coal mining – The Monongah Disaster

Sunday, December 8, 1907, Morning – Noon

“bright day – the sky was clear, the smoke and noxious, gaseous fumes that had hovered…since…Friday morning had vanished…” “…a more powerful gloom could be seen to cast its shadows across the doorways of most every residence and miner’s cottage of the thrifty village…” (FWV 12.9.07 pg.8)

~9:00 am

Inside the mines:

Large roof falls are found in every section but one in both mines. “The rescuers say they find great fall of earth from the roof and it is believed that tons and tons of earth, slate, coal and debris will have to be dug out of the main heading before arrangements can be made to operate this mine again.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

“All of the young foremen in charge of the shifts and practically all of the volunteers were West Virginia mountain-folk. The mine manager had apparently excluded the aliens. ‘What is the matter with the foreign miners?’ I asked an intelligent young fellow resting in a coal car. ‘They can’t stand it,’ he said. ‘They can handle a pick all right, but when something happens, they lose their heads.’” (Forbes)

The “day of funerals” begins in Monongah and Fairmont

“At least a score of burials took place.” (Wash. Times 12.9.07 pg. 5)

St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Fairmont conducted masses and some Protestant churches in Fairmont and Monongah held services.

wagon by st stanislaus — Undertaker’s wagon hauling victims in front of St. Stanislaus Polish Catholic Church

“Many of the victims of the holocaust are members of the Roman Catholic church and a majority of the burials of these will take place in a little church yard on a hillside near the parish house about a half a mile away from the mines in which they met death. Complete arrangements for the funerals have not been made but it is probable that the priests will celebrate the mass for the dead over many of them at one time.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

“Funeral processions were in sight in all directions during the entire day.” (News)

“On the way to the cemeteries these solemn little processions were constantly going and passing vehicles coming from the mines laden with victims en route to the morgue, there to be placed in caskets and prepared another series of funerals.” (News)

“About twenty victims were buried today in the three cemeteries near the town. The services were simple and brief and except for the grief of the mourners, which at times became almost frantic, were without special feature.” (News)

“Several of the services were interrupted by women fainting, causing momentary excitement, but this was soon dispelled.” (LAH 12.9.07 pg. 2)

“All the churches offered up petitions for the peaceful repose of the dead, and ministers spoke feelingly of the disaster. But the saddest of the prayers were those of the women, who again gathered near the entrances, and chanted their litanies.” (CET 12.9.07 pg. 1)

In other parts of Monongah:

“Miners and other citizens from all over Central West Virginia are pouring into the Monongah to offer their services in the work of rescue.” (WH 12.8.07 pg. 13)

“The crowd of people that were at Monongah today was the largest that has ever been in the town on any occasion. Hundreds were there from all nearby towns and many from far away. A great number went only for the sole purpose of getting to look at where the mine disaster occurred. In this they were disappointed as nothing but two holes in the ground greet the visitor. It is impossible to go down in the mines and also to get in at the morgue.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

“The people of the town are stunned by the catastrophe. They had long regarded these mines as practically immune from the dangers so common to the coal mining industry.” (LAH 12.8.07 pg. 1)

“The stage has been reached where relief for surviving dependents of the victims is necessary, and such progress was made in that direction today. Several organizations have been incorporated and the work is being systemized. Churches are taking the lead in this work. The coal company is showing a liberal spirit and is using money freely to relieve distress.” (LAH 12.9.07 pg. 2)

“Great quantities of food were distributed today.” (LAH 12.9.07 pg. 2)

“An American woman who lost her husband refused to believe he is dead. She has put clean linen on his bed and insists that he will be brought to her. ‘I know he is injured, and nobody can take care of him like I can,’ she said. She prepares his meal regularly, neighbors say, as she has done for years, thinking he may come for them.” (News)

~10:00 am

Inside #8:

“It is hardly possible that all the bodies will be recovered for several days. The men were working in a territory one mile square. It will be days before a thorough search of all of this area can be made. As the searching parties advance, they must clear away the debris.” (LAH 12.8.07 pg. 1)

Rescuers find a headless body sat in the seat of a cutting machine, hands still gripping the handles of the machine. (McAteer)

By 10 am, 1st right had been explored and 1,000 feet of 1st left when all efforts are called to the surface (McAteer).

Smoke is discovered coming out of crop openings south of the pit mouth so threatening it was decided to halt all work on north side until the south fire could be located and extinguished.

“There was a slight fire inside of the slope of No. 8 mine this morning, due to the starting of the fan. It was extinguished after an hour, and the fan, working successfully, greatly facilitated the efforts of the rescuers to get into the mines.” (News)

On the way to Fairmont:

A “prominent minister” tells a representative of the West Virginian while on one of the crowded cars returning from Monongah, “You newspaper men would have a hard time to exaggerate the awfulness of this great catastrophe.”

“And the minister’s remark suggests the thought that newspapers all over the country have been very conservative in their stories, especially as to the number of dead. Most of the papers have underestimated the number rather than overestimated it. Very few sensational stories have gone out when we consider how great the temptation is under the circumstances.” (FWV 12.9.07 – pg.8)

~10:45 am

“Monongah restaurants have been almost ‘eaten out’. In spite of the fact that food supplies are being rushed to the mining town as fast as possible, there is not enough food at public restaurants, hotels and like places to accommodate the people. In the restaurants and hotel where some food can be obtained, the patrons have to take just what is on hand. Coffee is being drunk without milk and sugar and in many instances all that a hungry person can find to satisfy himself with is plain bread. Some of the residents have kindly thrown open their door to the hungry and are giving them what they have on hand to eat.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

A majority of church services begin in and around the area of Monongah

Several church services and Sunday school lessons focus on the Book of Ruth (aka: The Widow’s Book or ‘The Tale of Two Widows’) today.

“The Presbyterian Church has asked the Presbyterian churches of Pittsburg and vicinity to come to the rescue of the widows and orphans.” (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 1 – extra)

12.7.07 - pg 8 - churches - first baptist — FWV 12.7.07 pg 8

12.7.07 - pg 8 - churches - presb. — FWV 12.7.07 pg 8

~11:00 am

“E.C. Vandiver, of Lonaconing, was in Monongah over Sunday and tells a gruesome tale of what he saw and heard there. Van left here Saturday and returned Sunday night.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

“Van saw piles of coffins on every corner and the wailing of women and children was heartrending.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

“Thousands of strangers were in Monongah and the hotels are crowded.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

“Seven families that Van saw had lost every adult male and fifty children in those families are left fatherless. Van saw men working at No. 6 mine but saw nothing doing at No 8 and was told that no one would venture in.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

“He saw one woman identify the body of her husband by the nail on the only finger left on his hand. This finger had been injured years ago and the end was gone. This man was an American.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

“The bodies were laid out in the bank building used as a morgue and thousands of people gazed upon them. At Fairmont, Sunday, people fought each other to get on the street cars for Monongah. Van returned full of the horror of what he saw.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

More on How Death Gloated!

Saturday, December 7, 1907, Early Afternoon – Dusk, 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm

At the morgue:

“Nearly 400 coffins reached Monongah today from Pittsburg and from West Virginia cities.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Many coffins have arrived and more have been ordered and as fast as identification is made sure the bodies are being taken away by their friends for burial.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

At the mines:

“The galleries are still filled with poisonous gases and it is impossible to open them till the main entries are opened and the fans can clear them.” (TBE 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Working conditions are terrible, owing to gas and the wrecking, shifts can work less than an hour at a time.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“While only sixteen bodies have been recovered or brought out of the mine, members of the rescuing parties stated that eighty bodies have been located.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Only sixteen of the dead bodies have been removed from the shaft entrance of No. 6, but 100 others are in the first level and are being kept in the mine until the authorities can get the half-crazed people away from the entrance.“ (TBE 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Preparations are being made to bring the bodies from the mines in electric cars, with which the mines were equipped.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“The rescuers in mine No. 6 report so many bodies that it will take hours to get them all out. In No 8 mine the rescuing parties are just getting started as poisonous gases there were worse than in No 6 mine.” (TEP 12.7.07 pg. 1)

~1:00 pm

At the mines:

“Up to 1 o’clock today but sixteen bodies have been brought to the surface…” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“A dozen undertakers are also in waiting in one of the buildings near the entrance to take charge of the bodies as soon as they are brought out and make them as presentable as possible.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“A thousand men are working…” “About 130 corpses had been found in the wrecked Monongah mines here at 1 o’clock this afternoon.” (Pitt. Press. 12.7.07, Sparks)

In Monongah:

The body of Fred Cooper (one of first men found in the shanty of #6 mine) has been fully processed through the morgue and his body is brought into Fairmont on the one o’clock car. He is taken to his father-in-law’s home, Mr. Shingleton, at the corner of Locust Ave and 11th St. (FWV 12-7-07, pg. 1)

~1:30 pm

Clarksburg Daily Telegram puts out a special, extra edition:

The local newspapers are correcting their previously published information on the location of the mines. Though the Clarksburg Daily Telegram puts out far more accurate information now that they have their own reporters on the scene, their original source—the Associated Press—never corrects their original inaccurate information at any point and it continues to circle around the country for the next several weeks.

The results of just some of these inaccurate reports have already made their way back to Monongah. For the next several days, Watson and other officials will struggle with the press. They have little to no experience with mass swarms of reporters nor with managing a catastrophe of such magnitude. They will make several mistakes in their attempt to control the release of information over the next week, including the most devastating mistake of making it obvious to the press that information is being controlled.

Quietly tucked away on page 3 is an update on Sam Furk, reported leader of the local Black Hand, which would have taken front page status had the disaster in Monongah not occurred:

~2:00 -2:30 pm

Inside #6:

Search parties find only 5 men between the bottom of the slope of #6 to the connection of the 2 mines – distance of about ¾ of a mile, over 4,000’. Only the main heading has proper ventilation and cleared wreckage that far back, but not the rest of the mines proper (rooms, hallways, etc.) where most of the victims surely lay. Ventilation systems “will have to be rebuilt throughout the mine” starting “this afternoon”. (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

“The resources are being reinforced as men are needed, so that as soon as one man is overcome his place is taken by another.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

Though it is quite clear that the town is teaming with news reporters all day based on the sheer number of events accounted throughout the afternoon, few reporters managed to note the time of when certain events occurred. The best this author can provide at this moment is a list of these events in what is the most likely order in which they occur, trying to keep in mind that some of these may have been occurring simultaneously.

At some point during the afternoon,

“…with hysteria in all its devious forms rampant among the populace.” (RIA 12.7.7 pg. 1)

At the mines:

Several rescuers enter the mines “only to return to the open much more dead than alive.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“The first emergency hospital is crowded with men who have been overcome with the mine gas…” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

“The rescuers as they come out report that men to the right and left of them are lying all about the mine…” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

“A foreign woman whose husband was in the mine, rushed to the entrance but the gas forced her back. Realizing that she could do nothing toward aiding her husband, she tore the skin off her face with her finger nails and pulled out large twists of hair.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

At the morgue:

“The following bodies were identified in the morgue today: DOMINICK, who worked for John Preston. MIKE ____, also one of Preston’s men. FRANCISCO LORIA, who is horribly mangled. CARMO ZEVOLA, who was identified after some time by his [whole line of text is missing]. Much doubt existed in the authenticity of her identification but the small tobacco sack which he carried was the means of making the identification sure.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

“Another body that has been positively identified is a man who is known as Louis, his other name not being known. Mr. Caldara says he is from Naples.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

In Monongah:

Lorin Wise, brother of Charlie Wise, and Mabel & Edith Wise, his sisters, arrive from Canton, OH. (FWV 12.12.07 pg. 1)

A wagon load of bodies is trying to get from #6 mine across the Iron Bridge and to the morgue. Before it reaches the bridge, the crowd rushes the cart from all angles, pinning in and frightening the horses. The horses panic and bolt, racing through the crowd, overturning the cart, and dumping the bodies onto the ground before running over the embankment. The crazed horses continue down the river bank and run straight into the icy waters of the West Fork River, taking along the driver and his assistant. As the cart hits the water, the driver is violently thrown out and seriously injured. (McAteer)

“As the day advanced, [the widows] became almost crazed through grief and suspense. One pulled out her hair in handfuls at a time and another tore all the skin from both cheeks with her fingernails. Some lay down on the frozen ground and cried themselves asleep, and in this condition, many were carried to homes nearby without awakening.” (RIA 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“The company has provided clothing, food, and supplies for all who are in need and charity on every hand is being observed.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

The body of a young man is brought to his home and placed inside. 2 hours later and one room away, his wife gives birth to their child. (FWV 12.9.07 – pg.8)

At the mines:

“The workers at both pits are being cheered and helped in their heroic task by the presence and good words of their bosses.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

“Everything possible has been and is being done to recover the bodies of the dead miners and to take out any who might be alive. The coal company officials have given their best energies to the work and are yet grimly at work sleepless and hungry without thought of rest until all has been done to reach any miner possibly alive and to recover the bodies of the dead ones.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Late today the deadly blackdamp became more pronounced as the more farther recesses of the mines were approached…” (DASB 12.8.07 pg. 1) (LODD 12.12.07 pg. 1)

At #8:

“One hundred men are working in mine No 8, where the damage was greatest…” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

In Charleston, WV:

Gov. William M.O. Dawson calls out the National Guard: Company H of First Infantry under the direction of Col. M.M. Neely. Despite Watson’s telegram earlier in the day, the Governor is concerned about potential disturbances among immigrant families and the throngs of sightseers. (McAteer)

At #6:

“Some bodies have been brought to the mouth of #6 but have not yet been made known.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

“In No. 6 there are 150 workers. Though the interior of this mine is not so badly damaged as the other, the gas in the tunnels is more troublesome, and it is necessary to come frequently to the surface for fresh air.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“As the rescuers groping and dazed came from the mouth of the mine they were besieged by anxious ones and bringing no tidings or news of the unfortunate men below there were fresh outbursts of sobbing and cries of grief went up for their loved ones.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Now and then rescuers came staggering forth, gasping for fresh breath but to hear from the women gathered near the pit renowned cries of distress and sorrow.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“And to add further to the mine horrors the wails and moans of the wives and daughters of the entombed miners were heartrending.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“In the great crowd one or two women would scream, perhaps faint, and be carried to their homes while the undertakers put the bodies in coffins and followed the bereaved ones to the little miners’ cottages. This scene was repeated again and again all day.” (TEP 12.7.07 pg. 1)

~4:00 pm

All saloons and bars in Marion county are closed by order of the mayors and the Marion county Sheriff and no liquor sales, anywhere, are permitted. “The saloon keepers willingly consented and will not open their places again until Monday.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

As the main morgue in the bank overflows, bodies are taken directly from the mouth of mine to tent morgues at the cemetery or to church basements (McAteer)

If no ID has been made on a body within several hours, the dressed body is placed in a coffin and buried in the potter’s field as unknown.

“Foul gases in the No. 8 mine prevented any attempt at rescue until late this afternoon and even now it is impossible to make any headway. At this time the force of the explosion was so great that holes were blown through the side of the hill in several places along the river bank.” (TBE 12.7.07 pg. 1)

~5:00 pm

Newspapers are just beginning to hit the streets and stands. A majority will sell out within the hour.

More on How Death Gloated!

Saturday, December 7, 1907, Midday

In Pennsylvania:

12.7.07 - pg 1 - Naomi — CET 12.7.07 pg 1

In Baltimore:

“A dispatch from Vice President Jere H. Wheelwright, of the Consolidation Coal Company, was received at the offices in Baltimore yesterday.” (TBS 12.8.07 pg. 2)

“Mr. Wheelwright has been at the Monongah mine since Friday…”(TBS 12.8.07 pg. 2)

“His dispatch, which was sent to Mr. A.G. Dunham, the general auditor, was brief. It merely said that his worst fears had been realized and that the dead miners would number between 350 and 400.” (TBS 12.8.07 pg. 2)

“Further than this the officials here knew nothing more of the disaster than was told in the press dispatches.” (TBS 12.8.07 pg. 2)

Wheelwright-findagrave — J.H. Wheelwright

In Clarksburg:

12.01.07 - pg 1 - Xtra - disaster 13 — CDT 12.7.07 pg 1 – 1:30 extra

Noon

In Monongah:

“Even nature seems to dumbly feel the horror of the day and the sun has held its face behind leaded clouds since the fire damp did its fatal work.” (EO 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“There is no home in the village that is not stricken. Each one will harbor a dark coffin if not several after the last body is extricated from the covering of earth and bodies of fellow victims.” (EO 12.7.07 pg. 1)

In Fairmont:

A Fairmont undertaker places order for 100 coffins with Muskingum Coffin Co. in Ohio. The company goes into emergency production, working around the clock. (McAteer)

“The newspaper offices are kept busy answering specials in all directions.” (FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon)

The Fairmont West Virginian releases a special, 14-page, Noon edition:

12.7.07 - pg 1 - headlines — FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon

In Monongah:

“The four hundred and twenty-five checks that were given out yesterday morning hardly represent all the men that were in the mines at the time their ill fate overtook them. Other men not having checks likely to have been ushered into eternity by the same cause.” (FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon)

“Yesterday the people of this city and of Monongah were sort of dazed but today the realization of the enormity of the explosion and the terrible results following it.” (FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon)

“The women whose husbands and near relatives are among the entombed are taking it as cooly as possible. There is little excitement and all that there is to see today is the removing of the bodies.” (FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon)

“The number at the morgue up to this time is 12.” (FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon)

A new force of workers makes a new opening at #8 and “have now gone to a distance of 1500’ in the mine, or about half the distance to where the 2 pits, 6 and 8, meet.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

In Fairmont:

“Photographer Busy: Mr. Marvin D Boland has been one of the busiest men in town since yesterday. City papers in all parts of the country are calling for photographs. In the absence of a picture of the fated mines a Pittsburg afternoon paper ran a stock cut of Otis Watson, the original coal operator of the Fairmont region.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 – noon)

“All day today knots of people have been on the street discussing the scenes of the disaster. At the corner of Jefferson and Main streets there was a big group of men and women all day who with eager ears tried to catch every syllable of news…the whole city has been listening, every scrap of news was gobbled up with a craving almost insatiable.” (FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon)

12.7.07 - pg 1 - media list — FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon

In Monongah:

“About 50 newspaper men are on the ground today many from Pittsburg, Cleveland, Baltimore, and New York.”

“G. Girosi of the Italian New York Herald is one among the number as well as L. Friedel, of the Cleveland Zabadsag, a Hungarian paper.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

A list of the dead and suspected dead is also published to the public but it is purely American miners only, with the exception of Francesco Loria and Stan Urban who were taken from #8. The list contains about 50 – 60 names though it is not known yet if these men are dead or simply missing, including the name of coupler, Bill Sloane. Bill’s two sons, Scott and Dennis Sloane, are also included in the list though neither has likely been found and identified as of this point.

More on How Death Gloated!

Friday, December 6, 1907 11:00 pm – Midnight

12.7.07 - pg 1 - Monongah — TBD 12.7.07 pg. 1

12.7.07 - pg 1 - Monongah 7 — CET 12.7.07 pg. 1

“It is believed that the shock of the explosions displaced many of the heavier timbers in the galleries and whole rows where the unfortunate men were working collapsed upon them. In this case the work of reaching the entombed men will be infinitely greater. Some of them are now believed to be separated from the outer world by many tons of earth.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

“The hope that they are alive lies in the possibility that enough pure air remained in the mine to supply those who were not crushed outright until they can be reached by the rescuers.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

In Monongah:

“At eleven o’clock tonight the list of employees had been checked off, showing that 380 were in the two mines when the explosion occurred. Of these six had been brought to the surface dead and five escaped through air shafts. The latter are in the miner’s hospital here in a precarious condition.” (DASB 12.07.07 pg. 1)

For hours now, more than likely since the meeting with Pres. C.W. Watson, General Manager Malone has been sorting through the payroll lists for Monongah mines #6 and #8 to get a better idea of just how many fatalities they are facing. By 11:00 pm, he is as finished as he can be with this aspect of his research. However, he does not deny that this list of around 380 payrolled names does not include any non-payrolled workers (such as B&O railroad workers on loan or those hired and paid by the miner personally—what we would consider an Independent Contractor today), younger trapper boys, or those who have been hired since the last time this list had been updated some two weeks prior, nor will it include those who were known to have been hired the morning of the explosion.

None the less, the press and public will become fixed with this very first “official” number of 380 and begin to speculate on their own.

“Six charred bodies lying in the improvised morgue, five men near death in the hospital and 369 men imprisoned by tons of coal, rock and mine debris in the depth of the hills surrounding this mining town with chances all against a single one of them being alive is the most accurate summary obtainable at 11 o’clock tonight…” (SFC 12.7.07 pg. 1)

The company nor the press is yet aware of just how many workers, like Bill Sloane and this author’s own great-grandfather, did not go into work that morning. As each one begins to turn up alive over the next several days, the overall number of potential corpses continues to be lowered rather than a name simply getting checked off the potential identity list. Though the extra off-payroll workers are acknowledged by company, they are not included in their factors.

In Fairmont:

“Late in the night…the streets of the city were crowded with anxious people eager to snatch any news that came from the disaster. Every car that came from Monongah, the passengers were stopped while inquiry about the news was made by the waiting crowd but the passengers had little to satisfy the hungering ones.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 2 – noon)

At some point during the night at the Miner’s Hospital, William H. Bice, the fan engineer who was blown through the walls of the #8 fan house, dies of his injuries. Though many doctors and nurses have returned to the Miner’s Hospital, the morticians and undertakers are still in Monongah. As a result, Bice had plenty of care in his final hours of life, but in death there is no one on hand to care for his body at the hospital. His body, along with others, is simply left in the hospital morgue.

In Pennsylvania:

Clarence Hall has been on the site of the Naomi mine disaster for days, but now he boards a train and heads straight for Monongah. He is considered U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s personal representative as one of the few federal government agents attempting to remedy the ever-growing mortal cost of the mining industry in the country.

In Monongah:

Before the midnight hour, rescue work transitions into recovery work as the long process of removing bodies from the mines begins. As #6 mine was not as badly damaged as #8 and workers have been able to restore enough ventilation for rescue crews, the process begins there.

As each body is brought to the surface, Dr. F.W. Hill and several other medical volunteers briefly examine the bodies in hope to quickly determine the true cause of death before sending them over to the temporary morgue. Though Coroner Amos and many other morticians are expecting to have the chance to perform autopsies, they simple become too overwhelmed too quickly and decide against doing so. Due to the conditions of many bodies, it is impossible to embalm them and they must be prepared for burial and identified as quickly as possible.

~Midnight

“Of the victims six dead bodies had been taken from mine Nos 6 at midnight and six others were piled up in the entry awaiting the completion of facilities for bringing them to the surface. From mine No 8 at the same hour, fourteen bodies had been removed, and a number of others are ready to be brought out as soon as arrangements can be completed.” (LAH 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Outside #8:

Once the small fires in #8 are subdued, the temporary 8’ wide fan on loan from a local mine in Shinnston is started up once again. Though they manage to recover some bodies near the mouth and along the main shaft of the mine, the temporary fan is simply not powerful enough to purify the air in the mine and rescue crews only make it around 700 feet beyond the main entrance before they are once again driven out by toxic gases. However, this does not stop the rescue and recovery efforts. A fresh crew replaces those who came in contact with the gases and a round-robin system of smaller crews and shorter trips into the mine takes hold at #8.

In Monongah:

A large number of lingering physicians are “ordered out” of the town; “At midnight these messengers of mercy with pity and patience were on the scene ready to minister to the maimed and moaning, but there was little need for their services.” (FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon)

More on How Death Gloated!

Friday, December 6, 1907, Evening into Night, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

“Tonight, thousands are gathered at …No 6 and 8, aghast of the horror of the explosions…in fact, the entire town of several thousand people are crowded about the mine openings anxiously awaiting the work of the rescue party, but without even the slightest hope of seeing any of their loved ones alive.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

~7:00 pm

In Monongah:

“Trolley cars and trains over the Baltimore and Ohio brought great crowds of people from Clarksburg and Fairmont, many of whom have relatives in the terrible catastrophe, all anxious to learn the worst, as all hope had been abandoned that any survived and the only hope that remained was that the bodies at least might be recovered.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Vice President Potter, General Manager Thomas Fitzgerald and Division Superintendent and other officials of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company heard of the horrible disaster and arrive to offer their services.

14 miners also arrive from Tunnelton, WV, to aid in the rescue (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“The general opinion in the town is that the number of dead and imprisoned will reach 500. A few persons believe this number will be exceeded, claiming that more than half the total force worked during the day, while on the other hand some think the number will be smaller. The most conservative estimates place the number of victims at 300 or more.” (DASB 12.07.07 pg. 1)

~7:30 pm

At #8:

Superintendent A.J. Ruckman finds the body of Charles Honaker. “…it was thought that Honaker had been blown in the river but he had not. He was lying about 70ft from the mouth of No 8. When he was found his watch was still keeping time and this property was the means of his identification. Mr. Ruckman still has his watch.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 2 – noon)

“Undertakers on the scene have converted the First National bank building into a morgue to take care of the bodies and all the caskets possible have arrived from Clarksburg and Fairmont with a special order on the way from Wheeling.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

~8:00 pm

At the mines:

“At this time the rescuers are hard at work digging debris, dirt, coal, timbers, and the like away so as to get further into the mine. The efforts are to rescue any live men who may possibly be in the mine and dead bodies are now being removed.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“The chief efforts of rescue are at mine No 6, where the explosion was not so terrific.” “At No 8 the rescue work is difficult and proceeding very slowly on account of the afterdamp.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

“The saloons have all been closed by order of the mayor. The great crowds still linger at the mines. The order is good.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

West Virginia Governor Dawson wires a message to Pres. C.W. Watson: “Inspector to arrive tomorrow. Do not hesitate to call upon me for assistance.” Watson replies, “Our accident was deplorable indeed. Very much obliged for your offer…glad to know Chief Mine Inspector Paul will be here in the morning. Impossible to tell extent of fatalities at this time. Will advise you early tomorrow.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 & 2 – noon)

~8:30 pm

Evening presses from major papers across the country are putting out some of the first words the country will read about the disaster in Monongah. At some point during the day, either General Manager Malone or someone who had talked with Malone had a telephone conversation with a reporter at the Associated Press. As a result of this too early conversation which will be reprinted again and again nationwide, much of the first and perhaps only words many people will read about the disaster over the next month are highly inaccurate.

CDT 12.6.07 pg 1

(ETR 12.6.06 pg. 1)

~9:00 pm

Inside #6:

Rescuers begin investigating side entries and rooms further from explosions. As each crew moves forward, they stumble over material debris as well as dead bodies of miners and horses.

“Relay parties bring no work of encouragement, to the contrary their only report is the finding of dead bodies piled up in the mine pits in heaps of twenty, indicating that when the explosion occurred, many of them rushed to the openings and perished on the way—overcome by gas.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

Another special train arrives, this one from Baltimore carrying V.P. Wheelwright of Consolidated Coal Company, President Oscar G Murray and General Manager Thomas Fitzgerald from the B&O railroad company along with more company officials, volunteers, newspaper reporters, and sightseers.

It becomes clear to company officials that many burial sites will be needed, and the existing potter’s field is insufficient.

“C.W. Watson, president of the company, is deeply affected by the accident and refused to give out a statement tonight. He only observed that it was ‘Too bad! Too bad!’” (TS 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Outside #8:

“The deadly fire damp made it impossible to do much rescue work early in the day, especially at Mine No. 8, where the explosion had completely wrecked the fan, until another fan could be brought from Shinnston, twelve miles away, and put in working order, the men labored at a disadvantage…” (WH 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Relief crews have managed to create a stable air hole about a half mile from the mine mouth. A temporary 7-foot-wide fan has arrived from Shinnston and put into place at #8 mine. But, “When the fan that was installed at the mouth of mine No 8 was started…it caused a small fire.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 & 2 – noon)

Inside #8:

“One fire was discovered to the right of the main entry in No. 8 and a pipeline was immediately laid into the mine and the fire extinguished.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 2 – Floyd Parsons)

~9:30 pm

“Up to 9:30 Peter Roisberg is the only man brought out alive.” (TS 12.7.07 pg. 1)

More on How Death Gloated!

Friday, December 6, 1907, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

11:00 am

“The American miners of the town have been placed in charge of the relief work but the Italians and other foreigners are working under them most faithfully.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 2)

“Monongah…has a population…, most of whom are foreigners although there is a larger proportion of American miners in this district than in most of the other bituminous fields. Until about ten years ago the mines were operated almost exclusively by Americans, but during a general strike of Miners in the Pennsylvania and Ohio fields many of these West Virginia miners went out in sympathy to prevent the filling of contracts at lake ports and elsewhere with West Virginia coal by the companies in Ohio and West Virginia against which the strike was directed. At that time the mine owners brought a large number of foreigners into the field to take the places of the strikers and ever since the foreigners have been displacing Americans until they are now the majority.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 2)

In the town of Monongah:

“The banks and hills surrounding the mine are literally crowded with anxious people, many women and children who are weeping and crying hysterically for love of their fathers, husbands and brothers known to be entombed. The foreign women are indeed to be pitied for their great sorrow and their way of expressing it by tearing their hair, scratching their faces with their finger nails until the blood runs down their cheeks. Several were witnessed in this condition leading their little children around through the mud and cold not noticing either in face or their great sorrow.” (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

Company officials Frank Haas and J.J. Burrett arrive from Fairmont as well as the representative of the Italian consulate, G.D. Caldara, who “was doing much to pacify the women of his country, who were most loudly giving vent to their terrible feelings.” (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

Over a dozen physicians are now on the scene: Dr. D.P. Fitch, Dr. John R. Cook, Dr. Brownfield, Dr. Jesse A Jamison, Dr. W.C. Jamison, Dr. Graham, Dr. Reidy, Dr. Bowcock, Dr. Durrett (mine physician of the New England mines), Dr. Howard, Dr. Carr, Dr. L.N. Yost, Dr. Sands, Dr. Nutter, and Dr. Hal Hall accompanied by nurses from the various hospitals in Fairmont. They begin to establish an emergency hospital in the blacksmith shop of #6. They have also arranged for the interurban trolleys and railroad companies to transport survivors to the Fairmont hospitals once they are tended and stabilized at the make-shift ER in the blacksmith shop (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1) (Nurses on Front Lines)

“Medical men who came on the scene after…were: Dr. F.W. Hill, B.F. Bone of Fairmont, Drs. Culp and Thrash of Farmington, Dr. Falconer of Everson and Dr. Alkire of Chiefton.” (FWV 12.7.07. pg. 1 – noon)

Marion County Coroner E.S. Amos also arrives in Monongah.

Dr. Durrett of the New England mines tells a reporter with the Fairmont West Virginian that there is little hope for the men trapped in both mines; “He says that the force of the explosion traveled with the air courses and only those men who were in this air course were killed by the explosion or from the debris thrown in its wake.” (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

Outside #6:

Carpenters are putting the last support boards along the roof of the approach which connects the mine shaft to the fan. It is just a temporary fix, but it is good enough to warrant restarting the fan.

In Washington D.C.:

Governor Dawson, A.B. Fleming, and a few other state/company officials receive word about the disaster. Gov. Dawson immediately telephones certain state officials while former Gov. Fleming immediately leaves D.C. for Monongah after sending word ahead to the sheriff to “preserve order”. (News, McAteer)

11:05 am

Outside #6:

35 minutes after the explosion, #6 fan is restored and started. However, the gage only rises “a little above 2” which is lower than prior to the explosion. This means that air is still not able to properly circulate through #6 because the partition which once divided the two mines has been destroyed by the explosion, allowing air to flow into #6 from #8. This needs to be a closed system in order to properly circulate breathable air and it will be impossible to close this system without getting to one of the deepest parts of the two mines. (Inquiry)

11:30 am

Outside #6:

“The rescue was started in mine No 6 about 11:30 after the fan was again put in running order and the rescue work is being vigorously pushed by Mr. J.C. Gaskill and other mine officials.” (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

“As soon as the men could be organized for a plan of action forty rescuers began the work.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Three teams were organized: one headed by #6 foreman Charlie Dean, another by Supt. Brennon of #8, and the other by Supt. J.C. Gaskill.

The first party to enter #6 was “composed of Messrs. D.C. Dean,—Toothman, — Nichols, —Graham, —Clayton, J.G. Smith, —Clayton, … these men, armed with all the available necessary tools and safety lamps marched undaunted back into the scene of carnage…” This is an excellent choice crew. Being outside foreman of #6 mine, Charlie Dean still had plenty occasions when he had to go inside #6. He is the most ideal person available at the time to head the first relief crew and give instruction about what is and isn’t right about the conditions inside of #6 and what needs to be done to correct those conditions in order to get relief efforts underway. (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1) (Inquiry) (News)

Dean and his crew have a primary goal—determine how far rescuers can get into the mine safely and if any victims can be reached. It is presumed that Dean and his crew are aware of the runaway trip which should most certainly be a pile of wreckage somewhere along the main shaft. Hopefully, they can reach this point and determine if the wreck and/or the explosion have caused any blockages of potential exits before they personally encounter any deadly gasses. (Inquiry, News)

~11:33-11:35 am

Inside #6

As these men steadily work their way down the #6 shaft portal, a second party of ten men headed by West Fairmont mine Supt. John Brannon prepare themselves for the decent. They enter #6, following along and continuing to clean the path already partially cleared by Charlie Dean’s crew. Naturally, Dean and his crew only cleared what was necessary for them to pass so they can survey conditions and try to reach survivors as quickly as possible. As these rescuers expect to find survivors inside of the mine, they must also make as clear and safe a path through and out of the mine as they can while still constantly pushing forward, knowing that more crews will be following to pick up where they left off. (Inquiry, News)

~11:38-11:40 am

Supt. John Brannon and his team catch up with Charlie Dean and his crew near B face entry, where the slope of the portal changes to a more gradual angle. It is here, at B face, that several other track lines which branch out to the rest of the inner workings of the mine intersect with the main shaft line. At this spot they discover one of their worst fears to be confirmed: the only true way in and out of #6, the main shaft line just before B face, is entirely blocked with wrecked coal cars and debris at the worst possible point, literally entombing every miner—dead or alive—inside with no chance of escape. (Inquiry)

Dean’s crew has already begun to tear away what debris they can to create at least enough space for one man to cross the wreckage. Charlie Price, a member of Supt. Brannon’s crew, also begins working on clearing a way through the debris. After only a few more minutes, they successfully break through near the top left of the pile. Charlie Price is the first to take in the air coming out from the enclosed workings behind the debris pile. In a matter of moments, he collapses. (Inquiry, News)

~11:45-11:50 am

Outside #6

Gen. Supt. J.C. Gaskill has assembled his own relief crew on the surface and they are preparing to enter #6 when Supt. Brennon’s crew resurfaces from the mine shaft. A few of the rescuers are carrying Charlie Price. He was overcome by the fire damp which escaped from the inner workings. At this, both crews fled #6 to avoid the same fate. Charlie is in serious condition and taken to the make-shift hospital in the #6 blacksmith shop which is still being set up by the physicians and nurses which have since arrived on the scene. (Inquiry, News)

Inside #6

“When the Brennon forces returned C.E. Gaskill headed another relief party, which continued the work.” (WH 12.7.07 pg. 1)*

Despite the knowledge that toxic gases have been released, Gaskill and his team consisting of mine foreman PJ McGraw, #6 fire boss Lester Trader, and an extended crew of carpenters like Fred Shaver press back into #6. They continue to clear away debris along the main shaft until they reach the wreckage pile by B Face. Gaskill notes that the wreckage is, “piled up pretty bad—a lot of cars piled up just like any wrecked trip…crossways and piled up generally.” However, it was “not so bad but we could pass…by climbing over…”. (Inquiry)

~11:50 am-12:00 pm

Outside #6

A key official of the Fairmont Coal Company, Supervisor and Chief Mine Inspector David Victor arrives in Monongah from the New England mines in Fairmont and immediately goes inside #6. He is aware that other crews of men are already working, including John Smith from Charlie Dean’s crew and Supt. Gaskill & crew, though he is not sure how much farther ahead they are at this point. (Inquiry, Victor)

Inside #6

“All of the headings leading off from the main entry are being cut off by canvas and barricaded as fast as they are reached by the relief workers, so that the inner most workings of the mine may be given the benefit of the ventilating system…” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 2)

Beyond the wreckage:

“The rescuing parties penetrated mine No 6 about 3500 feet before they came upon the first of the dead. A majority of the corpses will be found about a mile further back.” (LAH 12.8.07 pg. 1) (WED 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Supt. Gaskill and his team have successfully crossed over the wreckage pile and are now continuing along the main track into #6. At the very base of the slope, where the more gradual angle of the slope finally levels out to match the rest of the working areas, the team comes across a small shanty. Inside they find 3 men—all are dead. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

The first is 23-year-old husband, father, and motorman Fred Cooper. He is lying on the ground, on his back, his head near the shanty door, his mouth wide open.

Another, 21-year-old brakeman Laurence “Larney” Hindman, is also on the floor lying face down with his feet toward the shanty door, the opposite direction as Fred.

The last man is still sitting upright on a bench, holding his opened dinner bucket between his legs, though his head and arms are drooped down. Lester Trader steps into the shanty and lightly pushes his head back to see the face. Coffee dribbles out of the lifeless mouth and Trader can tell it is 36-year-old driver John Herman.

This rescue crew of Gaskill, Trader, McGraw, Fred Shaver and others will not linger at the shanty long—their primary goal is to find survivors—though they do take a few solemn moments to examine and observe that not one of these men shows a single sign of traumatic impact to their bodies and yet their positions, paired with John Herman’s mouthful of unswallowed coffee, indicate an instantaneous death for them all. (Inquiry)

At the wreckage site:

David Victor makes it to the general area known as the ‘foot’ of the slope and sees the “badly wrecked” trip on the main track. He counts 14 loaded cars wrecked on the middle track but, “The fellow who had been cleaning up the cars told me that he had taken two off the trip that had come back down the slope.” As David Victor begins to examine the area “to a certain extent”, he notes that there is another trip with a motor about 20 feet away “standing on the side track of about the same number of cars, 2 or 3 of the first cars had been wrecked…”, behind that was another trip of coal cars. (Inquiry, Victor)

One of the first concerns relating to the cause of the explosion circles around the new addition of electricity and the relatively recent introduction of live, uninsulated wires inside the mines. Victor examines for any evidence of a short circuit in these wires which could have sparked a fire or explosion, but he finds that the wires are surprisingly still intact, hanging along the roof of the mine and no such evidence these wires fusing or burning at the foot of the slope or on any wires, the mine roof, or walls. He decides to move on. (News, Inquiry)

“I remember climbing over the wrecked cars but had plenty of room to go over. I remember the wrecked trip happened right on the switch where there were 3 entries opened up. The wreck had happened in the middle entry and that entry was closed. The entry to the left was not closed. I remember climbing over the empty cars in order to get through to build brattices.” (Inquiry)

Not far beyond the wrecked pile, Victor sees a coal car laying “crossways of the track” and just beyond that, the shanty at the bottom of #6 slope. He does not go in nor does he take any time to examine the 3 dead men other than to acknowledge their positions. (Inquiry)

More on How Death Gloated!

Friday, December 6, 1907, 10:45 am – 11:00 am

10:45 am

The speeding interurban car rounds the tight curve of the West Fork River and slows down only just before reaching #6 mine. There some rescuers and officials, like Company Superintendent J.C. Gaskill and General Manager Malone, get off at #6 while others ride the trolley down the line to #8. (Inquiry, News)

Outside #6:

Carpenters are working at their fastest rate to restore the #6 fan house.

“Five hundred feet from the opening of shaft No. 6 were the bodies of two of the miners, who had been blown from the shaft by the force of the explosion.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

L.J. Malone gathers some supervisors and mine security guards and forms them into an ad hoc security force to keep crowds back and make room for the incoming rescue crews. “The opening at No 6 was speedily roped off and placed under guard as to restrain the thousands of people from rushing into danger and from interfering with the search.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Hundreds of people are rushing to the mouth of the mines and it is with difficulty that the guards by means of ropes can keep the people back.” (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

10:50 am

Outside #8

The interurban trolley pulls up as close to #8 as it can get while Hyre Stalnaker and several others are still clearing away enough debris to free William H. Bice from the wreckage of the # 8 fan house.

“The engines, boilers and fans were blown into a tangled mass of wreckage to the southwest with a goodly part of them into the river together with the north end of the bridge.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

More on How Death Gloated!

Friday, December 6, 1907 10:30 am – 10:45 am

“Those who were not incinerated in the first blast of flame were left to grope their way hopelessly in the inky darkness until the fatal afterdamp struck them down.” (TBE 12.7.07 pg. 1)

After 10:30 am

Debris continues to fall from the sky for the next 15 minutes.

Mines #6 & #8 flood with thick smoke, loud noises and continuous “lesser shocks as the unsupported galleries of the mine collapsed” for at least the next ten minutes. Toxic gases known as afterdamp and blackdamp occur naturally in these conditions and with no fan ventilation to push out poisonous air and replace it with breathable air, the deadly gases start to creep through the destroyed workings. (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

In the town of Monongah:

Fire Boss Lester Trader wastes no time in dressing and rushing back to #6 mine while, “Wives, mothers, and sisters of the entombed miners, living in cabins on the outskirts of the city, rushed to the shafts to find them blocked with debris. The face of the hills where the mines were located had been changed by the upheaval.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8) (Inquiry)

Outside #6:

A foreman from the powerhouse at #6 comes across to the engine room to tell Ed Fry that #6 has exploded. Fry follows him back to the powerhouse and sees smoke and dust pouring out of the #6 air shaft. (Inquiry)

Superintendent A.J. Ruckman could see from the office that #6 fan house is significantly damaged. He tells foreman Charlie Dean to get materials and men over to #6 while he goes to check on the fan at #8 saying, “If that fan is not damaged, we will reverse it.” (Inquiry)

Someone at the Monongah office makes a frantic call to the FCC office over 8 miles away in Fairmont where they have been waiting for notice since they first felt the impact. Though they are pretty sure of what has happened, they are not sure of exactly where it has happened until General Manager L.J. Malone answers the call. (Inquiry, News)

In the city of Fairmont:

“As soon as the explosions occurred the general manager’s office at Fairmont was notified and with all possible speed steps were taken to go to the rescue.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Gen. Mgr. L.J. Malone receives the news and immediately calls the main offices in Downtown Fairmont to notify the higher company officials. He then gathers all available men at his office and they head down to the interurban station. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

J.O. Watson II instantly calls to the interurban trolley barn and requests they begin to assemble all men who are available to help. He begins to race across town in horse and buggy to the company maintenance shop located on the Fairmont Avenue & 12^th Street block to collect these men. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

Outside of #6:

J.H. Leonard crawls out from under the trestle and heads back to the #6 fan house, careful to avoid any failing debris, and begins to examine the state of the fan for #6. (Inquiry)

Outside of #8:

Hyre Stalnaker wakes up a few minutes after the blast, shocked at what he sees around him. The intensity of the blast has broken out all of the windows and caused much of the iron structuring of the carpenter shop to give way. He works his way out of the ruins of the shop and immediately heads to and across the #8 trestle tracks toward the smoking mine. (Inquiry)

Superintendent A.J. Ruckman arrives at #8 to find that the explosion has wrecked the boiler and fan house, “throwing them all the way over the river…” It is clear a whole new fan and supporting structure will be needed for #8 and carpenters are immediately put to the task of building a decent structure which can temporarily house a substitute fan. (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1) (Inquiry) (McAteer) (News)

Inside #8:

The DePetris brothers are attempting to navigate their way back to the #8 mine mouth and quickly run into Dan Dominico in the dark. The three of them continue to follow the tracks through the hallway. (Inquiry)

Outside of #6:

Charlie Dean arrives at the mouth of #6 with a team of men. Leonard informs him that the fan is still functional, but the belt keeps slipping and it isn’t doing much good anyway what with the roof and back side of the building missing. The fan cannot be repaired while it is running. Charlie Dean instructs J.H. Leonard to stop the fan then he puts a team of men to the immediate task of bringing timbers from the supply yard to restore the fan house structure. (Inquiry)

10:35 am:

In the city of Fairmont:

Gen. Mgr. J.L. Malone and his crew of men arrive at the interurban trolley barn on Beverly Road and commandeer the first interurban car they can find. They pack as many men on to the trolley as they can, including J.O. Watson II & mine foreman, Perry Vernon, and head straight for Monongah. “The first car to Monongah was crowded with people, mostly physicians and surgeons as well as newspaper men and officials and employees of the Coal Company.” Among the newspaper men is L.M. Davis, a reporter for the Fairmont West Virginian. (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1) (Inquiry) (News) (McAteer)

In the city of Clarksburg:

“The Clarksburg Telegram is represented at Monongah by members of its editorial staff. As soon as the disaster occurred two Telegram men left immediately for the scene of the accident. The interurban trolley cars were out of operation at the time, owing to the trolley wires being down, and as the next train did not leave for several hours, the Telegram men procured a team of horses and drove through the awful mud roads to Monongah.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

In the town of Monongah:

Virtually the entire town is already on the scene as the entire west side of town is built on top of the two mines.

Inside #8:

Peter and Stan Urban are still running to find an exit when Stan trips, hits his head very hard and is knocked unconscious. Peter stops to try to help him up. When Peter realizes his brother has been knocked out, he tries to move him, but finds that he cannot. Peter does not run; he stays with his brother. (Inquiry) (McAteer)

The DePetris brothers and Dan Dominico crawl along in the darkness, following the rail tracks about 20 more yards where they run into Dan’s son, Leo Dominico. There they find that they could go no further due to the dense smoke and overwhelming heat coming from the main shaft area. Leo tells them of a crack in the mine roof he discovered nearby just days prior. The team turns around, now crawling and feeling their way in the pitch dark using the tracks as their guide, back in the direction from which they came. As they crawl, they can just barely hear the screams and cries of their fellow workers in the other areas of the mine. “These cries were half stifled by the gas that threatened to choke the tour.” (McAteer) (Inquiry) (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

Outside of #8:

Hyre Stalnaker is rushing across the trestle as quick as he can, dodging debris and wreckage which has landed on the bridge and the debris still in free fall overhead. Out of the smoke and chaos at the mouth of the mine, emerges Joe Newton (assistant fan engineer at #8), frantically running while cupping his face and head in his hands. As he gets closer to Hyre, he moves his hands away to reveal that the entire side of his face is covered in blood from a gushing head wound and one eyeball is dangling from its socket. Hyre recoils away at the sight and they both continue on in their opposing directions. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

Hyre Stalnaker approaches the end of the trestle to find the fan house, basically, gone. Just outside of what was left of the fan house walls he sees the body of 40-year-old, William H Bice, engine house and fan foreman, imprisoned beneath timbers and other debris. Hyre tries to free him on his own but quickly recruits help from others. (Inquiry)

At some point, Joe Newton collapses on the #8 trestle. Amidst the immediate confusion of the chaos, it is first thought that he is missing when he is not found in the debris of the fan house. (Inquiry, News)

10:40 am

Just outside of Monongah, the first trolley car of officials and rescuers is racing at almost full speed toward Monongah, skipping all designated stops along the way. It drives right past throngs of panicked women, children, and men who are running on foot to the scene. Despite their desperate pleas, the trolley stops for no one.

Inside #8:

The DePetris and Leo Dominico help the injured Dan Dominico along as they crawl past their previous working spot and continue South toward the slope of the hill which naturally brings the outside surface within 6 – 8 feet or so of the inside man-made workings. There, in the very top corner of a dead-end room, Angelo could see the morning sunlight shining through the crack in the ceiling: “…the smoke and sun and light made a light that looked like fire.” The men began to grab ahold of anything they could find along the mine wall that could help them climb up and reach the hole. As one of the DePetris brothers gets enough of a footing to reach up and grab the perimeter of the hole, the other brother and Leo Dominico help to hoist him up. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

Outside #8:

Life-long miner and #8 pit boss, Jim Rogers, is standing on the slope just above the streetcar line. Jim is 55 years old, hails from Scotland, and this makes his second stroke of luck when it comes to avoiding death by mine explosion by simply being absent from work. He also escaped from a serious explosion in the Newburg (W. V.) mines twenty years ago. “He has figured in a number of minor accidents and has each time escaped unscathed…in both cases he has had a peculiar streak of luck as his work in the mines as overseer of a gang keeps him at his post of duty regularly.” But on this morning, “…he hardly could tell why he remained out of the mines…for he was due to go in.” The Fairmont West Virginian will later report: “Though all at Monongah are bowed down with grief over the awful disaster, the Rogers family are deeply grateful for the sparing of their husband and father.” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 – noon)

As Jim is trying to see through the dense smoke pouring out of every nook of the hillside, he sees a hand, then another hand stretching up and out of the ground just downhill of him. At first, the smoke is so dense he can hardly make out the actual location of the hole and he calls out to all workers and observers within hearing range for help. Altogether, they help pull Orazio, Angelo, Dan, and Leo out from the pit. The four men take only a few stunned moments to gasp for air and get their footing before stumbling over to what should be the front of #8 but instead, they find only a mutilated hillside. Still inside of #8 is Orazio DePetris’ son, Felix DePetris, who was recently hired as a motorman just like Leo Dominico. Despite his attempts, it is simply too hot from the fires still burning inside #8 to make any immediate attempt to go back in to rescue his son. (Inquiry, McAteer, News)

A large crowd begins to gather at #8 as word of the 4 miners’ escape spreads through the town. Watchmen are immediately placed at toad holes to listen for any more survivors and to prevent others from trying to go in. (Inquiry, News)

“The fear by the rescuers if that the men who were trailing after the four who escaped—how many the four men could not tell—were caught by the deadly gas that would accumulate just back of the choked entrance and that they died there of suffocation.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

More on How Death Gloated!

Friday, December 6, 1907 10:30 am

10:30 am

At the mouth of #6:

J.H. Leonard and Alonzo Shroyer are staring down the portal of #6 mine, bracing for the imminent impact of the runaway train of coal cars. Inside the #6 fan house, the clock connected to the sensitive pressure gauges of the fan marks that at 10:30 am the gages “go up a little then drop clean to the bottom” (Inquiry, Victor).

Somewhere in the deep recesses of the two mines, a massive explosion erupts. As it tears through the workings of the mine, following the paths of least resistance, it consumes all oxygen, extinguishes the carbide lamps of the miners, and destroys most of their belongings.

Many men within the mines die instantly as a result of traumatic injuries such as burns, blunt force impacts, and decapitation. Others get caught up in the blast and carried away as, “Every movable object shot with terrific force through the mine.” Majority if not all of the workers caught in this wave are utterly demolished, several of their bodies will be found “strewn at the mouth” or not found at all, having been disintegrated in the force. (Nurses) (LAH 12.8.07 pg. 1) (McAteer)

Inside #8 mine:

The DePetris brothers are violently thrown off their feet, the blast hurling them against a rib then to the mine floor. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Nearby, Dan Dominico is smashed to the ground with such force that his ear is badly cut and one arm is injured so seriously he cannot move it. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Outside #8 mine:

The south-bound interurban trolley is only a few yards beyond the mouth of mine #8 when the crowd of passengers begin to feel and hear the earth rumble around them. (News)

On the East side of Monongah:

George Peddicord has barely begun to cross the Iron Bridge between the two mines when he feels everything around him shake and hears a rumbling noise from up river, in the direction of #8. (Inquiry)

At the Traction Park Interurban station between #6 & #8:

George Bice is around 330 yards north of #8, by the Traction Park interurban station when he hears the report, “likened to the discharge of a cannon,” from behind. He spins around to look at #8 and sees tons of brick, 8×8 timbers, infrastructure, machinery, coal cars, tools and other debris from deep within the mine hurled up and out the entrance by the explosive force. The miners’ check-tag board is eviscerated, the brass ID tags scatter into the river and are lost. (McAteer, Inquiry, News)

At #8:

The large iron gate at the mouth of #8 is ripped away as the force exits through the mine mouth. But the pressure is simply too much and the force tears a 100-foot hole in the hillside where the entrance once stood, tossing the iron gate and chunks of concrete, one “weighing fully 1000 pounds”, across the river and embedding them into the eastern river bank. (McAteer, Inquiry, News)

“So great was the force of the explosion that one man was blown out of a pit mouth a distance of 400 feet.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1) Charles Honaker is caught by the first blast wave at the entrance of #8. His clothing is “lit ablaze” and his body is hurled into the air along with the debris and blown hundreds of yards away, toward the river. (McAteer)

The 10 ton, 30’ tall fan for #8 is considered one of the most powerful fans in the country. It is ripped from its concrete moorings, chucked across the river, and embedded in a hillside almost a half mile away from its original location. The large powerhouse, with all its large machinery and boiler room is blown all the way to other side of the river. (McAteer, News, Inquiry)

Electric wires about the mouth of #8 mine are ripped apart and strewn across the ground. (News, Inquiry)

Across the river at #8 tipple:

Otto Smith yells out to the #8 tipple boss, “I reckon the mine has blown up!”. He turns around to see a plume of fire and smoke shoot from the open hillside of #8 more than 60 feet into the sky. (Inquiry)

In the vicinity of #8:

Windows shatter in the buildings around #8, including those all the way across the river in the house next to the tipple. Hyre Stalnaker hears the blast inside the carpenter shop and attempts to run outside but the shock of the blast throws him back into the shop and knocks him out. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

In the center of town:

George Peddicord can not see the #8 portal from his position on the Iron Bridge, but the force is so intense he can see the timbers and debris flying above through the air followed by a tower of black smoke. (Inquiry)

In Monongah:

Lester Trader was in bed, though not yet asleep, when “the whole house lifted, then the sound of a terrible roar and I felt the earth shaking with such intensity causing objects to fall from shelves…”. He rises from bed and races for the door.

Almost instantly, before Lester Trader can make it to his door, a second report comes from down river in the direction of #6. When he reaches his door, he can feel the wind still coming off of #8. (Inquiry, McAteer)

Inside #8:

Dan & Leo Dominico and the DePetris brothers are just getting to their feet when they are knocked down again by a second, equally powerful explosion. (Inquiry)

Peter & Stan Urban hear and feel the second explosion; they begin to run. (Inquiry, McAteer)

On the East side of Monongah:

Christina Cerdelli hears the noise of the blast in her doorway. She sees smoke coming from the toad holes all along the west side. The smoke is so thick and abundant some believe it is coming from St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. A bit farther up river, Lee Curry also sees the smoke above houses and St. Stanislaus on the west side of town from his vantage point on the #8 tipple. (Inquiry)

Beneath the #6 tipple, E.P. Knight hears something that sounds like dynamite with “a roar to it” come from #6.(Inquiry)

At #6:

Tons of earth are heaved high into the air around #6 and adjacent buildings are damaged. (News, Inquiry, McAteer)

At the mouth of #6, J.H. Leonard and Alonzo Shroyer are thrown back as the blast exits through the portal. Leonard is covered in rubble; his arm and ankle are very hurt. Shroyer slams into something hard, possibly the derailing switch, cutting him to the bone behind his right ear. (Inquiry, McAteer)

A piece of rail track comes down into the #6 blacksmith shop though the blacksmith, Will Jenkins, only sees a sootish-colored smoke with no flame coming from #6 in a steady blowout. (Inquiry)

Pat McDonald, who was still running toward #6 on the trestle, is also hurled over 100 feet backwards and badly injured. (Inquiry, News, McAteer)

The top of the #6 fan house is “blown in the air a considerable distance”, more than 400 feet. (FWV 12.6.07 pg. 1)

Ed Fry is in the doorway of #6 engine room when he is physically jarred by the second blast, though he hears no report. (Inquiry, McAteer)

On the East side of Monongah:

E.P. Knight is still on the telephone with John Talbott until he glances out his shanty window, then runs out the door to see a good bit of dark brown smoke coming out of the #6 air shaft. On the other end of the line, inside the company offices, John Talbott heard the report and saw the flash of fire at #8 through the 2 large bay windows in his office which faced both mines.(Inquiry, McAteer)

The outside foreman, Charlie Dean, and Superintendent of #6, A.J. Ruckman, are talking in the company offices in Monongah when they feel the building shake from the concussion. The loud report causes Charlie Dean to assume that the #8 boiler has blown up. A.J. Ruckman, looks out to #6 and sees smoke coming out of the air shaft “strong, under high pressure”. (Inquiry, McAteer)

Frank Morris feels the jar in his office inside the company store. He runs outside to see smoke coming out of the mouth of #6 and begins running toward the mine. (Inquiry, McAteer)

At #6:

J.H. Leonard does his best to crawl away from the #6 portal to an area where he could let himself down under the trestle and protect himself from flying debris with the door from a coal car. (Inquiry, McAteer)

In the center of town:

George Peddicord drops his buckets and rushes across the Iron Bridge, not to the mine, but to his home. (Inquiry, McAteer)

At #8:

The interurban trolley is rocked on its tracks by the concussion, but holds its bearings and continues on with a crowded car of stunned and terrified passengers. (News, McAteer)

In the surrounding areas:

The “shock from the explosion was distinctly heard” 12 miles away in Pruntytown. (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)

The concussion is reportedly heard up to 50 miles away and is “distinctly felt” in Grafton and in the school house at Hoult where the “erasers were jarred from the blackboard and struck to the floor with a bang.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8) (FWV 12.12.07 pg. 2)

“People for miles in every direction begin to make inquiries over the telephone…” (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 – noon)

Lee Lichtenstein of Columbus was 6 miles away in Fairmont at the time. He will later tell The Baltimore Sun that, “The explosion shook Fairmont…as if by earthquake…a rumbling noise, houses rocked to and fro, people rushed wildly to the street and it was 15 minutes before it was known what occurred.” (News, McAteer)

In the town of Monongah:

No one in Monongah needed to ask what had happened. “They divined instantly that another great mine horror had taken place.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

The sounds of the blasts were deafening. “The buildings of the cities tottered and waved as if they would collapse. The pavements were upheaved and some of the frailer structures fell into ruins.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

“Pedestrians and even horses were knocked off their feet… Fires started in various parts of the city.” (WED 12.7.07 pg. 8)

“In the shock of the explosion the school house at Monongah was shaken in such a way that it threw the children in a frenzy and they rushed to the doors and windows some thinking an earthquake had occurred. When the smoke from the mines was seen an uproar was started as it was then realized what had happened. Children screamed pitifully that their fathers were killed and the teachers were utterly unable to control them.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 8)

More on the Monongah Disaster of 1907

Introduction

Disclaimer and Guide

How Death Gloated!: A Timeline of the Monongah Disaster and Bloody December of 1907

Who is Guilty?: A Timeline of January 1908 and the Coroner’s Inquiry

Issues with the Monongah Timeline

Bibliography/Resources

About the Author

Contact Information

Friday, December 6, 1907, 10:15 am – 10:29 am

10:15 am

Outside #6

J.H. Leonard is just outside of the fan house and watches the trip of coal cars come out of the mine mouth, pass by the derailing switch, and begin to travel up the trestle toward the tipple. (McAteer, Inquiry) ◊

10:19 am

In East Monongah:

William Finley is standing on the street by the coal company’s office at the south side, not far from #6. (Inquiry)

10:20 am

Outside #6

Nick Smith is working at the forge in the blacksmith shop. (Inquiry)

Inside the fan house, the gauge for the fan pressure rises .4 inch. This is normal, typically caused either by general workings vibrations or the loaded trip of cars going, “with and against the current” of air being pushed through the mines. (Inquiry, Victor)

In Traction Park (between #6 and #8):

George Bice is walking down to the Traction Park interurban station to catch the trolley into Fairmont. George is a tracklayer in #8, but he is not scheduled to work today. (Inquiry)

Inside #8

Orazio DePetris notices a fire boss come into his area for a few moments and then leave. (Inquiry)

Angelo DePetris has just finished putting in a shot and begins picking from the roof. (Inquiry)

Peter and Stan Urban sit down to eat some lunch. (Inquiry)

Outside #8

Lee Curry, the stationary engineer, just finished dropping a trip of empty coal cars into #8 mine and has stopped it still. (Inquiry)

Carl Meredith is on the same loaded track, looking toward the mouth of #8 mine. (Inquiry)

On the opposite side of the river:

E.P Knight, #6 tipple foreman, is in the shanty under #6 tipple. He is talking on the phone with John Talbot in the shipping department discussing coal cars, or probably the lack thereof. (Inquiry)

Pat McDonald is walking on the haulage bridge, facing the mouth of #6. (Inquiry)

Outside #6 on the trestle:

The trip of cars gets stuck at the knuckle of the tipple; the rear car is about 50’ from the knuckle. (Inquiry)

10:21 am

A warning light in the engine room, connected to the main current line, which indicates that the train of cars is in motion turns off. (McAteer, Inquiry)

10:25 am

Outside #6

J.H. Leonard watches the stuck trip of cars and waits by the derailing switch. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Luther Toothman is on #2 tipple (directly opposite of #6). (Inquiry)

10:26 am

Christina Cerdelli is standing in the door of her home. (Inquiry) ◊

10:27 am

Levi Martin is at his home on Willow Tree Lane (just past Thoburn post office, above and behind #8). (Inquiry)

10:28 am

On the West side of Monongah:

George Bice reaches Traction Park interurban station. He is about 330 feet from #8 and ¼ mile from #6. (Inquiry) ◊

On the East side of Monongah:

George Peddicord is walking onto the Iron bridge with buckets of chains from the East end of town. (Inquiry) ◊

Outside #6:

Will Jenkins has just finished replacing one shoe on a horse in the blacksmith shop and is preparing to shoe the other foot. (Inquiry)

J.H Leonard hears a noise from fan house and, fearing the fan was stalling, turned away from the derailing switch and ran back to the fan house to check the fan engine. (McAteer, Inquiry)

10:29 am

Outside #6:

J.H Leonard barely gets into the fan house when he hears a large *snap*. (Inquiry)

At the top of #6 trestle:

The loaded tip of coal cars has been stuck for almost ten minutes when the coupling pin on the first car of the train snaps. (McAteer, Inquiry)

In #6 engine house:

Ed Fry notices the engine speed up once the trip breaks free of the rope. (Inquiry)

Across the river from #6:

E.P. Knight, who is still on the phone with Talbott, feels the #6 tipple jar and sees the wench rope jerk back. Before Knight can tell Talbott that the train broke loose, Talbott has already sat down the phone and started outside. (Inquiry)

On the trestle:

The loaded trip of cars begins careening back down the trestle toward the mine mouth. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Pat McDonald hears the trip break loose, turns and looks up to see it racing back down the trestle. He begins to sprint towards the derailing switch. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Outside #6:

J.H. Leonard turns around, runs out of the fan house and back toward the derailing switch. (McAteer, Inquiry)

Nick Smith watches the runaway trip speeding toward the #6 mouth from the blacksmith shop. (Inquiry)

The trip makes an “unusual noise”, startling the horse in the blacksmith shop causing the horse to trample Will Jenkins to the ground. (Inquiry)

Alonzo Shroyer is 50-60 feet away from the mine mouth and only notices the trip when it is passing right by him. (Inquiry)

J.H. Leonard makes it back to the derailing switch just in time to watch the last two cars go into the mine. (Inquiry)

In #6 engine house:

The lights in the engine room flicker off and back on. Ed Fry turns off the wench engine. (Inquiry)

At the mouth of #6:

J.H. Leonard thinks someone could get caught on the slope of the mine in the wake of the runaway train. He and Alonzo Shroyer run to the mouth of the mine and look down into the portal. Leonard braces himself for impact. (Inquiry)

Outside #6:

The power goes out in the blacksmith shop. (Inquiry)

Outside #8:

The interurban car, south-bound for Clarksburg, passes by and below the trestle to #8 mine mouth.

On the West side of Monongah, between #6 & #8:

George Bice sees the trolley heading south, passing by #8. He is worried he is too late and has missed the trolley into Fairmont. He turns north, toward #6, to see if it is already on its way to Fairmont. (Inquiry)

Inside #8:

The DePetris brothers are just bending over to pick up and load the coal they just shot down. (Inquiry)

Peter Urban is finishing up his lunch when he hears a noise in the distance and suggests to his brother, Stan, that they should run. Stan hears nothing over the noise of his work, shrugs off his brothers concerns and goes back to digging coal. (McAteer, Inquiry)