Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1902-07-19
AWFUL TRAGEDY
AT YOUNGSTOWN
From One to Two Hundred
Dead in Pennsylvania
Mine Horror.
slxTY-FivE DEAD IN SIGHT
Disaster Was an Unusual One-Ex'
p,osion Was Terrific-Worst Dis
aster Since the Great
Flood.

Hendry says that General Manager
Price told him that sixtv-five bodies
were already in sight in the klondike
mine at / o'clock this (Friday) morn
ing.
At l2:1E O'Clock this (Friday) MORN
ing General Manager Price of the mine,
who, with Superintendent Robinson,
had penetrated TO q considerable dls-
lance in the Klondike, had reached a
telephone station n noti1ed men at
the main entry that he had recovered
ffty-three bodies up to that time ana
had only been in eight rooms.
From the brief report 1T was under
stood that Mr.. Price had gone as far as
he could without endangering his life
from fire damp and had decided to go
10 the Mill Creek entrance from there
without further search.
Those known to be dead include
Mike Mccain, Philip Mccain, William
Blanch, Joe Thompson ana WllIlam
Robinson. Most of those killed were
Huns and Slavs.
Harry Rodgers, the foreman OF the
mine. is undoubtedly dead. He and
Foreman Foster were together when
the fire damp exploded. In the dark
ness the two became separated and
Foster Ices not know whether his chle1
is alive or dead.
President Powell Stackhouse said:
'"Fhe disaster is an unusual one, and
was unexpected. The mine was In
spected three days ago. The number
OF casualties is now placed at l25."
May Be 2co Dead.
Johnstown. Pa, July 12.-Nearly 200
men, it Is thought, were killed or IN
iured yesterday in an explosion IN the
Cambria steel company's rolling mill
.1.. NvArf Mont hill nt
noon. How many are dead 1t VIII take
several days TO determine.
1T was nearly an hour after the eX-
plosion before any general knowledge
OF what happened got abroad. Men
who came from the mines, eScaplnS
with their lives. told the news, and 1T
spread like wildhre all over the city.
Mothers, wives, daughters, sons ana
relatives were frantic with grief. NO
one was permitted to enter the mine
from which noXious gases were escap-
Ing.
1t was nearly 4 o'clock when all hope
OF sending rescue parties In the west
Mont opening was abandoned.
Richard Bennett and John Meyers,
who escaped from the mine, went back
miles to see what assistance couId
be rendered, but the damp drove them
back and they fell PROSTATE when they
the outside. It was clear that
rcscue work could not proceed from
the West Mont opening, and hasty
preparations were made to rescue the
imprisoned men at the Mill Creek en-
trance.
Soon after the explosion occurred the
Cambria official mining engineer
Moore, and one OF his assistants, Al G.|
Prosser, made an attempt to enter thei
mine. They We're followed by Ming
superintendent George It. Robinson
but the gases compelled them 10 re-
turn to the surface. Mine Foreman
Harry Rodgers, his assistant, William
and Fire Bosses John Whit
John Retallick and John ThomIs
were overcome by the gases, i9ls
feared they persisted in a heroic effort
TO rescue the miners. a son OF Hqrry
Rodgers then tried TO reach his fafler,
but he was quickly overcome by h
deadly gas and vas carried out un-
conscious.
William Stitch spent several hours
at the Mill Creek opening. I'D said
that he believed as many as ~ men
were still in the mine. In his Ylnion,
from all he could CLEAN, not to Exceed
$50 men had come out.
About q score Of American miners
who were at work in the KlondjSe dis
trict noticed the presence of the fire
damp in their apartments sotl after
the explosion occurred and stiJted at
once for the main entrance. Tfey were
almost overcome by gas. Qne man
said it is not known what c3lsed tile
explosion. He said that a lew days
ago the officials issued an orier to the
employees In the mine not to play with
the gas, but the next day a ytnng Hun
garian was seen pushing lis naked
lamp along the roof of te mine in
reach Of it.
Canvass screens are beitg used TO
wall all the side entries AID rooms so
as to force a district current OF pure
air ahead OF the T~escuers.
Engineer A. G.. Prosser, who, with Mr..
Moore, entered the mineJat the main
opening. came TO the surface at Mill
Creek and Immediately Set about Sc
curing men and materi5 to aid in the
rescue.
Several miners who were WORKING
near the scene Of the explosion cached
the surface and say th.t they saw the
of at least fiftymen. The men
come out were Foreigners, n
were so excited hat qey could not tell
q connected story.
The mine has beef open for o
fifty years and is producing 5000 tons
per day.
The mining Officials Of the Cambria
company stated that he explosion was
one OF fire damp. Outside of the "Klon-
dixie" the mines are $afe and uninjured.
Within the fatal hine walls of ma
scnry three feet thidS were torn down,
the roofs Of the min We're demolished
and not Il door reniIins standing.
Miners who left tie mine by way
Bf the Mil Creek entaEce brought hor-
rible stories of crawling oyer the dead
~ tbpir Cotpra1AS
Tom Foster was II his office when
the explosion occurred With the help
OF Foreman Roberts al effort was made
to replace a few of the shattered doors.
All the while the firejdamp was closing
around them.
Through galleries,i giving warnings
ana helping, the two men went. Roberts
fell, but Foster STAGGERED ON until he
Powell Griffith, q fire boss. He
had faced what seemed certain death
in an effort TO save. his men. They
proceeded until they reached a place
OF safety.
John whitney, WIN was beyond the
dip where the explosion took place,
said several dozen were overcome by
the damp half a mile from the explo-
sion.
The arinory OF The Frth regiment
will be turned into q chatnal, house.
-Four victims were taken from the
IIlcndike section late tbiight. They
William ROBINSON John Retallic
iraG two unknown Slavs all alive but
unconscious.
DR.. John 3. Lowman, who came UP
with the men, said he pissed twenty
five dead bodies, some OF them in Sit