Evening star., 1922-11-07
Thirteen More Bodies Are Re-
covered From Pennsylvania
Disaster Pit.
YOUTH is HERO, SAVING
AT LEAST DOZEN LIVES
Gives Vivid Story Of Horror of
Fight as Deadly Gases
Rush In.
BY the Associated Press.


SPANGLER. Pa, November T.
Thirteen additional bodies were
taken from the mine Of the Reilly
Coal Company here. bringing the
total dead recovered to 63. All
are in the temporary morgue.
Thirteen more bodies were in the
mine. rescuers said. and thirty-two
injured were in the miners hos
pital. An explosion yesterday en-
tombed the men.
Mine rescue experts said they
had explored all but two of the
headings and did not expect to
find any more bodies.
SPANGLER. Pa. November 7.-The
bodies of fifty miners who lost their
lives in the Reilly mine explosion here
yesterday lay in the temporary
morgue at o'clock this morning.
Thirteen more were in sight in the
mine. rescue workers said. and thirty
two injured were in the miners hos
pital.
Leaders of the rescuers summarized
the situation at that hour:
Men in the mine when the explosion
occurred. not more than 112.
Bodies recovered, fifty.
Bodies located in mine, thirteen.
Injured in hospital. thirty-two.
Total accounted for, .ninety-five.
Seventeen May BE Missing.
There was still some uncertainty as
to the number of men who went to
work yesterday. but 1t was pointed
out that II the total was 112. as some
authorities believed. the missing
seventeen miners would probably be
found in the eighth heading, where
the water had risen so rapidly that
exploration this morning had been
impossible. Even il these men had
gone into the mine. it was asserted,
they had probably perished.
If that proved true, the leaders said,
the number of dead would reach
eighty.
Efforts were being made to repair
while a force of workers were cutting
passageway through the coal be-
tween the eighth and ninth headings.
With this work complete. they hoped
to reach the last of the unexplored
galleries by noon today.
Long Vigil.
The grim task of removing the dead
started about 2 o'clock this morning.
after widows and children of the miss
ing men had been induced to return
home. They stood in the misty rain
vi through yesterday.
Six state troopers patrolled the area
about the mine mouth and kept the
hundreds of curious persons away.
Miners Hall, little structure here,
was the temporary morgue. Under
takers here, in Barnesboro and in
Johnstown were ordered to prepare
for the dead men. Early today some
undertakers were washing and en-
balming the mire soaked bodies in the
hall here. Every delivery truck and
wagon in Spangler was pressed into
service as morgue wagon.
Red Cross and Salvation Army work.
ers from Pittsburgh. Altoona and Johns
town were on hand distributing coffee
and sandwiches to the rescue squads as
they came to the surface with their
burden of death. or to replenish their
oxygen tanks for new exploration Of
the muddy pits.
Only 100 Feet From Air.
When rescue workers entered the
mine soon after noon yesterday they
encountered bodies in the mainway only
one hundred feet from fresh air. They
halted only long enough to make sure
there was no spark of life and then
hurried on into the gassy chambers to
search for possible survivors.
Their hopes were high when they
came upon a rudely constructed brat
tice on which was scrawled:
There are twenty-nine miners be-
bind this"
But the rescuers pushed on deeper
into the mine for men who had not
fortified themselves The gas was strong
at this point and they feared that should
they break down the barrier the weak
ened condition Of the men could not
stand the inrush of the deadly fumes.
Bodies Huddled Together.
Other rescuers later found more than
a score of bodies huddled together. 1t
is believed that this group was the one
behind the brattice.
Five times an explosion has occurred
in this mine, but the other four did not
register fatality.
Damage to the mine itself was not
great. officials announced. They would
not issue a statement as to the cause
of the explosion, but they did say that
the mine had been examined and re-
ported free of gas Just a short time be-
fore the explosion.
Explosion Lifts Fan Building.
An examination showed that the