Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-15
EXPRESS HOPE
ENTOMBED MEN
MAY BE ALIVE
EXPERTS SAY OXYGEN MAY
NOT BE EXHAUSTED
FARMERS HEAR SUPPOSED SIG
NAILS FROM MINERS
Belief Prevails, However, That 400
Persons Are Dead or PERISH
ing in ST. Paul Mine-In-
quest Is Begun
tBy Associated Press. !

lBy Associated Press.
| NHERRY, Ill, Nov. 14.-Nearly four
hundred men and boys, it is be-
ieVed, are dead or perishing In
the st. Paul mine here, though the ex-
perts who succeeded in penetrating the
smoke-flled air shaft to the depth of
300 feet late today returned with a ray
of hope for the grief-stricken relatives
of the entombed men.
That the fire has been extingulshed
was the conclusion Of mining experts
| and inspectors sent by Governor De-
neen to investigate the calamity. For
| more than thirty hours tie prisoners
have been cut off from fresh air. That
life could exist under such conditions
is doubtful, but because no very high
temperature was found in the depths
of the mine tonight officials of the
mine believe the men may have found
| SAFETY in remote receSses of the mine.
A. ]. Earling, president Of the Chi
cago, Milwaukee & st. Paul Railroad
company, who has not slept since his
arrival here. received an encouraging
| reuport after heroic efforts had been
made today to open the mine for the
release of the entombed men or for
| the recovery of the dead.
John Reid, a son of one of the miss
| Ing miners, heard that a concussion of
the earth had been felt by farmers
| half a mile south of the main shaft.
The report was sent to Henry Burke,
an official of the mining company.
Burke rushed to President Earling in
the office of the company.
Thought to BE Signals from Men
i've heard signals from the men,"
he said excltedly.
What do you mean?" asked the
railroad president. what signals?"
Farmers whose land is over the
southern end of the mine felt several
conclusions of the earth, they report.
There were several shocks, and the
men who felt them are convinced that
they were shots fired by the imprisoned
miners and that they were meant for
an assurance that at least some were
alive"
"Oh, hope So" said Earling. ''That
is, at least, encouraging"
This glimmer of light to the dark
ened homes in Cherry tonight followed
other encouraging, though doubtful,
theories of experts that the entombed
hundreds may not have been suffo-
Gated and that oxygen enough remains
In the mine to keep them alive until
the shafts may be reopened. After
the third attempt to explore conditions.
r. Y. Williams of the United States
geological survey, who superintended
the work of volunteer explorers, tele-
graphed to Urbana for more rescue
apparatus.
Volunteers Are Numerous
This is expected to arrive early to-
morrow and a score of men have vol
unteered to accompany the experts and
mining inspectors into the shaft opened
today. Three times Mr.. Williams and
Henry Smith, one of the volunteers
were lowered into the mine in a bucket
Each time they succeeded in pene-
! trating deeper into the shaft, Each
time they said the temperature was
bearable.
To open the sealed main shaft and
exit of the mine was impossible today,
yet state inspectors have told Mine
superintendent Steele they felt certain
definite results could be obtained to-
morrow. When explorations were
abandoned tonight it was announced
that men fitted with oxygen caps would
resume operations as early as possible. |
The list of the missing was COM |
piled TODAY in the offices of the min
ing company. 1t reached 1856. includ- |
ing the dead whose charred bodies |
were taken from burning cages Sat |
urday afternoon. 1t was declared pos
sible this list might be increased. One |
hundred and seventy men who entered |
the mine Saturday morning have been |
accounted for. The company had |
scores of tracers at work rounding up |
employees. The company officials say |
tonight the number of men in the mine |
was greater than they first had be- |
lieyed possible.
Many Americans in Mine
Among the missing are many Amer
leans who have lived in the mining |
section of Illinois for years.
Though the majority of those who !
never NAV be found alive are foreign
born all had their homes here or in /
the surrounding towns and villages.
Grief over their probable fate has cast
a pail over the community.
Cherry held thousands of persons to-
day and before noon the st. Paul mine
was surrounded by an almost uncon-
trollable mob.
Officials early in the day swore in a
force of deputies to handle the crowd.
Scores of trains from surrounding
towns were run. When experts had
drilled a hole through the concrete
at the top of the second vein air shaft
all preparations were made to lower
Mr.. Williams and his volunteer ex-
plorers. The scene at the mine was
dramatic.
Along the railroad tracks and in
fields on the east and west of the air
shaft was O wall of humanity. Stout
ropes and policemen kept back the
crowd.
1t was a silent but not undemonstra-
tive assemblage. Occasionally a wom-
ans wall broke the stiffness. Four
men appeared with oxygen bags on
their shoulders and steel and glass
covered hoods over their heads
Volunteer for Rescue Work
There were besides Mr.. Williams of
Urbana his assistant, James H. Webb
of the University of Illinois; James
Hand of Spring Valley and Henry
Smith of Peru. Later Mine Inspector
James Taylor OF Peoria donned the re-
gala.
score of men were ready to assist
them. A system of signals had been
Two men were stationed at
the top of the shaft Williams and
Smith prepared to descend. Inspector
Taylor drilled them in their signals.
The men who were to undertake the
exploration nodded assent. Engineer
Cowley at the hoist that controlled the
iron bucket in which Williams and
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