le were badly burned by the explosion.
Escape Is Shut Off.
With a loud report and an upheaval like an earthquake the woodwork of the tipple was destroyed. The shaft was filled with debris, rocks and earth completely shutting off all means of escape from the mine. Whether the explosion occurred at the far extremity of the mine and killed the men by the concussion, or whether it occurred nearer the shaft, and imprisoned the men, is not yet known.
They Fear the Worst.
There has been no way as yet of finding the exact nature of the disaster or the number who were killed. If the mine entrance cannot be quickly cleared out so the men can get fresh air all will have perished within a few hours. Help was summoned from all sources available and as many are engaged in the work of rescue as can be crowded in. Half a dozen men working near the mouth of the pit on the tipple were caught in the wreckage and at least three were seriously injured. One man, it is thought, cannot recover.
Aid Quickly Sent.
Superintendent GEORGE SHEETS immediately sent to Cheswich and Springdale for men and other assistance. Gangs of workmen were sent in response and physicians hurried to the scene to take care of the injured. The mine is about one mile from Cheswich and was opened about two years ago. The company is allied with the Allegheny Coal company and is operated by Cleveland capitalists. The mine has always been a gaseous one, but there has never been any serious trouble previous today. There are two shafts, 200 feet apart and about 220 feet deep. In the inside of the mine the headings had not been made more than half a mile.
Number Entombed Grows.
A later report says the number of men entombed is larger than at first reported, it now being said that from 150 to 180 men are in the mine, including a fire boss and the pit boss. Just how the explosion occurred is not yet known. Intense excitement was aroused in Cheswick and Springdale. The three injured tipple men were sent to Allegheny hospital on train, one of the three were brought to the city and died when the train reached the West Pennsylvania station in Allegheny. His body was brought to the hospital along with the other injured.
Fifty Men at Work.
A rescue party of 50 men has entered the shaft and is working hard to reach the imprisoned men. It is feared, however, that they cannot be reached before they will have been suffocated. The mine was gaseous at all times, but was never considered absolutely dangerous. Many of the imprisoned men are foreigners and their names are unknown.
(from "The Fort Wayne News," Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jan. 25, 1904.)
NO HOPE FOR MINERS.
Not One of the 200 Men Entombed is New Alive.
RESCUE PARTIES PERISHED.
Brave Men Urged On by Scenes at Mouth of the Shaft Die in an Attempt to Save Lives of the Unfortunates Below.
PITTSBURG, Jan. 26. -- The mysteries of one of the most dreadful mining catastrophes in the history of Pennsylvania, or of the world, for that matter, are yet unsolved Harwick mine, at Cheswick, has not given up its secret or its dead.
Nearly Two Hundred Dead.
It can be reliably stated that between 180 and 190 miners were in the pit when the dread fire-damp ignited, blowing the cages clear out of the shafts and burying the inmates. Of these miners but two have come out, one dead and one half dead from injuries and effects of the deadly after damp. Even the rescuing parties have not escaped, and SELWYN M. TAYLOR, the eminent mining engineer of this city, who platted the mine and led the rescuers into the dark depth, is lying dead, while his companions escaped with their lives only with the greatest difficulty. The work of attempted rescue was signalized by instances of the greatest bravery, and the scenes around the pit mouth are tragic in the extreme.
An Inspector's Statement.
A long distance telephone message from Cheswick, received in Pittsburg at 5 a. m., says: F. W. CUNNINGHAM, mining inspector of the fourteenth district, came out of the Harwick mine of the Allegheny Coal company this morning and stated that he had gone about one-fourth of a mile from