Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-06-25
ONE HUNDRED MEN
TRAPPED IN MINE
Terrific Shock, Accompanied by
Binding Flash and Awful Roar,
Creates Wild Panic in Vicinity
of Mine.

PITTSBURG, Pa, June "a terrific
explosion occurred at O'Clock this morn
ing in the mine of the Lackawanna Coal
and Coke company, located at Wehrun.
Pa. Indiana county, about IS miles north
east of this city.
At 10 O'Clock. two hours after the ac~
cident IL was believed that a large num-
Der of men had been killed and many
injured
definite information was lacking, how
ever, owing to the isolation of the place.
ONE HUNDRED IN MINE.
over 100 men are known TO have enter
ed the mine shortly before tie catastrophe
occurred, and at 10 o'clock, when only
few of them had reached the surface,
the greatest fears were expressed that the
accident was a serious one.
The few men who escaped from the
mine were burned and blackened. tndi-
eating that the force of the explosion was
heavy. None of them were in condition
TO give details, but from one ii was learn
ed that the explosion seemed to strike
every portion of the mine simultaneously.
DEADLY AFTER-DAMP.
Rescuing parties made little Roadway
owing to the great confusion at the
mine. Work was also seriously retarded
bv smoke from the pit mouth and traces
of the deadly after-damp
Shortly after 10 o'clock the body of one
man, a foreigner. had been recovered. II
vas found at the entrance OF the mine
and was badly mutilated.
Three men, seriously burned, who sue
ceeded in reaching the surface are:
AL Johnson, son of Superintendent john
son, of the mine.
Patrick Burns and William Burns.
PEOPLE IN PANIC.
As soon as It was known that an ac-
cident had occurred at the mine the great
est excitement prevailed AT the mine anu
in the little hamlet. short distance
away.
The company officials Immediately en-
gagged the services of all the men they
could find and the work of restraining
the historical relatives was undertaken
In the meantime calls for help were
quickly sent broadcast throughout the
surrounding country, ana the task or
reaching the unfortunate men in the
mine was rapidly pursued,
The first report that came TO the anxious
watchers at the mouth OF the mine was
that two or three men had been injured
and that the accident might not turn out
SO seriously as such accidents generally do.
This buoyed up the relatives and friends
of the miners for a short time, but as the
minutes sped by and only a few of the
men reached the surface. burned and seri-
ously injured, despair began to settle on
the watchers.
DARKNESS FOLLOWS FLASH.
When Johnson and the Burns brothers
succeeded in escaping from the pit they
stated brokenly, while suffering the great
est agony from burns, that the explosion
was a bad one. 1t appeared that the ex-
plosion had taken place throughout the
Following the explosion there seemed to
entire mine and that every one at work
In the mine for a moment or two, seemed
to be paralyzed.
be a fash and then all was darkness. Pit
iful calls for help and groans were heard
by the three men as they made their
way to the entrance staggering and fall
ing over the bodies OF comrades who had
succumbed with the first shock.
Superintendent w. N, Johnson, OF the
mine said:
''I do not want any exaggeratfon Of re-
ports published, as to the facts, which In
themselves will be bad enough. The ex-
plosion, from some unknown cause, oc-
Cured a little before o'clock this
morning and seems to have been worse IN
a portion of the mine that we recently
opened up. We do not yet know the ex-
tent of the accident. but we think the
death list will be long one and the list
of those injured much larger. Owing to
the excitement prevailing We hdNO DSOH
unable to get details, but we are doing
our best.
Several injured have been brought out
and two or three bodies, but no attempt
has been made at Identification. In q
little while we will have matters in good
shape, however, TO handle the accident"
MUTILATED BODIES.
At 1o:46 a. m. three bodies, terribly
mutilated had been recovered from the
mine. At that hour ten injured men,
some of them fatally, had also been
Between 100 and $50 miners were in the
brought to the surface.