The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-02-24
NO ONE ESCAPED
Horrible Scenes at Mines in Alabsr,
Where Explosion oecurreo-Forty-
Five Bodies Recovered.

birmingham. Aln.. Feb 2S.-'rhe scene
Al The Virginia mine, where A terrific
afterdanp explosion Monday afternoon
imprisoned l9 men 700 feet below the
surface. was h most grewsome and
sorrowful that has ever been witnessed
in his section of Alabama. OF the
miners who entered the mines yester-
day afternoon, SO far only fifty bodies
have been recovered. The recover al
ready OF SO many dead bodies p~recludes
the idea that any living remain among
the unfortunates stu in the mine.
I The corpses are frightfully mangied
and disfigured and Identification is al
most impossible. Many of them are SO
badly bruised and twisted and discoi-
ored that negroes cannot be told from
whites.
All day long the scene at the mouth
of the mine of waiting women and chill
dren whose father was in the mine has
been most heartrending. One hundred
families and 500 children are left desti-
tute and without means of support by
the calamity and they are the best class
of the mining families in Alabama.
AS the bodies of the victims which
in many cases have been gathered to-
gether a piece at a time are brought to
the surface they are placed in rows on
a rough platform.
The foul gases which had COL
lected in the slope had made
necessary the use OF safety lamps
and 1t was found that less than a score
of safety lamps were available in the
district.
The union miners went TO the scene
from practically every mining camp
within Il radius of twenty-five miles OF
Virginia City to aid in the work of res
cue.
Out of the fifty bodies recovered up To
This time, one was found about 4 O'Clock
which NraS ha yaly alive Ea iS fill alive
but scant hope is held out for his re-
coyery.
President Flynn of the Louisiana
United Mine Workers, said TO the -Asso.
ciated Press last night:
Il shall be surprised If Il single per
son escaped alive from hat mine. Ven
tilation is very difficult. and il the men
We're not killed by the explosion they
have certainly been suffocated by the
gases. The bodies so Far reached were
in the main slope and it will be several
days before we can get to the rooms
which branch off from the main slope
One of the most grewsome sights
witnessed today was a mans head
being carried out of the mine in a
dinner basket. 1t was found in this
position, and the flesh was almost en-
tirely burned away from the skull.
Legs, arms and mangled trunks
were brought out in succession. After
lliSIiNldii AS INV dtlNC w WIG ii'
was converted into "a veritable cham
Der Of horrors. the awfulness of
which was intensified by the flicker
ing of the lamps as the feeble rays
fell upon the mangled and bleeding
fragments of human flesh strewn
about the entrance. Many stout
hearted men who had been assisting
the work of rescue were forced to
give up the task. and numerous per-
son have tainted upon seeing the ar
ray of bodies.
Min Boss Reed is, confident that
more than 100 of the men in the mine
were white, and believes all persisted.
He knows the rooms in which each
man was working and his information
I'm many cases is the only means of
identification. so horribly are the bod
les dis1gured.
At 1880 a. m. this morning forty
five bodies have been ecovered from
h Virginia mine The rescuing par
ty working in shifts has never re-
Taxed its efforts for a minute in re-
moving the debris