The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1909-11-18

DELAY IN RECOVERING THE BODIES DOUBLES ANGUISH


gU. Is. W N.t u.s. Az.
.iaImns m vI Hm daEe dee 50
rauI mIne iu Vb.,b lra .lHl snt"uih.
aa eos. Hsdl,- of Boss oI mon. mlurr.
.s r.ut af Iasi Saturday, Ji.ss.
.ur yesterday refused fo s.t'd UH 'fs
dead
rHrr failure to Hutf.. ans d,fin-
80, method 10. recovering fhr bodies
attended IHe work of ro..uurs.
Last nIaht tna interior of .le mime
Ha. tufuIua almost 20. ely aa
ever He uuus of OBJ, i1 cor seal
over ta, mouth cot tno hoistuU shaft
Indicating hy frequent quite ot
smoke tie Iun of DO, flames The
two ramuautos OF state troops sent
har, fo prevent possibi, disorder re-
mainod an day idle m their cars eN-
pept tor guard duty about th" mine
and sleeping cars 90 meht
An important conference lasting
five hours. ot which there we're
present federal state and loeW nIn-
ling experts, was held Yesterday the
Injecting was called in response 20
feeling that efforts should be
made to penetrate into the mine and
bring up the bodies at ali hazards.
/ But at its conclusion it was found
! that no immediate descent could be
made into the gas and heat-filled
cavern without risk of killing the
rescuers.
( Various schemes were proposed.
Among them was one to open an air
shaft, distant from the hoisting
ishaft, which hitherto had been work
ed. and by means of a giant fan, pro
lducc false air current which would
carry the gas and heat away from
1 the shaft down which it was intend
ed to send the rescuers.
/ Some OF ,Aoac who opposed
this declared the entire plan for res
cue would have to be indefinitely
! postponed. They asserted the inter
nal fires were intense; that it would
be useless 70 risk more lives, and in
fact, the mine would have to be
sealed up for weeks and perhaps
months before it could be cooled off
It was "A day of hope and abandon.
ment of hope. Scores Of women con
tinued to linger about the grounds
SO great has been the anguish anc
mental strain during the last few
days that it Ii feared many womei
are on the verge of insanity. On'
woman, who declared she had haC
dreams and visions of her husband
and brother still living in the mine
shrieked pteously imploring th'
authorities to open the shaft ant
then fell senseless to the ground,
Determined to show the peopl
that everything possible was beini
done, the officers threw open tn
mining company's grounds and al
lowed crowds to gather near tn
shaft. As Mining Engineer Rice low
cred a thermometer through Dor
in the lid of the shaft to test the de
gree of heat, another man steppe,
forward and through megaphon
Iannounced, cone hundred and -four
teen degrees
Mr.. Rice rapidly lowered the ther
h.N
the shaft, and moment later III
voice rang out through the mega
phone, lone hundred aud seven de
grees at the bottom.
"Why," cried chorus OF voices
that's good; they can go down I
that. We can stand Ia degrees 1
the sun; surely they will 20 dow
in that,
Men and women gaHed on intenu
with hopeful looks, some OF ther
cherishing faint hopes that If des
cent was made at once their burie
comrades might still, by some ehanc
lof fortune, be alive
But this burst of confidence wa
soon destroyed. 1t was explained tina
lowing to the gas in the mine, oxyge
helmets would have to be worn b
the rescuers and that a much lowe
degree OF temperature than that |
ordinary conditions was necessar
Itor those wearing helmets. Moreove