The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1902-07-18
THE WORK OF RESCDERS.
The Noble Miners Of Johnstown Are
Doing Heroic Work of
Rescue.
MANY ARE BEING BROUGHT OUT ALIVE.
Thrilling Experiences Attended the Efforts
of the Brave and Daring Men Who
Went Down Into the Bowels of the
Earth to Save the Lives of Their Fell
low-Workmen.

Johnstown, Pa, July 11.-This has
been a day of heroic rescues at the
fated rolling mill mine of the Cam
bria Steel Co. Thrilling experiences
attended the efforts of 40 brave and
daring fellows who went down into
the bowels of the earth stirred by a
very faint hope that still they might
be in time to restore to life some of
those who are entombed. Death
lurked everywhere around them, but
undaunted they surged forward,
swayed with the noblest of human
purposes.
The reward of their efforts was the
saving of the lives of Il of their fol-
low men and bringing them again
into the sunlight and back to loving
families.
Dead and manned bodies were To-
Gated, but no effort was made to
bring them out of the vast theater
of death until every human energy
was put forward towards seeing that
no living soul might escape their aid.
That done, the dead were attended
to and put in train cars, brought up
and exposed to the morbid gaze while
being transferred to wagons in which
to be taken to the morgue. Eighty
seven dead bodies were recovered
from the mine between daylight and
nightfall. Still a party of officials
and miners battled on, three miles in
side the mine. Occasionally word
would come to the surface by some
mysterious means that another heap
of remains had been been exposed to
the vision Of the searchers. There re-
main dangerous headings in the
Klondike section of the mine yet to
be reached. No one knows how many
more dead will be found there. The
mine officials refrain from guesswork
on the subject. The impression pre-
walls among the outsiders and certain
employees of the mine that $50 is q
low estimate of the casualty list.
JOhnstOUn HOrrOr-Stricken.
Fated Johnstown spent the day hor-
Great throngs surged
about the pit mouth, the improvised
morgue at the armory, and about the
stricken homes of the dead. Exag-
gerated rumors of all kind prevailed.
disaster had overtaken the rescuing
party which entered the mine short
ly after nine o'clock. This was not
disproved until word finally came
from the men in the mine.
1t is difficult to picture with any
degree approaching its full worth the
work of rescue-how the brave men
went into the jaws of death in its
most horrible form, encountered their
fellows transformed into raving mani
acs by hours of waiting in the pitch
darkness of the earth's interior, lift
I'd them moaning from their beds of
fallen rock, and then, bending and
on all tours, carrying them
, quarter of a mile underground to-
where cars could be reached to take
hem outside.
Scene of DesoIation.
Along in the early part of the aft
.rnoon cheering word came from the
nnermost recesses of the mine that
ife yet fingered in some of the
bodies found. The rescuers made
irst for No. 4, the left heading which
hey had been unable to reach the
hight before. Desolate even for the
scene of a mine interior was the view
hat stretched out before them. Falls
If roofs almost choked the heading, but
through and over the debris the brave
men pushed their way. In the front,
'oung Patrick Martin, his brother
Peter, Philip White and several cous-
ms of the Martins made their way.
md in n
tartled by a maniac laugh which |
from a blackened form that
ushed at them out of the darkness. !
he man grasped firmly pickhandle
nd tried in his frenzy to beat down
us rescuers. He was overpowered |
nd dragged back to the main head
ng, to the cars. Thirteen other liv- |
ng men were found in this chamber,
nd physicians were quickly taken to |
he spot.
Work for the AmbuIances.
At p. m. the train of nine cars i
anne to the pit mouth, where waiting |
stood. Eight men were
flied over the sides of the cars, and,
alf carried, wendell their way to the
They were all Poles.
me big, strapping fellow among
hem collapsed as he reached the
and doctors spent several
minutes resuscitating him. AS the
len were driven hurriedly to the
ambria hospital the train of coal
ars with the physicians re-entered
he mine.
Awful Death AEonies.
At that time three more headings,
elieved to be filled with the dead,
'ere unsearched. Thirty-nine bodies
ere lying in reach of the main head
lg. These were brought out at 4:35
IN. Their bodies were piled high
l the coal cars and covered with
anvaS.
These remains were in terrible
tate, showing that there had been
low death in each case. One of the
len had his mouth and nose tied with
towel. The rest of his face was
urned beyond recognition. The bod
IS were all twisted.