The Oskaloosa herald., 1914-10-29
q BODIES TAKEN
FROM COAL mine;
/. rs ARE ENTOMBED
Small Hope of Rescue for Men in
ROyalton, Ill.,, Shaft.
1859 WORKERS ARE RESCUED
Flames Follow Explosions and Only
Chance Imprisoned Men Have to
Escape 10 to Wall Them
ST.. selves In.


seven bodies have been recovered, 1l6
miners are still entombed and 1853 had
escaped from the Franklin Coal G.
Coke company mine which was
wrecked by two explosions. j. c.
Mitchell, owner Of the mine, says there
lie little hope for the entombed men.
Flames are roaring up the main
shaft of the mine within sight Of the
surface, but men from the Benton mine
rescue station, aided by volunteers
from here, with smoke helmets and
oxygen apparatus, are battling their
way toward the lower levels in the
hope that by some merciful freak Of
nature some of the missing men may
be found alive.
The lives OF at least two hundred
we're saved because Of the fact that
work had not started when the explo-
sion occurred. The cage had already
taken 302 men down and 80 more we're
standing about the top of the shaft
waiting to descend. The others had
not yet penetrated into the galleries
where they we're to work, and rushing
back to the shaft, most OF them got to
the surface before the whole interior
became an inferno Of fame, smoke and
gas. ..
Elahty-Five Rescued Unconscious.
Desperately heroic feats of rescue
saved the lives Of others. Eighty-hve
men were brought to the surface over
hv ~ ha
fore artificial respiration work could
be started on them, but it is believed
all the others will live.
Efforts are now being made to check
up on every man who was employed in
the mine, to see If any of the missing
116 can be located. II they are found
the mine will be sealed and flooded
with water, as experts declare that is
the only hope Of quenching the flames.
but II they cannot be located the res
cue work will be continued as long as
there is the slightest chance to pene-
trste any Of the galleries. ., ..
,....l May Wall on Flames. .....
Most Of the miners here are Hun.
garians, Italians or Lithuanians, but
there are many Scotch and Irish
miners who have had the mine rescue
station training and are experts. Even
il they have been trapped by the
flames, it is felt, they may be able to
wall themselves on and live for sew
eral days.
The explosion occurred at 1925 in
the morning, FIVE minutes before work
was to start. It's cause has not been
determined
Moaning women, with shawls over
t.Ieir heads, dragged weeping children
by the hand as they rushed to see
whether husband, father or son was
among the victims.
The women and children crowded
about the shaft, screaming the names
of their loved ones and hampered the
efforts Of the rescuers. Many had to
be forcibly restrained from casting
themselves into the flaming pit.
After all the living that were
reached had been brought out the res.
cuers went back after the dead. About
eleven o'clock 20 physicians and the
rescuers from Benton arrived in their
car with a complete equipment OF he'll
NETS and safety devices and Joined in
the work. They brought out &c dead
bodies, and shortly after noon the
search had to be abandoned in all the
lower levels because of the spread OF
the flames. ,.