The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-01-26
DEATH Turks THERE1
Men Lowered Into the Mine Drawn Up
Gasping and Almost Dead From the
Foul Gases Inhaled. A Rending
Explosion That Hurled the Gags
Up Through the Shaft to the Sur face
is the Cause of the Horror.
(By the Associated Press.)


Pittsburg, Pa Jan. 25.-From all that
can he gathered at this hour, between
$50 and 100 men are lying dead in tie
headings and passage ways Of the Har-
wick mine of the Allegheny Coal Company
at Cheswick, the result of terrific ex
plosion today Cage after cage has gone
down into the mine and come up again,
but only one miner of all those that went
down to work this morning has been
brought to The surface. The rescued man
is Adolph Gunia and ne is still in
semi i-conscious condition at the tempor-
ary hospital at the rude school house on
the hillside above the mine.
In addition to the miners who were at
work when the explosion occurred, it is
now believed by practically ali the men
Oh the rescue party who come up the 22t
feet vertical shaft for warming and
breathing spell that .Selwyn Taylor, the
Pittsburg mining engineer, who plotteds
the mine and who was the first to reach
tie bottom after the explosion happened,
is now among the list of dead.
Of those in the mine all are probably
dead.
The explosion occurred at $40 this
morning and the first warning was the
sudden rumble underground, and then g
sheet of flame followed up the deep run.
Both miners cages were huled through
the tipple, twenty feet above the landing
stage and the three men on the tipple
were thrown to the r~ouL1. mule was
thrown high above t'-e shaft and fell dead
On the ground. The injured were brought
at once to this city where some OF them
have died since. After the explosion the
crash at the pit mouth startled the little
village. The wives and children of the
men below rushed to the scene of the dis
aster, but to Tlin no encouragement !
There was no way to get into the deep
workings The cages that let the men
into the mines and brought them out
again when the days work was done were
beth demolished.
All day long there was a jam of wo.I
men and children waiting about the moutlN
of the pit There were calls for assistance
and for surgical aid from the men in |
charge of the mine. but it was not until |
O'Clock this afternoon that the first at
tempt at rescue was made. This was /
failure as the two men who volunteered |
were driven back by the foul air.
Shortly after o'clock Selwyn Taylor
and one of his assistants signalled for the |
engineer to lower them into the shaft.
Taylor is still down there. Three times ef-
forts have been made to reach him, but
so far without avail Thomas Wood, one
of the first of the rescue party, hauled to
the surface. told his story of his trip
through the mine. He said
Il was with Taylor and we clambered
over three or four falls Taylor laid out
the mine and seemed to know the way.
There was one man alive at the foot of
the shaft. He was sent M and then we
took the mule path into the south level.
We saw two men who were alive and noti-
fed those back of us and then went on.
We passed the third, fourth and fifth
headings and then through an overdrift
into the other shaft I began to feel
dizzy and sick, and then / say Taylor
stagger and fall His lantern fell We
tried to lift him. but could not carry him
up end l made my own way to safety"
F. w. Cunningham. the mine inspector
of the fourteenth district reached Har-
wick about 7S0. When seen by an AS
lsociated Press reporter, Just after his
parrival, he said:
Il went to GreensbuTg to inspect a mine
this afternoon, and when I reached home
this. afternoon l fould bunch of telegrams
telling me of this disaster. The mine
where the explosion took place was in
sreeted think, about the first of Decenl-
her. There was some gas in there then,
lat I never considered the mine danger
GUS
Pittsburg. Pa. Jan. 25.-An explosion in
the Hardwick mine of the Allegheny Coal
Company, at Cheswick. sixteen miles from
Pittsburg. Western Pennsylvania, prom
ises to add enc of the greatest tragedies
of years to the already long list of mine
fatalities Even the officials of the Ale
gheny Coal Company, the owners of the
mire, do not know at this time the num-
her of men still entombed in the chambers
aof the mine, 220 feet below the surface.
but conservative estimate number them
at 1S4.
Even General Manager George Scheetze,
Of the coal company, who is in charge of