The Mena weekly star., 1907-12-26
MDRE MINERS HT0MBH|
Lives of 400 Men Probably Snuffet Out by an Explosion in a Penn-
 sylvania Mine.
E BAD IS WEST vIRGIHIA DIsAsTEI
Wreck of Mines Mouth and Fin Raging Within Prevents Attempt to Rescue imprisoned Men---Littl' Hope Expressed That Any Will bs Taken Out Alive.

COHueiSfiilts fd., Dsc 6V--r ou hundred miners are entombed in th' Darr mines of the Pittsburg Coal com pany, at Jacobs creek, on the Tough iogheny river, IS miles west of here Of these 400. fully 100 are Americans the rest being principally Hungarians A terrific explosion shook the viciniti of the mine at 11.30 Thursday morn ing and announced to all the surround ing community that a great convul sion of some kind had occurred dowi under the surface.
 Shortly after smoke began to issus In heavy columns from the mouth q the mine, which Is of the slope varie ty. The mouth of the mine wal wrecked and this circumstance ir connection with the fire which wal discovered to be raging inside, pre- vented effectually up to p. m. any attempt at rescue of the imprisoned men.
 The building of the Federal Supply company, adjacent to the entrance to the mine, was slightly damaged by the force of the shock, causing the building to rock and some of it's win. dows to break.
 Among those imprisoned in the mine are Pit Boss O'Connell and two fire bosses. On account of the vio. lence of the explosion which rent the interior of the mine and the presence of fire. with the blocked condition of the mouth of the slope, 1t is not thought there is any chance for the men inside. Whether they have sur. vived or will survive is one of the un. certainties of the present hour. There Is no means yet of doing more than to guess whether it was gas or coal dust that exploded.
 The scene of the explosion Is on the Pittsburg and Lake Erie railroad side of the Youghiogheny river. Jacobs Creek, on the main line of the Balti- mare & Ohio railroad. is across the river It Is 40 miles east of Pittsburg and IS miles west of Connellsville.
 Pittsburg, Pa, Dec. 20 = Word of the explosion reached the local offices of the Pittsburg Coal com pany. in this city, early Thursday af- ternoon. The dispatch gave no de- tails further than that explosion had occurred at Darr mine. between Smithton and Wiffett. The officials of the company stated that the mine was one of the largest and was equipped with the most modern appli- ances.
 The officials express but little hope of saving the lives of the unfortunate men, as the mouth of the shaft Is filled with rocks and earth and the passage-ways are said to be badly obstructed.
 Within few minutes after the ex- plosion. the mouth of the pit was surrounded by the relatives and friends of the entombed men. The scenes were most pitiful The smoke and flames issuing from the slope made it impossible to enter and the wives and children were frantic.
 At 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon no details had been received at the companys offices in this city and the exact number of men in the mine at the time of the explosion was not known. It Is said the shifts are not larger than 150 men. The officials regard the mine as one of the safest owned by them and express the be. lief that the explosion would not reach all of the workings. in which event many would still be alive and probably could be saved.