The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-12
One Killed and Five Injured, and the Escape of 85
 is Miraculous
BRATTICES AND DOORS
 NEARLY ALL BLOWN DOWN
Officers Here Believe It Was Caused By Dust or By Ignition of Fire Damp By Miners
 Lamp.

One man instantly killed and four or five injured, two seriously, but 1t is not be- lieved fatally burned. was the result of an explosion In the mine of the Palos Coal and Coke company, about fifteen miles northwest of Birmingham. on the Frisco railroad, yesterday morning about 10 o'clock
 c. T. Chadwick, a white miner, lost his life evidently by being thrown with vio- lent force by the explosion against some timber or prop in the mine. James For sett. another white miner, was badly burned about the face and the upper DOT tion of the body, and was brought to Bir- mingham. He was met at the train by Lige Loy's ambulance and carried to St. medical attention.
 Charley Bradford, a negro miner, was also badly burned about the face and hands, and is at St. Vincent's hospital under treatment
 Three or four other miners were more or less seriously burned. but were not brought to Birmingham, and mule was later found dead back in the slope.
 Definite information regarding the cause of the explosion did not reach Birming- ham last night, but it is believed by the officers of the Palos company here that 1t was a dust explosion, or else it was caused by the ignition of fire damp from one of the miners lamps.
 Terrific Force of Explosion.
 There were about eighty-five men work ing in the mine at the time of the ex- ploson, and according to the statement of a foreman who accompanied the body of the dead man to Birmingham, it was almost a miracle that anyone escaped. The explosion was so powerful that tne brattices and doors in the mine were nearly all blown down in the portion around the center of the explosion. The interior of the mine was otherwise badly damaged. as a number of the collars and props holding up the roof were loos- ened up. It is not thought however, that any portion of the roof will fall in
 Rush to the Rescue.
 When the stiflng smoke had cleared out of the slope sufficiently to permit men to go down into the mine, a number of the miners went back to bring out the dead and injured. Chadwick was found about midway back in the mine, lying near d large prop. From appearances the body had been trampled on by other men flee ing from danger. The body had evidently been thrown against the prop with yio- lent force, as greater portion of the top of the head was gone. and the chest bad ly burned and bruised.
 MT. Chadwick had been in the employ of the company for some time. He is survived by a wife and three children. The body was brought to Birmingham yester- day afternoon to be prepared for buriat and the remains will be sent to Vincent this morning by Green & Co. for inter- ment
 Both of the patients at St. Vncents, while very badly burned. were reported last night to be doing as well as could be expected. It is not believed that the burns will prove fatal.
 The explosion yesterday morning was the second of the week at the Palos mine, there being an explosion last Tuesday morning in which one man was badly burned. The first explosion was caused by the ignition of fire damp, but was not nearly as terrific as the one yesterday.