The citizen., 1911-12-15
DEAD IN THE
NINE DEPTHS
Eight Bodies So Far Recovered
al BriceviIIe.
IFS C0FFINS FOR MINERS
Explosion of Coal Dust Cause of the
Disaster in the Cross Noun
tain Mine Near Erice-
vile, Tenn.

~'' "F'''S ''$6i G''SS
vile, Tenn.
Briceville, Tenn.-Somewhere in the
depths of the Cross Mountain coal
mine upward OF 100 men lie dead,
while their sorrow-stricken families
keep vigil at the mouth of their tomb,
hoping against hope that loved ones
may be alive when rescuers reached
them.
Outside of the immediate families
of the entombed men, no one in this
little mountain village believes that
any living thing in the mine has sur
vived the terrific explosion which
wrecked the workings Saturday morn
ing.
So far it has been impossible to get
authentic information as to the num-
ber of men in the mine when the
explosion occurred, the mine officers
as well as officials of the company re-
fusing to make statements, but the
fact that not less than 175 cofFins were
on the special train which arrived here
with its gruesome freight furnished an
indication as to the extent OF the dis
aster and OF the company's estimates
of the number of victims.
Three Theories AS To Cause.
There are three theories as TO the
cause of the disaster One is that in
some manner powder or dust explod-
ed, the second is that an electric wire
came in contact with explosives, and
the third that the catastrophe was
caused by poor tamping of drill.
The mine also was recently visited
by an inspector under George E.
Sylvester, State Mine Inspector, and
q representative of casualty COM
pany which carries insurance on the
employees Both are said to have re-
ported that the shaft was in excellent
condition.
President Stephenson made the fol
lowing statement;
81 deeply regret the accident in the
mine and l am bending every energy
to rescue the men who are entombeG
j am in hopes that the men will be
reached. According to the topography
of the mine, the gases go generally
into the entry in which the explosion
took place. Most of the men in the
place must have gone into the cross
sections where they were employed in
mining, and this causes me to believe
that at least some of them escaped
death"
The three men who escaped were
John Lang, Sam Farmer and Bert
Haymaker. They observed bad
signs" as they entered the mine.
The rumble Of the explosion brought
great crowds of towns people to the
mine opening. Women and children
clamored to be allowed to make their
way inside to aid in the rescue. Many
of the women knew their husbands
had entered the mine before the blast,
but maintained brave hearts. The
majority of them had witnessed
similar scenes before
In the rescue room fathers and bro
theirs of men who were entombed
worked feverishly, refusing to leave
their posts even though urged by 9TH
ers, and although volunteers for the
rescue work were plentiful, until they
had worn themselves completely out
physically and had to be aided out
doors.
Owes Life To Dream.
Hugh LaTue, a miner, probably owes
his life to a dream his wife had Fri
day night. When he arose Saturday
morning and got ready to go to his
daily task Mrs. Larue refused to pre-
pare his lunch for him. She did not
want him to work, because she had
dreamed that she saw scores of
miners with their heads blown off be-
ing carried out of the mine entrance
as she and her little children stood at
the mines mouth.
Larue had not missed a day from
work for many months, but he was
prevailed upon Saturday to remain
home. Only a short time afterward
the explosion occurred.
Briceville, as mining town, has
had stormy history. 1t was the
scene in the early nineties of rioting,
when miners rebelled against working
with convicts leased by the State.
Troops were sent there to quell the
trouble
Briceville is in Anderson county.
At Coal Greek, near there, on May
10, 1902, 200 men were killed in the
Fraterville mine explosion.