The Saint Paul globe., 1899-12-24
BURIED In A NINE
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bucket and rope. All of them were sick
and some hakrfainting They We're 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 out in a thick volume.
The fan was crippled, and the cages
would not work. The first thing to do
was to start the fan. This was accom-
plished by 1890 a. m, and the after
damp began to force its way out of the
Ventilating shaft. The brattices in the
mine, which guide the air through: the
workings, had been wrecked by the -ex-
plosion, and much of the force of the
fan was lost. Gradually the air around
the main shaft became purer, and at 8
o'clock the first body of reseuers de-
scended, the cage having been tempo
rarily 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. With their faces
blackened and burned and their bodies
distorted, lay seven men: =
The reseuers started to clear away the
debris, but 1t was slow. hard work as
the force of the explosion had
been titanic. Boss William Thomas
and three men went back a hundred feet
to find the source. They think they
succeeded, but they had nostfme to IN
vestigate, as they were overcome. too,
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, severely. $50
When the first party was worn out and
nearly poisoned another took It's place.
and the work was kept up without a
moments cessation.
At 10 o'clock the work of rescue had
progressed so far that Supt Blower ex-
pected to have some bodies loltt by mid
night. Mine Inspector Henry qLouttit is
working away IN the wrecked mine at
the head Of gangs Of picked men, who are
straining every nerve to save the sur
viYors. If there are any.
SLIGHT HOPE ENTERTAINED.
Mine Inspector James BIick, who reach
ed the scene tonight, said: 1+ o'''
Il would not like to say there Is no
hope for the men in the pit. but I doubt
whether a single one. remains alive The
force Of the explosion was something ter
rifle, and it seems likely. that 1t occurred
In the main entry not a great distance
from the main shaft The men in the
mine, if alive. can live for two or three
days without food in addition to what
they may have taken in dinner buckets,
The fan Is running, but the big part of
the mine remains unventtIated, 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-danp
I fear they are dead. just how the ex-
plosfon occurred cannot be determined at
present but the gas must have been fg-
nited by naked light
One OF the mine officials who spent al
most the entire day working in the pit
said:
The havoc wrought is almost complete
and have little hope that the men are
alive. The mine cars are wrecked beyond
recognition and piled on each other. Stone
and wooden brattice, as the doors con-.
trolling air currents are called, were
blown down like so much paper. We have
the passage from the main shaft to the
air shaft cleared. but beyond that we can
not go, and we cannot get the air into the
mine any further at present although
working hard and making slow progress
The air is not in the mine beyond this
point, and l see practically no hope for
the entombed miners. Heavy stones were
demolished and mules were killed out
right.