ide near the shaft and a cemetery will be made in a day. A report is current that the searchers have reason to fear the presence of after-damp in the unexplored south entry and volunteers are becoming very scarce. At 10 o'clock a call for volunteers was made. One man, an Irishman, from a crowd of a hundred or more was the only one to offer his services. Four more bodies have been identified, making a total of eighteen identified this morning.
In Great Confusion.
The bodies are now coming from the mine much faster that the limited space in the school house and morgue will accommodate. The bodies lie on stretchers in the snow near the pit mouth and at the road side. Approximately one hundred and eleven are now above ground, but in the indescribable confusion, excitement and frenzy, the accurate count has been lost. The morgue holds no more caskets and the late unidentified arrivals from the embalmer's room are being placed outside of the building upon the snow covered ground, while an almost uncontrolable [sic] throng surrounds them.
(from "The Fort Wayne News," Fort Wayne, Indiana , Jan. 28, 1904.)
Cause of Mine Explosion
A defective Blast Held Responsible
114 Bodies Recovered - An Appeal for Aid
Pittsburg, Jan. 29, 1904
Mine Inspector Cunninghan is satisfied he has discovered the cause of the explosion at the Harwick Mine.
It has been the theory of the Inspectors that the gas was lighted by a defective blast, one that was not properly tamped and that threw a bit of burning paper from the hole drilled in the coal. This was confirmed in a room in the south left entry where a hole was found in the coal showing that the tamping had been blown out and that the blast was ineffective. Near this point was found the lamp of Fire Boss J. A. Gordon, who was also the head blaster in the mine.
The mine had given up 150 bodies. The company expects to start work again in two weeks.
The relief Committee having in charge the fund to aid widows and orphans of the Harwick coal miners who were killed in the mine this evening received a personal check from Senator Marcus A Hanna for $1,000. In a brief note Mr. Hanna tendered his sympathy to the bereaved.
An appeal for funds for the benefit of the families of the 184 miners killed a few days ago in the Harwick Mine was received yesterday by Mayor McClellan. The telegram to the Mayor was dated from Cheswick, Penn., and said.
One hundred and eighty-four miners' killed and families destitute. The committee urges immediate and generous aid.
The Mayor at once announced that he would be glad to receive and forward any contributions.
(from "The New York Times," New York, NY, Jan. 30, 1904.)
IDENTIFY ONLY A FEW BODIES
WORK ONCE MORE IMPEDED.
Ice Forms in the Shaft and Renders Descent Difficult and Dangerous.
SECOND BIG FUNERAL TODAY.
Discover Cause of Explosion to Have Been a Poorly Tamped Power Blast.'
CHESWICK, Pa., Jan. 29, 1904.
Second Funeral Today.
The second funeral of the victims will be held this afternoon. But three positive identifications of corpses were made this morning. The work of establishing the identity is both slow and difficult, on account of the bodies. The mine shaft was again plugged with ice accumulation this morning, and three hours chopping was necessary before the cage could lower the thirty-eight rescuers into the mine. It is reported that gas in considerable volume has been found in the south course, where the searchers are now working, and some apprehension is felt for their safety.
Total Number 132.
CHESWICK, Pa., Jan. 29. -- At 12:30 p. m., the cage brought
from the mine a number of bodies, some of which were much mutilated. The
total number now out of the mine is 132.
TO BURY THEM IN ONE GRAVE
CHESWICK, Pa., Jan. 30, 1904.
No Funerals Tomorrow.
About twenty-eight funerals will be held today. No bodies
will be buried tomorrow. The unidentified bodies will be held until Monday,
and then buried without further delay. The dead pit mules in the mines will
be brought out this afternoon. Manager George N. Scheets stated this morning
that the list of dead may exceed 184; tha