The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-24
THIRTY COAL MINERS KILLED
IN A F|RE-DAMP EXPLOSION
Presence Of the Death Dealing Gas Known, but the Men
Were Permitted to Go to Work - Immense Walls
Of Debris Make Rescue Impossible - Pathetic
Scenes Among Frantic Women and Children.

There Is scarcely any hope that any
man in the pit is now alive"
These We're the words Of Mine Inspec-
tor James r. Blick, uttered by him at
10 o'clock tonight as he stood ait the
mouth of the Braznell mine, in whose
depths 30 men are entombed That
they will get out alive is exceedingly
improbable, and tonight mothers
wives and sisters mourn them as dead
| Since early this morning the impris-
| oned men have been without food or
| air. They are separated from eager
searchers by walls of debris which FELL
| when the explosion took place and
| blocked the road to liberty.
AT 1880 this morning the death-deal-
ing blast was 1oosed. Owing to a
shortage of cars, less than the usual
| number OF men entered the pit The
! mine is that of the Stockdale Coal COM
pany and lies four miles from Browns
| vile and IA miles from Uniontown 1t
Is known as the Braznell mine and
lies near a station of that name on the
Red Stone branch of the Pennsylvania
| railroad.
At 5 o'clock this morning Fire Boss
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 entrance
about 100 yards from the main shaft
and about an equal quaEtlty in a room
| OIL d sue entry snort u1Stance away.
The fire boss reported the presence of
| the gas, but informed the superinten-
dent that it was all right for the men
| to enter.
The men We're lowered into the mine
| In the cage descending the main shaft.
which is vertical. From. 40 to so men
| had entered the mine and dispersed
through it when the gas was ignited
in some manner not yet ascertained
| A tremendous explosion occurred. It's
| force must have reached ir,
the mine. The cage in the main shaft,
which was at the bottom, was blown
to splinters and the hosting machine
wrecked. About 100 yards from the
vertical and brick lined. 1t was torn
by the blast and the bricks were blown
| to the very top.
Altogether there were from 45 to 80
! workers in the mine The men de-
scended in the cage of the main shaft
from eight to 10 at a time.
A Terrific Explosion.
A moment after the fifth load had
descended there was a roar that shook
the iron tipple above the main shaft
and reverberated from the hillsides.
There was no need to tell what had
happened. Frantic women and fright
| ened children dashed out of their
dwellings just across the railroad track
and rushed toward the mouth of tho
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 hushed. There was no possibility
OF aiding the imprisoned men through
the main shaft. and a rush was made
for the ventilating shaft, $50 feet away
. This is 112 feet deep, bricked inside to
strengthen it and has iron steps from
top to bottom. A shout came from be-
low and it was known that not all
were killed. burt who had drawn down
, the few prizes in the lottery of life and
death? The anxious ones at the top
! waited a few moments for the men
to appear. They did not come and an
investigation was made. 1t was dis
, covered that the explosion had torn
. away the brick lining " the shaft.
! taking with it about 20 feet of the
iron steps. The men below were in a
. | trap. Promptly a rope and bucket
| were lowered and the men hauled up.
The first was Albert Meese. Is years
old a Taper He was unconscious
! he was lifted out and remedies applied
/ 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 NINE
: Fourteen Rescued.
Fourteen men were rescued by tha
: bucket and rope. All of them were sick
. and some half fainting. They wera
: 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 td
the main shaft, from which the after-
damp was pouring out in thick vol
! umes The fan was crippled and the
cages would not work. The first thing
: to do was to start the fan. This was
accomplished 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 explosion. and much of the force
of the fan was lost Gradually the air
7 around the main shaft became purar
and at 8 o'clock the first body of res
= cuers descended, the cages having been
r temporarily repaired. When they got
l | within 10 feet of the bottom the cage
= stopped. A mass of wreckage was piled
= up at the bottom of the shaft With
e their faces blackened and burned and
S their bodies distorted. seven bodies
4 were discovered.
The rescuers started to clear away
I | the debris, but it was slow work. as
the force of the explosion had been st-
gantic.
5 When the first party was worn out
/ and nearly poisoned another took its
place, and the work was kept up with
out a moments cessation. The reScuerS
: found the caTcasses of five mules that
had been killed outright.
At 10 o'clock tonight the work Of
! rescue had progressed so far that Su-
perintendent Blower expected to have
Il some bodies by midnight. Mine 1nspec-
! tor 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, II there are
, any. Mine Inspector James BHck, who
> | reached the scene tonight, said:
Il would not like to say there is no
| hope for the men in the pit, but doubt
= whether single one remains alive. The