The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-07-16

life until the rcScuerS reach the scene
Of the disaster, which may be several
hours, possibly midnight.
TRYING TO SAVE WHITNEY.
Harry Rodgers, the mine foreman,
his assistant, William Blanch. with
Fire Bosses John Whitney. John Re
tallick and John Thomas, were not IN
the klondike when the explosion took
place. but started down Il short time
later. it is feared all have perished.
Gritfith Powell and Thomas Foster,
two other fire bosses. carried Mr..
Wnitney TWO hundred yards in the
hope of saving his life. when
they were compelled to drop
their burden and save them
selves. Mr.. Whitney was unconscious
while being carried by his friends.
The tifteen-year-old son OF Harry
Rodgers. when he heard that his father
had been overcome with tire-damp.
started down toward the klondlke to
help rescue him, if possible, ana he
had no sooner entered the DRIFT when
the deadly gas almost o:ercame
the lad and lie had to be carried back.
His tongue protruded its whole length
from his mouth and men had TO force
his Jaws apart with stick to prevent
lackjaw. Young Rodgers, who is en-
plOyed in the mine. was among those
who escaped through the Mill Creek
shaft.
The BODIES OF FIFTY MEN.
Several miners have reached the sur
face who were working near the scene
of the explosion. They say that they
passed through a portion of the kloa-
dixie district and saw the bodies OF
at least fifty men. The men who
came out were foreigners and were in
such an excited condition that it was
impossible to get L connected story
from them.
The mine has been open for about
fifty years end is producing 1000 tons
per day. 1t is the property OF the
Cambria Steel Company. The faml-
lies of the entombed miners are as
sembled in large numbers at the mine
opening, but they cannot get any deli
mite information and must endure a
suspense of many hours.
ARMoRY AS \ MORGUE.
The arnory Of Company II, 5th reg
iment, n. G.. P. will be turned into a
charnel house.
After conference it was an
nounced that the dead miners would
be brought to the armory Friday.
Planks have been laid on chairs in the
armory and the removal Of bodies will
begin at an early hour in the morn
ing.
The ambulances Of all the under
takers in the city are at Mill Creek in
readiness to begin the transfer OF
bodies
At midnight President Powell
Stackhouse was seen at the mouth OF
the mine and gave out the following
statement:
The disaster is an awful one and
came on us entirely unexpectedly. The
mine had been inspected only three
DAYS ago and was pronounced in salts
factory condition. In the thirty years
that the mine has been in operation
no serious accident has occurred. The
cause is yet indefinite, but l believe
it was caused by gas escaping from
the fifth heading, which was closed
and was not being worked because 1t
contained gas, into the sixth heading.
TIE NUMBER OF CASUALTIES
is now placed at 125. No list OF the
names of the dead miners can be given,
for the majority Of them were for
eicners, and were known only by check
and not by name. The only way their
names will ever be known, if the
bodies are recovered in time for iden-
tifcation, will be by their families
sending their names to US.
DESCRIPTION OF THE NINE.
The mine in which the disaster oc-
Cured is one of the largest coal mines
in the United States, according to the
statement Of officials tonight. From
the entrance in the hill across the
river from the point to the one at Mill
Creek is distance Of three and three
quarters miles. The klondike section,
in which the explosion occurred, is
about Two miles from the Mil Creek
entrance.
The mine is divided into large
number of headings, levels and sec-
tions. The sections run Off to the left
and right Of the headings, and are
known as rights and leftS by the
miners. The men who escaped this
afternoon have spent years working in
it. Otherwise they could never have
reached the surface. Lights were out
and there was no way for them to find
their way to the top had they not
known the mine perfectly.
EFFECT OF THE EXPLOSION.
The few Survivors who have eScap-
ed from the depths Of the mine de-
scribe the condition as frightful. Out
side OF the 'Klondike" the mines are
safe and uninjured Within the fatal
limits of the mine the havoc wrought
by the explosion is such as beggars
description. Solid walls Of masonry
three feet through were torn down as
though barriers Of paper. The roofs
of the mine were demolished and not
a door remains standing.
Brave attemptSat rescue were made
here. Mining Engineer Moore and
his assistant, Al G.. ProSser, tried to
make some headway toward the i'm
prisoned miners three and half miles
away, but they were driven back by
the deadly gases. Richard Bennett
and John Meyers, two miners, were
similarly driven back. Then the at
tempt at rescue work from the main