The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1907-12-10
DEATH list WILL
Be -FOUR HUNDRED.
No Hope Of Saving Any Of the
Miners Entombed in West
Virginia Galleries.
SCORES OF BODIES RECOVERED
Others Are in Distant Parts of
the Mines and Wreckage
Blocks Passages.
LIKE DISCHARGE OF CANNON

Every Movable Object Shot Through
tho Mine by the Terrific Force Of
the Explosion, Huge Piece Of Con-
crete Being Hurled Across tho West
Fork River, Landing on the Side of
HiIl-Hundreds OF Cars Wrecked
and the Immense Steel Triple
Blown Apart.
Monongah, w. Va, Dec. With
undated energy five rescuing par
ties, working from every possible
point to enter and explore mines Num-
bers and Of the Fairmont Coal
company, subsidiary of the Consoli.
dation Coal company of Baltimore,
where terrific explosion of black.
damp occurred, are putting forth ev-
cry effort to reach the 315 men whom
they have every reason to believe are
still in the mine, dead or alive, al
though there is scarcely hope enter
tanned that single one Of the 400 or
more men who were in the mine has
survived the terrific explosion and the
poisonous gas with which the mines
filled Immediately after the death
dealing crash.
Eighty-fve bodies have so far been
brought to the surface and the dozen
undertakers from this and surrounding
towns had these bodies washed and
made as preaentable as possible in an
improvised morgue, into which one of
the mine buildings has been converted.
There are between 5000 and 5000
Inhabitants in the mining town of Mo.
nongah and it is doubtful If in this
entire population there are a score of
persons who have not either a near
relative or close friend numbered
among the victims Of the disaster.
The people of the town are stunned
by the catastrophe. They had long re-
garded these mines as practically i'm.
mune from the dangers so common to
the coal mining industry. The plant
of the company was provided with
every device for the protection of life
and the equipment was considered the
most modern and complete outfit used
in the production of bituminous coal.
Rescuers Advancing Slowly.
The rescuing parties penetrated
mine No. about $500 feet before they
came upon the first of the dead. A
majority of the corpses will, it is be-
lieved, be found about mile further
back. 1t is hardly possible that all the
bodies will be recovered for several
days. The 400 men were working in
territory one mile square. 1t will be
days before thorough search of all
of this area can be made. AS the
searching parties advance they must
clear away the debris.
The explosion wrecked over 600
mine cars and these choke the en-
trance On all sides. A peculiar and
remarkable feature is that notwith-
standing the force of the explosion
very little of the mine roof was
wrecked. BY those who witnessed it
the explosion was likened to the dis
Charge VI CduuOu. HVSIy luOVSdU1S
object shot with terrific force through
the mine. At the entrance of mine
No. 8 a concrete powerhouse was COM
pletely demolished. A piece of con-
crete 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 concrete can be found. Great
holes were torn in the hill on either
side of the entrance of No. s. Mine
cars were crushed as though made of
paper and the huge steel tipple was
blown apart. On all sides electric
light wires were thrown to the ground
and many persons narrowly escaped
death from these in the rush for the
mine following the explosion.
The Fairmont and Clarksburg Trac-
tion company's cars pass within ten
yards Of the mine entrance and
large car crowded with passengers
narrowly escaped being blown into the
West Fork river. All the passengers
were stunned by the terrific concus-
sion. The mine officials state that 40
per cent of the victims are Americans.