Evening star., 1926-10-05
1,O)D-FOOT CRAWL
TO Find AIR FAILS
Mine Blast Victim Dies Within
100 Feet of GoaI-24 Men
Missing.

LOCKWOOD, Tenn, October 81
| The almost Superhuman struggle of
one miner to escape and his failure
with fresh air and safety but hundred
feet away, was revealed today as res
cue crews penetrated deep into the
Roane Iron Co.'S coal mine near here,
where an explosion Is believed to have
taken toll Of at least % lives.
Apparently crawling more than L.
900 feet in an effort to reach an air
hole, Clarence Stevenson fell victim to
the deadly latter damp a few min
utes before he would have reached
safety, members of the rescue crew
which found his body declared.
The rescue crew, which merged to-
day fter several hours of exploration
of the Rodgers entry, where the men
were trapped, found two other bodies
in addition to that of Stevenson.
Identification Is Impossible.
None of these three was removed.
Identification of the two bodies was
impossible.
The first four bodies to be found had
been removed to a morgue and identi
fed. Mine officials believe at least 20
more bodies remain in the mine, in
cluding the three found early today.
Indications Of fire in the explosion
zone impeded rescue work today.
Rescue crews were forced to withdraw
while "deadlocking' Of the dip where
the men were trapped. was under
taken to assure safety of rescuers.
"One man alive is worth 10 dead"
said Capt. j. T. Thompson. local post
master. who has taken charge OF res
cue operations. in explaining the new
move. "Deadlocking" OF the entry,
he said. tended to suppress fire and
make the area safe for rescuers.
Relatives Of the imprisoned men
began to gather early at the mouth
Of the mine, but all hope that any
Of the men have survived the gaseous
fumes and cave-ins has been aban-
doned. Veteran miners say no life
could possibly exist where the men
were caught.
Fire Blocked Rescue i'm 1925.
Save for an occasional piercing
moan Of a woman whose husband is
among those missing. the little town
of lockwood. huddled at the foot Of
mountain, shows few signs of being
the scene Of a great mine disaster.
Hardy and grim-faced miners, to
whom the dangers lurking under the
surface have come to mean little,
move about with their headlights as
though at their daily tasks.
To them it is the enactment of
the disaster in the same entry in
July. 1925. which snuffed out the lives
Of II men. Some of the bodies Of
| these were not recovered for three
months. Fire ragged in the entry in
the other disaster and blocked rescue
efforts.
Fear that such a fire will delay re
covery of victims of the present catas
troDhe has arisen with signs of smol
dering flames in the entry where the
explosion occurred.
Governor Offers Aid.
Gov. Peay communicated with mine
officials and inquired whether State
| assistance was needed, but directors of
operations said they have more volun-
teerS now than can be used.
Workers in other mines in the vi
cinity are aiding in rescue efforts.
Although mine officials have been
unable TO determine definitely the
number trapped by the explosion, they
have compiled a list of "a names Of
men still unaCcounted for.
If records of mine officials are cor
rect. 80 men were in the explosion
zone Four men came out alive, two
of them uninjured viii and Arthur
league. who bratticed themselves
when they heard the sound of the
blast. we're unhurt.
G. f. Boles was seriously injured
| by the explosion and gas, and Ebbe
Davis was found unconscious a mile
| from the scene.