The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-03
THIRD SAYS DYNAMITE
 EXPLODED IN MINE FIRST
Report Made On Recent Horror Tn Tus- ealoosa County--BIame Is Not
 Fixed Hut Inspector Thinks There Was Too Muck

causeu Dy the accumuiatlOn oI gus III the sixth-right, where a miner carried an open lamp, igniting the gas. The spread of the flames, according to the report, was due to the dust, which had not been laid by sprinkling, according to mine regulations. The report indi- cates that the explosions of the dyna- 7 mite was due to the spread of the flames.
 The report does not seek to fix the blame, but Is positive in the statement that there was considerable dust, and that there was no evidence of proper sprinkling having been done. The full test of the report follows:
 S'The mine Inspectors of Alabama peg leave to submit the following report on the disaster which occurred at Vol ande Mine No. on December 16 at Io:25 a.. m., in which ffty-six men lost their lives. thirty escaping from the mine after the explosion.
 "Yolande Mine No. Is located on the Birmingham Mineral Railway about twenty-six miles from Birming- ham in the northeast corner of Tus caloosa county near the line of Jeff ferson county. The mine is 8 slope. driven about 1900 to 1,400 feet on z what is called the Big Seam" or coal. The coal pitches about fifteen to eighteen degrees. The mine has q re- turn airway on each side of the slope, one of which is used as a manway, and either or which could be used as an escape way. making three openings to the surface. The mine is ventilated by an eighteen foot exhaust fan so constructed that the ventilating cur rent. could be reversed. The fan was producing on December 2i 4S,175 cubic feet per minute at the mouth of the slope. Each entry had separate ven- tilatfng current, the split system be- ing operated at this mine.
 There were seven entries working on the day of the explosion, as fol- lows: First-right, all men escaped. Third-right, none escaped. Fourth right, none escaped. Fifth-right, none escaped. Sixth-right, none escaped. Fourth-left, three escaped and one did not. Second left, all escaped. There were only two men at this entry.
 "A number of the bodies were badly burned and soma few mutilated, while the majority of them showed signs of death of after damp.
 "All of the overcast were brattices, All except about seven brattices and one overcast were destroyed by the explosion. The brattices on the slope . were constructed of brick and mortar.
 Ire fan was damaged very little but owing to the brattices and over casts being destroyed the air was
 
 in the mine died before they could be reached, except one on the slope that came out of the fourth-left. The res- cuing parties had to carry the air cur rent with them by putting up brat tices of ducking, canvas and bed tick ing. This work was necessarily slow from the fact that only one crosscut could be stopped at time. and when one hole was stopped the rescuing party had to wait a few minutes for the air current to remove the after damp before they could get to the next cross cut
 Notwithstanding the eagerness of the volunteers in the rescue work to go ahead we had but very few men among the rescuers overcome by the after damp.
 "C. c. Huckaby, the superintendent of the mine, a young man by the name of Henry Gray, Mir. Jim Paxton, of Coa1sburg and Mir. James Kennedy, Of Blue Creek, were brought out for the resucitation. A few others had to be brought back to the fresh air current, rescue work progressed steadily from few minutes after the explosion oc- cured until Wednesday afternoon at which time all of the bodies except one had been recovered. There was one man missing in room that had fallen in. Sixteen hours were spent by a big crew clearing up this fall look ing for the body, but after all the work he was not found until Friday when he was located in another room. where he had probably gone visiting just before the explosion.
 No Lines Were Drawn.
 "As to the heroic work performed by the volunteers in the rescue work the State at large owes to each and every AlkxA 70 AN. non-unlOn men, white and black, worked side by side with one point in view, and that to recover the bodies of thelr fellow workmen.
 "The official examination of the mine was begun on the 21st of December and all of the working entries and room were examined down to the sixth right. The water was up in the stxth-right and the examination had to be delayed on this account. There was nothing found in the first right to indicate any heat, but signs of considerable force were indicated by the brattices and overcasts being knocked out The entry was dry from the slope in for some 300 or 400 feet and from the top of the incline it was wet to the face.
 "Thlrd-right showed signs of heat l in the nature of charred bark and coke | on thA timber. In the neck Of several l of the rooms from No. 22 up to No. | 32, there was quite a lot of water on | the roadway in this entry from room | No. Il up to heading on the day of | inspection.
 TWO sticks of dynamite with cap | and fuse in them, one fuse being two | feet and the other eighteen inches | long. showed that men in room No. | 31 fired their shot with short fuse. | Considerable damage was done to this | entry in the way of destroying the | brattices, overcasts and falls of roof. | Nothing was found to indicate that the | explosion originated in this entry.
 "Fourth- right, considerable coke | was found in this entfy, in the room next overcast and brattices were de- stroyed. In room No. 8 powder can was | found burst open as though a small amount of powder had exploded in 1t. There was dust at the side track on1 this entry beyond where the air slope course crosses for some 200 feet. be- | yond( this there was water running down the track all the way to the heading. Drippers of water from the roof was found at Room No. Il Water was found in the air way over shoe tops in three different places several feet long.
 "There was no indication of the ax- Dlosfon originating in the fourth-rIRht. Fifth -right--A few hours after the ,xpI osion a negro was gotten out of th-right sidetrack, near the slope, with clothing on fire. just beyond the H which was not torn down II PoIA 6hA fact that if was mada throuUh |