The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-10-29
27 BODIES TAKEN
FROM COAL Mine;
lI6 ARE ENTOMBED
Small Hope of Rescue for Men in
Royaiton, ILL, Shaft.
159 WORKERS ARE RESCUED
Flames Follow Explosions and Only
Chance Imprisoned Men Have to
Escape Is to Wall Them
selves in.

serves IN
Royalton, H., Oct. 2S.-In spite of
the official list of dead given out res
cuers declared that at least seventy
nine men are known to be dead, as
a result Of the mine disaster here.
Royalton, H., Oct. 2S.-Twenty-
seven bodies have been recovered, 116
miners are still entombed and 159 had
escaped from the Franklin Coal &
Coke company mine which was
wrecked by two explosions. ]. G.
Mitchell, owner of the mine, says there
is 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
were saved because of the fact that
work had not started when the explo-
sion occurred The cage had already
taken 302 men down and so more were
standing about the top of the shaft
waiting to descend. The others had
not yet penetrated into the galleries
where they were 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.
Eighty-Five Rescued Unconscious.
Desperately heroic feats of rescue
saved the lives of others. Eighty-fvs
men were brought to the surface over
come by gas. Two of them died be-
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. If 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 If they cannot be located the res
cue work will be continued as long as
there is the slightest chance to pene-
trate any of the galleries.
May Wall Off Flames.
Most of the miners here are Hun
cro rio %o1f r
there are many Scotch and Irish
miners who have had the mine rescue
station training and are experts. Even
If they have been trapped by the
flames, it is felt, they may be able to
wall themselves off and live for sew
eral days.
The explosion occurred at 7:25 in
the morning, five minutes before work
was to start. It's cause has not been
determined.
Moaning women, with shawls over
their heads, dragged weeping children
by the hand as they rushed to see
whether husband, father or son was
among the victims.
AO WOACn C1lu 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 26 dead
bodies, and shortly after noon the
search had to be abandoned in all the
lower levels because of the spread of
the flames.