The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-12
At Eleven O'clock Last NIGHT
the Number Of Known
Dead Was 30
INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH
BRAVE RESCUERS PLUNGE
Staggering Through Deadly Gases Men
Are Startled by Maniaos: Laughs
of cIized sufferers-.Draa
Them 10 Daylight.

1ohnstown, Pa, July 11.-This has been
a DAY OF heroic rescues at the Inflated
rolling mill mine of the Cambria steel
Company. Thrilling experiences attend
ed the efforts of the forty brave and
daring fellows who went down into the
earth with very faint hone tn snur tben,
that still they might be In time to re-
store TO lie some of those who are en-
tombed. Death lurked everywhere around
them' but undaunted they surged for
ward sawyed with the noblest of hu-
man purposes. The reward of their ef-
1orts was the saving of the lives Of four
teen of their fellowmen and bringing them
back again into the sunlight and back
to living families. Dead and MANNED
bodies were located but no effort was
made to bring them out of the vast
theatre of death until every human en-
ergy was put forward towards seeing
that no living soul might escape their
aid. That done, the dead were attended
to and put in tram cars and brought
up and exposed to morbid gaze while be-
ing transferred to wagons in which to
be taken to the morgue.
Eighty-seven dead bodies were recov-
cred from the mine between daylight
and nightfall Still 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 exposed to the vision of the search-
ers.
Dangerous Headings Remain.
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.
Inc impression prevails among the out
siders and certain employees of the mine
that 100 is low estimate of the casualty
list. Fated Johnstown spent the day
horror struck. From dawn to dusk flying
ambulances coursed the streets bearing
gruesome loads from mine to moreue
from morgue to homes Great tbrongs
surged about the pit mouth the impris-
oned morgue at the armory and about
the stricken homes of the dead Bulle-
TIN boards were eagerly scanned for
news from the scene of the disaster. Ex-
aggerated rumors of all kinds prevailed.
One report gained circulation that disas-
ter had overtaken the rescuing partv
which entered the mine shortly after
o'clock. This proved one of the enter
tanning yarns that had its origin among
the crowds at the pit mouths Returning
rescuers substantiated the details of the
report by officials 1t is difficult to pict-
ure with any degree approaching its fun
worth the work of rescue and the attend
ing scenes and incidents of the day at
the centre of interest
In Jaws of De5...
Brave men went into the laws of death
In its most horrible form. encountered
their fellows transformed into cavin~
maniacs by hours of waiting IN the mitch
darkness OF the earths interior lifted
them moaning from their beds of fallen
rock and then bending and crawling on
all fours, carrying them quarter of a
mile under ground to where cars could be
reached TO take them outside Along in
the latter part of the afternoon cheering
word came from the lnnermost recesses
OF the mine that life yet fingered in soma
Oh the bodies found. The rescuers made
nrst Tor number 4, left heading, which
they had been unable to reach the night
before. Decolate even for the scene ~ .
mine interior was the heading thar
st etched out before them Vans of roofs
Almost choked up the heading, bur
through and over the debris the brave
men pushed their way In the front young
Patrick Martin. mis- brother, Peter, Philip
Whlte ana several cousins of the Martins
made their way.
Suddenly in an open space they were
startled by maniacial laugh which em-
anated from a blaclSened form that
rushed at them out OF the darkness Tho
man grasped a pick handle and tried in
his frenzy to beat down his rescuers. He
was overpowered and dragged back TO
heading IN In mi
other living men We're found at this
chamber and physicians were ouieI<lv
taken to the spot. AT p. m. the train of
mine cars came to the pit mouth where
waiting smbulances stood. Eight men
were lifted over the sides of the cars
and half carried, wended their way to the
ambulances. They were all Poles.
+ One Big Fellow Collapsed.
One big. strapping fellow among them
collapsed as he reached the ambulance
and doctors spent several minutes re-
suscitating him. AS the men were driven
hurriedly to the Cambria hospital the
train OF cars with the physicians re-
entered the mine. In another half hour
they came out again with six living but
almost dead miners. One man in his
paroxysms had locked his Jaws so that
force had to be used to pry them open
for the injection of life-saving fluids
These six were taken TO the Cambria
hospital In unconscious condition
Just at that time three more headings,
being filled with the dead were unsearch-
ed. Thirty-nine bodies were lying within
reach In the main beading. These were
In q terrible state showing that there
had been slow death in each case. One
of the men had his mouth and nose tied
about by towel. The rest of his face
was burned beyond recognition. The
bodies of all were twisted in horrible
shapes, most of the arms being crooked
so as to shield the face The only one
who could be identified at the pit mouth
was Fire Boss Joseph Tomlinson.
Fire Is Raging.
One of the volunteer rescuers who came
out with this load of dead states that