Evening journal., 1902-07-12
Bodies Of Dead Twisted in
Horrible Shapes
HEROIC WORK OF RESCUERS
Ii Is Proving to be Extremely
Hazardous, As Death Turks Every.
where About Them

Johnstown. Pc. July l2.-Of the COO
men supposed to have entered the
mouth OF the Rolling Mill mine Of the
Cambria steel Company on Thursday
morning 125 are known to be dead and
4 % rescued. -Four hundred SO the mine
officials claim, escaped when the explo-
sion occurred, leaving IS still to be
accounted for. Some of these, accord
ing to those in charge OF the rescue
work, are dead. but the majority they
claim have escaped. Thrilling expert.
ences attended the efforts of the 40
brave and daring fellows who went
down into the bowels Of the earth
with a very faint hope to spur them
that still they might be in time to re
store to life some of those who are
entombed. Death lurked everywhere
around them, but undaunted they surg
ed forward, swayed with the noblesi
of human purposes.
The reward of their efforts was the
saving of the lives of IA of their fel
low men and bringing them again into
the sunlight and back to loving fami
lies Dead and manned bodies were
located. but no eiiort was made to
4 bring them out of the vast theatre OF
death until every human energy was
put forward towards seeing that nc
' living soul might escape their aid
That done. the dead were attended to
. and put in train cars and brought up
and exposed to morbid gaze while be
I ing transferred 70 wagons in which to
be taken to the mOrgue. Up to early
this morning l25 dead bodies
were recovered from the mine. There
remains dangerous headings in the
Klondike section of the mine yet to
be explored. 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 a low
estimate Of the casualty list
Did anybody see the body of Frank
Turck?" a young boy asked. The words
were scarce out of his mouth when
rumbling iron funeral cars moved
along. Father" the boy cried, look
ing into the silent black face of man
past middle age The little fellow
turned his head away, leaned his head
against a telegraph pole and cried
piteously until an aged man leaning
heavily on a stick led him away.
1t is difficult to picture with any de-
gree approaching its full worth the
work of rescue and the attending
scenes and incidents at the centre of
interest How brave men went into
the jaws of death in the most horri-
BILE form, encountered their fellows
transformed into raving maniacs by
hours of waiting in the pitchy dark
ness of the earths interior, lifted them
moaning from their beds of fallen
rock, and then bending and crawling
on all fours, carrying them a quarter
of a mile underground to where cars
could be reached to take them out
side.
Early yesterday afternoon cheering
word came from the innermost recess
es of the mine that life yet fingered in
some of the bodies found. The res
cuers made first for No. a. left heading,
which they had been unable to reach
the night before Falls of roof almost
choked up the heading, but through and
over the debris the brave men pushed
their way. In the front Patrick Mar
tin, his brother Peter, Philip White
and several others made their way.
Suddenly in an open space they were
startled by the maniac laugh which
emanated from a blackened form that
rushed at them out of the darkness.
The man grasped firmly pick handle
and tried in his frenzy to beat down his
rescuers. He was overpowered and
dragged back to the main heading to
the cars. Thirteen other living men
were found in this chamber and physi-
clans were quickly taken to the spot.
A train of mine cars came to .he pit
mouth where waiting ambulances
stood. The men were lifted over the
sides of the cars and half carried,
wended their way to the ambulances,
and were hurried to the Cambria hos
y pital. One man had locked his jaws
# so that force had to be employed to
& pry them open for the insertion Of life
81 instilling fluids
The remains of some of the dead
II were in terrible state, showing that
;s there had been slow death in each