Evening journal., 1901-11-25
EIGHT MINR
VICTIMS FOUND
Bodies Recovered After SeV.
eFal Attempts
White Damp the Cause Of Death Fire
in Mine Burning as PiercelV
as Ever

Bluehelds. W. Va, Nov 25.-The
dead bodies OF the last party Of eight
well-known young men, who entered
West mine Of the Pocahontas Collier.
les company on Friday morning last
at IL o'clock. were recovered at 12.45
o'clock yesterday. AT Z 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 a dis
tance OF some coo feet found the dead
bodies Of A. S. Hurst, chief inspector;
Robert Oldham subinspector. 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 q pill
low OF his coat, on which his head
rested
The bodies Of the other FIVE mem
bers of the party, superintendent OF
Mines Walter O'Malley, Joseph Card
well, superintendent OF the Shamolin
Coal and Coke company; Il. e. St.
Clair second assistant inspector;
State Mine Inspector Price and Mau.
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 we're dis.
colored and bruised about the face.
showing signs OF a struggle, it BEING
very plain TO see that they made a
desperate attempt at retraclng their
steps to better air, but already they
had advanced too far into the deadly
white damp to escape alive.
Lost Their Way.
Il Is said by members of the res
cuing party that Hurst, Bell and Cd
ham would hardly have lost theil
lives but for the fact that they los
their way entering chamber l5I
feet TO the loft or near one of th'
passages from the Baby mine. In which
the deadly white damp had accumu
lated in great quantity. The bodie!
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 grocer!
house situated just in the rear of the
Union Station, about 5 p. m, where
they will be prepared for burial Th'
bodies are very much swollen, ant
having been attacked by mine rats
present a gruesome spectacle.
The fire is still burning in Bah,
mine. and the mine officials seem at
loss to understand how II will b.
finally extinguished. The only wa
It is believed is by flooding. This vii
be an enormous undertaking. as tn
mine is a drift mine. Mine expert
claim that there is great danger O
explosions by flooding the mine, a
when water comes in contact wit
the fire the generation of gas win b
so great as to possibly blow away tn
whole side of the mountain.