Evening star., 1925-02-21
Il BODIES FOUND
IN MINE DISASTER;
AST|LL TRAPPED
Cave-Ins and Afterdamp De-
lay Rescue of Men in SuIli-
van, Ind, Disaster.
GRIEF-TORN WOMEN WAIT,
STILL HOPEFUL, AT SHAFT
Experts Fear, However, That None
of Missing Men Will Be Saved.
Gas Pocket Blamed. =
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
SULLIVAN, Ind, February 21.-The
18th body was removed from the City
Coal Co. mine this morning. 1t was
believed to be that of Harry Ander-
son, 45, pit boss.
handful of weary, griefworn
women waited at the top of the mine
today for their boys" while q score
of men toiled underground to re-
cover the bodies of "a of the 81
miners entombed in an explosion
was improbable any of the trapped
men would be found alive.
cave-in early today halted for
several hours the work of rescue
after 16 bodies had been taken out.
After-damp, the dread poison gas of
the miners, made first attempts to
reach the entombed men precarious,
and part of the night was spent in re-
pairing the mines ventilating system.
A new supply of fresh air made 1t
possible for crews to penetrate into
the wrecked underground passages
where the bodies lie after the debris
from the cave-in was cleared away.
Trapped In Little Rooms.
The blast trapped all the men
working in little rooms off the third
and fourth, and seventh and eighth
entries of the mine. A fash Of fame
quickly consumed all the life-sus-
tanning oxygen, and the concussion
of the explosion brought loose coal
and a shower of mine timbers down
on the ill-fated workers.
Mine experts said a cutting machine,
working close to the wall of an aban-
doned mine, had cut through a par
tition, releasing a food Of gas that
had accumulated in the old working.
A flame from miners lamp ignited
the gas and caused the explosion.
Rescuers were hopeful that all of
the bodies remaining in the pit would
be recovered today. -
Sullivan dropped all other pursuits
in it's efforts to bring solace to~the
bereaved and alleviate the sufferings
of the families Of the victims.
Four Fathers and Sons.
The local chapter of the Business
and Professional Women's Club
undertook the task of ministering to
the group of women al the mine. The
Red Cross gave attention to the i'm
m Mediate needs of stricken families. In
four instances fathers and sons were
victims. These were Earl and Lex
Robertson, Phillip and Wayne Wal
ters, Florence and Emil Lecocq and
Pearl and Frank Hawhee.
men working near the entries wreck
ed by the blast was Elmer Davidson.
He was coupling cars in the main
entry just outside the third and
fourth entries.
AT the Sullivan Hospital Davidson
was recovering today from numerous
cuts and bruises He was taken from
the mine by Clarence Ford and Harry
Lewis, who found him buried beneath
n pile of slate. They carried him
several hundred feet through the
'man-way" to the open air.
1t was Davidson's third. injury in
mine accident, but he insisted today
that when he recovered he would re-
sumo the occupation.
Many May Not BE Found.
Cobb Lamb. an experienced miner
and a member of the rescue team,
after an exploration of the workings
early today said there was a possi-
bility that some of the bodies never
would be recovered. There were
many bad falls, he said, that had COW
cred some of the bodies. making 1t
almost impossible to retrieve them.
Many Of the women waiting at the
mine mouth were loath to believe
their relatives had periShed. The wife
and four daughters of Dave Smith
were insistent that he had escaped.
His name was among the missing.
Vivian Smith, one of the daughters,
was a member of the girls au-State
frst-aid team that won a prize in
the Indiana first-aid contest at Bick-
nell last year.
Daddy isn't dead; / know he isn't
dead" cried Vivians He knows too
much first aid. He knows how to
take care of himself
Probe Is Unlikely.
Davidson. the survivor, told of see
ing Harry Anderson, mine boss and
one of the missing, hurrying into
third and fourth entry few seconds
before the explosion. Davidson add
ed that he had heard some of the
workers talking of squeeze" in the
entry, and presumed that Anderson
had gone to investigate the condition
of the workings.
Norval Harris, Sullivan County
prosecutor, said today that grand
jury investigation of the disaster is
improbable 1T is one of those acci-
dents that occur not infrequent'y in
coal mines, and an investigation
would add little, if anything, to the
known facts as to how to prevent an
accident in the future" said Harris.
Throughout the night rescue squads
worked in two-hour shifts timbe ring
UP the crumbling roofs OF the mine.
1t appeared 1T would be impossible to
bring out the bodies until late in the
day.
Albert DAILY, State mine, inspector,
explained that frequent cave-ins were
hampering the rescue. He added that
1t would be a difficult matter to de-
termine the cause of the explosion.
''All of the men in the mine are dead
and there Is no one to explain the
accident" he said.
Air Force Causes Cave-Inx.
Air was forced into the shaft this
morning to clear 1t of afterdamp. The
high pressure used, however, was said
to have cut into the slate, causing
falls which almost blocked the en-
tries.
Extensive timbering was resorted
to in an effort to brace the crumbling
walls and ceilings.
Outstanding among the heroic res
cue efforts was the work of Earl Car
ly, who, disregarding the dangers of
afterdamp, entered the shaft without
a gas mask in a vain attempt to save
his brother Cecil.
Earl CROPPED through the workings
until he was almost suffocated and
(Contlnued on Page 4. Column 81