below were in a trap. Promptly a o p
and bucket was lowered and the men
hauled up. The first was Albert Meese,
IL years old, a trapper. He was uncon-
scious and was tied in the bucket.
Tenderly he was lifted cut and remedies
applied, but without avail. He gasped
once or twice and was dead, a victim
of after-damp. That told the whole
story of the disaster. Fire damp had
exploded in the mine.
Fourteen men were rescued by the
bucket and rope. All of them were sick
and some half fainting. They were
given restoratives and went to their
homes, several having to be carried.
No more men appearing at the foot of
the air shaft, attention was turned to
the main shaft from which the after
damp was pouring cut in a thick vol
ume. The fan was crippled and the
cages would not work. The first thing
to do was to start the fan. This was
accomplished at 1920 a. m. and the
after-damp began to force it's way out
OF the ventilating shaft. The brat
tees in the mine, which guide the air
through the workings, had been wreck
ed by the explosion and much of the
force Of the fan was lost. Gradually
the air round the main shaft became
purer, and at 8 o'clock the
First BODY of Rescuers
descended, the cages having been tenn
porarily repaired. When they got
within ten feet. of the bottom the cage
stopped. A mass of wreckage was piled
up at the bottom of the shaft. There,
with their faces ~blackened and burned,
and their bodies distorted, laid seven
men. The rescuers started to clear
away the debris but it was slow, hard
work, as the force of the explosion had
been titanic. Pit Boss VIM. Thomas
and three men went back 100 feet to
find the source. They think they sue
ceeded, but they had no time to inves-
tigate, as they were overcome by the
after damp. Other members of the
rescue party hastily rushed them above
ground, where they were given brandy
and coffee. Thomas was about dead,
and tonight is indeed suffering severe
ly. When one of the first party was
worn out and nearly poisoned another
took his place and the work was kept
up without a moments cessation.
At 10 O'Clock tonight the work of
rescue had progressed so far that Supt.
R1nuJnr n~rAnEn1 m arN eNpaa @Js~-
cut by midnight.
Mine Inspector Henry Louttit is
working away in the wrecked mine at
the head of gangs of picked men, who
are
Straining Every Nerve
to save the survivors. if there are any.
Mine Inspector James Blick, who
reached the scene tonight, said:
Il would not like to say that there is
no hope for the men in the pit, but /
doubt whether a single one remains
alive. The force of the explosion was
something terrific, and it seems likely
that it occurred in the main entry not
d great distance from the main shaft.
The men in the mine, If alive, can live
fer two or three days without food in
addition to what they may have taken
in their dinner buckets, but the main
point is if they have air. The fan is
running, but the big part OF the mine
remains unventilated. and is probably
still choked with deadly after damp, in
which no human being can live. If the
men have not been able to contrive to
save themselves from the after damp,
| fear that they are dead. Just how the