The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1906-03-16
A MINE HORROR.
Over Twelve Hundred Men En-.
tOmbed in a Furnace.
TERRIBLE DISASTER.
Hundreds Of Bodies Have Been Taken
Oai. France is Shocked by the
Magnitude of the Catastrophe
the Worst In Mining
History.

a dispatch from Paris says q min
Ing catastrophe Of Invaluable horror
and magnitude has stricken the great
coalicentre Of northern France. An
explosion OF irc-damp at 7 O'Clock
Saturday morning carried death and
destruction throughout the network
Of cSS! mines conferred at Courriere,
and dire followed the explosion, max.
Ing Tescue d~iflcult, and almost Inn
possible. All France has been pro.
fourdly shocked by the magnitude of
the disaster, which Is said to be the
grea cost in the history OF continental
m!nirg.
Toe scene Of the catastrophe ia the
mountainous mining region near Lens
In the department Cf Pas-de-Oalais.
Here are huddled small hamlets OF
the mine workers, who operate the
mos5 productive coal mines in France.
INC subterranean Chambers form O.
sarips OF tunnels Six Of the outlets
are near Dens, and others are at
Courriere, Verdun and many other
puiAAts The output OF these mines Is
parJcularY oombustiole and Is largely
used In the manufacture Of gas and
in smelling. About 2, 200 miners
~o1k the group Of mines and, With
uheir families, mako q population OF
frotn 5000 TO 8, 900 souls
The catastrophe took place shortly
after l 1906 msn had descended into
the mine Saturday morning. There
was a deafening explosion which WIS
followed by the cages and miEi Y ap
paratus being hurled from the mouth
OF the Couriere mine. Men and h arse
neaiby outside the mine were either
stunned or killed, The roof Of the
mibe Office was torn off. Immediately
3ogowho~ the explosion the flames
AJpat iAJm the mouth Of the pit, dirty
ing(back thosa without who sought to
enter and booming those within.
The work Of attempting to rescue
the imprisoned miners Was hastily be.
gun by (tlicials, engineers and miners
from the surrounding mines, who
tromed parties and made heroic eff
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 husbands and threaten
ing In their Efforts TO obtain details
to force back the gend0rmes who kept
them from this mouth OF the pit. The
populace Of the district Is appalled,
by the disaster which Effects every
household. Those persons who were
rescued were terribly .u1ned.
1T has been learned that cut OF
|, 195 men who descended into the pits
to work, only sol have come up, leav.
Ing 1904 buried In tho three pits,
Throughout the afternoon the heroic
cff rts st rescue were continued, but
aightfall brought the conviction that
the entombed men had been suffocated
and the dispatch from Lille at 8 As p.
m. announcing the number Of death at
1, l95 appears to remove the last hope
that others may Oe brought to The
surface alive.
Some Of the imprisoned miners
sought to escape to the pits which re.
NAMED intact and several rescues
were made. The first cages came up
at 10 O'Clock with about a dcz,n half
s~uffocated men, who were promptly
taken to the hospital. Among them
was NJ Voisin, an engineer, wno had
attempted to organic a succGr. To-
wards neon wounded workmen began
to be brought up In the baskets and
the bodies Of two men we're taken from
Pit 10. 1t is feared the remainder had
been asphyxiated. Assistance reach
ed COurrIere from all sections CT the
department and a large force OF volun.
teerB took part In the efforts made TO
rescue the entombed miners, recover
the bodies OF the killed and help in
TIE killed and heip In the work Of sal.
age.
Ole Of the rescued miners, Pierre
Dasson, said: II was $50 metres from
the shaft when / heard q d~eafening
explosion. The air Immediately be-
came 1arinad and tilled with poisonous
vapors. ~Instinctiyely l CROPPED my
way toward t~heIbotton OF the shaft OF
pit 2, nca which / found a number If
s~u!fOcating comrades who had fallen
helpless In the galleries and we're cry
inR for assistance. | asSisted them to
mount the trolley and thus they were
enabled to reach the shaft" A state
u stupor and desolati0n prevails over
tho Courrierc mining reg o.. The
most ag0nizi0g scenes are witnessed
at the pit mouths and the gendarmes
Experience the utmost difficulty In re-
staining the crowds OF people eager
10 ascertain the fate Of their relatives.
The chief engineer OF the depart.
ment Pase-at-Calais, M. Leon, says
that the fire broke out In the pit at
3 O'Clock last Monday afternoon and
the engineers ooped with il az best
they we're able, but that Friday, be-
Ing unable to master 1t, they closed
all the outlets. Fissures, he thinks,
must have formed which permitted
the gases to eScape and these becom-
inc ig0ited, resulted In an explosion.
Onc Of the engineers OF the mine says
ti,at the cuge was unable to descend
more than $50 metres, while the gal,
lcry where the miners are entombed
IL 90 metres farther down.
Rcscuers who descended In this cage
report having heard distinctly the im.
prisoncd mon tapping OH Tile water
pipes, but tho hope that was rekindled
by this abatement was extinguished
by Engineer Leon, who estimated
that 1T would take eight days to dis
lndoa tho dehria In tho ,h,Sk. oul