The Van Buren press., 1900-03-10
EIGHTY MINERS SHOI N.
Frightful Accident at the Red ASH
Mines Near Thurmond,
West Virginia.
RESULT OF AN EXPLOSION OF MINE CAS-
Altar Twelve Hours OF Rescue Work UP
,ras NJ Fifty Bodies Had Been Taken
out-Only Three of the Meu Were h''.
cued Alive, and They Are Not E1peo''"
Live.

..a .uve and They Are Not Expected
to Live.
Fire Creek, w. Va, March Sine
most disastrous mine explosion ever
known in the New River district oc-
o,,red at the Red Ash mine shortly
after the miners went to work carry
Tuesday morning. Although the most
heroic work of the rcscning party hau
been going on Observation-Disclosures was
impossible Tuesday night to estlm"'e
the full extent of the loss OF I''e ana
property. ,.,e.
The Red Ash mine is large drllt'
and the explosion occurred near 'he
entrance. which was thus closed ny
the falling slate, entomblnS large
number OF miners.
The scene of the disaster Is between
this place and Thurmond, on the Sou,n
branch of the Chesapeake ~ ONO raIl-
way, and every assistance possible was
rendered by the railway company ana
by the adjoining mining towns
Relief Parties Soon Arrived.
Relief parties from great distances
arrived as soon as possible. State
Mine Inspector Pickney, with corps
of experts and many workmen, was
on the ground during the day, render
ING all assistance possible and devot-
inc his attention more toward rellei
than to an Official investigation as TO
the cause of the disaster,
j. Fred Eilinger, of Staunton, va"
the principal owner Of the mlneS'
spared no effort in the work OF rescue
and relief, and his manager, Ferdinand
Howell, had all the men available at
work trying TO clear away the debris
and rescue the entombed men.
Joined In the work of Rescue.
The managers and bosses OF all the
mines in this district came 70 the scene
as soon as possible, and joined in the
work Of rescue. 1t is impossible 70
describe the amount Of work done by
this concentrated army Of men, but
they were greatly impedcd because OF
the extent of the enormous blockade
at the entrance to the drift. The
large heavy side tires of the entrance
were blown out to some distance, to-
gether with lot Of heavy tlmbcrs.
Even mules were blown out some dis
tancc.
Delay In the work of Rescue.
The force Of such an explosion caused
an immense falling Of the slate and
other debris so that the entrance was
filled up for n great distance, and the
difficulties in digging through It caused
delay in the work Of rescue. AS many
men as could work at one time were
digging away with all their might,
and were relieved in short relays by
other men so as to expedite the work
az much as possible,
Ten Bodies Recovered.
The first successful strike Of the
rescuers was about 10 u, M, when ten
bodies were recovered, II was found
that seven Of them We're already dead
and the other three were dying.
As the victims were brought to the
surface and carried away on the hasti-
Reconstructed stretchers, IT was FREE
quently noticed that many anxious
watchers met their husbands, fathers,
brothers and sons among the rescuers,
when they thought these men were in
the mines. These meetings between
thc men who had not yet entered the
mines and their families were very
touching. All those who could not find
their friends in tie crowd assumed
that they were in the closed mine
We're All NciphbOrs ana Friends.
The population Of the village Is only
500. All are miners, and they all know
each other. There was great distress
all day among those who could not
find their friends or hear from any
one that they had been seen since the
explosion,
As Thurnond is only three miles
from the scene Of the disaster, there
were some few IN the mine who lived
at that place, but for the most pnrt the
victims resided here, and the calamity
will reach almost every little house in
the mining town.
Refused TO Eat or Go Home.
None of the people here had been
at their homes during the day, but re-
NAMED around the Red Ash mb.e
Some had not eaten during the day
Food was llberally supplied to the re-
lays Of workmen in the rcscung party
but mnny OF the women who could get
no word OF comfort refused 10 eat OF
90 to their homes,
The Horror Grows.
After 12 hours work at the wrecked
mine moro than fifty dend bodies had
already been taken out, and the mum
Der Of dead may reach 75 or more, II
was thought, Tuesday night, that At
least 40 miners were yet cn,ombcd In
the wrecked mine,
As the miners were located at dif.
fercnt places in the drift and the eN.
plosion caused the falling slate to
blockade the rooms in different parts
Of the mine, the work of rescuing the
men met with one great obstruction
after another The nmcn rescued NJ
ten o'clock were not far from the en-
trance, while others We're ut much
greater distances winthin the drift,
The exciting scenes around the en-.
trance to the mines whore all these
men were working extended through
out the entire region, and the mlnera
Of other camps came In with their
families
ltOrrtblg Teur,