Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 March 1884 — DEATH IN THE MINE. [ARTICLE]

DEATH IN THE MINE.

One Hundred and Fifty Men Meet a Horrible Death in a Virginia Coal Mine. An Explosion of Fire-Damp or Gas flto Cause of the Terrible Calamity. Terrific Force of the Explosion—Heartrending Scenes of Sorrow About the Mine. Located tn Tazewell County, at the terminus of the new river division of the Norfolk and Western Railroad, is the village of Pooohontaa, a comparatively new settlement. Here are located the mines of the Southwest Virginia Improvement Company, a joint stock corporation composed of Northern capitalists. These mines were opened about a year ago, and from them immense quantities of coal are shipped to Northern markets. The mines gave employment to some five or six hundred men, mostly foreigners. On the night of the 13th of March a relief of IM men went to the mines to take their turn at work. About midnight the people of the locality for mites around were startled by a terrific ex plosion and a great trembling of the earth. The terrible sound was sufficient to inform every one that a frightful calamity had befallen tbe midnight laborers. In an instant the streets were filled with a crowd of screaming women, children, and men, all rushing for the mouth of the principal mine in the southern suburbs. Here a dense volume of smoke was found pouring from the shaft, and scattered around within a radius of a quarter of a mile were broken timbers, shattered cars, pulleys, and machinery. On all sides were to lx> seen fragments of human bodies, some of which wore lodged in tree-tops, and others on roofs of houses and sheds. For more than an hour wUd shrieking and the louder manifestations of grief from desperate men filled the air. No one seemed to have any idea as to what should be done, and all rushed hither and thither, seeking frantically for some evidence of the fate of relatives below. At intervals a more than ordinary shriek of anguish would tell that some searcher had found a token which realized his or her worst fears. The scene was terrible in the extreme. Miners' houses, buildings, and trees several hundred yards away were completely torn to pieces, showing conclusively that the force of the explosion must have been remarkable. It was not until two hours had passed in fruitless lamentations that any effort was made by the panic-stricken crowd to ascertain tbe condition of affairs. Then a ghastly faced man, whose night-clothing was not altogether concealed by an immense blanket which he had thrown around his shoulders, sprang on a stump and cried out: “For God’s sake, men, let’s stop this. We all have friends and relations down below, and maybe we can help them. Let’s see about it, and let tho women folks do the crying." Every one of the officials of the camp was below ground, and there appeared to be no one competent to lead except the man referred to, who at once called for volunteers. There was a hurried movement to the mouth of tbe mine, and led by the man in the blanket, and amid the shrieking of frantic women, some of whom pleaded with the men to remain out of danger, the little band disappeared iu the gloom and smoke around the mouth of the mine. They soon reappeared, however, and it was announced that all attempts to get into the mine were fruitless. A dense volume of flam* soon commenced to shoot npward, and Illuminated the scene for half a mile, rendering the ghostly spectacle, which had hitherto been viewed only by torchlight, ten times more impressive. Tho crowd had gathered, helpless, in little groups, either discussing the situation or lamenting the death of some loved one. It was agreed that the explosion had taken place at Flat Top mine and had been caused by fire-damp. The situation remained unchanged until daybreak, when the horrors of the scene became glaringly apparent The men who still retained their composure began to gather the fragments of humanity scattered about These were evidently the limbs of those miners who had been working near the bottom of the shaft at the time of the accident, and had been blown upward. Not one of these unfortunates, numbering about fifty, survived, as their shattered limbs lying around broadcast testified.' A party of miners from Coalfield mines under Col. George Dodds arrived during the afternoon and took charge of the camp Tbe residents were compelled to retire from the vicinity of tbe mine, and the new-comers then gathered all the fragments of humanity and placed them in adjoining houses. The collection was a ghastly one, and the 1,500 population remaining above ground seemed to have lost all reason. Not one in the crowd but had lost a relation, and all seemed to have little hope of ever seeing any oft them alive. Young girls, half-naked, dashed around aimlessly, many of them covered with blood-stains received in their ghastly search. Men sat on logs or lay prostrate on the ground, staring stolidly around, their pale features testifying to the terrible mental strain. About every half hour a body of men would proceed to the month of the mine and make a determined effort to force an entrance. Again and again the great pall of smoke and the bursting flames from below would force them bock, and some of them would be borne half fainting into the fresh air.

At 7 o'clock it was thought an entrance could be had, as the smoke showed signs.of decreasing. A party of men attempted to’get in, and had gone below ground, when a volume of flame shot up, and they were hurriedly assisted to the surface. One of their number, an Italian named Carlo Franohl, was missing, and had evidently dropped from the cage. Allot the party were badly burned, and this showed how fruitless were any hopes of rescue. The shaft at Bp. m. was a roaring funnel of flame. All the outbuildings in the vicinity ignited, and the fan house, whleh had beep looked to as the salvation of any of the men who might be alive below, caught also. A shriek of despair went up again at this catastrophe, which was regarded wf fatal to all hopes of rescue. The men fought manfully to save the building from destruction, but without avail* and it was soon a mass of cinders. It became evident at this hour that the whole mine was ablaze, and it is doubtful whether it can be extinguished for weeks, if at all. This settled the fate of the ISO unfortunates below the ground.