New-York tribune., 1907-12-20
MANY MINERS KILLED.
Continued from first page.

vono this point. How long 1t will require TO
-. .,ousb of the fallen roof to open a pas
sage TO these remote workings can only De co'i-
,ac,ured az II depends upon how frequently
these falls are met with. 1t is hoped from the
nrogress made I'D to this time. however. tnat
the further section will be reached early To-
marrow There are several side entrances
through which II is expected some OF the mcn
will be reached
RELATIVES KEPT AWAY.
One remarkable feature Of this disaster Is the
almost complete absence of the narrowing scenes
usually enacted by women friends and relatives
of the victims on such occasions Conditions
preventing easy access TO the mouth or the mine
are partly responsible for this, and those IN
charge Of the work are doing everything possible
to keep the women and children away from
the scene. So far as possible all who approach
are turned back to their homes, after being
assured that they can do absolutely nothing TO
benefit their loved ones. and that the company
will do everything possible to bring out the men.
dead or alive. at the earliest moment. The
blacksmith shop has been fitted up a tenn
porary morgue. and a number of physicians are
In waiting 10 render any services that may be
required of them.
Mrs. John Campbell. wife OF the mine foreman.
whose home is about fifty yards from the mouth
Of the mine. graphically describes the explosion.
She said: About 80 o'clock there was
loud report and the dishes in my cupboard and
on the table ratified and knocked out of
place, while the glass in the windows was shat
tered. Instinctivey knew what had happened.
have for long time feared al explosion in
the mine. for knew IL gaseous. My hus-
band and I had talked about it and he often
referred to the gas in the mine. My husband
was just about due for his dinner when this
loud report came. and looked out the back
door toward a manway f-om the mine through
which he always to his meals. Instead OF
my husband I great cloud of dust and
smoke pouring out Of the mouth of the mine and
through the manway It foated upward and dis
appeared across the river, / Mr.. Camp
bell will be found In the entry not far from the
mouth of the mine. for 1 know he must have
been on his way to dinner"
In the store of the Federal Supply Company.
one hundred yards from the mouth OF the mine,
Frank Ballantine, manager of the store, and
Elmer Cunningham. an employe. were sitting in
chairs The force of the explosion was great
that they were thrown to the floor Others
standing in the store were thrown against the
walls or counters. The store building ter
ribly shaken and considerably damaged.
John Lindway. who worked lever on the tip
pie was knocked off but almost miraculously
escaped death from the fall to the ground be-
low. His father in the mine
considerable number of the miners were
Americans some Of the officers tonight esti-
mating that probably than half of the
victims are Americans. many Of the foreign
ers did not work to-day.
WHERE THE MINE is SITUATED
The Darr mine is on the west side OF the
Youghiogheny River. in Westmoreland County.
along the line Of the Pittsburg Lake Erie
Railroad, forty miles southeast of Pittsburg
and eighteen miles northwest of Connellsville
The main line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
runs along the opposite bank of the river 1t
is one OF a group Of FIVE mines within radius
of a mile and half and is a part of the
original Connellsville coke fields Its product
being used for coising. 1t is slope mine
opened in 1899. similar to the Naomi mine of
the United Coal Company at Fayette City,
where an explosion on December killed thirty
four men, The two mines about ten miles
apart The Darr mine is one of the largest Of
the Pittsburg Ccal Company, having a daily
capacity of two thousand tons, and it is modern
in all equipment including a complete electrical
plant.
The only means Of reaching the mouth of the
mine from Jacobs Creek. where most of the
miners homes are, is by means of a "sky ferry
a basketlike car suspended from a cable In
which the pull themselves back and forth
and there is almost a riot every time it starts.
cross and many are ready to fight for position.