|
|
Monday, November 15, 1909
85 MEN ARE SAVED
HEARTRENDING SCENES PRESENTED AROUND MINE
TRY TO REACH MEN TIMBERS BLOCKED WORK; TO TRY MAIN SHAFT TODAY Find Smoke So Dense In Shaft That Powerful Electric Lights Will Not Pierce It - Governor Deneen Sends Mine Examiner on Special Train - Fight to Keep Crowd From Interfering With Work of Volunteers. With every avenue of escape cut of, 385 miners employed at St. Paul Mine in Cherry, Ill., eleven miles northwest of this city, were entombed Saturday afternoon and up to noon today none had been taken from below. Close to six hundred men, or to be exact, 565, went to work Saturday morning, but it is estimated that of this number 185 escaped before the machinery of the shaft was disabled and before the fire below had reached to the exits. Many of the 185 were rescued by a brave band of ten men who, in their endeavor to save as many of the men from below as possible gave up their lives. The ventilating machinery which sent life giving oxygen into the levels 500 feet below the surface was burned out between 3 and 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon, cutting off all chance for life except the slender one that life might be prolonged by imprisoned air far back in the workings. At 8 o'clock that night even this slender chance was cut off by the sealing of both shafts of the mine for the purpose of smothering the flames. This last resort was taken only after vain efforts had been made to conquer the flames by pouring tons of water down the escape shaft. The heroic rescuers, whose bodies are the only ones so far recovered were:
The scenes around the shaft Saturday night were heartrending. Wives, daughters and friends of the entombed men fought frantically. Shrieks from half crazed women, and cries from the little children they carried in their arms or those who tagged at their skirts, added to the bedlam. Yesterday, the wives and daughters with tear-stained eyes, pressed toward the mine. Torch Starts Fire The fire was started in the second vein level, in a roadway which led from the main shaft to the mule stables. A load of six bales of hay had been sent down in a cage and was received by Alexander Rosenjack, cager on duty at the second stage. In stooping over, the torch on his cap set fire to the hay. Officials made the statement that the torches are not allowed in the vicinity of the stables, electricity being the only illuminant permitted, but the electric light plant had been out of commission for about two weeks and for this reason Rosenjack was wearing a torch on his cap. When the fire started in the hay, it took only a short time for it to envelope the entire load. Rosenjack tried to extinguish it, but he failed. Then he tried to push the burning mass into the "sump" at the bottom of the main shaft, and again he was unsuccessful. The timbers were very dry and the fire soon communicated to the stables, forty in number, which are located midway between the main shaft and the escape. It is said that the fire was not reported until James Hanney, a miner, chanced to pass along the roadway. This was about 1:30 o'clock. The alarm was spread through the mine, but already the men below knew what had occurred for smoke was rolling toward them. It was while the mine was warming up that the few survivors, with the aid of ten rescuers, made their way to the surface. Brave Hearts Respond to Call Smoke came out of the escape shaft at its mouth at 2 o'clock. The engineer in charge of the cages failed to get any signals from below to pull up and the work of rescuing the entombed miners was at once commenced. Eleven men - Dr. Joshua Howe of Cherry accompanied the rescuers in their first descent - volunteered to go into the mine, knowing as they did that they were risking their lives in so doing. Hardly had the slackened cable told the engineer that the party had reached the bottom when a frantic signal to pull up reached him. The cage was pulled up rapidly. When it came to view the rescueres were there but not from the bottom. The party had come up for air. After barely catching a breath of fresh air, they were again shot to the smoking depths below. Another short weight; then followed another franctic signal to raise the cage. This time again the rescuers came to the top, but with them was a bunch of miners they had saved. Choking and gasping, the rescuers returned to the cage again, and were dropped into the darkness below. They found the stables a seething mass, but many of whom they were trying to save could not reach the cage. Nevertheless, the third ascent brought up another group of miners. This time Dr. Howe was overcome with smoke and he could not go with his companions on the next drop. Cage Filled With Corpses When the cage was lowered for the fourth time, smoke was pouring out of the shaft and flames were beginning to crawl up the shaft. When the slackened cable told the story that the men were once more at the bottom. The engineer waited for the signal to raise the cage. It did not come as before. Slowly the seconds ticked away: then the minutes. The crowd around the landing became wild. John Cowley, the engineer, was appealed to, frantically, by the crazed relatives of those below. Cowley, remembering that the laws of the state that the engineer shall not hoist the cage before a signal is received from below, waited for the call. It failed to come. Finally unable to withstand the cries of the people around him, he opened the engine and the cables started to wind around the drums. The cage was rising. When the cage reached the landing the rescue party was aboard, not living men, but corpses, seared and blackened, the tongues of the flame having eaten into their flesh. One Was Alive One man, Tom Flood, the mine foreman was barely alive when the cage reached the top. His lungs were almost bursting. He gasped for air but air could not restore him. "The flame caught us" he gasped. Then he gave up the struggle and was numbered among the dead. By this time it was four o'clock when the cage brought up its cage of corpses - the population of Cherry - the town contains about 3,000 people - had gathered at the shaft mouths of the mine. Telephone and telegraph had been operated to bring all the physicians within a radius of twenty miles to the scene. All the doctors in Spring Valley rushed to the town of Ladd by automobile over the Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad. Doctors went from La Salle, Mendota and other places. Drug stores in Spring Valley were ransacked for surgical supplies and automobile loads of them were hurled into Cherry at top speed. Strong men volunteered to fight back the frantic relatives of the entombed miners. The tongues of most of the countries of southern Europe, but especially Austria, Italy and Lithuania, were heard in the tempest of lamantations. The workers of the mines of Cherry come from the countries named in numbers proportioned to the order. Many of the miners were boys of 16 or 17. Their mothers, many of them, had been widowed years before by similar catastrophes in other mines. They felt the full force of the horror. Fan Gives Out Between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, the huge fan which supplied the air to the miners gave out. The flames reached the machinery and then, as if the warm air expanded until the brick walls could no longer withstand the pressure, the sides collapsed with a muffled puff. The people above knew what that meant. No air, no life, was the thought that rushed through their minds. Yet there was still one hope. Possibly air enough might find its way down the escape to sustain some of the many entrapped below. Flood Water Down Shaft Then the fire was at the bottom of the escape shaft. Hose were dropped in and tons of water was flooded down in an effort to quench the thirst of the fire fiend. For several hours this was continued. Then another horror confronted the fighters. The water supply gave out. Immediately calls were sent to Mendota and Ladd and special tank cars were rushed back and forth until yesterday morning it was believed that the flames had been extinguished. Seal Shaft: Hope Flees At eight o'clock Saturday night, it was decided to seal the main shaft to prevent the currents of air from fanning the flames in the depths below. Water-soaked boards were placed over the opening and then sand was shoveled on to close the crevises. Weeping women and children watched the process. They knew it was shutting off the small chance of air going down. Early yesterday morning the same morning, the same thing was done at the escape shaft. It was impossible to take out the men before the fire was smothered; therefore the course of action had to be taken. William Brady, whose father, the (...?...), had died in the rescue party, was in charge of the work at this time. He called up w. W. Taylor of Chicag, who is superintendent of the St. Paul company's mines, by long distance telephone. In conversation with a Tribune man, Mr. Bundy said: "Smoke was seen coming out of the air shaft shortly after 2:30 o'clock. A crowd at once rushed to the mine, but already flames were issuing from the shaft. A few cages loaded with miners were hoisted before the fire gained such headway that the work of rescue had to be stopped. There were about 200 men brought to the surface and of this number 10 were dead from suffocation. My father was among the dead. "When the fire started my father and two other mine bosses, Alec Norberg, who had charge of the third vein, and Thomas Williams, the top boss, led the work of rescue. They were below and refused to get in the cages while their men were left to die in the flames. They stayed too late." "As the flames rushed upward through the air shaft all hope of saving the men caught underground was given up. The huge ventilating fan that supplies the air to the men at work stopped. The hoisting machinery came to a standstill, and the (?) helpless. Confirms Story of the Hay "The fire was caused by a bale of hay becoming ignited after it had been lowered through the air shaft the the second level. Hay is taken down every day to feef the mules. Cowley Asks: "How Could I Know?" Cowley, the hoisting engineer, almost heartbroken at his fatal pause in hauling the rescuers cage to the surface, after the last trip, said: "It was impossible to estimate the number of trips the rescuing party made, but it was a good many, and a number of men from below were hoisted each time. Of course we could smell the smoke up here that poured from the shaft, but each time such of the boys as came up with the rescued ones said they were still working. "How was I to know that the last time was the last time? I dropped the cage and there didn't seem any more smoke than before. I got on alarm bell to hoist and I waited." Instinct Warned Them. "It couldn't have been more than a minute when some of the men in the shaft house wanted me to pull up the car. They felt as if something was wrong, but I still thought I'd get a signal if the fire had reached the shaft. Another minute and I couldn't stand it any longer and we hoisted the car. No wonder the men couldn't give the alarm. They must have dropped right into the fire and died as they stood, not able to signal us above." Work During the Night Preparations for the rescue of the men below continued all night. At half past eleven o'clock Saturday night an attempt was made to lower a bucket to see if any below would get on. The bucket went down but no one came. Yesterday morning work of constructing supports for the bucket to be lowered went on and arrangements for the lowering of volunteers was completed. Early yesterday morning a special train arrived in Cherry bearing mine inspectors sent out by the instruction of the Illinois mining commission, was in charge. Included in the inspector's party were James Taylor and James Dunlap of Peoria, J. R. Williams and Web, from the state rescue station at Urbana, Thomas Hudson of Galva, Hector McAllister and Thomas Ritchie of Streator, and David Stewart of Princeton. State's Attorney, L. M. Eckert of Princeton and Duncan McDonald, state president of the miners, accompanied them. Inspector Newman after taking charge of the situation had every entrance and escape from the mine examined. Then it was decided that the only hope lay in getting down the air shaft. The opening of the air shaft was then commenced. The roof of this shaft consisted of a solid concrete block, six inches in thickness, and a half dozen men started at this with picks and sledges. Other men built a framework of timbers for the bucket, while still others smashed in one side of the engine house to allow the cable to run. While this work was being done, thousands of people had gathered in closely, and, in a way, interfered with the rescuers work. Ropes were stretched and the crown pushed back. Women and .mean fought, yelling and crying at (..?..) officials for what they thought was an unnecessary delay in sending the men down. Inspector Newsam warned the people of the danger. "The people must get back", he shouted to fifteen special police who had been sworn in. "We are all in great danger. A leak of air into the main shaft, the opening of air passages into the mine and Cherry will see one of the most disasterous explosions in the history of mining." Shortly after one o'clock the roof of the air shaft was broken through, the cable rigged and the iron bucket, just large enought to carry two men tightly wedged in, was suspended above the hole, and all was in readiness for the first attempt to penetrate the heart of the horror. Every precaution was taken to prevent the useless sacrifice of life. Twice a long pliable wire, carrying a delicate thermometer was lowered in the air shaft to the bottom of the mine, 400 feet below. After ten minutes it was drawn up. The instrument showed little signs of heat and that the heroic work of the fire fighters had been successful. Then the empty bucket was lowered and drawn up. It returned to the surface as cool as it was when it descended. Dozen Volunteer: Two Chosen These tests satisfied the inspectors and led to the climax of a day of dramatic occurences. It was decided that two dressed in fire proof garments and harnessed in the grosteque oxygen helmets should make the first descent. "We shall need volunteers," stated Inspector Newsam briefly. Almost with the words a dozen men stepped forth ready to sacrifice their lives as their companions had done yesterday. Two young miners, Henry Smith of Peru and James Head of Spring Valley were selected for the heroic roles. They were examined by surgeons and pronounced as physically able to undertake the trip. In the general office of the St. Paul Coal company, they were harnessed into their equipment. Williams Himself Goes Down At the last minute, Inspector Williams decided to make the initial journey, with Miner Smith as his companion. The helmets were carefully arranged and the men stepped into the bucket. Then for a tense moment the final directions were given. One pull of the signal rope meanst "stop"; two pulls meant "lower away", and one pull from a halt meant "hoist away" During that moment physicians prepared for emergencies. Flasks of stimulants and ready hypodermic needles were laid out and rolls of bandages and "first aid" packages were placed in neat piles. Then, as a further precaution and means of communications between the heroic explorers and the watchers above an automobile horn was thrust into Inspector William's hand. A sharp blare, a catching of breaths which was audible in its intensity, and the explorers disappeared into the yawning hole. Smoothly the cable ran down until a muffled signal from the horn checked its course. Another signal and it ran on again, lowering the men still further. Sharp Halt Causes Gasp Another halt, another run, and then three blasts followed by a single call caused a sharp halt and the return trip. When the bucket came up, the men announced that the bucket was not hung straight and then men started to repair this. Meanwhile Smith said the shaft was filled with smoke and that their electric lanterns would not penetrate the gloom. An hour later the explorers went down again. The bucket was lowered 300 feet and then the signal for an ascent was received. When the men came up they said. "We struck an obstruction at 300 feet. We found we might get by it, but that if later we signaled to come up we undoubtedly would strike it "coming up". We wanted to notify the men above of the condition so they would understand and our lives would not be endangered." Party Descends Third Time After a rest, just at dusk, the party went down again. When they came up they said: "We got to the base of the second vein." said Inspector Taylor, "and though we could see little, we found no excessive temperature. It was apparent that the fire had not penetrated into the mine, and we could see no signs of flames. If the temperature throughout the second vein is no more excessive than there, then in the deeper recesses of the mine it is probable that there may be oxygen to keep the men alive. We saw no trace of men, either dead or alive. Tomorrow I think we can proceed further into the mine with safety." After this third attempt, Mr. Williams telegraphed to Urbana for more of the apparatus. This is expected to arrive on an early train tomorrow. Will Explore Mine Today Late last night, after a conference of the mining inspectors, company officials and experts, it was decided to open the main shaft in the morning and the send the explorers into the mine in the regular cage. This plan was adopted because the bucket scheme was found impractical in so far as the movements of the men below were concerned. They could not get out of the bucket.
|
|
ALL HOPE IS GONE FOR CHERRY MINERS Flames in Mine Beat Back Those Who Would Rescue the Imprisoned Men. Fire Burst Out Afresh when the Fan is Started. Shaft Openings Are Once More Sealed Up in the Hope of Smothering the Fire -- Officials do not Expect to Reopen Mine Until Tomorrow at Least -- All Those Entombed are Thought to be Dead Cherry, Ill., Nov. 15, 8:20 p.m. - (Special) - Fire has broken out anew in the mine here and now even the most optimistic have given up hope of saving any of the 385 men entombed below. Efforts were resumed this morning to reach the men below, but now the flames have cut off this work and the mine has been sealed again, not to be opened until tomorrow or possibly Wednesday. Scenes around the shaft following the announcement that the increasing fire made it necessary to once more seal up the shafts were even more terrible than on Saturday when the women and children fought to hear anything of their loved ones. These same scenes were re-enacted today when the men went down to the main shaft, but now the relatives of the entombed men are half-crazed after learning that the fire was once more raging in the levels below. Last night volunteers worked in the air shaft, but it was found impossible to accomplish anything in that passage and therefore the efforts to reach the men in the mine were abandoned until this morning. The air (or escape) shaft was sealed up and preparations were made for the opening of the main passage today. At six o'clock this morning, the planks and sand which were placed over the opening on Saturday night were removed and the volunteers made ready to descend. Shortly after six o'clock the cage was lowered with the men aboard. It was thought then that the fire below had pretty well died out, but, of course, lengths of hose were taken on the trip down the mine. The cage made the entire trip to the bottom, but instead of finding a smoldering mass, the men discovered that the mine was still afire near the bottom of the main shaft. No Water Pressure Here another danger confronted the men. The fire was steadily creeping along, but when they turned on the nozzles of the hose they got only a weak stream of water, which would not begin to fight the fire below. A signal was given to the engineer above and the cage was brought to the top. After they reached the top the water pressure was restored and then prepared for a second trip down the mine. This time they did not get to the bottom. The fire was creeping up the shaft, rapidly eating its way along the timber. The flames forced the men on the cage to hastily signal to be pulled up. Try A Third Time Once more the men tried to go down the shaft but they could only cover a short distance when the fire was near them. This time when they reached the top it was decided that it was futile to attempt to descend again. Start Fan to Run Since yesterday the fan from La Salle had been rigged up and after the men came up, from their first trip down the shaft, when the water pressure failed, the fan was started in operation. It was known that there was fire at the bottom of the main shaft, but the idea was to force the currents of air down the passage and to drive the fire away. Instead of this, however, the air served only to fan the flames, and the fire continued to eat its way up the timbers. Decided to Seal Shafts A hasty conference was held after the men had decided that it was useless to try to descend again; and as a result the decision was reached to once more seal up the shafts. Accordingly preparations were made to cover the opening. Wet timbers were dragged up to the mouth of the shaft but the workmen were almost suffocated in trying to place them over the hole. Finally they covered the opening and sand was shoveled on the close up the cracks. The same thing was done at the safety shaft which is located about two hundred feet distant. This work was completed at 2:15 o'clock. The mine will be kept close now until the fire is smothered completely. It is possible that an effort will be made to open the shaft tomorrow but if the conditions do not warrant this move the mine will be kept sealed until the next day. All Chance Gone Now That every chance is now gone is the general belief of everyone now. Hope was held by many that some would survive if the relief parties could get to the mine today, but with the renewal of the fire and the abandonment of descents, it became evident that all who are below must perish. Even the officials, who maintained an optimistic front, have now about given up all hope. Saw No Sign of Life When the men who went down on the cage in its first trip reached the bottom they encountered only smoke. There were no signs of life.
|
