The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-07-17
BY A. r. w. MAckRETH.


Six man, two Of them white.
were killed, and three were tn
iured in a gas explosion in the
Carbon Hill mines Of the Old Do
n,inion Development company. on
the border line OF Henrico and
Goochiand COUNTIES shortly after 3
o'clock yesterday afternoon.
The company has installed teie-
phone limos all through the mines
for the safety of it's employees. anu
ore Of tho injured managed to
crawl to one of tho telephones and
give the alarm to the office at the
mouth of tho mine. $500 fest
away. j. D. Mcgowan. general
superintendent of the mining COM
pany. lost no time in forming =
reseuina party. but the after damp
was SO dense that the efforts Of
tho rescuers were considerably de.
layed.
Find Six Dead Men.
Whom the party finally did gain
entrance they found six mon dead,
all close together. The three in
jured miners had managed to save
themselves from asphyx'ation from
the deadly after damp. which al
ways follows mine explosions. by
holding themselves close to the
current Of air which occasionally
dNffted sions.
The in ured were taken to the
surface as speedily as possible.
and their burns were dressed by
the company physician. The dead
were left at tho foot Of the shaft
under orders from Or. j. Futmer
Bright, coroner, who will examine
the bodies at II O'Clock this morn
ing and invesfic ate the cause Of
the fearful accident whsch snuffsd
out six lives.
Ninety Escape Death.
The explosion occurred on the second
left gangway. which lies 900 feet
from the entrance 70 the main shaftt
IL was said TO have been purely local.
for there were ninety-s six men in the
mine at the time. and only those who
were working on this level were eith04.
killed or injured. The level itself wan
da mayed only to a slight extent. few
Of the supporting timbers having been
torn asunder by the force of the ex-
plosion. 1t Is supposed that Donn0t-
fey. VITO was che ,slroe foreman. stlsA&
Is. the man who prepares the way TO-
digging the coal out by drilling =
hole In a vein for dynamiting. touched
tho fuse at the time that the Level
was full Of gas,
A spark is sufficient TO explode ga1
in mine, and these men had ~
chance 10 escape. The bodies Of TN
dead men were found afterwards II
have been burned oulv TO Il small d.
g1ee. and il is believed that they Wef4
sun coated by the afterdamp whtCM
swept back into the mine after tn
explosion. Sometimes the afterdAmN
sweeps back and forth several times
q I'd those who come within Its thtCNE
death dealing fumes have no chano1
to escape unless they are able to reAeM
some infiowing current of air. 81
AS soon after the rescue an poi
bic. Coroner Bright was notified IN
telephone of The accident. He Will M
ID the scene at % o'clock this morn
ing. and begin his inquest 1t III
O'Clock. Joseph w. voolfolk. pr0st0al)
of the Old Dominion Developnno&
company, was notified immediatA
and ordered the mines to be cloeo4
unit latter the coroner's inquest. Wok
viii he resumed probably tomorroN
morning w G.. Voolfolk, vice-prNoj
dent of the company, Is away on n
vacation.
Grief at Pits Mouth.
There was much grief and conseM
nation Mt the mouth of the pit AZ au<
spread in the neighborhood. and mm1
focked about to see IL any OF tM4
friends or relatives were numbG
a nrung the dead or injured. 80 1MK
the officials know. however. only tMMy
of thu men were married. BoltacN
a Pole. M
In an explosion more than = ~
ago several men were killed. AL
them having been terribly bur1sds
the inquest the company was held
for the accident 0exN
minor accidents have occurred ~
The mines were once known 90
Clayton coal mines. and Tor
years were left unused. LIZ
years ago. however. the new M
pa1y purchased Them and
that. time the mines have yial14
good supply, for which the m&
has always found y
market. ..asa
Carbon Fiji ia located on th4
river division of the Chess pNa1
Ohio railway, and In on tA4
line runntnx betweea HeH
neeohlnn4 Seun1t1A