Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-11

dead or alive he was unable to say. Indeed
he could scarcely talk at all for nearly
half an hour. He was almost overcome
with foul air in the mine, where he had
been with the first rescuing party sent
down. He had been down in the mine since
2 D. m. He was unable to tell anything
about the work Of the rescuers he had left
behind him. He could only say that they
would soon be coming up. It was Just an
hour, though, when the first victim was
brought up. II was William Robertson. 40
companied by DR.. John B.. Jowman 1--WE
have four with u.s. said the doctor. Rob
ertson is in the worst shape. He Is uncon-
scious and badly hurt. We passed twenty
FIVE bodies while getting out these four
who are yet alive. We counted them as
we wentN along. They lay in all sorts of
positions, one man was sitting, leaning
against a door, not far from Robertson,
Just where he had been thrown by the ac-
cident, Froth was running from his mouth
and he had undoubtedly died in great agony.
Others were partly standing, and partly re-
clining. They were in heaps and singly.
The party with US has nearly reached the
actual scene Of the explosion and the work
Of bringing out the poor fellows ought to
progress rapidly from now on."
II was nearly IL o'clock before the first
four live men and one corpse were brought
up and laid on mattresses, rugs and COM
forts on the ground. They were not left
long out Of doors, as 1t was too cold there,
but they we're carried into the boiler house
near by and the doctors went to work on
them, giving them restoratives and admin
istering oxygen in the glare Of the fires
of the open furnaces. There was a great
crowd around the mouth Of the shaft, most
of whom had been waiting for the appear
ance Of the rescue parties from six to ten
hours and some even longer. The mine
officials had stretched thick ropes in a
semi-circle around the boiler house en-
closure, the ropes being held in the hands
Of the bystanders.
Find F~ifty-Three Bodies.
At 1915 o'clock this morning General
Manager Moore OF the mines, who with
superintendent Robinson had penetrated to
a considerable distance in the Klondike,
had reached a telephone station and no
titled men at the main entry that be had
recovered ffty-three bodies up to that
time and had only been In the right rooms.
From the brief report it was understood
that Mr.. Moore had gone as far as he
could without endangering his life from
fire damp, and had decided to go to the
MILL creek entry lToh InSIe NAbhOub lui
Their search.
Further news came a few moments later
that Mine Superintendent Robinson, who
had gone into the mine with General Man
ager Moore, had been overcome with fire
damp and was unable to talk. He had been
carried to the Mill creek entrance. The
mine employees stationed at the mine entry
stated that the fact that Mr.. Moore had
penetrated so far into the mine showed
that the fire damp was being cleared rap
idly and that with every prospect Of being
entirely driven from the mine before
morning.
Measures for the relief OF the stricken
families have already been taken. A fund
started late last evening by the Jamestown
Democrat at midnight amounted to 5000,
w. A. Crist, general manager Of the Ber-
wind White Coal company, promptly. con-
tributed $11O. AS near as can be learned
less than twelve Americans we're killed;
the rest were Hungarians and Slavs.
Harry Rodgers, the foreman Of the mine
is undoubtedl dead. /,
That many of the men who were though
last night to be still IN the min will b.
able to survive until reached by the rescu'
ing party is not thought probable. Imme'
diately succeeding the explosion the ali
all over the big mine became SO foul tina
even with the huge pumps working t.
their fullest capacity and the air the!
supplied turned into the. proper channelI
to reach the imprisoned men, none Of thu
mine officials would hold out any hop,
for the lives Of those thought to be still
in the mine. 2