Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1901-11-28
..l[\D INTLn.S FOUND
Bodies of Mine Inspectors Recov-
cred After Several Attempts.
WHITE DAMP CAUSE OF DEATH
Bodies Were Much Swollen and Were
Attacked BY Mine Rats-The Fire
In the Baby Mine Is Still Burning
AS Badly AS Ever.


AS Badly AS Ever.
Bluefields, w. Va, Nov. rs. = Fri
day morning Superintendent Wal
ter O'Malley. of the Pocahontas Col
lieries company. along with State
Mine Inspector William Price, OF
Wheeling; w. O'Malley, A. S. Hurst,
Philadelphia Robert st. Clair, chief
coal inspector; Morris st. Clair and
William Oldham. substitute coal in
spectors; Frazier G. Bell, mining en-
gineer, and Joseph Cardwell, manager
OF the Shamokin Coal company, OF
Maybury. w. Va, composing a party
Of eight. entered the west main of the
Southwest Virginia Improvement COM
pany's collieries for the purpose OF
examining the true situation in regard
to the recent explosion and fire in the
Baby mine. Not returning a search
ing party was organized by Assistant
Superintendent King.
The dead bodies were recovered at
12.45 p. m. yesterday. At o'clock in
the morning a rescuing party number
ing 40 persons entered at the main
entrance, bratticing the mine as they
went in in order to improve the cir.
culation of the air. They had reached
a distance of $500 feet from the en-
trance, when then encountered such
quantities of white damp that it was
impossible to proceed further.
Retracing their steps, they decided
to make another attempt from the Tug
river entrance, some six miles across
the Flat Top mountain. They went in
this entrance, and after going dis
tance of some 600 feet found the dead
bodies of A. S. Hurst, chief inspector;
Robert Oldham, sub-inspector, and
Frazier G. Bell, mining engineer, all
huddled together. From their positions
they must all have met death sud-
denly and without pain. All of them
were lying face down, with no signs
OF a struggle. Hurst had made a pill
low of his coat, on which his head
rested.
The bodies of the other five men,
bers of the party, superintendent of
Mines Walter O'Malley, Joseph Card
well, superintendent of the Shamokin
Coal and Coke company; r. e. St.
Clair, second assistant inspector;
State Mine Inspector Price and Maui
rice ST. Clair, sub-inspector, were
found several hundred feet back in
the mine, three of the bodies lying
some little distance apart. Bob St.
Clair and Joseph Cardwell were lying
with arms clasped around each other,
cold in death. The bodies of O'Malley,
Maurice St. Clair and Price were dis
coiored and bruised about the face,
showing signs of struggle, it being
very plain to see that they made a
desperate attempt at retracing their
steps to better air, but already they
had advanced too far into the deadly
white damp to escape alive.
Lost Their Way.
1t is said by members of the res
cuing party that Hurst, Bell and Od-
ham would hardly have lost their
lives but for the fact that they lost
their way, entering a chamber $50
feet to the left or near one OF the
passages from the Baby mine, in which
the deadly white damp had accumu.
lated in great quantity. The bodies
were brought down from the mines
in four wagons, bedded with straw
and covered from the snow, which
had been coming down all day, reach
ing the Pocahontas wholesale grocery
house, situated just in the rear of the
Union Station, about p. M. where
they will be prepared for burial. The
bodies are very much swollen. and
having been attacked by mine rats,
present gruesome spectacle.
The fire is still burning in Baby
mine, and the mine officials seem at a
loss to understand how 1t will be
finally extinguished. The only way
it is believed is by flooding. This will
be an enormous undertaking, as the
mine Is a drift mine. Mine experts
claim that there is great danger Of
explosions by flooding the mine, as
when water comes in contact with
the fire the generation of gas will be
so great as to possibly blow away the
whole side of the mountain.
Killed With a Chair.
Roanoke, Va, Nov. 23.-H. o.
nn