The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-07-15

married Charles Spontac, 50, married;
Martin Vebjar. 80, married.
At s O'Clock tonight four more deae
bodies were taken from the mine. The,
are Martin Wchjas. SO years, Lahore,
Slav: Paul Cvcna. 81. laborer. wife and
| three children; George Babuln. 40, sfam-
lily in old country; Andrew Babuia. 10
married.
The last named was identified by bis
wife by a shoe. All were badly burned.
William Malcolm, one of the rescuine
| party. said one man was found in No. 4
room OF the sixth right entry and three in
No. S room. They might easily have
passed unnoticed for days as all were 50
| blackened as TO resemble bodies Of broken
ooal. Malcolm was suubpoenaed tonight
to appear at the inquest. 1t is said he
!, has important testimony. Coroner f. L.
Miller said tonight he has no thought Of
| opening the inquest until late next week.
| lie wants to give the State officials
bundant time to make the proper in
yestigatiOn.
John Retallick. fire boss Of the seventh
district. and Mine Foreman Harry Rod
gnrs, both of whom were in the Klondike
! mine when the explosion occurred, were
o IdT recovered tIIS evening from the
effects of the after damp as TO be able to
ell Of their terrible experience. Both
men are in the Memorial Hospital, but
will soon be able to return to their homes
md families.
Retallick's story in part follows:
When I went to work Thursday morn
ing there was yer 200 miners at work in
The mine. From the very latest informa-
ton that / can gather there are yet about
Twelve dead miners entombed in the
mine. These men are in the headings.
which is still impossible to reach on ac-
count of the gases.
Z was in No. 6 right but two hours
before the damaging explosion occurred.
l left that part of the mine and went out
to the other headings to attend to my
work. When the accident happened
there were five of us on the cars ready
10 go out of the mine on a trip.
We did not hear or feel the explo-
sion to any great extent, but knew some
thing had occurred. Our belief was CON
firmed in a minute when we heard men
scrambling in all directions for a place
Of safety. Quickly l realized there was
no avenue of escape only to get to the
air somewhere, but I thought | had
plenty of time and could save all the
men.
W Immediately went down the main
entrance in the klondike. There were
with me at that time William Robinson.
who had charge of the mining ma
chinery. Henry Rodgers, foreman Of the
mine; William Blanche, John Whitney,
Joseph Tomlinson, the other boss and a
Hungarian miner whom I did not know.
THE after damp was then surrounding
us strong, and while we we're going to No.
/ right. Whitney fell. We tried to as
sist him, but he was gone and then for
the first time we thought Of our own
safety.
"Tomlinson was the second man to fall.
and ! felt my knees giving way, but
made another strenuous effort to stand
and started to run. Rodgers and Robin
son were keeping in close touch to me
and neither were saying a word. We
knew of a split of air at No. 1 right, and
If We had been able to reach that point
we could have thrown that down in the
mine and probably have saved the lives
of scores of miners.
While walking around or rather CROP
Ing our way in the darkness, l never
heard such sounds arise from human
beings as the breathing of those miners.
1t was all that could be heard except for
an occasional Shrek or groan. Men
were walking and crawling everywhere.
Iany were crying, some were praying.
others expressing wishes to see their
wives and families before they died. and
only half conscious as | was only my
death will blot that time from my mem
Dry.
Then the after-damp swooped in
around us stronger and the miners be-
gan dropping as beeves at a slaughter.
After they fell they would make one or
two final gasps and then die