Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-11-25
Indications that All Succumb
Within Two Days.
ACCUMULATEs IN LEVEL
Members of Rescue Party Wade
Through Four Feet of Water.
VAIN FIGHT AGAINST DEATH
One Dead Hand stin Grasps Rude Fan
i'm an Effort TO Get Air-Mcn
Had scrawled Messages
on Slate.

CHERRY, H., Nov. 2I-Bodles Of more
than $50 miners were found in the lower
level of the St. Paul mine today. An ac-
curate count of the victims has not been
made, but II is now believed all buta score
OF the missing men have been accounted
for.
The bodies were found 800 feet from the
main shaft, on an elevated surface where
they had retreated before the advancing
water and fatal black damp. They had not
been able to escape the latter and had died
after struggle that may have continued
for two days.
Messages scrawled on wood and the
natural slate cropping from the walls
placed the number Of dead at $50 or l6S.
One message read:
I'VE are all here to die together"
This is accepted by mine officers as In.
dicating that many men whose escape
from the second vein had been cut off by
fire had descended to the lowest level and
that fewer than a dozen bodies will be
found in other sections Of the mine
Boat Used in Rescue.
To take out the bodies a skff has been
brought from the Illinois river, seven miles
away, and will be lowered SEQ feet to the
vein in which the bodies were found It
viii be rowed across the four feet depth
Of water In the vein to the spot where
the bodies lie and they VIII be transported
to the main shaft for removal to the sur
face
The exploring party of four, led by Anton
Lodiycieni was In the gallery for more
than an hour before the bodies were found
They had waded in water, waist deep
through the circular tunnel, making their
way toward the elevation OF the shaft or
ridge" where they had expected to find
them, living or dead The signals given
by the rescuers and the usual cry: ANY
body alive in here?'' were not answered
When we climbed up on the ridge"
said the miner I'VE almost stepped upon
the bodies piled in heaps. Some had their
heads resting on folded arms as IL sleep
ing. Others were lying across each other
and some were sitting, as II resting against
the wall.
Mailed to the wall were two fans, made
OF timberIng, tied about pick handles, and
under them were the biggest heaps Of
('Odie' -,
zone poor fellow had his hand up hold
ing the fan. l think he died as he was
tarnlng It. Another held a bucket He
was fiat on his oack and must have died
as ne climbed up on the ridge. The bucket
was half fnled with black water that he
must have gone some distance to get
"The black damp killed them long before
the water reached them. We had been in
the shaft more than an hourl then ana
though the air was fairly good, We knew 1t
was timo for us to get out
I'VE did not stop to examine any of the
bodies or to try and identify them. Tom
Mulligan one OF our party, picked up a
piece OF natural slate on which was writ
ten; I'VE ARE here together. 16S' That
must have meant the number OF men. and l
think that was about the right number.
"On a wooden box. used to hold tools. |
saw written with u lead pencil: We are
here 10 die together Some figures were
scratched under It, and read it as $50. but
I'm not sure"
No evidence that the men had attempted
TO b0rricade themselves against the black
damp was seen. Many former workers in
the mine protested angrily after they dis
covered the men that they would have
been safe from the deadly gas had not the
vtnulatnB fan OF the mine been reversed
shortly after the discovery Of fire,
ANt AuNuGHecQ lhkehAloh OF the mine or
fioials to pump out the water In the lower
level before the arrival OF the sklff was
baked by the refusal Of the machinists to
aid them. The connections OF the pump
have been disconnected near the second
level and machinists who We're called upon
declined TO risk their lives in repairing the
4 machinery.
Robert Shaw, a third member OF the ex-
ploring party that found the bodies. told
OF reading a piece OF slate on which one
Of the victims apparently had checked off
the totals Of the groups who clambered
upon the ridge IN their last stand for life
The writing. as remembered by him. was:
Thirty more came in. Twenty-four more
Twenty-four-l20 here now"
Other figures, which were not totalled on
the written tally but hastily computed bv
Shaw, Indicated that the number exceeded
$50 when the tally ended.
Il think some OF the men had barrtcade5
themselves in pockets in the gallery. but
were driven TO the ridge by the rlsinp
water" said Shaw. II they had not got
out OF the pockets they would have beer
drowned In them"
Shaw also told Of an attempt OF men tc
build a barrioade al the west end OF the
ridge 10 hold back the black damp The
wall was only few feet high. however, the
builders apparently having abandoned ths
Nltempt or been overcome BY gas before Il
had afforded them any protection