The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1907-12-12

'N-.-'A' w O. .fNNElllDtl &.
The disaster which occurred here at
1925 o'clocl, Friday morning becomes
more appalling as the hours advance
and at the time arrived on the scene
at $50 there were fully 1000 people
assembled around the mouth of No 6
mine anXiously awaiting for news of
| those entombed.
At this time there was no hope enter
! tanned for the lives of those who were
in the mines and the whole city was
plunged in sorrow by the distressing
accident which robbed it suddenly of at
4 least 100 of its best citizens not to
mention the 800 and some foreigners
making total of at least 425 who were
killed in the mines.
Many women, mostly foreigners,
were seen about the mouth of the mines
and most all of them bore the marks of
their fingernails which were inflicted
Friday morning when the news Of the
horrible disaster first reached them.
Ropes were stretched upon the bank
above the mines along which runs the
| street car line and here there was such
solid mass of humanity that it was
with great difficulty that was able to
penetrate to the steps leading down to
the mines, where a sentry kept
vigorous watch to bar troublesome in
( truders from the mouth of the mine,
who went solely out of morbid curiosity.
At this time no one had been recover
/ ed. The first figures Of the catastrophe
had been placed too low. and the list of
fatalities instead of being 300, will
reach over 400. Friday morning 425
men took out working checks and near
ly all of these entered the mines.
About eight miners stated that there
are at least Ais men in the mines.
At this time the rescung party which
was constantly being relieved by others
as the poisonous fumes overcame them
and the hard work tired them out,
ceased to work as vigorously as at first,
J al DtlllS NOllNliNCu liidG tNCIN ollB lC
man in the mines was dead, and IN No.
6 mine the rescuers penetrated about
one mile
They have yet about one quarter of a
mile to go before they reach the point
where the bodies lie. Just about this
point is situated the tunnel which
connects the two mines, and which
communicated the explosion from No. s
/ to No. 6.
The explosion was terrific and shook
the earth in this vicinity as though an
earthquake had suddenly rumbled be-
meath the surface. The mine cars in
side the mines at the time were mostly
all turned upside down and Fred Cooper,
the motorman, was found under one of
these in No 6 mine badly crushed. 1t
was supposed that he was blown from
the car and before it stopped was run
over. Some of the brick from the
engine house of No. were found about
quarter of mile away
At 7:30 o'clock last evening the body
of Charles Honiker, who was at first
supposed to have been blown into the
the river, was found under the debris
at the mouth of mine No. s.
William Bice, who ran the fan at No.
s mine, was so badly injured that he
was put in an ambulance and started to
Fairmont hospital, but he died on the
way and was brought back to his home
here
A colOred man whose name could not
be learned, was also so badly injured
that he died at $50 O'Clock last evening.
Francisco Lario was found early after
the catastrophe in No. mine lying on
the dead body of his brother. He is in
sane from the shock.
The new First National Bank build
ing which has just recently been COM
pleted, but which has not yet been oc-
cupied, has been turned into q temper
airy morgue and there the bodies are
taken as fast as they are recovered.
About II undertakers were in the
morgue at 1925, representing Eli Mus
grave G. Sons, r. l.. Cunningham, R.
c. Jones Undertaking Co., C. S. Cleppy
and John H. Clifford, all of Clarksburg.
Two bodies only were in the morgue
at this time, the others which were re-
covered having been kept in the mines
in order to keep down the excitement
of the people.
! The storage room where the mine