The Mena weekly star., 1911-12-14
Mine EXPLOSION
ENTOMbS rs men.
All Hope OF Rescue Gone When
Fire Damp Follows Terrific
Blast-Second Catastrophe
In Ten Years.

Knoxville, Tenn, Dec. 9.-For the
second time in 10 years a great
mine disaster has made the Knox
vile colliery district echo with the
sobs and walls of women and chill
dren-relatives of the men whose
lives were snuffed out in a flash as
they worked.
Two hundred and twenty-five
men-perhaps more, perhaps few
less-are entombed in the Cross
Mountains mine near Bryceville.
The possibility that any is alive
is SO slight that is was practically
admitted at midnight that not one
of the men will escape.
An explosion of blasting powder
or coal dust rocked the earth today
within a few minutes after the shift
had gone to work.
Three Men Escape.
Three of the men, fortunately late
in their work, were in the passage
leading to the working pit, two
miles into the bowels of the earth.
They heard the crash and, turning,
fled for their lives. OF the many
who descended, they were the only
ones who came out alive.
Horror stricken, they crawled to
the surface and gave the alarm. In
an hour rescue parties were Or
gained and started into the shaft.
But the rescue parties were i'm
potent. Almost as soon as they de-
scended a column of smoke trick
led from the mouth of the cave-in.
A few seconds later it became a
thick, black pillar and the rescu-
ers, choking and blinded, rushed to
the air.
When the rescuers succeeded in
extinguishing the flames gas pre-
vented their entrance into the level.
All Hope Seems Lost.
The explosion is believed to have
occurred two miles from the OPEN
ing and about 800 feet below the
surface. All the men who were in
the mine were working within a
few feet of the hole, and it is sup
posed they were killed at the first
blast. If any survived, fire damp
would have choked out their lives
before now.
The only hope now expressed is
that the explosion caved in a part
of the roof and blocked the pass
ageway between few of the min
ers and the deadly fire.
The great air fans were kept
pumping at top speed throughout
the day and night in the hope that
some one was alive and might, with
proper air, be rescued.
Rescuers Driven Back.
Rescue parties time after time at
tempted to descend into the work
ings, but were driven back. Once
the body of a miner was found. II
was brought to the surface and
identified as that of Lee Paulson.
Late tonight two more bodies
were recovered They were found
within a quarter of a mile of the
mine entrance and both were badly
mangled, indicating that death had
been due to the explosion.
Aside from the gas, the entomb-
ed men are walled in by thousands
of tons of slate and coal, which
were scattered loose from the walls
by the force of the explosion.
AS news of the disaster spread
throughout the Bryceville district,
men left their posts in other work.
ngs and fastened to join the res
cuers.
Women Are CraZed.
Women, wild eyed and disheveled,
ran shrieking to the mouth of the
pit and attempte to enter what
would have been a place of certain
death. Scores of men dragged them
back and with rude efforts tried to
cheer them.
With the coming of federal res
cue car No. tonight, it was learn
ed that it may be days before the
mouth of the shaft is sufficiently
cleared of smoke and the deadly
damp to make possible an entrance.
Even before that, it is feared, the
men and boys who may have been
saved from instant death, will have
starved to death. The federal res
cue crew were powerless. 1t could
make no Roadway in the smoke
filled pit, and the announcement
that nothing could be done was re-
ceived with a long, tremulous sob
from the crowd of hysterical men
and women who surrounded the
opening.
Explosion Cause a Mystery.
Hundreds of wives and mothers,
sweethearts and children stood with
tense, drawn faces, soaking the
whole day and night through.
Whether the explosion came from
coal dust or blasting powder is
mystery. Within the last three
weeks the mine had been inspected
by federal inspector and an in