The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-20
 Another Fatal Mine I plosion. NO HOPE THAT ANY
 OF THEM ARE ALIVE Many Buildings in the Vicinity Were Wrecked. All of Thirteen Bodies Taken Out Up to This Time are Terribly MutiIated and Three of Them Are
 Herdiess.

Jacobs Creek, Pa, Dec. 19---An explosion or gas in the Parr Mine of the Pitts 9urg Coal Company. located here to- day entombed between 200 and 25o miners and there is scarcely a ray of nope that single one of them will pc taken from the mines alive.
 Partially wrecked buildings in the vicinity of the mine and the condition or the few bodies found early in the rescue work. indicate an explosion of such terrific force that 1t seems im possible that any one could have sur vived it. All of the thirteen bodies taken out up to this time are terribly mutilated and three of them are head less. ~T z <
 This is the third mine disaster since the hrst of the month in the veins of the bitummous coal underlying West ern Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Tor the Namoi mine. near Fayette City and the two mines at Monongah, W. Va, in which the earlier explosion happened, are in the same belt as the local workings. Today's catastrophe swells the number of victims of deadly mine gas for the nineteen days to be- tween 55o and 600.
 Observing Festival.
 That today's disaster does not equal or even surpass in loss of life and at tendant horrors the one in West yfr- gfnia is due to the devotion to church duties of q considerable number of the miners. In observance of the church festival. many of the four hun- dred or more men regularly employed at the mine did not go to work this morning. Those who escaped through this reason are members of the Greek Catholic Church and they suspended work to celebrate St. Mich oiass birth day.
 As was the case at Monongah, the explosion followed brief shutdown, the Darr mine having been closed Tuesday and Wednesday. It was :yv o'clock when the tenth trip of loaded cars had been brought ou AL t. pie aEid there came an av ifa sound followed immediate e.t report and cofcussfofl nearby buildings and was radius of several mile, tEe same time there came out ssQ of the mine an immense . 4 saGs smoke and dust that flos , a ae Youghiogheny river.
 Intuitively every one ...S ..xt.tfty- knew what had happened and all start cd for the one place. the mouth of the mine. The river separates the mine and the homes of many of the miners. so that only portion of those who started for the scene were able to reach It, there being scant facilities for cross ing the river.
 seetbing Finmes.
 To those who could not cross the water. the smoke and dust DO lring from the mines mouth told story of seething flames back in the workings and from this source came reports that were persistent until late in the day that the mine was burning. The venti- lating fans were kept In operation al~ most without interruption. however, the power plant having withstood the xf he NFIn a fad ffFa tR h fZ time the rescuers have found no fire at any place in the mine. AS far as known only one man who went to work this morning escaped.
 Joseph Mapleton. bumper. emerged from one of the side entrances short ly after the explosion. He had left the part of tho mine where most of the men were working and was on the way to the engine room for oil.
 q was in entry 21." said he. when I heard an awful rumbling. l started toward the entry but the next instant was blinded and for little time l did not know anything. Then I got to tho side entry and worked my way out"
 MapIeton was somewhat cut and bruised, but after going home and hav-s ing his injuries dressed, he returned to the mine and Joined the rescuing par- .ties William KelsIngton. Superinten- dent of the mine, was not in the mine when the explosion occurred. and he quickly organized rescuing parties and starting one force of twenty-five men with reliefs at short intervals in the main entry and a similar force at a side entry. It is hoped to reach the greater part of the victims through the latter. So far little trouble has been encountered on account of gas or lack of air by the rescuers-
 No Hope for Men.
 While the officials and the rescuers have only the faintest hope that any of the men may be living, all work Is being pushed upon the theory that some may have found places of safety and every point of the workings will be explored at the earliest possible , moment.
 The main office of the company is in Pittsburg, and immediately u ceipt of the news of the explos officials hurried to the mine leading and directing the rescu
 About 1.5O0 feet from the m the mine a heavy fall of roof countered by the rescuers. Ii lieved that most of the men a. found nearly a mile and half this point. How long 1t will to remove enough of the falIem .s~-s to open a passage to these remote workings can only be conjectured. and t depends upon how frequent these falls are met with. It Is hoped from the progress made up to this time, however that the farther section will be reached early tomorrow. There arc several side entries through which 1t is expected some of the men will be reached.
 A remarkable feature of this disaster .s the almost complete absence of tho harrowingk anes usually enacted by women. f,, aad relatives of the victims on sucn oS9ans. Conditions preventing of easy access to the mouth of the mine are partly responsible for this and those in charge of the work are doing everything possible to keen the women and children away from the scene.
 The blasksmith shop has been fitted up as a temporary morgue and num- Der of physicians are In waiting 10 render any services that may bc re auired of them