Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-11
SEARCH FOR THE DEAD
Casualties at Cambria Mine
May Reach 100.
FIRE DAMP'S VICTIMS
uNFORTUNATES WERE CAUGHT
WHILE AT DINNER.
Distressing Sights and Incidents AT
tending the Horrible Disaster
Yesterday.

JOHNSTONN. Pa. July 11.-Just as day
broke the pail of fog this morning the grim
details of the awful disaster at the rolling
MIL mine Of the Cambria Steel Company
Gawned with renewed force on the thou
sands waiting for authentic news as to the
extent of the explosion.
Forty-seven dead bodies all contorted
and many blackened and burned. lie
stretched on rough slabs al the Improvised
mOrgua in the Armory building. Forty
more are In ears in the mine ready to be
borne out as fast as room can be made for
them. Later estimates of the number of
dead reduce the fatal scope OF the calamity.
But these estimates. while fixing the
Der of dead at round one hundred. are
not conclusive. General Superintendent q.
J. Robinson would not say whether he
thought there were 100 800 dead. lie
says there is no way of telling until a full
investigation of the mine is made. When
that viii he. he says he has no means cf
telling, All rests with the difficulty to be
encountered in clearing the heading of
after damp.
1t was J::,J o clock when the first train
load of victims were brought to the mouth
of the main entry. Forty-nine cars were
us, in bringing out forty-six dead bodies
and four living injured. The discovery of
the dead bodies was made by a searching
party about 1o o'clock last night. They
were lying in the main heading two mile
In from the main pit mouth. No attempt
was made to remove them until certainty
was established that no more living re-
manned in the mine
From the positions of the bodies the
miners were evidently eating their lunches
when suddenly stricken down by the ex-
plosion- They were seated IN groups of
five and ten. with their buckets and the
remains of their lunches scattered over the
fooT Evidently their lives were snuffed
out quickly and easily.
Superintendent Robinson's Statement.
The first official statement Of the dis
aster was given the Associated Press re-
porter by General Mine Superintendent
George T. Robinson at : O'Clock this morn
Ing.
AS TO the direct cause of the explo-
sion. l cannot exactly say. We know
there was an explosion of fire damp in
the sixth right heading of a section of
the mine commonly known as the Klon-
dixie. So far as I 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.
Our mine officials, the mine foreman,
Henry Rodgers. Fire Boss John Retallic,
Machine Boss VIM. Robinson, who is my
brother. and Slav, whose name ] do not
know. Were back eating lunch when the
explosion occurred. They Immediately
went down to the point of explosion to
put up the slopings IN order TO carry the
air in its proper channel again. These
W.
plOsion.
They. with the exception Of the assist
ant foreman and one of the fire bosses.
were overcome by after damp. They were
FOUND by rescuing party. and the chances
are that all Will recover with the excep-
tion Of my brother.
'As TO the rescue work, I directed il
10 commence just as soon after the ex-
plosiOn as possible. We started in at
pm We started working our way down
by putting up brattices in order to carry
the air in with l suppose Il was 10
clock at night before We came across
the bodies of the living. Doctors John
Lowman and John Hannah went down with
us. They carried tanks Of oxygen with
them which were emptied to good effect
on the living.
Finding of the Dead.
We found twenty-five dead on our wav
TO these four living Twenty more we
found later They were scattered
through that section of the mine Most of
them We're on their way out when caught
by the fatal after damp
When the bodies of the victims came
from the mine long line of undertakers'
wagons and picnic wagons We're In waiting
70 take them on the roundabout route to
the Tnorgue in the city. There they were
backed up To a door. and a large force OF
police was ready To check the great thronr
from pressing in too close Body after
body was dragged from the wagons and
borne inside. All of them were blackened
and unrecognizabie. until the undertakers
got TO work. The head Of one man was
crushed, and the only means of identifying
Will be by his check number All of the
bodies were cold and stiff. The arms of
most of them were twisted in front of them
as If to shield their faces from fire The
left hand Of one man was torn off at tha
wrist The bodies now recovered were all
found about two miles in from the main
pit mouth. The headings leading from that
region of TO the left, where il is expected
most Of the dead will be got may not be
entered by the searchers today.
History of the Mine
The rolling mill mines has been worked for
aboE fifty years Five or six wears ago the
section where the disaster OF yesterday oc-
CURED was opened. The miners called If
the klondike. 1t is said that for the past
three years gas has been noticed in it and
careful inspections We're kept up In the
last three years safety lamps had been car
ried by the men Frank Sabot. one of the
boys who met death in heroic endeavor
10 save his comrades, was safely out of the
mine after the explosion. He worked in
the mine ever since the Klondike was
opened up. He had trapped In the mine
longer back than that After the explosion
he hastened into the vault of death TO do
hat he III slSt
the spread of the after damp. He was found
lying near a partly closed door leading off
TO one Of the left headings.
Soon after the discovery of the first
eorpSes the mine officials began TO make ar
ranSements for the removal Of the bodies
from the scenes of the disaster. At the
armory of Company Fl. big baru-like
frame building on the outskirts OF the city.
preparations were methodically forwa rded
TO transform the place into a temporary
morsue- Chairs were placed in rows oppo-
site eacn other and rough boards and
pianks placed upon them to serve instead
OF tne marble or slate slabs that receive