The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-17

live bodies have been taken from tHe mine and that the rescuers believe be- tween thirty-f and forty are still in the lower entrances.
 YoIande, Ala, Dec. 16.-Not since the terrible disaster at Virginia mlnes' eight miles north of here, has there oc- cured such a death-dealing catastro- phe as the explosion which took place in Mine No. 1 of the Yolande Coal ana Coke Company at 10:25 o'clock this morning.
 It is impossible to tell at this hour how many are dead as a result of the explosion, the estimates varying all the way from forty to sixty-sfx, but 1t IS believed to be sixty. The work or res- cue has been extremely slow because of the debris in the mines and the large crowds of women, children and sightseers, at the opening. The ex- plosion is now known to have occurred in either the fifth or sixth right en- tries. All of the bodies have been re- covered from these entries and some of them were so horribly mutiiated that Identification Is next to impossi- bie. The list of dead, recovered and identified at 10 o'clock was as follows:
 white-Robert Arnold. general mine foreman; Will Towe, Tom Newell, 4. B. Guredly, Sam Wright W. F. Stoves, Neil Rider, engineer; Charley Satter- field, Joe Madison, John Tucked, Ed. Jones. Anthony Stoves.
 Negroes--Sam Watson, Nat Humph- rey, Roland Jackson. P. Franklin, Pink Collins, Sam Buds, Jim Smith.
 .Od1cials Of the company on the scene immediately, took steps to start rescue party to get to the men on the inside. The fans were started up and other methods taken to eliminate the had air. Within an hour fourteen men fas. sxxank kayaA description of the inside was heart rending. Seceral Of these men were badly burned. {.
 According to Superintendent T. C.. Huckabee, the explosion was undoubt- edly due to windy" shots. Mir. Huck- abee had just made tour of inspec- ton and had congratulated some of inc men on the condition of their rooms" A few minutes after reach ing the top. he saddled his horse and was about to go for days hunt, lit- tie thinking that the next few hours would be spent in @ search for the blackened forms of those. whose lives had been snatched by the explosion Of coal dust. Parties of miners from Ab- ernant, Searles. Davis Creek and Brookwood are here ready and eager to do anything looking to the recovery of those who are. still. entombed. It will possibly be noon tomorrow before all of the unfortunate dead are re- covered.
 There is but little evidence of the awful calamity to be seen from the outside at a late hour tonight. The hour of excitement has passed. Tears were shed this morning but tonight Is the hour for strong hearts.
 Under the supervision of Chief Mine Inspector J. M. Gray and his assistant, James Hilihouse, forces are at work in the slope clearing away the wreck age and recovering the dead from the lower cross entrances. The inspectors have made no statement of the cause of the disaster. As one of them ex- pressed 1t tonight, the work being done now is one of rescue and not of inspection or investigation.
 Yolande mine is only few miles from Virginia City, where a similar explosion occurred about two years ago, 1l2 men being killed at that time. Yoiande Is thirty-five miles south of Birmingham on the Birmingham Min eral Railroad. The Yolande Coal and Coke Company Is headed by Dr. c. B. Grove of Birmingham. Between l25 and 15o men are given employment in the No. 1 mine. Being Monday morn ing, the large crowd did not go into the mines.
 The Yolande mines were among the model collieries of the Birmingham district. Non-union men were worked exclusively but everything possible had been done to insure the contentment Of employes with their condition. The village is located on a beautiful hill and houses are all painted white witb green trimmings. giving 1t an air or picturesqueness, of healthfulnesS un' usual in mining camps.