The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-12-04
1888 KILLED IN NINE
Gas in Pennsylvania Coal
Pit Exploded
BODIES not YET RECOVERED
Force Of the Explosion Filled the Mine
With Muck and Debris Making Res
cue Work Very Difficult.

cue Work Very Dltflcult.
Pittsburg, Pa-The last ray OF hope
for the rescue of any one of the 1SS
or more miners who were entombed
bv an explosion at the Marianne
mines of the Pittsburg-Buffalo Coal
Company was dispelled when the first
rescuing party reached the Workings
and found the dead bodies scattered
about the floor Of THE mine.
Few, if any, of the bodies are mu-
tilaied, and the men were dndoubted-
1y smothered by the deadly yapors
which followed the explosion. All
bit two of the bodies IN the mine, it
Is said, are those of foreigners.
The workings in when the catas-
trophe happened is know. as the Ra-
che, and and Agnes mines, IL real
ity- double mine, with uadergI ound
connections.
Construction work was practically
finished, and Deputy State Mine In
spector Henry Louttitt few minutes
before the explosion, had completed
a two days inspection, which had re-
vealed no cause for apprehension.
J
two miners entered the cage, and 1T
was started towards the bottom OF
the 5O0-foot shaft There was a trem-
bling of the ground, round about :t4e'
mouth of the shaft as from an earth
quake, and an instant later there was
a terrific. report, and the cage was
hurled up the shaft and through the
roofsof the shaft house, the mine fore
man and the TWO Eol still in it. The
bodies of the men were hurled right
through the top of the building and
far beyond it. Thompson was dead
when picked up, while the others, al
though MORALLY injured, were hurried
to hospital.
Shattered portions of the woodwork
about the mouth Of the shaft were
blown into Ten-NIile Creek, 1000 feet
from the shaft, Portions of at least
two other bodies were blown from the
shaft and were found in the sfeld
nearby. The* vent.1ating fans were
put out of commission by the explos-
Ion, and for several hours no air could
be forced into, the mines. Immediate
ly following the explosion dense vol
ume of smoke issued rom the shafts,
Rescue work ives Immediately start
ed, but it Twas impossible to gain
entrance to the mine for a long time.
The opening up Of the shaft was the
only solution, and for this task there
were volunteers in numbers.
Relief parties on special trains from
this city carried the. chief officers Of
theScompany and mining experts from
the United States. laboratory and test
ing station, recently established here,
who took with them all IF the latest
appliances and devices for rescue
work.
Several experienced miners de-
scended the steps inside the shaft,
and succeeded in reaching the bot
tom. Here they found further prog
ress barred, because the latter head
ing from the bottom Of the shaft into
the mine proper was choked with
muck and debris
The largest possible force was at
once put to work TO open this passage.
There was, however, practically no
hope f.5m the first Of those entombed
men being taken out alive, but this
forts to hurry tie opening Of the
mine.
The noise of the explosion was an
ominous sound to all the people Of
the little town, and they hurried to
the scene, each seeking a loved one,
and most of them, learning that q
loved one was down in the workings,
was in all probability dead or dying.
The scenes were pitiful. Many of the
women were hysterical, and their
shrieks and cries were heartrending.
Others were silent in their grief, but
in their drawn faces could be read the
awful agony they were enduring.
The cause Of the. explosion has not
been determined. Two theories are
entertained: one is that 9. pocket of
gas was struck by one of the, miners,
quickly filling the workings and then
igniting from lamp; the other theory
is that gas from a well on the Fulton
farm. under which. the mine is locat-
ed, penetrated the workings. The
land in the vicinity is said to be gas
eous, and it is possible that gas may
have seeped through the coal stratum
until It accumulated in sufficient vol
ume to cause the diaster.
Mariana, the Scene of the dis
aster, is a new mining town in Wash
ington county, Pennsylvania, forty
miles south Of this city. 1t was laid
out and buiTt3up by the Pittsburg-Buf-
falo Coal 'Cempapv, with view to
making it . model town in every re-
spect. sssr-s