The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1911-12-13
MINERS killed
BY EXPLOSION
Over One Hundred Met
Horrible Death.
ENTOMBED FAR IN THE EARTH
Weeping and Distracted Won.
en- and Children Crowd
Around the Shaft.
PROBABLY a DUST ExPbOsION

Bridgevilie, Tenn, Dec. 9.-That
every miner of the number who
walked into the Cross Mountain
mine at Briceville this morning met
death in a dust explosion which oc-
CURED within one hour after they
started work, is a foregOne eOnclu-
sion at midnight tonight.
Although rescuers have been at
work for hours and although every
known piece of apparatus in the
mine rescue service has been put to
use, there is little doubt but that
every man in dead.
The force of the explosion, was
'lRerrifc and the hope that any one
Bould survive such a shock is beyond
belief. Between 126 and 156 men
checked in" this morning. The
books of the company are not avail
able as to the exact number.
Details of the Horror.
Knoxville, Tenn. Dec. 9.-For the
second time in ten years great
mine disaster has made the Knox
Vile colliery district echo with the
sobs and means of women and child
ren-relatives of the men whose
lives were snuffed out in a fash as
they worked.
Two hundred and twenty-five
men-perhaps more, perR,----,--s---' -
less-are entopbed in the Cross
Mountain mine near BriceviiIe.
The possibility that any is alive
is so slight that it was practically
admitted that not one of them will
escape An explosion of blasting
powder or coal dust rocked the
earth to-day within a few minutes
after the shift had gone to work.
Three of the men, fortunately, late
to their work, we're in the passage
leading to the working pit two
miles into the bowels of the earth.
They heard the crash and turning,
fed for their lives. OF the many
who descended they are the only
ones who came out alive.
Horror-stricken, they crawled to
the surface and gave the alarm. In
an hour rescue parties were organ
lied and started into the shaft.
But the rescue parties were i'm
potent Almost as soon as they de-
scended column of smoke trick
led from the mouth of the cavern.
A few seconds later it became a
thick. black pillar and the rescuers,
choking and binding rushed to the
air.
At a late hour tonight rescuers |
had succeeded in extinguishing the
flames, but had been unable to pen
citrate the drift on account of the
gas.
The explosion is believed to have
occurred two miles from the open
ing and about 500 feet below the
surface. All of the men who were
in the mine were working within
a few hundred feet of the hole and
It Is possible they were killed at
the first blast.
If any survived, the fire damp
would have chicken out their lives
before now.
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.
Rescue parties time after time
attempted to descend into the
workings, bat were driven beck.
Once the body of a miner as
found 1t was brought to the sur
face and Identified as that of Lee !
EPaulson.
The entombed men are walled in ,
by thousands of tons of slate and /
coal which we're scattered loose
.om the walls by the force Of the /
Explosion. (
AS news of the disaster spread |
throughout the Briceville district. i
men left their posts in other work. '
'pgs and fastened to join the res
6Aers.
Women, wild-eyed and dishevel-
~. ran shrleking to the mouth OF ,
The pit and attempted to enter what |
WOULD have been place of certain !
18th. Scores Of men dragged {