The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1900-03-15
EXPLOSION OF DUST
Caused the Death of Fifty
Coal Miners.
TEN BODIES WERE RECOVERED
Disaster Occurred In . West virginis
rown-Terrible Scenes mt tho
Mouth Of the Pit.

Fire Greek. w. Va, March S.-The
most destructive mine expl osion ever
known in the New River district oc-
CURED at the Red Ash mine, shortly
after the miners went to work, early
this morning. Although the most he
roic work of the rescuing party has
been going on necessarily all day, it is
impossible tonight to estimate the full
extent of the loss of life and property.
Ten dead bodies have already been
taken out, and the number of the dead
may reach 80 or more. 1t is thought
tonight that at least 40 miners are yet
entombed in the wrecked mine.
The Red Ash mine is q large drift,
and the explosion occurred near the en-
trance, which is thus closed by the
falling slate. tombing large number
of miners. The scene of the disaster
Is between this place and Thurmond,
on the south branch of the Chesapeake
& Ohio railroad. j. Fred Effinger, of
Staunton, Va, is the principal owner
OF the mine.
Relief parties from great distances
arrived as soon as possible. State Mine
Inspector Pinckney, with a corps Of
experts, has been on the ground during
the day, rendering all assistance pos
sible and devoting his attention more
toward relief than to an official investi-
CATION as to the cause OF the disaster.
The managers and bosses of all the
mines in this district came to the scene
IS soon as possible, and joined in the
work of rescue, but they were greatly
impeded by the extent OF the enormous
blockade at the entrance to the drift.
The large, heavy side tiers OF the en-
trance were blown out to some dis
tance, together with lot of heavy tim
bers. Even mules were blown out
some distance. The force of such an
explosion caused an immense falling
of the slate and other debris, 80 that
the entrance was filled Tor a great dis
tance. AS many men as could work
at one time were digging away with all
their might, and these were relived in
short relays by other men, so as to ex-
pedite the work as much as possible.
The first successful strike of the res
bodies were recovered. 1t was found
that seven of them were already dead.
| The other three were dying. AS the
miners had fallen at different places
in the drift, and the explosion had
caused the falling slate to blockade the
rooms in different parts of the mine,
the work of rescuing the men met with
one great obstacle after another. The
men rescued at 10 A. NJ. were not far
from the entrance. while others were at
much greater distances within the
drift.
At the mouth of the mine the scene
was beyond description. the wives,
children and neighbors of those who
were known to be entombed being there
in full force, and their distress was
most intense. While they were all
seeking to help those who were rescued
and to get the mine reopened. yet
these bereaved people were for the most
part in the way OF the rescuers and had
TO be held back from the entrance.
The mine is one of the largest in West
Virginia, and was very heavily tim
bered in the different drifts. It was
for this reason ut once feared that those
who had not been killed by falling de-
bris at the time of the explosion would
be pinioned by the timbers and suffer
death from suffocation.
Air was forced into the mine by en-
gines on the surface. which kept work.
ing after the explosion, but 1t was
found that air, could be pumped into
the drift for only q short time, as the
coal, stone and earth shut of all pos
sibility of pumping into the mine. The
pumps and all other machinery in the
mine were demolished, so that every
thing had to be done through temporary
ARRANGEMENTS ON the surface.
After the men got under headway In
the work of rescue, they reached the
first party in half an hour, but they
met greater difficulties after that time.
1t was then that kilograms were sent
to Montgomery, Charleston and other
places for physicians, nurses and cas-
kets. but during the greater part of the
day there was use only for the caskets.
All work was stopped in the sur
rounding mines Of the district, and the
people within a radius of many miles
assembled on the grounds of the Red
Ash company.
The general belief Is that the explo-
sion occurred from contact with dust
when the miners entered this morning
with their lights, and that it was not
due to fire damp, as has been currently
reported all day.