Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-29

workings to see if they are now safe
| This work is expected to occupy several
hours.
President John II. Jones of the COM
pany said tonight that the number of
| entOmbed men would not exceed 10 but
| neither he nor any other officer OF the
company has been able at this time to
locate the books which contain the names
Or numbers of employees and show those
| in the workings at the time of the eXplo-
| sion.
Cause Not Determined.
The cause of the explosion has not been
| determined Two theories are enter
tanned. One is that pocket of gas was
struck by one of the miners. quickly fill
| ing the workings and then igniting from
| a lamp. The other theory is that gas
| from a we'll on the Fulton farm, under
| which the mine is located. penetrated the
workings. The land in the vicinity is
| said to be gaseous, and it is possible that
gas may have seeped through the coal
stratum until it accumulated in sufnclent
volume to cause the disaster.
Speaking of the explosion, Deputy
State Mine Inspector Henry Loutitt said
| tonight:
Il had been in the mine the past two
days. 1 was in No. 9 shaft less than a
half hour before the explosion occurred
1 had tested the cage and the safety
valves, and was going to look at the en-
CINE at the surface when the explosion
occurred. The mine was In perfect oroer,
with some gas. but no accumulat1ons.
All mines contain gas. but here l made
thorough inspection and found no accu-
mutation in any part. l cannot advance
any theory as to the cause OF the disaster
1 have been in every part OF the mine the
last two days. and carried a safety lamp.
the same as the miners. Ihere is gas
we'll in the territory, but 1t is SURROUNDED
by earth and coal for a fifty-foot radius,
| and 1 do not think the explosion resulted
| from it,
Inspection Just Completed.
The workings in which todays catas-
| trophe happened are known as the
Rachel and Agnes mines, in reality a
double mine with underground connec-
lions. Construction work was practically
finished and Deputy State Mine Inspector
Henry Loutitt, few minutes before the
| explosion, had completed two-day in
spection, which had revealed no cause
for apprehension. He and General Man
ager Kerr Of the company came to the
surface in the cage operated in one OF
| the shafts a few minutes before IL
o'clock. Mine Foreman Henry Thomp,
son and two miners entered the cage and
| it was started toward the bottom of the
| 5O0foot shaft.
There was an ominous rumbling, then
| a trembling of the ground round about
the 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 roof OF the
| shafthouse, the mine foreman and the
two men still in 1t. The bodies of the
| building and far beyond it. Thompson
was dead when picked up, while the
| others, although mortally injured, were
hurried to hospital
Woodwork Blown 1000 Feet.
| So great was the force of the explosion
that shattered portions of the woodwork
about the mouth of the shaft were blown
into Ten Mile creek, 1900 feet from the
shaft. Besides the three men in the cage,
portions of at least two other bodies were
blown from the shaft and were found in
the field nearby. The ventilating fans
were put out of commission by the eX-
| plosion and for several hours. until re-
pairs could be made. no air could be
forced into the mine. Immediately follow
| ing the explosion dense volume of smoke
issued from the shafts and 1t was feared
a fierce fire was raging at the bottom
of the mine
| A short time afterward the smoke al
most entirely ceased, but those on the
surface were unable to tell whether the
| fire had been smothered out or the shafts
so filled with falling debris that the smoke
could not escape.
| Heartrending Scenes.
| The noise of the explosion was an
ominous sound to all the people of the
little town and they hurried to the shaft
house, each seeking a loved one and
most of them learning that that loved
one was down in the workings and in all
probability dead or dying. The scenes
were pitiful. Among the women many
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 We're en-
during. Wives mothers, sisters, daugh-
tiers and sweethearts gathered in little
groups all frantic to do something or to
learn something. but unable TO do either
They besieged the officers of the company
| the mining authorities and the workers
| but none of these could offer them COM
/ fort. All felt certain of the fate of the
loved ones 500 feet below the surface, but
none would dispel the rays of hope enter
| tanned until certainty was forced upon
them by the clearing of the Shaft.
Rescue Work Begun at Once.
| There was practically no hope from
| the first OF any Of the entombed men
| being taken out alive, but this did not
| deter ethey officers of the company or
| volunteer rescuers from making the most
| strenuous efforts to hurry the opening
| of the mine.
Rescue work was Immediately started.
Inspector Louttit assuming charge, but
| it was impossible to gain entrance to
! the mine for a long time, first because
| the cage and its mechanism were wrecked
| and second because the shaft was so
| filed with shattered timber and falling
| earth that even had the cage been in
| condition 1t could not have descended
| The opening up 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 officers Of the company special
| trains were started from this city and
| from Monongahela with relief parties.
| The train from this city carried the chief
officers OF the company and mining eX-
perts from the United States laboratory
and testing station recently established
i hn, x..h0 fnnlC with han oil o. L.,