The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1902-07-17
FOURTEEN RESCUED
Searching Party Braves Death in
Fated Cambria Mine.
NINETY C0RPSES TAKEN OUT
Scenes of Horror Witnessed at Johns.
town as Aftermath Of Friehtful,
Death-DeaI.ng Mine
Explosion.

4 special from Johnston, Pa, says:
Just as day broke through the pail Of
fog Friday morning the grim details Of
, the awful disaster at the rolling mill
mine of the Cambria Steel company
Thursday afteroon, dawned with re-
newed force on the thousands waiting
for authentic news as to the extent Of
; the explosion.
The day was one of heroic rescues.
Thrilling experiences attended the ef~
forts of the forty brave and daring fel-
lows who went down into 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 were
entombed. Death lurked everywhere
around them, but undaunted they surg
ed forward, swayed with the noblest Of
human purposes. The reward of their
efforts was the saving OF che lives OF
fourteen of their fellow-men and bring
ing them back again into the sunlight
and back to living families.
Last estimates of the number OF
dead reduce the fatal scope of the ca
lamity. But these, while fixing it at
around one hundred, are not concu-
siye
General Superintendent G. ]. Rob-
inson would not say at this time
whether he thought there were 100 or
300 dead. He says there is no way OF
telling until full investigation of the
mine is made. 1t was 5:55 o'clock
Friday morning when the first train
load of victims were brought to the
mouth of the main entry.
Forty-nine cars were used in bring
ing out 4s dead bodies, and four liv-
ing injured.
The discovery Of the dead bodies
was made by a searching party about
10 o'clock Thursday night. They were
lying in the main heading, two miles
in from the main pit entry.
No atempt was made to remove
them until certainty was established
that no more living remained in the
mine.
The first statement of the disaster
was given the Associated Press by
General Mine Superintedent George
T. Robinson. He said:
CAS- to the direct cause Of the explo-
sion l cannot exactly say. We know
there was an explosion Of flre-damp in
the sixth right heading of section
commonly known as the 'Klondike.'
$50 far as can find out now, there
were not more than three or four
deaths from the explosion Itself. The
balance were caused by the after
damp.
Rescue Was Heroic.
CAS- to the rescue work, l directed
1t to commence just as soon after the
explosion as possible. We started
working our way down by putting up
brattices in order to carry the air IN
with us. suppose it was 10 O'Clock at
OlRQC DSlOIS we SdL4S e@SASoS sAAS
les Of the living. Doctors John Low
man and John Hannah went down with
us. They carried tanks of oxygen
with them and were emptied with good
effect on the living.
Twenty more we found later on.
They were scattered through that Sec
ton of the mine. Most OF them were
on their way out when caught by the
fatal after-damp.
Bodies Were Mang!ed.
When the bodies Of the victims came
from the mine a long line of undertak-
er's wagons and picnic wagons were IN
waiting to take them on the round
about route to the morgue in the city.
There they were backed up to door
and a large force of police were ready
TO check the great throngs from press
ing in too close.
Body after body was dragged from
the wagons and borne inside. All OF
them were blackened and unrecogniz-
able until the undertakers got to work