Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1906-10-05
Small Hope of Saving Men
Imprisoned in Shattered
Workings of POCahOntaS
CoIIierieS.
BODIES OF SIXTEEN
VICTIMS RECOVERED
Coal Company Sends Hurry
Order for Carload of Cof-
finS-ReSCue Party Work.
ing HerOiCaIIy.

| BY Leased Wire to the Morning Journal
PocahOntas, w. Va. Oct. 4.-Nine-
teen known dead and from thirty t.
forty more ~ntombed and doubtless
dead is the situation up to late hour
tonight at the West Fork mines of the
Pocahontas Galleries company, wheto
the explosion ocurred late yesterday
afternoon. The bodies of sixteen mon
We're recovered from the mines as the
result OF heroic work of Il band of 30
men constituting rescue party that
worked necessarily throughout thn
hours of the night and day. It was n >:
uhtll 1880 this evening that the res
cuers reached a point near the Paul
entry where the explosion occurred
Toward the middle of the evening the
nope was expressed that all the bodis $
would be recovered by midnight.
The authorities anticipated the fear
ful extent of the casualties today ~
ordering a carload of COffins and bur
ia supplies, which are now on the
way. The order is being rushed It
Bluefield and the burial supplies
which include sixty coffins are ex.
pected to reach Pocahontas early To.
morrow
Superintendent w, Leckie, of the
mine. who entered the mine as Que
of the resculng party had narrow
escape from death. He was overcome
by the fumes and had to be carried
out Edward Jones. the inside mine
foreman led the first rescue parry,
and when that party failed to return
i'm reasonable time a second rescue
party under Superintendent Leckic
followed
The scenes around the mine were
pitiful. Relatives and friends gath
cred in groups at the entrance aal
elsewhere awaiting tidings of the vie
tins and gave vent to their grief rs
the bodies, one by one. were broug 1t
out.
Many of the victims are negro IS
and Hungarians, but Il large number
of citizens of POcahontas were Killed.
leaving widows and orphans Tonight
the entire town is In grief The wock
Of rescue continued through the night
and the bodies were brought to the
town. y large force of men has be an
at work on the little cemetery on the
hillside adjacent to the town digging
graves lOl ltlt unfortunate NltntllS.
The work of rescue was retarded hy
the dangers that beset the rescucrs on
account of the ventilation Of the mines
having been entirely destroyed in the
section in which the men were impris-
Oned as the result of the terrific force
of the explosion. This condition was
met by temporary brattices in places
The cause of the explosion cannot be
definitely ascertaincd as yet, but :
thought to be- due To a gas explosion
followed by after damp The mines
We're declared the safest and the hes.
ventilated i'm this section and the com
pany has been at an enormous ex-
pense in equipping and ventilating
this mine.
Up to midnight the exact number uf
men who We're in the mine was nor
known. About a score of mules were
killed. There are no evidences of FIR
In the mine up To a late hour tonight.
At 6:l5 o'clock this evening mem
ber Of the party headed by Supern-
tendent Leckie came ont of the miEe
and stated that they had reached
the St Paul entry and had found
eighteen bodies some of them horri-
bly, mutiliated by the force of the eX-
plosion. S. b. Cook, the first miner 10
be taken out had crawled over 100
yards from the point where his buck 4
was found and had almost escaped
The old PocohOntas Wholesale Gro
Gerry company warehouse has been
converted into n temporary morgue.
where the bodies are being taken. The
West mine has over 700 acres Cf
worked out" or abandoned workings.
This fact alone made II difficult for
them to get to the part of the mlia
where the explosion occurred. All The
brattices i'm these Old workings had
been blown out. The scene of the dis
aster Is over two miles from the drift
mouth In the operation Of the tele.
phone system of the mine number
of boys are employed and the greater
part of these are said TO have met
death in the explosion or were caught
by the afterdamp. II Is said that
shortly after the explosion one Of the
boys called mp the office outside, hut
was overcome before he could give his
message The boy probably died at the
telo phone.
The first rescue party was compos-
% y Jc~'s trsido fc"oman. rom
Neff, mine foreman: X. w. c. War
burton. mine foreman and Waltcr
Poe driving boss. These men went
entirely through the mines and came
out on the Tug river side, All these
men came back over the hill. not at
tempting TO return through the cor
ridors OF the mine. About three
| hnure after thev went IN those on tro
outside became uneasy as to the result
| Oh thelr enOrts ana second parry
composed of William Leekie, superln-
tendent; w l.. Talbot master mecha-
mic; John Exham and James Brown
started In search Of the missing party
II was when the second party reach
ed the Rhode Island entry that the
two laborers.. Exham and Brown were
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