The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-01-26
ALL HOPE GONE.
1t Is Now Certain That 1874
Miners Perished
AS the Result of the Explosion
in the Harwick Mine.
ONE RESCUED ALIVE.
Man Who Brought Him Out
Lost His own Life.
Was SniHvn ravInr We'll
ONE RESCUED ALIVE.
Was Selwyn Taylor, a Well
Known Mining Engineer.

:
for the lives of anv of the 1874 men en-
tombed in the Harwick mine of the
Coal company. two miles
from Cheswick. Pa. was given up to-
day when George w. Sheets, manager
of the mine. admitted that he believed
that none of them will be brought up
alive. Now the cry is for more men
to come to the work of rescue. Volun-
teers are needed to work back through
the debris to where the miners are i'm
prisoned, and where possibly some may
have managed to survive.
Already four~men are known to be
dead. among them Selwyn H. Taylor, of
this CITY. who was the first of the
rescue party to reach the bottom of the
shaft. His body was brought to the
top of the shaft this morning. Taylor
VINO was one of the best known mining
engineers in western Pennsylvania, lost
his life in an effort to save the lives
OF the entombed men. He had planned
and plated the mine, and was called
by the Allegheny Coal company as the
man best fitted to lead the forlOrn hope.
He went down into the mine bravely.
and with him went four other men.
One of them. George Harvath. was
brought from the pit. but a short time
before TaYlor's lifeless body came to
party, Tom Wood. tried desperately to
save his companions but felt the dead
ly nausea coming on and was forced to
leave them to their fate. Then others
took I'D the work. two at a time. All
night they went up and down in the
temporarily rigged bucket. The main
hoists were both blown out by the force
OF the explosion. but there were no liv-
ing ones to save. Adolph Gums, the
only one of the miners in the pit when
the explosion occurred to be brought
to the surface alive, was rescued by
Selwyn TAYLOR. But if there were no
found and all night long the volunteers
tolled, gaining headway here and there
until they were forced by exhaustion to
quit their Iabors.
WAS PRESIDENT OF A COMPANY.
Pittsburg, Pa, Jan. 26-Selwyn NJ
Taylor, who lost his life while in rescue
work in the Cheswick mine, while en-
eaVOf1ng to save other lives, ranked
among the first of the mining engineers
OF the country. He WAS president of
the Midland Coal company, but the
greater part of his work was as chief
engineer and consulting engineer for
concerns in which he had no personal
financial interest. He is survived by
a widow and a stepSOn.
U. G. Hatch of Cleveland, one of the
principal owners of the mine, together
with number of other Cleveland men
associated with him, arrived here this
morning. Mr.. Hatch said he could not
talk about the terrible disaster until he
learned the facts on the grounds. He
said he believed they had as safe a
mine as any in which gas is found. They
had taken every precaution known to
mining and engineering but, he said,
Something unforeseen fired the gas and
the lives of the men were snuffed out -
On reaching the mine Mr.. Hatch
added to the urgent appeals for the aid
of skilled men to penetrate the mine
to rescue the living and to recover the
dead bodies. This is, indeed, the crying
need of the hour. Doctors and oxygen
are on the ground ready for the fam
ming to a flame any feeble spark of
life that may be found in any of the
bodies. But they are almost hopeless.
They say the death of Mr.. Taylor, who
was overcome before he reached the
main body of men, proves that it will
be almost impossible for the imprisoned
men to keep alive. Some of the older
miners say there is only one chance in
a. thousand that there is a life in the
mine beyond that in the rescuing party
Up to 10 o'clock no further attempt
had been made to enter the mine, and
no bodies have been recovered since
that of Taylor, which was brought up
last night.
There was this morning only dozen
experienced men who might do relief
work, and they were exhausted.
In the temporary hospital which has
are two men, Adolph Coma, the only
miner of those caught in the explosion,
who has been rescued. His face and
the upper part of his head is badly
burned Coma says that at the time
of the explosion he was between the
sixth and seventh headings on the
south side and managed to get to the
bottom of the shaft. He does not know
the fate of the others.
A committee from the mine workers
is at the mine To rpOrpSRnf the OrP9ni-
zation.
After a survey of the ground and the
conditions following the explosion, all
of the committee agreed that there was
little hope of any men in the mine be-
ing found alive.
The call for aid in clearing the
wreckage of the mine issued this morn
ing bore results. But at 1 o'clock this
afternoon no word had been receivei
from any one of the men entombed
Volunteers pressed about the ropes
from mining towns in the neighborhooc
and as fast as the little bucket coui6
| take them down they went with willing
| but determined faces. In all the grouI
of experienced miners who gathered
| there today, not one could be founC
who would say that he believed thai
! one more living man would be brought
/ from the darkness beyond the bottom
! Ofethe main shaft. There is little ap-
| parent excitement in the hamlet abou
| the mine. although nearly every hus
band and father in the place has no
been heard from for IS hours. But Il
the men who heard the wailing in tht
early hours just before dawn, when tn,
wives and mothers believed that sons
news would come the grief that ha:
now become more intense is better un
| derstood- Now and then a group o
women with shawls about their heat
would gather silent at the mouth of tn,
shaft and watch the work there. /
| was always A'men going down. ant
their eyes were looking for the upward
load of the dreaded. Two or three trip
seemed to satisfy them the time hat
| not yet come and with strange words