Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-12-07
WORK OF RESCUE
A Small Fire Impeded Work of Those Looking For the Dead
 To-Day
100 BODIES TAKEN OUT

MOnOngah, w. Na., Dec With unabated energy, five rescuing parties, working from every possible point to enter and explore mines numbers s and s of he Fairmount Coal company, a subsidiary of the Consolidation Coal company of Baltimore, where q terrific explosion of black damp oc- cured yesterday, are this morning putting forth every effort to reach, dead or alive, the remainder of the 400 or more men who went into the mine yesterday morning. There is lit tie hope that any have survived the terrific explosion and the resultant posonious gas.
 Eighty-five bodies have so far been brought to the surface. With the dawn of day there began heartrending march up and down the aisles of the temporary morgue, sobbing wives and mothers and sweethearts orphaned children and strong men seeking to identify their dead.
 There are between 5000 and GOOD inhabitants in the mining town of MOnOngah, and it is doubtful if in this entire population there are d score of persons who have not either a near relative or close friend numbered among the victims of the disaster. The people of the twn are stunned by the catastrophe. They had long regarded these mines as practically immune from the dangers so common to the ocal mining industry. The plant of the copany was provided with every device for the protection of life and the equipment was considered the most modern and complete in the production of bitumnous coal
 All of last night hundreds of men stood about the entrance of the two mnies, overcome by their emotions. During the night few women were to be seen, but all day yesterday the women were the chief actors in most pathetic and heartrending scenes.
 It is thought that by tonight the full extent of the horror will be known.
 The rescuing parties penetrated mine No 6 about $500 feet before they came upon the first of the dead. A ma jOrity of the corpses, will, it is be- lieved, be found about mile further back. The four hundred men were working in territory one mile square. It will be days before thor ough search of all this area can be made. As the rescuing par ties advance they must clear away debris. The explosion wrecked over 800 mine cars and these choke the entries on all sides. Many heavy brattices also were demolished A peculiar and remarkable feature is that, notwithstanding the force of the explosion, very little of the mine roof was wreckcd By those who witnessed it, the explosion was lilS- ened to the discharge of a cannon. Every movable object shot with ter rife force through the mine. At the entrance of mine No 8 a concrete power house was completely demol- ished. A piece of concrete weighing fully 1000 pounds was blown clear across the West Fork river, landing on the side of hill. In radius of half mile not another piece of con- crete can be found. Great holes were torn in the hill on either side of the entrance oi No S. Mine cars were crushed as though made of paper and the huge steel tipple was hlnuTn arf m fria light wires were thrown to the ground and many persons narrowly escaped death. The mine officials state that 40 per cent of the victims are Americans.
 Fifty physicians are at or near the mines attending members of the res cuing party, many of whom have been overcome and needed medical attention. and ready to succor any who may be brought from the depths of the mine alive.
 The company has sent rush orders for cOffins to Pittsburg, ZanesviIle and other towns. the total number ordered up to thie time being 3S0
 Governor Dawson of West Vir- ginia will arrive at Monongah this morning.
 Coroner Amos of Fairmount prob ably will begin an inquest into the explosion Monday morning.
 Up to II o'clock to-day sixteen bodies had been removed from mines Nos and of the Fairmount Coal Co. Four are Americans. About eighty bodies have been found. but only sixteen have been brought to the surface
 The rescuers are now within 1 800 feet of the end of the mine. They are working in tEo parties of about thirty men each with reliefs every hour.
 President C. W. Watson said to-day that every possible investigation would be made of the disaster to ascertain its cause and fix respOnsi- bility.
 There vas a slight fire inside of the slope of No 2 mine this morning, due to the starting of the fan. It was soon extinguished and the fan working successfully greatly aided the reseuers to get into the mines.