The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1902-07-11
MINE DISASTER
MOST HORRIBLE
-
Between One and Two Hun.
bred Men Are Dead.
ESCAPED TELL
FEARFUL TALES
Walked Over Bodies of Companion:
in Order TO Get Ont.
EXPLOSION OF FIRE
DAMP ONLY THEORY.
Only These Thoroughly Familiar VIII
the Mine We're Able 10 Get Away
frsm the Deadly Gss-Res-
euers Are at Work.

Johnstov'n. Pa. July 11.--Joh nstowp
has again been visited by an appall,
Ing disaster II is only less frightfn1
that the awful calamity of May 81
1889, in cost Of life, but in It's terri
. Bile consequences IL has brought the
shadow Of sorrow into hundreds OF
homes made desolate by a mine ex
plosion which took place in the Cam
mont HiiI yesterday afternoon.
bria steel company mine under West.
How many are dead viii take sey
eral days 90 fully determine. but II will
be between l25 and 200 Only $50 OF
The 500 men in the mine at the time
Of the explosion have been rescued.
II was nearly an hour after the ex
plosion before any general knowledge
nj what had happened got abroad Mer
who escaped with their lives told the
terrible news and soon II spread like
wiidtre All over the city. In scores
OF homes there we're the most pathetic
scenes. Mothers. wives. daughters son
aud relatives we're frantic with grief
Hundreds rushed 10 tue mlfa a8d with
sobbiuF hearts awaited the awf.l newg
Several u1lnera have reached ,a. sur
face who vcra working near tha eaeae
Of che explosion Thee say they pass
90 through "a portion 81 the Klondike
district aad saH the bodies IF at least
So men The men Hho came out were
foreigners and we're tn such an excited
state that 81 was Impossible 10 get o
connected story from them The mine
has been open for about 50 years ant
vas producing 5A90 toms per day.
The officials state the explosion was
one Of FIRE damp The catastrophe oc
eurred Ia tbe section Of the mine
known a. "klondlke" The section Is
about a mile and a half from the main
entrance OF the rolling NIL mine
4ae few survivors who have escaped
from the depths Of The mine describe
the condition to be frightful Outside
OF the kloudike the mines are safe and
uniajured Within the fatal limits thu
havoc wrought by the explosion ia fcar
fgL Solid wallis OF masonry three feet
I'm thickness were torn down az though
made Of paper Tha roofs of the mine
were demolished and not door re
mains Standing In the face OF these
difficulties The moes baFuic EFFORT to
ward rescue seem hopeless.
Miners who letg the mfne by way
OF the MIll Creek entrance brought
horrible stories 1T craving over the
dead bodies OF their comrades.
Two young men who were M work
IN the Klondike when the explosion
occurred escaped by way Of the air
shaft heading ~ through the Kern.
Vile Hill from the mine A fan house
now out OF use stands at the top of
this air shaft This way. the young
men, sick and dizzy from nauseous
after damp or black damp reached
safety. They told how they had
walked across dead bodies to pure air
and light How many they did not
know. The stories Of the men who
escaped are miraculous.
President Powell Stackhouse gave
out the following statement:
The disaster Is an unusual one and
came on us entirely unexpected. The
mine had heen inspected only three
days ago and was pronounced in sat,
iefRctory condition. The cause is yet
indefinite. but believe IL was caused
by gas escaping from the fifth head
Ing which was closed and was not be.
Ing worked because IL contained gas
The number of casualties In now
placed at 1875. No list of the names
Of the dead miners can be given, for
the majority of them were foreigners
and we're known only by check and
not by name. The only way their
names Will ever be known If the bod
les are not recovered in time for idan
tification will be by their families
sending their names to US.
The armory of company III. Fifth
regiment. will be turned into charnel
house. Planks have been laid on
chairs in the armory and the removal
Of bodies will begin at an early hour
mis- morning The ambulance of all
the undertakers in the city are at Mill
Greek In readiness to begin the trans
fer of bodies.
The hrst four victims brought to
the surface we're w. NJ. Robinson. who
was unconscious when found: John
Retallick, alive and conscious, and
two unknown Slavs both alive but I'M
conscious.
DR. John b. Lowman who came up
with the men said he passed twenty
ave dead bodies. some Of them In sit
ting pastures.
The mine in which the dreadful