The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-11

to state the loss of life until the res
cuers reach the scene of the disaster.
which may be several hours. possibly
midnight.
Harry Rodgers, the foreman, his as
sistant, William Blanch. with Fire
Bosses John Whitney. John Retallich
and Jhon Thomas, were not in the
klondike when the explosion took
place, but started down a short time
later. 1t is feared all have persisted.
Griffith Powell and Thomas Foster,
two other fire bosses, carried Mr..
Whitney 200 yards in the hope of saw
ing his life, when they were COM
PEELED to drop their burden and save
themselves. Mr.. Whitney was uncon-
scious while being carried by his
friends. The 15-year-old son of Harry
Rodgers, when he heard that his father
had been overcome with after-damp,
started down toward the Klondike to
help rescue him if possible, and he had
no sooner entered the drift than the
deadly gas almost overcome the lad
and he had to be carried back. His
tongue protruded it's whole length from
his mouth and men had to force his
jaws apart with a stick to prevent
lockjaw. Young Rodgers, who is en-
ployed in the mine, was among those
who escaped through the Mill Creek
shaft
Some Who Survived.
Several miners have reached the sur
face who were working near the scene
OF the explosion. They say they pass
ed through a portion of the Klondike
district and saw the bodies of at least
fifty men. The men who came out were
foreigners and were in such an excited
11of Z mn IN
a connected story from them.
The mine has been open for about
fifty years and is producing 5000 tons
Fer day. 1t is the property of the
Cambria Steel Company The families
of the entombed miners are assembled
in large numbers at the mine opening,
hut they cannot secure any definite in
formation and must endure a suspense
of many hours.
Four Taken Out Alive.
At II: 30 p. M. the first four victims
We're brought to the surface from the
Klondike section. They were William
Robertson, who was unconscious when
found; John Retallick, alive and in
pretty good shape, and two unknown
Slavs, both alive, but unconscious.
DR.. John B. Lowman of this city.
who came up with the men, said he
| passed Is dead bodies, some of them
in sitting pastures.
The armory of Company H, Fifth
Regiment, n. G.. P, will been turned
into a charnel house.
After a conference tonight it was
announced that the dead miners would
be brought to the armOry tomorrow.
Planks have been laid on chairs in the
arnnory and the removal of bodies will
| begin at an early hour in the morn
ing.
The ambulances> of all the undertake
ers in the city are at Mill Creek in
readiness to begin the transfer of bod
les.
The Presidents Statement.
At midnight President Powell Stack
| house was seen at the mouth of the
mine and gave out the following state
| ment:
1.-THE disaster is an awful one and
| came on us entirely unexpected. The
mine had. been inspected only three
| days ago and was pronounced in sat
| isfactory condition. In the thirty years
| that the mine has been in operation
| no serious accident has occurred. The
cause is yet indefinite, but / believe
| it was caused by gas escaping from
| the fifth heading, which was closed
and was not being worked because it
i contained gas, into the sixth heading.
| placed at 125. No list of the dead min
| ers can be given. for the majority of
! them were foreigners and were known
| only by check and not by name. The
| only way their names will ever be
known, if the bodies are not recov-
cred in time for Identification, will be
| by their families sending their names
| to U.s."
The mine in which the dreadful
| thing occurred is one of the largest
| coal mines in the United States, ac-
| cording to the statement of officials to-
| night From the entrance in the hill
across the river from the Point to the
| one at Mill Creek is. a distance of
| three and three-quarters miles. The
| klondike section in which the explo-
! sion occurred is about two miles from
| the Mill Creek entrance.
The. mine is divided into a large
| number of headings, levels and sec
| tions.~The sections run off to the left
are known as rights and lefts
by the miners. The men who escaped
this afternoon have spent years work.
| ing in it. Otherwise they could never
| have reached the surface. Lights were
| out and there was no way for them
| to find their way to the top had they
not known the mine perfectly.
| Conditions in wrecked Mine.
The few survivors who have escaped
| from the depths of the mine describe
the condition as frightfuL Outside of
! the ''Klondike" the mines are safe and
uninjured. Within the fatal limits of
| the mine the havoc wrought by the
explosion are such as begger descrip-
ton. Solid walls of masonry three feet
! through were torn down as though
barriers of paper. The roofs of the
mine were demolished and not a door
remains standing.
Sixty-fve Bodies in Sight.
Johustown, Pa, July 11.--At o'clock
! this morning Mayor Pendry stated that
| the first body of the dead miners
would be brought from the mine at 8
o'clock Mayor Pendry stated that
| General Manager Price told him the
number of be1ies in sight at 1 o'clock
was 65.
Brave Work of Rescuers.
Brave ATTEMPTS at rescue were made
here. Mining Engineer Moore and his
assistant Al G.. Prosser, tried to make
some Roadway toward the imprisoned
| miners three and a half miles away.
| but they were driven back by the dead
| ly gases. Richard Bennett and John
Meyers, two miners. were similarly
driven back Then the attempt at
rescue work from the main opening was
shifted to Mill Creek. five miles from
| this city.
Business in the city was practically