Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-11-29
100 HURLED TO
AWFUL DEATH IN
MINE EXPLOSION
THlRTY-FOUR BODIES ARE Al
READY RECOVERED
Rescue Parties at Work and State
Inspector Says He Believes
Twenty at Least viii
Be Saved
tBy Associated Press.1


falo Coal company yesterday which en-
tombed a large number of miners.
At l o'clock this morning, the rescu- |
ing party had recovered thirty-four
bodies and brought them to the bot |
tom of the shaft, preparatory 10 re-
moving them to the surface. All the
victims were found in the main entry, |
the debris in the workings making It'll
impossible to explore there.
The officials of the company assert
that the number of men entombed Will
not exceed 1875, while others about the
scene say a larger number were in
the mine when the explosion occurred.
Some Men Are Alive
Shortly after midnight Peter Arnold,
an American miner, was brought to
the surface from the Rachel shaft, suf-
fering only a little from his terrible
experience.
Joseph Kearney, one Of the rescuing
party, reported that there were other
men alive below, and the rescuers were
Immediately set at work clearing away
the debris.
From the condition OF the workings
where Arnold was discovered Deputy
State Mine Inspector Henry Louttit
believes twenty other men may be
saved.
About fifty Of the victims it is re-
Americans or English speaking men.
A majority of the foreigners were COM
paratively new arrivals. many OF them
having left families in their cid homes.
The power house has been converted
into temporary morgue. Collins have
been ordered from this city, Monon-
gahela and Washington.
Steps have already been taken for
the relief of dependents of the victims
Subscription lists have been opened by
charitable organizations and newspa-
pers and arrangements made for COL
lection in the churches tomorrow.
No authoritative estimate OF the loss
has been made at this time, but 1t will
be heavy.
Bodies Scattered Around
When the first rescuing party
reached the workings at $3.50 O'Clock
tonight 1t found bodies scattered about
the floor of the mine.
Few, II any, of the bodies are mu-
tilated. and the men were undoubtedly
smothered by the deadly vapors which
followed the explosion.
| All but two of the bodies in the mine,
1t is said, are those of foreigners. NO
effort has yet been made to remove
| them Instead, the rescuers and the
mining experts are making an explor-
alton of all the workings to see If these
are now safe. This work is expected
| to occupy several hours.
The workings in which today's catas-
! trophe occurred are known as the
Rachel and Agnes mines, in reality a
double mine with underground con-
nections. Construction work was
practically finished and Deputy State
/ Mine Inspector Henry Louttit few
minutes before the explosion had COM
pleted two days inspection which
| had revealed no cause for apprehen-
| sion.
State inspector Just Left
He and General Manager Kerr Of
| the company came to the surface
few minutes before II o'clock. Mine
Foreman Henry Thompson and two
miners entered the cage and 1t was
| started toward the bottom of the BOO
foot shaft.
Suddenly there was an ominous rum
BILE. then a tremble of the ground
around the mouth of the shaft, as from
an earthquake, and an instant later
there was a terrific report and the cage
was hurled up the shaft and through
the roof of the shaft house, the mine
| foreman and the two men still in II.
Their bodies were tossed through the
| top of the building and far beyond 1t.
| Thompson was dead when picked up
| and the others MORALLY injured.
So great was the force of the ex-
| plosion that shattered portions of the
/ woodwork about the mouth of the shaft
were blown into Ten Mile creek. zOoO
/ feet away. Besides the three men IN
| the cage, portions OF at least two oth-
err bodies were blown from the shaft
house and were found in a field
near by.
Immediately following the explosion
a dense column of smoke issued from
| the shaft and it was feared a herce
/ fire was raging at the bottom of the
mine.
| short time afterward the smoke
almost ceased, but those on the sur
face were unable to tell whether the
| fire had been smothered or the shatts
SO filed with falling debris the smoke
could not escape.
Starts Rescue Work
Rescue work was started immediate
| Nv. Inspector Louttit assuming charge,
| but 1t was impossible to gain entrance
to the mine for a long time. The
opening OF the shaft was the only
| solution, and for this task there were
volunteers in numbers sufficient to
| work short relays of as many men
as could find room for operations.
| AS soon as the news of the explosion
reached the OFFICES of the company
snecial trains were started from this
citv and from Monongahela with RELIEF
narties. The train from Pittsburg car
ried the chief officers of the company
and minin~ experts from Ine OullSO
states laboratory and testing station
recently established here, who TOOK
with them the latest appliances ana
devices for relief work. including
oxygen helmets by means of which
rescuers go through or work in the
most poisonous gases known to min
| ing. - rD,.,o
Ross William Kennedy and Mine Boss
Joseph K. Kennedy went down the
shaft in a bucket during the afternoon
but were able to get only within forty
feet of the bottom. Later several eX-
perienced miners descended the steps
inside the shaft and succeeded in
reaching the bottom. Here they found
further progress barred. The latteEal
heading from the bottom of the shaft
into the mine proper was choked with
debris and they gave 1t as their opin-
ion that it would take many hours TO
clear this away.
The largest possible force was at once
nut at work to open the passage
There was virtually no hope at the
first that any of the entombed men
would be taken out alive; but this did
not prevent strenuous efforts to hurry
the opening of the mine.
PtifuI Scenes Enacted
The noise of the explosion was an
ominous summons to the people of the
little town, and they Hurried to the
| shaft house The scenes were pitiful.
They. besieged the offices of the COM
| .-,,-, 4ho mining authorities and fha