The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-03-14
4 MINE HORROR.
Over Twelve Hundred Men En-.
tombed in a Furnace.
TERRIBLE DISASTER.

Magnitude of the Catastrophe
the Worst in Mining
History.
A dispatch from Paris says a min.
ing catastrcc ne OF inca!uable horror
and magnitude has stricken the great
coal centre OF northern France. An
explosion OF fre-damp at I o'clock
Satu: day morning carried death and
destruction throughout the network
Of coal mines entered at Courriere,
and fire followed the explosion, max
ing rescue difficult, and almost i'm
possibls. All France has been pro
foundly sht cksd by TIE magnitude OF
the disaster, which is said to be the
greatestin the history OF continental
minisg.
Tee scene OF the catastrophe is the
mcucsainous mining region near L ms
ir the department. tf Pas-de-Calsis.
Here are lluddled small hamlets Of
the mine workers, who operate the
most productive coal mines in France.
The subterranean chambers form a
series Of tunnels. Six of the outlets
are near Dens, and others are at
Courriere, Verdun and many other
points The output Of these mines is
particularly :cmbustiole and is largely
used ID the manufacture OF gas anc
in smelling. About 1000 miners
york the group OF mines and, With
their families, make population o
rom 5000 ro 5000 souls
The catastrophe took pace shortly
after 1875 nan had descended indO
the mine saturday morning. There
was a deatening explosion which v9s
followed by the cages and mini-g ap
paratus being hurled from the mouGL
OF the Couriere mine. Men and horses
nea1by outside the mine we're eltue1
stunned or killed The roof Of the
mine cfhce was torn cf Immediately
ollowiDg the explosion the flames
burst from the mouth OF the pit, driV
ing back those without who sought to
enter ard booming those within.
The work OF attempting to rescue
the imprisoned miners was hastily be.
gun by { fl :ials, engineers and miners
1rom the surrounding mines, who
rrcned parties aud made heroic ef-
forts to penetrate the smoke and foul
gases and bring out the imprisoned
men. The families OF the entombed
miners crowded about the shaft, seek
ing fathers or u:bands and threaten.
ing in their Efforts to obtain details
to force back the gendarmes who kept
them from the mouth Of the pit. Tee
populace OF the district is appalled,
by the disaster which effects every
household. Those persons who were
rescued were terribly ~urned.
1t has been learned that out OF
1895 men who descended into the pits
to work, only 591 have come up, leaV-
ing 1904 buried In the three pits.
Throughout the aftsInoon the heroic
If yrts at rescue we're continued, but
nightfall brought the conviction that
the entomoed men had been suffocated
and the dispatch from Lille at 8 IS p.
%. announcing the numb-r OF death at
I,l95 appears to remove the last hope
that others may be brought to the
surface alive.
Some Ct the imprisoned miners
sought to escape to the pits which re-
NAMED intact and several rescues
we're made. The first cages came up
az 10 o'clock with about a dtzon hall
sufccated men, who were promptly
taken to the hospital Among them
was NJ Y )iSin, az engineer, who had
attempted to organ.z; sucscr. To-
wards noon wounded worknsn began
to be brought up In the baskets and
the bodies Of two men were taken from
piSiO. 1t is feared the remainder had
been asphyxiated. Assistance reach.
ed Courrlere from all sections Of the
department. and large force Of volun.
ueers took part In the efforts made TO
rescue the entombed miners, recover
the bodies Of the killed and help IN
the killed and help in the work Of sal
rage.
Oce Of the rescued miners, Pierre
Dasson, said: II was 2S0 metres from
the shaft when l heard deafening
explosion. The air Immediately 5s'
c.ne !a.iflod and filed with poisonous
vauors. InstiDctively I groped my
way toward theIootton 70 Of the shaft OF
Dit 2, near which I found number CT
sufocatipg comrades who had fallen
helpless in the galleries and were cry
ire for assistance. I assisted them to
mount the trolley and thus they were
enabled to reach the shaft. " A state
OF stupor and desolation prevails over
The Courriere mining reg o.. Inc
most agoniziDg scenes are witnessed
at the pit moushs and the gendarmes
Experience the utmost ditfi Guilty In re-
strainlng the crowds Of people eager
20 ascertain the fate Of their relatives.
TIE chief engineer OF the depart
ment Pa-e-.l-Calais, NJ. Leon, says
that The fire broke out il the pit at
3 O'Clock last Monday afternoon ano
5ne engineers coped With it as best
5hey we're able, but that Friday, ot.
ing unable to master it, they closec
ali the outlets. Fissures. be thinks,
must have formed which permitted
the gases to e:cipe and these beccm'
inc jg tied, resulted in an explosion
Cae Of the erginesrs Of ths mine says
that the cage was unable to descend
more than $50 metres, while the gal
lery where the miners are entombeo
is so metres farther down.
Rsscusrs who descended in this cage
report having heard distinctly the i'm
| ..;ec,od mon tanninp IN the wateI