Dreadful Explosion at the Kaitangata Coal-mine.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1564, 22 February 1879, Page 2

Dreadful Explosion at the Kaitangata Coal-mine.

[By Telegraph.] [prom oub own correspondent.! The following further particulars have been received since we went to press yesterday : Kaitan«ata, February 21. About nine o'clock a dull long report was heard by those working at the place where the coal is loaded outside tha mine. The men outside were working some 250 feet away, fortunately. The first thing they saw was a cloud o dust and some fire which came out of the mine's mouth. The boy Edward Dunne, who is supposed to have been just outside the entrance of the mine, was blown a distance of about 150 feet. He lived for about five minutes, but was never sensible. The horse was blown nearly the same distance, and is still alive, thoagh of course seriously injured Mr William Bain was first to run to the township for hands, but the people having heard the report met him on the road. Nearly everyone in the township was at the mine's mouth in a few minutes. Men, women, and children were all gathered there, and the scene was something awful. The air was filled with the lamentations of women. It was at once found that the air was so bad that no entrance could be effected. Those who went in took with them Davy safety lamps, but as these were becoming extinguished the rescuers had to return. The first four who went in were Mr Wm. Shore, manager of the adjoining mine, John Shore, Michael Jiennessy, and Jas. Muir. The party got in as far as the first point, where the main tunnel was choked with smoke, and could not get any further. They got the body of the boy Charles McDonald, of Green Island, who was found nearly two hundred yards from the mine mouth. They had to come back in order to get their lamps. This boy was found in the main drive. As he and the boy who was killed outside were the only two who received any fractures, it is supposed that he was blown some distance. The following is the roH of the dead:— Simuel Coulter, leaves five children, one boy of thirteen able to work, a girl in Dunedin about twelve, all the rest young. He is an aged man, and arrived lately from Scotland in the ship Taranaki. David Buchanan, about twenty, seven, leaves a wife and two young children. He was a son-in-law of Coulter, and a new arrival. William Watson, about forty, leaves his father in law, who is a very old man, and four children, the oldest of whom is about nine years. James Spiers leaves eight children, the oldest ten years and: .the youngest four months. Andrew Jarvie, an elderly man, leaves eight children, three grown up girls at service. Spiers Jarvie and Arch. Hodge, the last-named of whom is deputymanager, are still in the mine. Arch. Hodge is unmarried. His brother, Wm. Hodge, general manager, aged about thirty-five, a single man, is among the dead. Thos. Smith, between thirty and forty, has a wife and five children, all young and unable to work. Barney McGee, a married man, about forty, with a wife and three children unable to work. John Gaze has a wife am three of a family, all young children. Geo. Jarvie, wife and two you-g children. Several of the dead miners' wives have not only young children, but are also near their confinement. Wm. Whinney, a young man, leaves a wife and two children. James Beardsmore leaves a large family, five of whom are growing np and unmarried, and three of whom are little children. Joseph Beardsmore, brother of the last-named, acting foreman of the mine, leaves a wife, grown-up daughter and two sons. Edward Beardsmore, a young married man, son of James Beardsmore, leaves a wife and two children. Caleb Beardsmore, son-in-law of James Beardsmore, leaves a wife and three young children. James Beardsmore, Junr., son of James Beardsmore, already mentioned, young and unmarried. One old man and a boy, a son of Joseph Beardsmore, are the only grown-up of the family now remaining alive. The old man is the late Caleb Beardsmore s father. In all, five breadwinners of the Beardsmore's families are among the dead. James Molloy, an elderly man, and his two sons, John, aged eighteen, and Edward, aged sixteen. Mrs Molloy, who is a woman of about sixty, has thus lo't her husband and sons, and has not a relative here. James Crining leaves a wife and three children. Ke was a young man of about twenty-five. Clarke, late of Green Island, was a roadsman in the mine. His wife, sons, and daughter, came up by the afternoon train. John Ferguson leaves a wife and five young children, the oldest about seven years of age. Chas. McDonald, son of John McDonald, pony driver, aged about fourteen. Edward Dunn, son of George Dunn, a hawker, who is well known in up-country districts, was a boy of about fifteen years. William Wilson, late of Green Island, leaves a wife and four children, all young. William Hay, a young man, unmarried, has no relatives in Kaitankata, but has a sister and brother in the colony. John McMillan, a young married man, leaves a wife and four children, the eldest of whom is about six years old. Mrs McMillan's only relative in the colony is a brother at Green Island, who came j to Kaitangata this evening. Thomas Frew, I was a middle-aged man. He leaves a wife and five children residing in Dunedin. Two of them are grown up daughters, who, I hear, are working in a factory there. Thos. Black, elderly single man of about fifty-five years; no relatives in the district. He once had lease of a a coal quarry at Lovel's Flat. Two Welshmen newly arrived from Home whose names I cannot ascertain. Daniel Lockheart, a young man unmarried, brother-in-law to Hunter, another workman in the mine. Hunter was to have been at work to-day but overslept himself and did not go to the mine till after the explosion. The last of the list of fatalities is Joseph Moulton, who leaves a wife and child. In all there are thirty-four dead, and of all the strong men, nearly every one of whom was in his prime, who went in this morning, not one remains alive to tell how the accident occurred. It was a sight sad as any one could see, and enough to affect the most insensible, to see the dead men brought out one by one from the mine, placed on stretchers which had been hurriedly knocked together, covered with sacks, and then put on the railway by which they were conveyed to the Bridge Hotel. This is a new building on the site of that lately burned, and is yet unfinished and unoccupied. In the commercial room parlor of that house, while I write at nine o'clock, some thirtv-one men, who were in their strength this morning, are now stiff in death. Of this number hardly one has the ghastly look we usually associated with the dead. The two young fellows who had the horses were battered and injured about the head having been blown some distance. All the rest, with the brown dust of the coal still on their faces and clothes, were as calm as if they lay in sleep. Alfred Dunn, brother of tho deceased boy, and son of the hawker, was blown a good distance from outside the tunnel without being hurt. The flight ot of sticks and stones at the time of the explosion was tremenduous, and thick green smoke, like a London fog, hung like a pall over the tunnel mouth for about ten minutes. It was this smoke more than the noise of the report which attracted general attention. The air was very calm at the time. All the machinery was stopped and a rush was made for the pit. The four who went in first soon found, from indications of their safety lamps, that it would be suffocation to go in further, a ad had to retire. They got about one hundred and fatty yards, being about as far as the air shaft. Regarding the mine, which I have been through on a former occasion, it may be mentioned that it is entered by a main drive or tunnel. The workings rise as they penetrate the hill, bo that while the mine can be worked advantageously as regards the putting out of coal and facilities of draining, the fall which carries out water and aids the haulage of coal causes foul air to accumulate m the upper end of the mine. The ventilation has to travel all round the mine and come back to the air 'haft. The workings extend back abont five hundred yards fr.->ni the entrance, and three hundred and fifty from the air shaft. One of the horses was completely singed. The greater part of the men were not killed to all appearances by the oxplosiou itself. They had escaped the fire damp and were making for the mouth of the mine when they were overpowered by the after-damp, as the miners call the foul atmosphere which remains after the explosion. Some of them must have run from one hundred to two hundred yards before they fed. At one point thirteen bodies were found in one heap. Regarding the cause of the explosion, there is yet nothing known stronger than surmises. It is thought that tho origin can be pretty defi«

nitely fixed when the place in which Archibald Hod A es' body is lying has been ascertained. The men worked with naked lights. They all carried the usual small collier's lamp upon the •peak of their caps. The ga3 has lately been increasing a good deal in the mine. There was a slight explosion last night in the mine, when the men were employed on the night shift. The matter was reported in ■due course this morning to the foreman, who considered that the mine was in good working order. JUe was one of the Beardsmores, and paid for his error of judgment with his life, and the life of nearly all of his relatives. There have been several other small explosions of firedamp lately, but these were liable to happen at almost any time, and no fear of general danger was apprehended si far as they were concerned. This explosion is, of course, the first colliery explosion on an extensive scale in New Zealand. The present surmise amo-g those who know best was that Archibald Hodge was in the waste workings an the highest part of the mine where the fault is. when the explosion oc curred. It is surmised that he was making an inspection and that his light caused theexplodon. Where his body will be found will determine this. The greater number of bodies were found about three hundred yards in from the mouth. The explosion must have gone through all the workings, but could not get into the buck draught drive. When I left the mouth of the mine sA about nine o'clock, the Green Island men were in, and were driving fresh air into that part of the mine. Air was first got into the workings at about three o'clock, and it took about half an hour after that to drive out the foul atmosphere before the rescuers could make any progress in exploring it. The men worked hard, perseveringly, and continuously from the time of the explosion to get the foul air turned out, ■but owing to what is called the brattice and the *ir stoppings having been blown out, they could not do much for some time, although numerous tradesmen in town, and men not miners working in the locality, boldly ventured into the mine and assisted the few miners. The want of skilled ram was greatly felt. But few miners remaintd alive in Kaitangata after this dreadful occurrence, the day shift being in the main shaft, and only four or five men working at night.

The men who deserve honorable mention for their perilona task of bringing out the dead bodies are Messrs Knowles, Wm. Atcheson, George Hunter. | Wm. Love, jun., Daniel Taylor, Wm. Bain, and some others whose names I Cannot, in the confusion, ascertain. The adjoining works also supplied volunteers, notably Mr Wm. Shore, who is ihe manager, Jas. Wilson. Jas. McLellan, John Shore, Thos. Bowley, Eobt. Eennie, Bichard Morton. The kindness of the people to their neighbours in distress is roally tender. In some of the private houses beds were made up on the floors and in every available part for the poor women and children who could not pass the night in their husbandless and fatherless houses. Numbers of the volunteers in the mine were carried out fainting -during the day. Though it is hard to make ■distinctions, special praise deserves to be given to Mr William Shore of Shore's Pit, who was in the mine nearly all day, coming out only four times. Some of those brought out were even a little delirious. I have just found out that Hall is the name of %he two men whose names I could not previously ascertain. They have wives and large families of young children, and had only newly arrived. They were English, not Welsh. The scene at the pit's mouth was most heartrending, and as the bodies were brought out, the bewailing of the women and children is lamentable. Several of the men in the mine arrived by the Wellington on Monday, and started work yeiterday. A number of the men engaged in driving for the bodies, were taken ill from suffocation and exhaustion, and when brought out of the mine appeared in a semi-mad state lor about twenty minutes. Great difficulty was experienced at first to get thoae engaged in the drive to work on shifts; some of theai persistently continued until they were completely exhausted, but afterwards they worked systematically. A special train left Dnnedin for Kaitangata at four o'clock, and, in passing through the Green Island coal district, picked up twenty-three miners, who willingly responded to an appeal to proceed to Kaitangata to assist to disentomb those shut up in the pit. Later. I have to give my special thanks to Mrs Wm. Shore who helped me very greatly to get particulars of the number of children in the families. Mr Henry McCobb of Wingaloa. who helped me in my searches. The last time I saw many of the strong stalwart fellows now stiff in death was when the " Morning Herald" was introduced into Kaitangata, and 1 well remember their generous and hearty sympathy with the staff of that paper, there being scarcely a miner who did not take it. The amount of misery from this lamentable accident is truly appalling Women who, after the first wild excitement was over, knew that all within were dead, when their husbands, sons, and brothers were brought out, gave vent to the most hear t-ren ding expressions of grief. The Bev. Mr Allan, of Stirling, has been here all day, and bas done bis best to comfort the unfortunate people The miseries of the flood are utterly forgotten in this greater misery. It is roally a national calamity, and, when an appeal has to be made to the public, it is to be trusted it will be responded to throughout New Zealand. William Hay, who was thd second brought out, was brother-in-law of Mr Lester, at Hogg and Hutton's, Dunedin, and has a brother working at Shag Point Coal PitHe was on his knees and face and hands when found, as if gropin<? to avoid the after-diinp. Mr Davidson, of Otago foundry, chairman of the Kuitangata Company's mine, came up by the half-past eleven train this morning. Mr W. P. Watson was also here and Inspector More, from Lawrence. Cove was the man who wa-i burned last night, and who gave the itl irm. Today he behaved with distinguised bravery, William Hodge was found sitting with his head on one of his hands, as if he had been caught by the fatal blast Clingin was lying across Hodge's feet. The five men who were last brought out were all found lying on the ground; one on his face, another on his bank looking straight up, and another with his hands to his face. Two of them appeared to h:ive struggled hard. The thirteen found in one place were a'l on their faces making outwards. They all appeared to have placed themselves in that position, t') avoid the after damp, except two, who fell over the others, and could not raise themselves There were thirty-five in the mine, not thirty four as I previously reported. You have received all the names, but the total wa wrong. The Green Island men are now searching in the main drive, clearing up the rubbish which has fallen, and which the men are supposed to be under. Pome of the men who held their lives in peril for hours in the surrounding drives during the d-iy, are now discussing Bmall talk in the broken d wn storeroom, as if nothing had happened. Twinning Company's consulting engineer ran great risks to day, and a man he took with him narrowly escaped with his life. The big fall in the main drive is about three hundred yards in. The air in the main drive is good, and the Green Islanders are working in shifts of six men an hour with ordinary light*. Air is being forced into the abandoned workings, and it is expected that Archibald Hodge will be found in the highest part of the mine It is not expected that that part can be entered for seven or eight hours yet. Some of the bodiea are expected to be foand under the fall of rubbish now being cleared away in the main drive. The furnace is being kept burning, to clear the mine. Alfred Dunn is not among the killed ;he was not in the mine. This makes the number thirty-four.