Evening star., 1924-04-29

inevitable preparations. Farm wag-
ems, each drawn by six horses, began
the long, slippery climb up the hol.
low" In each were great rolls Of
canvas-crude material for the hasty
manufacture of temporary caskets.
eparations are being made TO
bring all of the bodies out through
the air shaft. because its location
families of the victims, and the
workers may prepare the bodies for
quick shipment to Wheeling before
they are turned Ger to those who
wait in heart-brc4king silence TO
claim them. State police have closed
the muddy, sticky little road to the shaft
to all but doctors and rescue workers.
Women Pace Street.
All day yesterday scores of women
and children paced the street here
onto which the mines open; drenched
by a'steady rain, they were persuaded
to go home for supper, but with the
first streaks of dawn they began to
gather again, pitiful. weeping objects
bundled up in great shawls and hoods.
Already they have accepted the
worst and the usual scenes that are
upon mime ulSdSleTS NHeH
there is still reason to hope some OF
the victims may live are not present
here today. Women weep and chill
dren play, but there are no scenes of
hysteria. This is believed to be large
ly due to the fact that the relatives
OF the victims cannot reach the scene
of preparations and grave fears are
felt that when the first wagon loads
of bodies begin to come down the
hillside it will be difficult to maintain
such conditions. Every effort is be-
ing made to have the women home at
that time and it is likely the bodies
will remain in the mine until they can
be moved under cover of night.
Family Losses Heavy.
One woman is said to have lost a
husband and three sons in the dis
aster Another is grieving the death
Of two sons. Still another was to
have been a bride in a few days and
many are those who mourn for father,
husband, brother or son. One of the
victims was said to have escaped from
another mine only recently and had
to the Vulture Hollow work
ing for luck"
The list of men who entered the
mine for the day shift yesterday has
been officially announced by the
Wheeling Steel Company and counts
III. Many more may have been trap
ped-had the day not been religious
holiday for some of the miners who
remained away from work. The blast
occurred just exactly five minutes
after the day shift had started to
work and had it blasted the mine
few minutes earlier it might have
caught some of the night shift, too.
Clergy Pray in Mine.
When all hope of finding any living
men in the wrecked mine had been
n abandoned early today the rescue
workers paused in their ghastly la
bors long enough to kneel in the
darkened tunnels in prayer with
Catholic priests and Protestant
clergymen, who had been admitted to
the smoky tunnel to administer the
last rights of the Christian churches
posthumously. 1t was tense moment
when three Catholic priests and as
many Protestant ministers appeared
at the mouth of the tomb.
There was a brief conference and
then, one by one, they were lowered
into the pit, there to take their
chances with the rescue squad Wh1ie
they sped the spirits of the mines
victims on their long journey. &C
ccrding to the rites of the churches.
The clergymen remained in the mine
for perhaps an hour, wearing gas
masks much of the time, and when
they emerged their faces were as
Erimy as those OF the miners. Sew
craI waited for another trip into the
sickening tunnels late today if the
sappers succeed in boring their way
through.
Find Tunnel Cboked
At noon they had penetrated the
debris for a mile and a quarter, but
there they found the entire tunnel
choked with pieces of wood
en- supports, slate, earth and coal.
So thickly were the bodies scattered
in that section that the rescuers had
to work with extreme care to keep
from hacking them to pieces, and the
farther in they bored, the more hor-
rible the scene and the worse the
condition of the victims, indicating
that the seat of the explosion was
probably about in the middle of the
shaft.
No definite cause for the disaster
has been decided upon; probably it
never will, for there is no one alive
today, the experts feel confident, who
can tell just how 1t all happened.
Mine bureau officials from both West
Virginia and the federal government
expressed the opinion, however, that
q pocket of gas had collected and was