The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1913-08-06
And Thirty Miners Per-
ish Ip Blast.
HEADS BLOWN FROM 6 BODIES
Bottom Of Shaft Like Fiery
-Furnace-Men Killed In
Different Ways.
REAL STORY Is HARD TO TELL

Tower City, Penn. Aug. 2.-Thir-
ty men are dead and as many more
seriously injured as the result of an
explosion of dynamite which occur
red at the East Brookside Colliery
i'm the west end of this county at
noon to-day.
Ten tons Of dynamite exploded,
with roar and a tremendous power
which shook the massive mine pill
lars and props as though they were
straws, and sent sheets of flame
shooting along the gangways and
breasts, seeking an outlet.
The dynamite burst a pocket" of
gas which had gathered since a fire
boss made his inspection this morn
ing, and 2 second and more deadly
explosion occurred, overwhelming
Superintendent John Lorenz and a
rescuing party who had gone to the
aid of the men injured in the first
explosion.
For five minutes the bottom of
the mine, which is 1900 feet below
the surface, reached by the deepest
shaft in the anthracite region. look
ed like fiery furnace with all the
miners within reach of the flames
lying PROSTATE on their faces, where
they had thrown themselves to
avoid breathing the flames.
The heat, however, either scorch-
ed the life out of most of these
men, or the severe concussion and
flying rock killed them.
A second rescue force succeeded
in reaching the bodies of Superin-
tendent LorenZ and Harry Schoff-
stall. Lorenz was brought to hos
i pital at Pottsville and it is said he
will recover. He is not burned.
Schoffstall. however, is said to be
fatally injured.
The explosion set fire to the mine
and the rescuing force in helmets,
! containing stored oxygen, was soon
on the scene.
Officials of the Reading Company,
after, first doing all that could be
done for the killed and injured,
rushed it's fire car to the scene of
the accident. and. under the person
al direction of General Manager
Richards. the flames were so cir
cumscribed that danger of the fire
spreading is passed.
There were enthusiastic shouts
when Superintendent Lorenz and
Foreman Schoffstall, with three mi
ners. were brought to the surface.
The miners revived almost as soon
as they inhaled the fresh air
Nine of the bodies of the dead
were so scorched by the heat as to
be unacceptable, and the only way
to ascertain their names will be by
the records of the men who went
down to work to-day.
The driving of the tunnel where
the accident occurred was under
the direction of private contractors,
and most of the employees killed
were working for these contrac-
tors. There were comparatively
few employees of the coal company
killed by the explosion.
Portland Brothers. contractors In
charge of the tunnel, have driven
some of the largest drainage tun-
nels in the anthracite region. Their
list of employees was almost deci-
mated by the accident.
Many bodies were terribly mutt
lated, the features being warped
and disfigured by the terrific heat
and cut and bruised by flying de-
bris. Heads of six were missing.
One of the saddest phases of the
accident is that most of the dead
men were married and that the ex-
plosion leaves 40 orphans. nearly all
of whom We're absolutely depend
ent on their fathers for support.
Ii is possible that the real story
OF the explosion may never be
known. as all who We're In position
to know were killed,
The men were killed In three diff
ferent ways. Some OF them were
hurled against the side OF the tun-
mel In which they We're working and
crushed. Some We're burned to
death by the explosion of gas and