Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1911-04-13
Mixers Are Caught Eik Rats in a Trap
and Lose Their Lives.
ANOTHER Mine HORROR
Fire and Gas Block Their Escape, and
Without Warning Between Fifty
and Sixty Men and Boys Meet Ter
rible Death in Pennsylvania Coal
Mine Village. ~ .e~s -.

One Of the most serious mine disas-
ters of that section occurred Friday
at the little village of Throop, short
distance from Scranton. Pa, when
the lives OF between fifty and sixty
men and boys were snuGed out.
Among those known TO have per-
ished are Joseph Evans, who was in
charge of the United States mine res.
cue car; Isaac Dave, fire boss,
and Walter knight, foreman.
Evans death was the result Of
defective oxygen charged armor.
Charles Ensian, the expert in charge
of the mine rescue work for the Fed
eral Government, was also overcome,
and is said to be in a critical condi-
tion.
Up to a late hour Friday night
nearly two score of bodies have been
piled at the bottom OF the shaft, but
1t was thought advisable not to bring
them to the surface until the crowd
had dwindled. A temporary mGrgue
has been erected at the opening 10
the mine, and here were congregaiel
hundreds of women and children, rel
atives of the men and boys fh, had
been so suddenly snatched from them.
Their grief was pitiful. children OF
tender years clinging to the skirts ~
their mothers, while older male men,
bers of the family sought to soften
the anguish of the distracted Ihothers
and sisters.
None of the bodies recovered was
mutilatcd, death doubtless having
been caused by inhaling flames and
gases. The rescuers are pushing into
the mine, and it is thought all OF the
bodies will be rescued within a few
hours.
The fire started In an engine house
at the opening of slope ?5O feet
from the surface. There were 400
men In the mine when the fire started,
about sixty of them In the workings,
into which the slope led. The sixty
were at work in blind tunnel at
the end of the slope.
Escape was blocked by fire. SMOKE
and the generated gases, possibly.
before the men and boys realized
their danger.
James Vickers, a fire boss, tried to
get to the tunnel where he knew
many men were at work. He could
20 only a short distance before ht
was forced to turn back. and 1t was
with difficulty he dragged himself
through the smoke at the point OF
the fire. He said no man could live
FIVE minutes in the tunnel he had
tried to traverse.
The United States miners on the
car stationed at Wilkesbarre were
summoned early in the afternoon and
later the Delaware, Lackawanna and
Western hospital car and the Lehish
Valley Company's force, from Wilkes
barre, came to the scene.
The finding of three bodies led the
rescuers to believe that no one was
alive in the tunnel and they renewed
the attack on the burning area to
reduce the awful heat. When this
work had proved somewhat effective
a corps of the expert rescue men,
with the latest style rescue armor,
pushed on into the slope and later
came upon several bodies strewn
along the roadway.
The bodies were carried to the foot
of the shaft and stacked up in piles
in the narrow space to be taken out
after nightfall. so some of the horror
would be hidden from distracted rei.
atives of the victims
The colliery is owned and operated
by the Price-Pancoast Coal Company,
at the head of which is John r. Bry-
den. general manager of the Ontaria'
and Western collieries in this section.
1t is one of the largest and most up
todota coIlierieS in the region.