The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-11-15

the men were suffocated from the
fumes.
Alexander Nerberg, a pit man. gave
his life unhesitatingly in futile effor'
to save those of his comrades who risk,
ed their lives with him. Standing al
the bottom of the shaft he carried the
bodies of four men into the cage. th3
only way of escape, and as the last was
carried in fell unconscious across the
body. He was dead. as were all his
companions, when the cage was lifted
to the top.
Among those who had gone into the
pit with him were John Bundy, the
mine superintendent; John Flood and
Isaac Lewis, a merchant, and Dominic
Fonenti. Dr. w. Howe, a physician OF
Cherry, who had sought to go with the
lnen when they descended in the cage,
bad been thrust out by Bundy, who ex-
claimed:
''They will need you at the top if we
ing your life down here
All Are Suffocated.
The physician sought to resuscitate
the men when they were carried to
He said they had all died from suffo-
Cation.
The fire preceding the explosions
started from a bale of hay which was
one of the entries to the stable to be
ted to the mules. 1t is not known
what started the fire, but 1t is supposed
It was caused by the torches on the
caps of the men.
The report was that a miner named
James Hanney first saw the fire and
reported, but no notice was taken of
It, and the mine continued to hoist
&C al until 1t became so hot that a gen.
eral alarm was sounded.
The fire spread rapidly from the hay
snd the timbers in several of the en-
fi1es was soon a mass of flames. The
s. ables are located near the base of
the escape shaft, and in a few mo-
shaft and several hundred feet in the
air above the ground. The alarm
signal was given and the work of
1escue in the main shaft was COM
menced at the same time.
The fans were reversed, the air circu-
lating in the opposite direction with It's
outlet in the escape shaft. The fans
are located on the top near the escape
shaft. and they were kept going until
the fan shed was burned from the heat
and the flames. By reversing the air il
was possible to carry on the work of
rescue in the main shaft, and 1S0 of the
$50 men in the shaft were removed be-
fore the fans were burned. The flames
started up the main shaft. Rescue
work was stopped, and but little hopes
were entertained for the recovery of
the rest of the men.
Women Are Frantic.
At the entrance to the shaft a scene
was enacted such as is seen only in Il
disaster Of this kind. Hundreds of
screaming women, weeping children
and frantic but helpless men crowded
about the place. The few survivors were
surrounded by groups of women and
their answers to the loudly shrieked in
quiries only added to the terror of the
women. Almost to a man they declared
there was no hope for those left behind
in the mine. Almost two hundred of
the men imprisoned, they declared.
were in the third vein,- the only en-
trance to which was from the second
vein, almost five hundred feet from the
main shaft of the pit.
Superintendent Steele reluctantly
echoed the opinion of the miners. When
the extent of the fire was realized the
officials say that ordinary measures
were ineffectuall The fire had burned
away the timbers of the shaft and tho
flames soon reached the escape shaft