Greek – Page 2 – The Monongah Disaster

Friday, December 13, 1907 – Afternoon

~Noon

At the mines:

“At noon today no additional bodies had been recovered from the mines…” (WT 12.13.07 pg. 8)

John Graham Smyth, assistant chief engineer, is placed in charge of recovery efforts underground. (McAteer)

Smyth reports to E. Scott outside. (McAteer)

E. Scott reports to Ruckman and Malone. (McAteer)

~2:00 pm

In Fairmont:

Jess Severe is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery. The Improved Order of Red Men is in charge of the funeral. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

“The work in the mine was resumed this afternoon, but the men are engaged in cleaning out the debris. In this manner they may run across more bodies.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

“A census taken of the town shows three hundred and thirty-eight men missing, which leaves eighteen bodies still in the mines.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

“In addition, however, there was a number of contractors and men hired by these contractors are believed to have been in the mines when the explosions occurred.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

At some point during the afternoon:

In Fairmont:

The Fairmont West Virginian receives a letter from Elkins post office employees with a donation of $50 included. (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

One body is recovered from #6. (FWV 12.13.07 pg.1)

“One more body was found in the Monongah mine disaster this afternoon, bringing the total number of bodies recovered up to 321. The last body is that of a man named Burt. It is at the mouth of Mine No. 6, in which mine it was found.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

Frank H. Wilmot and George A Campsey, representatives of Carnegie Hero Fund Commission of Pittsburgh are still in town “to find out the progress made in relieving the sufferers and in what way the commission could best serve the needs.” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 2)

J.H. Wheelwright makes a statement speaking of the difficulties that the searching parties had to encounter: “The difficulties the rescue parties have undergone cannot be realized or appreciated by those outside the mines. It is necessary to make an inspection inside to know the actual conditions.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

~3:00 pm

In Fairmont:

Union Relief Association holds a meeting in the M.P. Temple in order to get “As full a report of committee as possible…” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

Coroner Amos deposited the sum of $367.12 in the People’s Bank of Fairmont to go toward the relief fund. This was all the money found except $23.19 found on the body of Andy Morris which was turned over to the proper relative. (McAteer) (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

Mr. George Linn and daughter, of Benton’s Ferry, attend the funeral of J.H. Mort, member of Marion Lodge No. 27 R.P. (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 2)

The remains were taken across the river in a boat and interred at Maple Grove cemetery. He leaves a wife and four children. (FWV 12.13.07 pg.1)

In Monongah:

Coroner E.S. Amos and Prosecuting Attorney Scott C. Lowe went to Monongah to confer with State Mine Inspector J. W. Paul in regard to the time of holding the inquest. “It is not known at this time if the jury will be taken through the mines or not. If the jury does go through the mines it will likely be after the evidence is taken.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg.1)

~3:30 pm (Press Time)

“Although search was abandoned last night, two more victims…were found today. This makes the total number recovered three hundred and twenty-two.” (BDT 12.14.07 pg. 1)

“Two bodies were taken out of the wrecked No. 6 mine…making the total of recovered bodies 322, of which number 96 were unidentified.” (CET 12.16.07 pg. 1)

“One body taken out of No 6…was identified as Nick Tertza, a Greek, aged 29, single, of West Monongah, and another body was taken from the same mine the same afternoon and has been identified as Henry Burke, an American, aged 69, of East Monongah.” (CDT 12.14.07 pg. 1)

“The census takers made another report, which increases their list from 338 to 344, and it is now predicted that the fatalities all told will number nearly 350. The bodies taken out…were in a bad state of decomposition and identification was made from their mine checks.” (CET 12.16.07 pg. 1)

~4:00 pm

State Mine Inspector J.W. Paul leaves Monongah and travels to the Naomi Mines in Pennsylvania. (FWV 12.14.07 pg.1)

By Late Afternoon

Some 40-50 horses have been removed over the past few days. (McAteer)

The matter of dealing with carcasses was put off for some time in favor of corpses and these carcasses had merely been covered with canvas tarps until all corpses had been found and mostly recovered. (Haas) (McAteer) (News)

Information on the conditions of these animals is included in the formal report made by General Manager Frank Haas for the Fairmont Coal Company:

“One driver was found beneath a loaded car completely covered, only one foot sticking out, his horse lying nearby, stripped completely of harness, which was found 100 yards up the heading lodged in a pile against a pillar fall.” (Haas)

“On another heading, pieces of horse were scattered for a distance of 500 feet, torn so badly that the remains had to be gathered with a shovel, while in a small hole in the rib of this heading the body of a trapper boy was found in a sitting posture without a mark or scratch of any kind.” (Haas)

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“Tracks had to be thoroughly cleaned up to the carcass which after being thoroughly disinfected, were pulled on trucks by block & tackle, wrapped in canvas and hauled outside.” (Haas)

“Where roof falls made it impractical to clean up tracks to get trucks to livestock, block & tackle was attached and they were skidded for hundreds of feet, sometimes over falls and through crosscuts, to the track, occasionally necessitating the sawing off of a leg or head in order to make progress possible.” (Haas)

One of the most notorious and lingering ghost tales about the Monongah Mine Disaster includes this information about the horses:

“In just one crosscut, in one section halfway up 3rd Right of Old #6, at least 12 horses perished-and some said many more.” (Coffin Hollow, Musick)

“When the explosion came, the pressure from both ends of the crosscut pressed and squeezed the horses into one solid mass of flesh and bone.” When rescue/clean up crews came upon the pile, they decided “the best and quickest disposal that could be made was to gob their remains into an old working area and seal it off.” (Coffin Hollow, Musick)

coffin hollow- mine horeses image — Image from Coffin Hollow and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales, pg. 78

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Friday, December 13, 1907 Midnight – Morning

“Three hundred and twenty bodies have been recovered. Of these 71 were American, 11 Negroes, 146 Italians, 54 Slavs, 31 Poles, 5 Greeks and 2 Bulgarians.” (TC 12.15.07 pg. 3)

During the night:

Rescue crews are shifted out and a new clean-up crew of 100 men arrives to remove roof falls in order to recover more bodies. (McAteer) (Haas) (News)

~4:00 am

*In Littleton, WV:

“As a Cameron helper in charge of Pete Fleming, engineer, and George Keifer, fireman, was coming in on the siding the engine started to run away.” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 5)

Fleming reversed the engine and tried to stop it but he and Keifer had to jump to save themselves. Fleming broke one leg below the knee and his face is cut and bruised by falling stones. “He was taken to Regers’ Hospital” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 5)

“The engine struck the cars on the siding with great force then started backward and before it could be overtaken had gained the main track and was running at a rapid rate. The telegraph operator at Burton was called but the engine passed that place in its mad fight, which is six miles distance, in six minutes from the time it started. The operator not understanding the order gave it a ‘white light’ not realizing his mistake until he saw it flash by unoccupied. The operator at Glover’s Gap was called and arrangements made to derail the engine at that place.” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 5)

“The track was cleared and the engine getting out of steam stopped of its own accord at Shey’s Tunnel, one mile east of Glover’s Gap.” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 5)

~6:00 am

The First Regiment Band takes the trolley car to Clarksburg to attend the funeral services of John M McGraw. (FWV 12.12.07 pg. 5)

The Fairmont West Virginian reports the weather as: rain or snow tonight; warmer

~8:00 am

The remains of Harry Seese, a son of Samuel Seese, a victim of the Monongah mine disaster, is brought to Shinnston on the 8 o’clock train and buried in the Masonic cemetery. “His many friends and relatives here have the sympathy of the entire community.” (CDT 12.14.07 pg. 5)

During the Morning

In Pennsylvania:

12.13.07 - pg1 - Naomi verdict — FWV 12.13.07 pg 1

In Fairmont:

Frank M Murphy, proprietor of the Bijou Theatre, brings the cash box containing the entire receipts of the Bijou Theatre for Thursday, securely locked, into the offices of the Fairmont West Virginian. When opened it contained sum of $32.03 all of which he very generously contributes to the Monongah Relief Fund. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

Justice/Coroner Amos fills out 11 insurance claims over the course of the morning. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

“Twenty funerals were held here this morning, the bodies being buried in the potter’s field set aside for the purpose.” (WT 12.13.07 pg. 8)

C.W. Watson is asked for a statement. He said that there was nothing new in the situation and that there had been a great deal said about the officials and the coal company and about the state representatives but little had been said about those whom he thought were the real heroes in the calamity, the men who made up the searching parties. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

“These men came in from many places in the state and volunteered their services without thinking of getting their names in print. They did not stop to inquire nor did they seem to care whether their names were on the payroll or not. The one thing that they were bent on was to get the entombed men out and no sacrifices seemed too great for these men to make. There were the real heroes, the burden bearers.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

Mr. Watson said that the rumor this morning that the mines were on fire proved to be untrue when the workers had made a thorough investigation of the matter. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

“It was found that some of the afterdamp coming in contact with the good air caused a peculiar odor and that was the foundation for the report that the mines were on fire. Worked stopped for a while because it was the workers who did the investigation.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

~9:30 am

In Clarksburg:

“Four funerals were held at the Church of the Immaculate Conception Friday morning, three of them for victims of the Monongah disaster.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

“The first funeral was that of John T. McGraw, pitt boss at Monongah mine No. 8, whose body was recovered from the mine early Thursday morning. The body arrived in Clarksburg from Monongah on a Baltimore & Ohio train and was taken to the church where at 9:30 o’clock funeral services were held followed by the burial in Holy Cross cemetery. A large number of friends and relatives, accompanied the body here and the First Regiment band of Fairmont, of which the dead man was a member, also came along.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

~10:00 am

In Clarksburg:

Timothy Lyden’s body is taken from his mother’s home on Jackson Street “to the Catholic church where funeral services will be held and interment will be in Holy Cross cemetery.” (CDT 12.12.07 pg. 4)

“Fire which started in the No 8 mine last night is entirely out today and an unusually large force of men put to work at 10 o’clock.” (WT 12.13.07 pg. 8)

“Two forces of men are at work clearing up the falls where it is thought dead miners may be entombed. The number in each force is 45 and they are working 8-hour shifts. The men are only making a search for the miners. Mine Inspector J.W. Paul gave orders that the mines should not be disturbed except where it was necessary to get a body…the debris is still very loose and the men can be located by the odor. General Lee. L. Malone, who has been through the mines, gave it as his opinion that there are not more than four or five more bodies to be found.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

Deodorizing and disinfecting squads went ahead of recovery teams and work just as they have for the days prior. As soon as a body is located it is disinfected with a solution of carbolic acid (prescribed by physicians in charge) and properly marked with all available information for identification. All carcasses of horses are treated with either a very strong solution of carbolic acid or with a half barrel of slacked lime on top of which chloride of lime was sprinkled. (McAteer) (Haas)

~10:30 am

In Clarksburg at the Church of the Immaculate Conception:

“The next funeral was a double one and was for Timothy Lyden and Henry Martin, also victims of the awful Monongah disaster. Lyden’s body was taken from the home of his mother, Ellen Lyden, on Jackson street to the church and Martin’s body was brought here on the interurban trolley arriving at 9:30 o’clock and taken to the church. At 10:30 o’clock services were held over both bodies, attended by a large number of sorrowing friends and the interment followed in Holy Cross cemetery.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

~11:30 am

In Clarksburg at the Church of the Immaculate Conception:

The 4th funeral is that of “Thomas Flynn, who died at his home on Flynn street Wednesday afternoon of consumption, took place at the church at 11:30 o’clock and was also largely attended by sorrowing friends. The burial was in Holy Cross cemetery.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

*Author’s Note: The event of the runaway car at 4 am in Littleton is not directly related to Monongah, other than giving an impression of how fast runaway rail cars can manage to go all on their own; 6 miles in 6 minutes is…impressive. But, this author mostly included it because it is just a really neat and kind-of funny story (in hindsight, of course) which always manages to cheer me up at this point of the Timeline so I felt I should go ahead and keep it in for those reasons.

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Thursday, December 12, 1907 Night

“This great transformation was all brought about in less than three hours. This whole settlement is bereaved and weeping. Those who have been more fortunate and are known positively to have lost no loved ones when the explosion let go are downcast and mourn for those who lost relatives and friends.” (AR 12.12.07 pg. 5)

Evening

In Wheeling:

Bishop Donahue sends a message to several New York newspapers in answer to inquiries made from that city as to the extent of the disaster. “I have the honor to be a member of the general relief committee and will take pleasure in receiving any sums, however small, in aid of the fund, and seeing to it that it reached the right hands. There are approximately 400 widows and 1,000 orphans.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

The Wheeling relief fund reaches $2,860.00. Contributions to the fund are being made through Bishop Donahue, the Intelligencer, the Board of Trade, House & Herrmann and direct to Mr. Sands. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

In Fairmont:

Mayor Arnett receives 3 packages of children’s clothing “expressed” from “HUB” in Wheeling. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

~7:00 pm

Remains of Jess Sever and J.W. Miller are brought to Fairmont on the 7 o’clock car. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

After Dark

In Clarksburg:

Mr. F. M. Murphy gives the entire receipts of tonight’s performance at the Bijou Theatre to the relief fund. (McAteer)

In Fairmont:

The remains of J.W. Miller are buried at Woodlawn cemetery. The funeral is under the direction of the Improved Order of Red Men. Miller leaves a wife and 2 children. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)

C.W. Watson invites and hosts the visiting mine safety experts to a magnificent dinner at his home, LaGrange. (McAteer)

At the mines:

“Vice president Wheelwright and General Manager Lee L. Malone believe that all the bodies not deeply buried in the old workings have been removed.” (BDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

TEW 12.13.07 - pg 10 - Monongah — TEW 12.13.07 pg. 10

“Explorations stopped in wrecked mines Nos 6 and 8 last night at which time a total of three hundred and twenty bodies had been recovered.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

“The search…for victims…was suspended early tonight, partly because fire had broken out again in Mine 8 and partly because practically every section of the two mines has been explored and it was not believed that further search along the same lines would result in the finding of more bodies.” (NYTb 12.13.07 pg. 5)

“Three hundred and twenty bodies have been removed. Of these 71 were Americans, 11 Negroes, 146 Italians, 54 Slovaks, 31 Poles, 5 Greeks and 2 Hungarians.” (NYTb 12.13.07 pg. 5)

“A force of ninety men will begin in the morning to clean up the mine and remove the heavy falls that were not disturbed by the rescuing parties and it is understood that some additional bodies will be found.” (BDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

“The fire which started this evening is not considered serious. No trouble in controlling it is anticipated.” (BDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)

More on How Death Gloated!

Tuesday, December 10, 1907, Midnight – Dawn

“Every decade has had its horrors and every decade will have them until the end of time. It seems sometimes that the decades that have passed and gone were angelic compared to the present, but such is not the case.

“The terrible mine disaster at Monongah is still fresh in our minds, and it will remain fresh for many days for the parties of rescuers have scarcely begun to find the bodies of the victims of that catastrophe.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 4)

~12:00 am

At the mines:

“At midnight a total of sixty-six bodies had been brought from the two wrecked mines at Monongah.” (BEB 12.10.07 pg. 7)

“The bodies taken out…were for the most part in bad condition, being maimed and blackened, and besides, many of them were far advanced in decomposition.” (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The work of rescue is daily becoming more difficult and dangerous. To the dangers of fire damp and explosive gases generated by the fire in Mine No 8 are now added the odors peculiar to decomposing bodies. The health of the rescue parties is endangered, and it is with the utmost difficulty that they are able to face these new terrors of the mines.” (LCT 12.10.07 pg. 8) (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“…men who were unafraid to work 12, 24, 48, or 72 hours at a stretch if there were hope or help in it. This mustering of the minute men of the coal pits is one of the finest things in industrial life in America today. Some come because of the good pay there is in it, and some because of the adventure, but for many it is the response of working men to a human call stronger and more stirring than either of these.” (Kellogg)

“Now, it having been determined that there can be no living men in the mine, the state and federal authorities have ordered a cessation of the rescue work. They rightly cannot see the necessity of sacrificing the living for the dead. But it is a notable fact that the work would have gone on, regardless of danger, if the authorities had not intervened. The men were willing and anxious to risk their lives, even though they knew they could not save lives by so doing.” (SLH 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“The coroner and his deputies remain constantly upon the scene, viewing the bodies as they come out, but no date has been set or other arrangements made for taking testimony or other features of the inquest.” (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1)

Inside the mines:

“Men are working incessantly.” (WH 12.11.07 pg. 3)

“They carried pick and shovel, but the weapons that for the most part they had to rely on were boards and canvas and cement and a spinning fan at the mine mouth.” (Kellogg)

These men “…must go ten feet ahead and try; must hold canvas barricades against the after-damp till their arms ached, while the brattices slowly went up; and all the time must forage for death in that breathless sweater, finding it in a disemboweled mule, or the charred, crushed thing that had been a miner, or a headless trapper boy, or an empty shoe.” (Kellogg)

“After the bodies are located, the rescuers say the most difficult part of the work is encountered. The bringing out of the bodies, a distance of a mile or more through the underground workings, it is tedious on account of meager facilities.” (WH 12.11.07 pg. 3)

“There has been considerable apprehension that the work of rescue might be stopped on account of the many carcasses of horses and mules in mines Nos 6 and 8, but so far there has been little trouble from this source, and the stench has not been sufficient to overcome the workers.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The official reports show that there were eleven horses and mules in No 6 mine and 38 in mine No 8. All were killed.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Health authorities fear an epidemic of fever due to the decaying bodies of the men and the animals caught in the mine and have prepared to enforce heroic measures if it becomes necessary.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)

At the morgues:

By an order of the County Board of Health, mutilated bodies are to be kept 3 hours for ID and at the expiration of that time shall be interred. The order has increased the anxiety of relatives of the victims who are eager for the news concerning the recovery of bodies. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

At #6:

“There was pathos enough in the scenes at the mines while the bodies were taken out to make a nation weep.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Early in the morning they took the body of a small boy about eleven years old from Mine No. 6. He bore on his begrimed little face a look of peace and happiness that doubtless never marked it in life.” (LCT 12.10.07 pg. 8) (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The little body they took out was that of a weakling, a mere child, who in life probably did not possess enough strength to lift a bushel of coal. But his hands were knarled and his shoes were those of a man laborer, rough and tough and hobnailed.” (LCT 12.10.07 pg. 8) (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1 & 2)

“It was identified as John Yaconis, and taken to the tumble-down shack up in Red Row over the mine, where a stony faced little woman kissed it till her face was black from the charred flesh.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“’Devil Johnny’ they called him, but there was nothing devilish about him. At 12 the stunted little overalled figure trudged every morning to the mines where he was a trapper. At 13 he died in those mines.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Another body, that of the boy’s father, Franco Yaconis, is still concealed in one of those underground rooms.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“There are other little trapper boys, they say, in the hideous catacomb back under the hills, boys that have never known the delight of tops and marbles, and whose best comrades are the slow and patient mules that haul the black cars down the drifts.” (LCT 12.10.07 pg. 8) (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“’My man ask for boy getta job. Company give it even to so little boy.’ Said the mother. The labor law of West Virginia requires a child to be 14 before he may work, and the white faced Monongah woman says that Johnny’s case was many a boy’s case. At any rate there are no boys of that age on the Monongah streets.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)

~6:00 am

At the mines:

“Seventy-six dead bodies had been taken from the ill-fated Monongah mines when work was resumed today.” (WT 12.10.07 pg. 11)

“Mothers, wives, sisters, and children gathered at the entrance of the mines until driven away by the company’s police.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“It is believed that the preliminary work of the rescuers has at last been completed…brave fellow workingmen to the number of hundreds have been risking their lives for nearly 96 hours.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“There is now no fire in either mine and the air is such as not to materially interfere in the work. The order at the mines is perfect and the rescue work goes systematically on, notwithstanding the steady downpour of rain and deep mud.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The company issued a statement yesterday saying later developments lead them to believe only 260 men were in the mines when the explosion occurred, but the miners insist that 406 men were checked…besides many having duties in the mine who are not under the checking system.” (OES 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“No man can write down in words the story of the pitiful grief and mental suffering that was witnessed during the hours I stood surrounded but those whose loves ones lay cold in death far beneath their feet in the workings of those wrecked mines.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Monongah is today a fatherless, husbandless village. In a moment the largest mining village in West Virginia was shorn of its bread-providing population as lint is swept by a white hot tongue of flame.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

~7:00 am

“Today dawned with the bright prospects for bringing to the surface a majority of those still in the workings, deep in the bowels of the hills and far from the entrances.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“A story started last night that rats were in the mines gnawing the bodies of victims, but it was too ridiculous to receive much credit. Doubtless there were numerous rodents in the mines at the time of the accident, as there always are in mines, but that even a rat escaped the awful death strike, when the explosion came is not at all possible. There has not been any opportunity since for rats to get into the mines as the entrances have had men constantly at them and hence there could be none within. Besides the bodies recovered shows no sign of the presence of rats in the mines.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 3)

More on How Death Gloated!

Monday, December 9, 1907, Night

“It is beyond the human pen to describe the spectacle presented, when bodies are brought up from the bowels of the earth whither courageous men day in and day out were wont to toil for the support of their loved ones. Fathers, brothers, husbands and sons, are carried from the slope leading to the fatal regions of the earth. Their bodies are as black as the coal itself. The experienced eye of the undertaker cannot detect their color, whether white or black, until after the bodies have been washed. Even then the mutilation in some cases make it difficult.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 4)

~7:30 pm

At the mines:

“Rain began falling early in the evening and continued almost incessantly throughout the night.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Last night they took out two bodies from No.8. Tonight, they will take out many more dead who have already been dug out of the wreckage and are lying along the catacombs ready for removal.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“When darkness came tonight a total of sixty-six bodies had been brought to the surface from the two wrecked mines at Monongah.” (DASB 12.10.07 pg. 1) (LODD 12.13.07 pg. 3)

In Fairmont:

The Union Relief Association is formed by local women who were among the first responders to the disaster. Mrs. F. E. Nichols, President & Mrs. R. T. Webb, Secretary hold a meeting at M.P. Temple – “all ladies urged to be present.” “All women interested in the relief work are earnestly requested to be present. Committees will come prepared to report the progress made today.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 8)

Walter Zirkle is located safe and alive. He had been employed at the Gaston mines in Fairmont, not the Monongah mines. “The wish of his sister and mother were at once communicated to him and he has no doubt reached his home…” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 2)

“Over $25,000 was added to the various relief funds during the day.” (BME 12.11.07 pg. 6)

In Monongah:

The General Relief Committee meets in Mayor Moore’s office. The first members are: Mayor Moore of Monongah; Mayor Arnett of Fairmont, chairman; Father Boutlou, Rev. J.C. Broomfield, Rev. H.G. Stoetzer; J.E. Sands, treasurer, and J.M. Jacobs, secretary. “Five responsible men will handle large gifts.” All checks will be payable to J.E. Sands, who will see that the funds are properly distributed. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

Paul Kellogg is talking with the children of a grieving family at their home. One of the oldest daughters tells him of the father they call “Pap” and brother, referred to as “George” who was a machine man:

“…and as we stood there on the door step, the sisters showed me his picture that of a clean cut young fellow, taken with his dog in a field. ‘Many’s the woman was dependent on each day’s wages,’ they said, –‘nothing at all ahead—and now that’s cut off. We’re not that way—not quite. Pap was all we had and he was getting’ old and couldn’t do so much. But George—soon as he’d get through cutting, he’d come help him load and so Pap’d make more. That was the way with George—5 girls, the only brother we had, and he that good to us! And such a good wife.’ One after another, the sisters broke in parts with the story. ‘Pap was singing the morning he left when he went to work—we heard him as far’s it carried. It was Nearer My God to Thee. That’s what he was singing. They worked 3 miles in—Pap and George—r-right under us. Two of the girls broke off there and ran into the house, and a third, who had come out and was combing her hair while we talked, gave it a savage twist that would have brought tears to her eyes if they hadn’t been there already. ‘Oh, we know we’ve got to give him up. We know he’s dead; but if we could only get his body out of the pit.” (Kellogg)

In the morgue:

George Gibbons is very successful in telling who victims are as they are brought in through the night. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

The first money found on any of the victims is found on the 69th body to be taken out, Dan Dominico Jr.* He had $27 on him when found. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

*The paper reports that this is “Dan Domico”. However, body #69 on the Coroner’s List is actually Dan Dominico Jr.—the son of the injured miner who was among the 4 men to escape through a toad hole the morning of the explosion. Despite being seriously injured, his father ran to the mouth of the mine after escaping and wanted to go back inside in an attempt to save his son. Dan Domico did not attend work on Friday and is, in fact, still alive.

At the mines:

“The rescue work, while slow, is progressing smoothly and as rapidly as due precaution for the rescuers would permit. It is believed that close to a hundred dead will be recovered by daylight tomorrow.” (News)

~8:00 pm

In Monongah:

Paul Kellogg visits the Italian Catholic priest, Father D’Andrea. Kellogg writes that, “it was raining heavily and a hearse was ploughing up through the mud when I reached the little Italian church…where last year alone he [D’Andrea] baptized 170 American born children.”

Kellogg describes D’Andrea as “a young, spare man with a quick smile on his dark face. His beard had gone 3 days without shaving and his eyes were hollow for sleep.” D’Andrea has been so consumed with his duties as a priest and to his brother’s family that he has had no time to personally grieve his brother.

“It was only one cry all day until now,” he said and turned his palms out and dropped his shoulders. Then in answer to the door, he directed a driver who for 2 hours had been searching for the right house, and was going back with the body. (Kellogg)

~10:00 pm

C.W. Watson issues statement:

At the mines:

“The heavy rainfall caused a veritable mortar of mud more than shoe top depth in many places through which the workers and the anxious watchers could make their way only with the greatest difficulty.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)

The body of Charles McCain is finally reached. McCain was a well-known man of his city and had many friends here. Despite numerous early accounts of Charles being found “blown to bits”, his body was in good condition. There were no marks on it showing that he was a victim of the after damp. His remains were brought to his home. (FWV 12.10.07 pg.1)

~11:00 pm

At the mines:

“Heavy rain storms make the conditions around the mine worse than any time since the explosion. Only a few stragglers are now keeping the gruesome vigil.” (DASB 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Milder temperatures today resulted in a thaw which converted the soil near the entrance into a sticky, dirty mortar…now almost knee deep in places.” (SLH 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“It dispersed, however, a very large portion of the great, impatient surging crowd that from the first has hovered as near the entries as they could get, a constant handicap to the rescuing forces whose work they retarded.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The rain has also interrupted the makeshift telephone and telegraph communication between the mines this city and the outside world.” (AMJ 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Twelve bodies have been taken from the mines tonight, bringing the total number up to 11 p.m., seventy-eight.” (DASB 12.10.07 pg. 1) (CB 12.10.07 pf 1)

“At a late hour, …the officials of the company said they had reached a point where there were a great many bodies. From this time on the work of bringing out the dead will be done more rapidly.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 1)

At the morgue:

“The rapid recovery of the bodies is making lively work at the morgue and at a late hour…thirty-five more undertakers were telegraphed for besides the several who arrived early in the evening from Grafton and Fairmont. Spring wagons bringing the bodies from the traction station across the river, to which they are conveyed from the mine openings by an ambulance street car, are followed by throngs of men, women and children, who gather around the morgue and remain in the rain until the bodies are placed in the caskets and laid in state in the bank building for viewing and identification.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

More on How Death Gloated!

Monday, December 9, 1907, Afternoon – Evening

The utterness of that desolation seemed by sheer force of numbers to overshadow anything else she had to tell—the children of the McFeeleys, “all little ones and not a bite to eat yesterday and him home dead”—(in some cases the women were so broken as to be unable to prepare food for their children, even if they had it)… What the housewives said as they met on the narrow walks or rocked at each other’s door sills was after all close to the pith of the matter…The Italian mother, “where I got the peppers,” with no money and no English and “2 little bits of children”…The Slavish wife who “tore blood out of her face”…The two crazed women on the hill who, rumor had it, had to be tied down to their beds…The young widow of the English machine man who lived just over No 8 mine, “who tore out her beautiful yellow hair in grabs,”… (Kellogg)

~12:00 pm

At the mines:

“Fire which caused a suspension of rescue work yesterday and early today in Mine No. 8 was extinguished, it was said, at noon today.” (News)

At noon the body of Mike Cosic was taken out of Mine No. 8. (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“No identification has been made of the eight unknown men taken out Sunday.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“A pathetic incident of the day occurred at Mine No. 6. A foreign woman whose husband had been killed stood near the mine all day with a half dozen carnations in her hand. The little floral tribute was wrapped with white ribbons. Shortly after noon her husband’s body was recovered in such condition that burial was necessary at once. She followed the wagon to the temporary morgue where the body was placed in a box, and then to the cemetery near by.” (NYTb 12.10.07 pg. 14)

In Monongah:

C.W. Watson gives the following statement:

12.9.07 - pg 1 - Watson statement — FWV 12.9.07 pg 1

“Senator J.A. McDermott, of Morgantown, president of the State senate, who was requested by Governor W.M.O Dawson to go to the scene of the mine horror, gave the Telegram representative the following statement at noon today:

‘I consider that the resolution passed by the legislature gives the mine investigating committee the power to investigate all mine horrors that occur during the existence of the committee. The coal company wants a most thorough investigation by that committee or by any other committee. I have been at both mines and looked over the whole situation. I notice a fine organization and a systematic plan of rescue work and everything possible is being done promptly. The number in the mines as given out is considerably overestimated. I am here for no special purpose but it is possible that this disaster might come before the legislature or come up in some other way and therefore desired to be personally informed.’” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“There has been no change in the situation at Monongah today except that it is very probable that the death list is not so large as was first thought. According to a telegram sent to the Governor by Watson the dead number almost a hundred fewer than given out.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“When the explosion occurred the town officials ordered the saloons closed…there is no drinking and among the thousands of people who have flocked to Monongah to witness the grave disaster not one disorderly act has been committed…” (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 7)

Fairmont West Virginian puts out an extra Noon paper. Bill Sloane is no longer included on the list of the dead.

12.9.07 - pg 1 - Union relief Association meeting

Chief of Police Shumaker received letter asking him for assistance to locate Walter Zirkle. (FWV.12.10.07 pg. 2)

~2:00 pm

12.10.07 - pg 6 - funeral 1 — CET 12.10.07 pg 6

“The funeral of Mr. John Herman…whose remains were brought to Eckhart Mine for interment took place on Monday afternoon at 2 o’clock from the Jr. O.U.A.M. hall, as the church to which the deceased belonged is undergoing repairs.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

“The services were conducted by Rev. Edwards, pastor of Methodist Episcopal church, who spoke in a very beautiful and touching manner of the deceased’s past and of his terrible end. At the conclusion of the services the remains were taken to the Allegany cemetery at this place, where they were laid to rest, attended by a large concourse of friends and relatives.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

“The deceased was about thirty-eight years of age and is survived by his wife and several children, also his mother and several brothers and sisters residing in this vicinity. The floral offerings were very beautiful.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

~2:30 pm

“Five more bodies were removed from the mines today, making the total 58 up to 2:30 o’clock.” (ETR 12.9.07 pg. 1)

During the Afternoon

“A foreigner who is employed at the Riverdale Mine, ten miles above Monongah, lost a brother and thirteen other relatives in the catastrophe, and he is left alone in this country. Today he came to the offices of the coal company and reported that he wanted to remain at the mines until the bodies were recovered. He asked whether he would get his job back at Riverdale should he stay away from it for several days. He was assured he would not lose his place and became happy in the fact that he could assist in finding the bodies of fourteen loved ones.” (NYTb 12.10.07 pg. 14)

In Monongah:

“General Manager L.L. Malone told the Telegram representative this afternoon that likely all of the bodies, with perhaps the exception of a few in the remote parts of the mines, will be brought out within two or three days.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

Fred Cooper’s funeral services held at the home of his uncle, Mr. Boggess, near Monongah. Rev. R.T. Webb of the M.E. Church South, pastor of the deceased, conducted the services, which were largely attended by friends of the deceased. Younger brother, Fay Cooper, also lost his life in the disaster but his body has not yet been found. Fred’s wife who survives him with one child has in the past 2 years lost 2 brothers, Fred Shingleton and an infant brother. Mr. Cooper’s mother, Mrs. Jerome Hobbs, who today mourns the loss of two sons, yesterday received announcement of the death of her husband, but today another message has corrected that statement. Mr. Hobbs is at Hot Springs, Arkansas, on account of rheumatism. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. ?)

“Considerable excitement was caused late this afternoon when rumors were current that a second explosion had occurred in the mines. An investigation made immediately by the company showed the reports had reached this vicinity from the East. There was absolutely no truth in the statement, and it was not necessary for the company to deny the report in this section.” (NYTb 12.10.07 pg. 14)

In Clarksburg:

“The Richard Farmer, whose body was taken out of Mine No. 8, is a cousin of Policeman Farmer, of Clarksburg. His body was buried here this afternoon.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

In Fairmont:

The remains of Charles Honaker are brought to the city and buried at Woodlawn cemetery. The funeral was under the direction of the Improved Order of Red Men and the Degree of Pocahontas. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The work of caring for the widows and orphans has been entrusted to a committee headed by Rt. Rev. P.J. Donahue of the Catholic diocese of Wheeling.” Bishop Donahue estimates over 80% of dead were members of the Polish or Italian parishes. (Wash. Times 12.9.07 pg. 5) (McAteer)

In the cemeteries:

Burials are continual throughout the day. At the Catholic cemetery, there is great concern of bodies being buried in their proper ethnic graveyards; Polish on the Left, Italians on the right.

“Scenes of touching sadness were caused throughout the day by the burial of the recovered dead and the pitiful actions of relatives of the entombed victims.” (LODD 12.13.07 pg. 3)

Following the custom of old country, each family member would throw a handful of earth into the grave and say a final prayer.

Near Grant Town, WV:

The home of Mr. and Mrs. John Collins of Gray’s Flats is destroyed by fire while Mr. Collins is at work in mines and Mrs. Collins is at Monongah on account of the death of relatives caused by the great explosion. The fire was caused by the children knocking a stove leg off. There were 3 children in the house but they escaped. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 8)

At the mines:

“Nine more bodies were brought out of Monongah Mines Nos. 6 and 8 today. There are ten more bodies near the opening of No. 6 and they will be brought out by 5 or 6 o’clock.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

~6:00 pm

Newspapers

Fairmont West Virginian:

Weather predicts more rain tonight; Tuesday, rain or snow; much colder (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

Clarksburg Daily Telegram:

“…the Clarksburg Amusement Company has decided to give the net receipts of both the Odeon and Bijou family theatres all of next week to the relief fund for the sufferers. The regular performances with vaudeville specialties will be given and all who wish to lend a little aid to the unfortunate people of Monongah should attend the theatres.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“The proceeds of the Dreamland theatre this week will also be for the miner’s relief fund. A National cash register will be placed in the ticket office and all the monies taken in will be put in this register. The key of the register will be given to Chief of Police Richard Scott, who will count the money every morning and announcement will be made in the Telegram of the amount taken in every day. All above, the running expenses will go to the miner’s relief fund.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“The Monongah mine horror is still the all-absorbing topic of interest to everyone here, many of our people having relatives or friends who were victims of that awful explosion, the concussion of which was plenty felt here, and telephone messages came from as far away as H.R. McCord’s on Simpson Creek, inquiring if there had been an explosion here. Relief parties were formed here, headed by Superintendent Thomas Jarrett and Mine Foreman E.P. McAlvin and O. Bush, of the local mines and hurried to the scene on a freight train and have been working there since. Superintendent Jarrett was twice very nearly overcome with the gaseous fumes, but each time after recovery he returned to the work of rescue.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 5)

Washington Times, page 5:

The D.C. Evening Star, page 12:

Evening Journal in Deleware:

The Evansville Press:

Evening:

In Fairmont:

Mayor Arnett is strongly considering closing the saloons again tonight. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

The list of 406 dead published on Monday is “not complete”. “Mr. Harry Dawson of Woodsfield, OH was in the office yesterday evening looking over the list for the name of his brother, Fred Dawson, who was employed at Monongah and is known to be lost but his name was not found. Mr. Dawson also says that J.L. Hunsaker was also employed with his brother and his name is not on the list. These were both young unmarried men and were machine men.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 7)

“So this proves that the list is not near large enough and how many more instances of this kind will appear will only be known by waiting.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 7)

In Monongah:

Jury and court of inquiry adjourn “but will be recalled by the Coroner.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The company issued a statement today in which the claim is made that later developments lead the officials to believe that there were only 260 men in the mine when the explosion occurred. It is insisted by the miners that 406 men were checked off as entering…” (CB 12.10.07 pg. 1)

More on How Death Gloated!

Monday, December 9, 1907, Morning

“Over the heartrending protests of the widowed and orphaned, it has been necessary for the authorities to act to preserve the health of the living and orders for immediate burial of the victims has been issued. The only exception will be in cases of bodies that are fully preserved and can be embalmed. These will be taken care of and taken to the morgues for identification. Failing this, all will be buried in the common grave…”

(WT 12.9.07 pg. 5)

~8:00 am

In Fairmont:

Lawrence E Sands sends a message from Wheeling that “citizens of city are planning a relief fund for Monongah…thinks Wheeling will contribute at least $1,000.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg.8)

In Monongah:

“The fourth day was a repetition of its three predecessors in the matter of pathetic scenes. Hundreds of women remained near the mines all day screaming and crying until they almost collapsed. As on former days hot coffee was served at intervals by the company to keep the unfortunate women from falling to the ground from exhaustion.” (News)

Bishop P.J. Donahue arrives by train from Wheeling joined by St. Peter’s of Fairmont priest Father Arsenius Boutou to assist the Monongah priests, Father Joseph Lekston & Father Joseph D’Andrea. Both Lekston and D’Andrea have been working nonstop since Friday and are close to exhaustion.

Father Joseph D’Andrea has also lost his brother, Victor D’Andrea, in the disaster. Victor was a father of 3 and his wife is 6 months pregnant. D’Andrea had worked for 3 days and nights, never stopping to sleep or bathe, continuously ministering to the bereaved and guiding coffin carts to correct homes.

The priests did services in the mornings and visited with families in the evenings.

Priests on the scene:

12.9.07 - pg 1 - Priests on ground — FWV 12.9.07 pg 1

At the mines:

“The work of rescuing bodies was resumed this morning…”

52 bodies have been recovered and the remains of 43 have been identified. (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 1 – extra)

“Most of the bodies found have been those of foreigners and nearly all have been identified by their pay checks. [Th]ree large fans are pumping air into the mines and a pipe line 2.500 feet long was put in on the advice of Chief State Mine Inspector Paul as a precaution against fires.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 1)

Weekend crowds and sightseers are gone. Only somber groups of men—relief workers, explorers, brothers and men waiting their turn to go in—remained around mines.

At the churches in Monongah:

Church basements became make-shift funeral parlors.

Many came early to the Polish Catholic church, St. Stanislaus, “…a-foot, with bowed heads, sorrowing in low voices, sometimes a woman half held up by her companions, to that basement where the coffin lids closed in on blistered, swollen faces and parts of men.” (Kellogg)

“4 or 5 widows wept compulsively.” (Kellogg)

“An older woman read from a religious book held to the flickering light of a candle at the head of a closed coffin.” (Kellogg)

“A peasant, ugly with her pitted face, but beautiful in her great sorrow, bent often and kissed the lips of her husband.” (Kellogg)

“All of a sudden there was cry more piercing than the others. It was from an older mother who has lost 7—her husband, a son, 2 sons in law, and 3 nephews. She had come upon one of them, and the people with her could scarcely hold her. She threw her head on the casket and spoke to the boy fondly, trying to caress the crumpled face with poor, wrinkled hands. She had moaned all the way that morning from her lonely house to the church door, giving infinite sorrow to those who heard, and here her grief at last found vent.” (Kellogg)

~8:30 am

12.9.07 - pg 3 - McDonough — CDT 12.9.07 pg 3

~9:00 am

The court of inquiry convenes in Monongah. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Coroner E.S. Amos, of Fairmont, is personally engaged in looking after the identification of bodies and is having a complete list kept, as well as recording the circumstances of identification and the disposition of the bodies. In this he is ably assisted by the several undertakers of this town, Fairmont and Clarksburg and other places. The jury organized by him will meet in Fairmont this morning at 9 o’clock to begin its work of investigation. Such representative men as W.S. Hamilton, Festus Downs, and W.E. Codray are members of the jury. Their work it is announced will be thorough and complete.”

The jury with Coroner Amos and Prosecuting Att. Scott C. Lowe went to No 8 and then visited No 6.

At the morgue:

“There is no more room in the morgue and the bodies are prepared at the mouth of the mine for burial.” (CET 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“In the case of complete identification, the bodies, after being viewed by the coroner and jury, are not held, pending further action of the coroner, as it is established, they all came out of the mine and met death by the same cause.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1) (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 10)

Widows and family members were permitted “ample time” to view the bodies and attempt to ID them, but the time allotted for the body to be identified has been drastically diminished since the decision of the Marion County Health Board last night.

“After the identification of the bodies and they are claimed by friends, Coroner Amos holds the inquest and permits the relatives to remove them to their homes. The bodies of all Polish miners are being removed to the Polish church just above Monongah as fast as they are identified and are being placed in the basement of that edifice.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

When ID is not possible, the body is taken directly from the mine entrance to the graveyard and buried immediately.

“Work of burying the dead that have been taken from the mines is in progress and because of the many bodies they have to be interred with dispatch and little ceremony.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1) (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 10)

In Fairmont:

“All organizations in the city are taking steps to institute relief measures” (FWV 12.9.07 pg.8)

In Clarksburg:

“The body of Patrick McDonough, the miner who was killed in the Monongah disaster, was brought to this city Monday morning on the 9 o’clock interurban car. Funeral services were held at 9:30 o’clock at the Catholic church and interment was made in Holy Cross cemetery. McDonough was a brother-in-law of Pat Connell and Thomas Gill.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

The remains of Patrick McDonough were taken to Clarksburg. Patrick is brother of townsman, Policeman Anthony McDonough. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

At the mines:

Miners linger outside waiting to go into the mines. “The knot of silent mine workers in boots and corduroys and overalls could be made out from the rim of the bluff…; and at its edge sat in heavier silence a group of shawled women, waiting. Behind them ran a little street, thick in mud, with domino shaped stepping stones at the crossways with colorless little houses and propped walks and here and there dove-cotes nailed under the eaves or reared on poles.” (Kellogg)

12.9.07 - pg 4 - Funeral day — TES 12.9.07 pg 4

“The body of W.H. Byse will be taken to Roane county Monday for burial there.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1)

“Quite a number of Clarksburgers attended the funeral of John Howard Preston, at Monongah, Monday. Preston was a victim of the horrible mine disaster which occurred at Monongah Friday.” (TA 12.12.07 pg. 2)

“In the town families were mourning inconsolably the death or absence of a loved one and on all sides were little groups of weeping women and children. Thousands of strangers thronged the streets all day. They came from towns and country within a radius of many miles and by every means of travel.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 2)

Some 30 – 40 funerals are performed throughout the day. “They were merely repetitions of those of Sunday, the crowds being almost as large and the scenes and incidents just as distressing.” (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1)

A majority of today’s funerals are held in the little Polish Catholic Church located between the two mines. 5 priests directed funerals.

Father Boutlou held short funeral services for the Irish Catholics. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“Services were held over several of the bodies at one time.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“The people gathered above, the men on one side and the women on the other, as is the custom in the Polish church. The candles of the little altar lit up the chapel as they had done on other Sundays and the familiar intonations of the mass brought a brooding quiet. Then the priest addressed his people in Polish and with his first words, they began to weep aloud.” (Kellogg)

A service preached by Rev. Father Emil Musine, of St. Ladis Las Church of Wheeling was of “a very effective discourse. Sobs and wails went up from the wives and children of the unfortunate. After Father Emil Musine’s sermon Bishop Donahue of Wheeling spoke words of consolation promising relief to the orphans.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

In English, Bishop Donahue told the congregants that he empathized with them and how much “the whole world laments” the terrible disaster which “robbed them” of their loved ones. He concluded in assuring that he would do his “utmost” to help the people and if any of them found that they could not support their children that he would see that they “all were sent to orphanages” where they “would be well cared for”. For those who could not understand his words, they were soon told by their fellow congregants that could. Though his words “cheered” them to a degree, there was not a single woman in the church “who would part with a child, no matter how many she had, even if the pangs of starvation tempted her.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Outside, an Italian laborer offered his services for carrying the dead to the church yard. He spoke to a Slovak and said that everyone is the brother of the other, no matter what nationality he belongs to. He said it in broken English.” (Kellogg)

“The ministers refrained from making any reference to the catastrophe and the commitment services at the graveyard were as short as possible. There were no carriages and no flowers. The caskets were hauled for the most part in undertakers’ wagons. Large crowds of pedestrians followed and the church was crowded almost to suffocation. Several of the services were interrupted by women fainting, causing momentary excitement, but this was soon dispelled.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 2)

~10:00 am

“Up to 10 o’clock the list stood at 53.” (OTC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

At the morgue:

The temporary morgue inside the First National Bank is getting overwhelmed; coffins and bodies begin lining the streets in front of the bank.

On the west side of Monongah:

The National Guard, called in by Governor Dawson, arrives and sets up on the north side of the Italian side of the largest graveyard. (McAteer)

They set up their large white tents in typical military fashion with graves in front, resembling military trenches.

These tents will act as a secondary morgue and will serve the needs of the gravediggers.

“Captain M.M. Neely furnished a big tent that has been pitched near the Catholic church. The tent is being used for the Italian morgue. The bodies are first identified at the morgue proper and are then taken to the tent. So far there has been a change in the name of one man.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

On the east side of Monongah:

Paul Kellogg has wandered over to the corner of Main street, where the morgue has begun to lay coffins with prepared bodies out for identification. “At the end of the street were store buildings, and the Italian woman who kept one had let them leave a coffin box on her steps until the right household should be found.” Kellogg talks with this woman at length. “Standing at the head of the street, she pointed out with stretched finger the houses in a row on the bluff where the shawled women sat and waited…and she raised and lowered her arm in a counting of the houses, one after another.” She describes the condition inside several houses where losses have been felt:

Of the man and 7 boarders killed at house No 151— “All married. Old country. No see ‘tall, no see. He can’ find. All burn.”

“Woman cry all time,” she said of another house with three boys killed. (Kellogg)

“A hearse drove up to the corner house and the driver beckoned to me and to a workman who had come up. There was a coffin to be taken away and he needed help lifting it. The women had to be pushed back while he worked at closing the lid. Their cries rose and fell in that half unison of Slavic people which makes almost a ritual sobbing. The wife stood on the porch as they drove off; bare armed, stupid in her loss, her face knotted with two little, open-mouthed children whimpering and plucking at her apron and behind them a grandmother.

“A little red-cheeked Irish boy had poked his way into the Slavic house as they lifted the body out. He was going for the doctor, he said; the baby had been sick all night. ‘Got heem pap yet?’ asked the Italian woman. ‘Nope,’ said the boy.” (Kellogg)

“Across the street the tears were running down the face of the Italian storekeeper and she was giving herself up to the impetuous crying of her race.” (Kellogg)

~11:00 am

In Columbus, Ohio, Governor Andrew Harris has “ordered the chief state mine inspector, Harrison and deputies to Monongah, to make a careful investigation of the circumstance surrounding the explosion there. The information secured will be applied to correcting any shortcoming in Ohio mines. Inspector Harrison left for Monongah today.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 2)

“It is a low estimate to say that the recovery of the bodies of the victims of the mine explosion will cost the coal company at least $75,000 and possibly a great deal more. But this is an item the company has not even thought of and it will spare no effort or money to recover every body from the mine.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1)

“The property loss will be very heavy, as the artificial interior work of the two mines was entirely destroyed to the extent of the tracks being torn all to pieces in the mine No. 8 especially where the rails broke and curled themselves up into rings.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1)

“Not taking the loss of life into consideration and the out lay that may result from that, the company’s loss will reach at least a quarter a million dollars, and, unless No 8 can be saved from fire, the loss will reach many millions.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1)

“The task of taking out bodies from Nos 6 and 8 mines will not be completed before the end of the week. Sixty-six bodies have been taken out of the mine heading of No. 6 at 11 o’clock. It is still impossible to reach many in the rooms leading off from way headings, owing to afterdamp which continues there.” (CET 12.9.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

“No more touching spectacle could possibly be witnessed by human eyes than to see the bereaved women and children of Monongah walking the streets wringing their hands and crying grief for loved ones…” (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 7)

Women wander the streets aimlessly, wailing in the pouring rain. (Scalabrinians)

“Two Slav women, with big boned grief wrenched faces, were walking up and down the street, going nowhere. They wore great shawls, and diagonally across their breasts were the papoose-like bodies of their babies, wrapped in with a knack which is handed down by the mother wit of the old country.” (Kellogg)

“Part way along an angling road, lined with older company houses, I came upon a woman of perhaps 55 and her daughter. They walked spiritlessly as if climbing a long hill. 5 other daughters and a son’s wife were waiting for them in a house beyond, –8 women and 2 men gone. These were West Virginians, I took it; at least they had seen the settlement grow up about the mines and knew its people as only villagers do. What were just door steps and dull windows to me, were individualized to them…the mother counted them off as we went.” (Kellogg)

“Farther on was a little 5-year-old girl, playing by the fence. ‘We’ve got two dead in our house,’ she said, smiling.” (Kellogg)

More on How Death Gloated!

Monday, December 9, 1907, Midnight – Dawn

“Semi-officially it is stated that the street cars hauled fully 35,000 people both ways yesterday, making it a record-breaking day in the history of the interurban line. Many thousands were here from Clarksburg and, owing to the lack of facilities on the upper end of the line to handle the immense crowd, they did not all get away until 9:30 at night. Many spent as many as three hours in attempts to board the cars. On the Fairmont end cars were more numerous and ran more frequently, but the crowds from that terminal of the line were much larger.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 4)

~12:00 am

Outside the mines:

“Sixty hours after the explosion of black damp…, fifty-three bodies, or only about one-eighth of the total number of victims, have been brought to the surface and less than one-fourth of the total number have been actually located.” (SFNM 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“But, at midnight there was no indication that the work of rescue would be resumed so early, as the condition of mine No. 8 was very perilous, the heat there being registered at 110 degrees, and thus making it impossible to penetrate the mine. Most of the work of the night at this mine was in preparing to place brattices in No. 8.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 4)

A majority of rescuers have not been home since Friday nor have they slept or rested. Doctors stand outside at the entries of the mines and give the men some “tablets to stimulate their over-worked hearts and lungs.”

“All night long hot soup was served to those who were exploring the mines in hope to find some fellow workman.” (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 1 – extra)

“Several relatives from Clarksburg of entombed miners have been here since Friday evening awaiting the bringing of their loved ones from the ill-fated mines, with the result that to date but one—Patrick McDonough—has been recovered from the mine. They will continue to remain here as long as there is hope of getting their relatives out.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 4)

“Here for 60 hours men had worked, feverishly and unafraid, to wrest blackened bodies out of the ground that they might be counted and put back; and here at this same pitiful commission they were to work for a week to come.” (Kellogg)

Inside the mines:

“The deadly black damp hinders the work of rescue quite as much as the broken rock and timbers. It is this which most exhausts the men.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“Most of the bodies are decomposing and this renders the work of the searching parties doubly hard.” (WT 12.10.07 pg. 5)

In Monongah:

“During the night, guards employed by the owners have been greatly increased until each piece of property looks like a fortress. Pedestrians passing through the mining camp were held up by mine guards and compelled to account for themselves before they were allowed to proceed. This action was resented in a number of instances, but didn’t deter the guards from carrying out their instructions.” (PES 12.9.07 pg. 1)

~2:00 am

At #8:

Search given up for a while but resumed in early hours. “The fire, which broke out afresh in No. 8 shaft, was extinguished soon after 2 o’clock this morning. Almost before the smoke had ceased arising from the ruined workings a relief party had started down the shaft and were striving to clear the passage into the farther recesses.” (WT 12.9.07 pg. 5)

~2:15 am

At #8:

“At 2:15, however, another fire broke out beyond the third entry, accompanied by an explosion. The explosion did no additional damage but the fire once more drove the workers out.” (CET 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“Fire, which began yesterday, was extinguished early today in mine No. 8, but a second fire occurred, which delayed rescuing.” (PES 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“The fire in No 8 shaft broke out again this morning, followed by another explosion, which fortunately did little damage and hurt none of the rescuing party. It took three hours, however, to get the shaft in such condition that the workers could continue.” (WT 12.09.07 pg. 5)

~3:00 am

“At 3 o’clock this morning the rescue party had not resumed work. It is now accepted that mine No. 8 is on fire and the effort to divert the air current from No. 8 into No. 6 has not as yet been successful. Activity will be renewed at daybreak to get the fans in successful play on No. 8.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1) (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 10)

4 bodies are taken out of #8. 3 bodies are taken out of #6 (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 1 – extra)

~4:00 am

“The fire which started in mine No 8 this afternoon is now under control and is said to have done little damage. Rescue work will be resumed as soon as the federal and state authorities finish an investigation they are making and pronounce conditions safe.” (SLH 12.9.07 pg.1) (LAH 12.9.07 pg. 2)

All headings are explored and no active fire is found. Smoke fumes are present at all times but no fire. (McAteer)

~5:00 am

At the mines:

“A large force of skilled miners, volunteers for the hazardous task of rescue work are on the scene, ready to re-enter the mines and take up the work where they were forced to leave it yesterday when fire broke out in mine No 8. These men await only the word from Clarence Hall, the expert of the federal government, and J.W. Paul, West Virginia’s chief mine inspector. These men are now in charge, superseding officers of the mining company and others who directed the rescue work.” (ES 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“Moving steadily about the ground at the man-way, meeting them on equal terms, was Lee L Malone, who they tell you, worked his way up from digger to general manager and has always stood close to his men. I heard him speaking to J. H Wheelwright, VP of the company, during a lull in relief work while the state inspectors were investigating the localization of afterdamp to the left and south of No 8 mine. These two had been at the mine almost continuously since the disaster and they were going over some of the men who had been killed, calling many of them by their first names—the ‘best pit boss in the state’ and so on.” (Kellogg)

“Volunteers who had worked with them other years came up to shake hands and others to tell how old Jerry Nicholas had for a second time saved his skin in a mine disaster by going on a spree the night before.” (Kellogg)

“’We never thought we’d live to see the like of this in this country.’ Wheelwright stamped his feet with cold and impatience. ‘It seems so slow,’ he said, ‘when you aren’t taking men out and pushing ahead.’” (Kellogg)

Kellogg meets a “young foreigner with two checks pinned on the breast of his overalls, which showed that he had been working on the rescue shifts in both mines. He was an explorer and he had been out and in since Friday evening, 3 days and 3 nights without a break long enough to lie down.”

In the Monongah offices:

“Equally approachable was Pres. C. W. Watson, at the office of the company at Monongah, where relief workers and reporters were finding their way through every door and where 2 of the secretaries acted as a bureau of information. The general attitude of none of the public’s business, adopted by some corporate officials at such times, was entirely lacking.” (Kellogg)

Outside the mines:

“The fire in No 8 mine, which started late yesterday afternoon, was walled in this morning, and following an examination by… Inspector Paul the rescuing parties again began their quest for the dead.” (ES 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“From 5 until 7 o’clock this morning the bodies of John Coney, Andy Stee, and K.D. Ryles were taken out of Mine No. 6 and the bodies of Melroy Watkins, Richard Farmer, Patrick Kearns, Andrew Majeska, and Victor Neviskey were taken out of Mine No. 8.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

These men will make up bodies #44-#51 of the Coroner’s List.

“All through last night the work of recovering the men entombed in the mines here went steadily forward, shift followed shift into the black opening of the man-ways, and shift after shift dragged themselves into the fresh air, reeling and exhausted. These, as they appeared were forced into the temporary hospitals, but they refused to take rest.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

At the morgue:

“Outside the morgue in the mud stands a shivering mass of humanity, many of the people have been there for hours, braving the cold to get a chance to once again gaze on the face of their dead loved ones.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

Coroner Amos has this notice posted to the door:

Dawn:

In Fairmont:

“At dawn began the struggle of thousands of people to reach Monongah from Fairmont. The transportation facilities are meager and it is common sight to see persons boarding the cars through the windows.” (ES 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“There was a group of Italian laborers before the fog hung court house in Fairmont, where we took the car in the early morning. They were huddling, dark-skinned little men from South Italy, such as stand unnoticed; but my fellow traveler was Naples born, big-hearted in his love for humble folk, and his ears caught judgements being passed by these peasants from the Abruzzi, from Terra di Lavoro and Calabria. Now and then their words broke off in sighs—signs, he told me, ‘for the fate met by their brother workers and for the destitute condition in which so many families had been left.’ Today, tomorrow, and God knows till when, these laborers are to be grave diggers.” (Kellogg)

In Monongah:

“Guards have been placed about Monongah, and the town is practically under martial law, though good order has prevailed.” (WT 12.9.07 pg. 5)

Undertaker Cunningham is still confined to bed at the Curry hotel. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“The details for the transportation of friends to the place of burial has not been worked out yet but will soon engage the attention of the officials. All the arrangements for the transportation of the corpses have been made.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

At the mines:

“Here and there among the debris were groups of twinkling lights, the lamps of the dead miners. As the dawn brightened the car tracks became black with moving processions of people, which halted and bunched around the mine.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“The hammers of a score of men working on a temporary morgue rang out sharply. Cots, beddings, blankets and stretchers were stacked here and there. Special officers kept the crowd beyond a barbed-wire barricade.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“Though the rescuers have been practically through the main heading of mine No. 6, yet the larger portion of the mine has not yet been penetrated. There has been virtually no progress at the other mine, though a small number of men have been taken out at some of the hill openings. The main heading has not yet yielded to any appreciable extent to the work of the men engaged in trying to enter it.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1) (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 10)

General Manager Malone said this morning that the searching parties are unable to find the ill-fated men. “Whether the men have been blown to atoms or whether they are still farther back is not apparent at this time.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

Outside #8

“Suddenly out of the lark mouth of the slope came one of the night shifts, a dozen men in all, roped together like steers. Their faces were black and gleaming with sweat. Their eyes rolled whitely. The leader seemed strong enough but number 4 staggered and hung to his rope. The last man out, a huge Norwegian cursed savagely. “No use,” he said, “It’s hell in there. What’s the use anyway. The mine is on fire, look.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

~6:00 am

In Fairmont:

Fairmont mines back up and running. “There was little coal loaded. It is thought that in a few days that practically all the mines will be running about normally.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

“Double rows of brown trenches in the little cemetery will soon mark the last resting place of the 400 victims of the explosion…” (WT 12.9.07 pg. 5)

“On the hillside above the mines where there is a hamlet, women have stood and sat from the very hour of the catastrophe. Hunger and cold wake them not from care and grief and they have not been persuaded as yet to return to their homes or to take nourishment. Others lie at their homes prostrated. Some in delicate condition have been thrown into grave sickness since the news of the disaster reached them, and the unborn have been born but not to live to learn of the terrible fate of their fathers.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 4)

“All business is suspended and the town and its surviving inhabitants have assumed an attitude of mourning and melancholy. All the stores and business places have been closed since the explosion occurred and those who are not prostrated with grief are making efforts to rescue the perished miners and comfort those who are stricken with grief.” (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 7)

“While the coal company and others have furnished a great many food supplies, every car coming into the city, yet there is more than a well-founded belief that universal hunger and physical distress will soon prevail, in fact, there is already crying need for help.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1)

At the mines:

(By United Press) “Fire which broke out in No 8 mine, stopping the rescue of the bodies of the entombed miners yesterday, was extinguished at 2 o’clock this morning. At 2:15 a.m., however, another fire broke out beyond the third entry. This fire was put out at 6 o’clock and at 9 o’clock eight more bodies were brought out.” (TEP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“The rescue forces at work at Mines Nos 6 and 8 have been augmented by men from Enterprise and Georges Creek and Frostburg, Md. These men kindly volunteered their services and have gone in work with the rescuing party with vim and willingness.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“It is expected that 100 bodies will be recovered today, if there are no more fires.” (PES 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“Cars have been stationed at the mouths of the shafts and as quickly as the bodies are taken out they will be cared for.” (Wash. Times 12.09.07 pg. 5)

“Trouble has arisen between the board of health and the mine officials.” (Wash. Times 12.9.07 pg. 5)

“Health authorities and the mine officers are now in a clash. The health board wants to bury the dead bodies in a trench without identification, while on the other hand, the mine officials wish to turn them over to friends. This argument between the two interested parties is doing much to increase sorrow of the immediate families of the dead miners. It too, is delaying the work of rescuing parties.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

At #8:

“While the company does not admit it, there is a general feeling that No. 8 is afire, and the intense heat would indicate it. The blaze it is believed is inside the mine a considerable distance. Owing to this work there will likely progress very slowly.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 4)

“This morning a gaunt old miner named John Morgan came staggering out of the hole at No. 8, gasping for breath. He was noted for his bravery. He had been a miner all his life and his face was shot blue with oil burns from the blasting. ‘I have been back a mile and a half,’ he said. ‘I went in as long as I could get any air. I had to crawl out with my mouth to the ground to get breath. There is no hope. They are all dead. They are at least two miles in.’ Outside the crowd, gazing over the sunny hills, measured a mile and a half with their eyes. ‘Why it must be away over there,’ said one, indicating the far-off sky line. Yes, just beyond that sky line there were hills and hills outside the range of vision under which the dead were lying in hundreds.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 1)

Inside the mines:

“…between 300 and 400 in number, lie in unknown sections of the vast workings in the bowels of the great hills that overlook the town and extend two miles and more back from the main entries to the mines. These unlocated bodies…are seriously menaced by two destroying elements—by decay in the overheated, humid and vapor-poisoned atmosphere of the mines, and by fires that are smoldering here and there in the workings, and from time to time, bursting into flame. Steadily the chance is ebbing that these bodies will be brought to the surface, identified by friends and relatives and given Christian burial.” (ES 12.9.07 pg. 1)

At the morgue:

“The body of Patrick McDonough, the Clarksburger, who was killed in the mine disaster, has been prepared for burial and will be taken to Clarksburg for burial Monday morning. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the people.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1)

Bodies are getting to point of unidentifiable; “Many were brought forth with their heads literally torn off, others are without arms or feet. One was entirely naked, another had only a small part of the underpants, still another nothing but the heel of a shoe. Motorman Ford, only the arms and legs, which were found at the motor where he was stationed at the time of the explosion. His body has not been found and probably will not be. Many were terribly burned.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 4)

“An undertaker is authority for the statement that of the fifty-three bodies handled only three were intact. Some were headless, arms were missing from some and legs or other members from others.” (ES 12.9.07 pg. 1)

~7:00 am

In Monongah:

Weather worsens. “It was drizzling and a heavy mist hung over the river, shutting off the bare hills that bunch close at #6 mine and blanketing the trestle work. Seemingly, from every pore of the earth there rose a white cloud which wrapped old objects in new meanings—a broken wheel, the dirty white of some clothes left in the corner, the gleam of the rails.” (Kellogg)

At the morgue:

“The reports here are as unreliable as they are numerous. The undertakers have lost about fifteen hours sleep on account of the fake reports of bringing in more bodies.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“Of the 43 bodies recovered from the mines, all but 9 have been identified. All of these bodies were horribly mutilated by the force of the explosion.” (Wash. Times 12.9.07 pg. 5)

At the mines:

“The scene at the mines has not changed much since Friday.” (FWV 12.9.07 pg.8)

The body of Charles McKain has been located and will soon be brought out. His remains will be interred at Clarksburg. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1) (FWV 12.10.07 pg.1

The body of Mike Cosic has been recovered and identified. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1) Mike is body #52 on the Coroner’s List.

More on How Death Gloated!

Sunday, December 8, 1907, Night

“At the home of Mrs. John Hearmans, at Monongah, is one more little soul needing the care which the dead father cannot give. Yesterday at about the same time that the body of her husband was brought from the mines Mrs. Hearmans gave birth to a fifth child. Her condition is serious. ‘He shall never be a coal miner,’ she sobs of her little son, as her wet eyes rest upon the casket of her husband.” (CET 12.9.07 pg. 1)

~10:00 pm

“It seems that casualties and disasters follow so closely upon each other that events which in former years would have thrilled the country in when they happened now excites only conventional expressions of pity.” (TBS 12.8.07 pg. 4)

“… the city council sent messages for aid and quick response is expected from surrounding towns.” (TES 12.9.07 pg. 4)

At the mines:

“62 bodies have been taken from the mines late tonight. This number will be augmented by at least 30 more by daylight.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

“A young volunteer in a smudged grey sweater, turned out to be the son of a Michigan judge. He had been a mine superintendent at one time and as he had taken a hand in rescue work following 3 explosions they had put him at the head of the exploring work of a party—the most ticklish job of all. ‘These are picked men,’ he explained, ‘at the same time, some hang back when it comes to going into the chambers. If a man goes in there with you, then he’s more than picked. Some like to feel that so we sort of pass the chance around.’ (Kellogg)

“While more headway has been made, the herculean task of recovering scores of the bodies in any recognizable shape has been abandoned, according to the opinion of mine experts on the scene.”

“It was reported yesterday that the undertakers have ceased to embalm the bodies but it was stated at the morgue that these men will not shrink from their duty however unpleasant it is. The company is desirous that the bodies be made as presentable as possible but if the board of health decides that the decomposition is in a stage too far advanced for convenience and safety the bodies will be removed from the mines, identified at the mouth so far as possible, then buried immediately. It is quite likely that this will be done so the chances are that the majority of the women who saw their husbands or sons go down into the mines alive and happy Friday morning will never again gaze upon their faces that are now cold in death, battered, many of them into and unrecognizable mass” (CET 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“I talked with an Irishman from PA who had ‘come to help.’ Beside him was another Pennsylvanian, a rescue man, who had worked 5 days the week before in Naomi mine, where 36 had been killed.” (Kellogg)

“An old miner, with red cheek bones and dusty wisps of hair at the ears, had carried out two dead men who had been overcome by blackdamp while cementing.” (Kellogg)

“Hope has gone that there can be any living soul in the mines, but there is a burning desire on the part of relatives to obtain possession of the bodies. If this cannot be granted their grief will know no bounds. Thus in gloom and doubt and despair passed the saddest Sunday Fairmont has ever seen.” (CET 12.9.07 pg. 1)

In Monongah:

“One of the many sad occurrences of the disaster and its consequences was the death Sunday night of Mrs. Lawrence Heinerman, widow of one of the victims of the disaster, whose body was among the first taken out of Mine No. 6. She died of childbirth and doubtless her delicate condition was aggravated by the mine horror.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

Mrs. John Hinerman, wife of one of the first victims that was found gives birth and dies in labor. Her death leaves 5 small children without any parent. The child died also. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

More on How Death Gloated!

Sunday, December 8, 1907, Afternoon, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm

“75 men digging graves on the hillside, a depot platform piled high with pine boxes, a row of coffins in the main street stacked 3 high and nearly a block in length, a corps of undertakers as large as a regiment’s hospital corps, women whose eyes could weep no more, with orphaned children clinging to their skirts—these were some of the evidences that there would be no Christmas in Monongah for another year.” (Forbes)

~ Noon

In Monongah:

“Many newspaper men, including photographers, from all over the country are at Monongah. All of the nearby cities have special reporters on the scene and there are newspaper men from Pittsburg, Wheeling, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Washington and other cities.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

“Probably never before on any occasion have the interurban cars carried as many people as they have in the last few days since the mine disaster. All along the line hundreds of anxious people are found at every station eagerly trying to get on a car to go to the scene of the disaster. Many of them are foreigners who had relatives working in the two mines. Sunday the interurban station in this city was crowded all day and many people visited the scene of the disaster. The street cars were run double all day and every one was crowded to its utmost. Many people took advantage of it being Sunday, to go to Monongah.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

Inside the mines:

“The farther into the mines the workers proceed the greater the destruction is found to be. Many side entries and rooms are completely blocked by falls of slate. One room where it was known two of the miners were working was entered but instead of finding the blackened bodies of the two miners tons and tons of slate were found burying them so that it will be several days before their bodies can be recovered. The same condition of affairs is reported at many other points in the mine.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

Outside the mines:

“Finally, a horse came out of the hill and behind it a train of empty mine cars but the last car was loaded and covered with stained canvas and blankets. The coverings were thrown off and one by one the blackened and mutilated bodies of what had once been men were carried to the waiting wagons to be hauled over the bridge into the town and delivered to the undertakers.” (Forbes)

“They all looked as if they had been par-boiled, they were so red. Many of them were mutilated and in several cases the eyeballs had been split by the force of the explosion. The bodies were beginning to decompose.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 6)

~2:00 pm

Col. J. H. McDermott arrives in Fairmont as representative of Gov. Dawson, who was unable to come to the scene of the Monongah disaster. Judge J.W. Mason and Clerk W.T. Black met him at the train station. (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 1 – extra) (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“I am here to look over the situation,” said Col. McDermott, “and will advise Gov. Dawson from time to time what I learn. I am not here to interfere with any department of the mines, as each representative of every department will adhere strictly to his own work.” (WH 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“At the last meeting of the State legislature Col. McDermott, in his capacity as President of the Senate, appointed a committee to investigate the mines of West Virginia and the mine disasters. This committee had visited both the mines at which the explosion took place, about two months ago, and pronounced them as being as finely equipped and managed as any they had ever seen. It is quite probable that this same committee will arrive here shortly for another examination of the Monongah mines.” (WH 12.9.07 pg. 1)

At some point during the afternoon

In Fairmont:

“This town has some plucky girls, and it is a question as to whether their equal can be found. …Sunday there were 4 of them walked to Monongah, across the hill, taking all the near cuts and making the distance as short as possible. That’s game, that is.” (FWV 12.16.07 pg. )

“Headed by the churches, relief work was well started yesterday and a general appeal to the public is being made. Many West Virginia towns have already acted and others are ready to do so. The work will be thoroughly organized and systemized.” (ES 12.9.07 pg. 1-2)

“Relief corps were organized by the women of Fairmont today. Already hundreds of dollars are pouring in.” (WH 12.9.07 pg. 1)

In Morgantown:

Collections from all Morgantown churches are handed over to relief funds. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. ?)

At the morgue in Monongah:

“R.L. Cunningham, of Fairmont, who is one of the undertakers who have charge of the band of fifteen caring for the bodies brought out of the mines, preparing them for burial and placing them in coffins, met with an accident that has laid him up. While hurrying from the morgue in the First National Bank building on Main street to one of the branch morgues, he slipped and fell, spraining a weak knee joint so badly that he cannot walk. He is confined to his room in the Curry hotel under care of a physician and his work has devolved upon another undertaker. Messrs. W.G. Osborn and Sleppy & Warne, of this city, are still with the undertakers assisting in the work of taking care of the dead.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

At the cemeteries:

“About twenty victims were buried today in the three cemeteries near the town.” (AMJ 12.9.07 pg. 1)

“The bodies of fifteen Italians were buried in Holy Cross cemetery Sunday afternoon. The cemetery is located on the hill over the mines. The bodies of two Polanders were also buried the same afternoon in the Polish cemetery which is on the same hill adjoining Holy Cross cemetery. The bodies of two Polanders are lying in the Polish church where services will be held over them.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1) (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 10)

In Monongah:

“Another woman, the mother of five little children, whose husband was killed in mine No. 8, became so distracted at her home that she began throwing household articles about the house and then to tear her clothing from her. She became so violent that friends had to tie her to a chair and stand watch over her until she became quieted.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

“The body of Fred Rogers was taken to Fairchance Sunday afternoon and buried there.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1) (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 10)

“…3 men who were thought to be victims but escaped are Ross Morka, Marie Bagenealla and Anebra Spaw. The 2 former went to Clarksburg to visit some friends early in the morning of the explosion but did not notify their boarding boss of their intentions. They were given a royal reception when they appeared today. Spaw, one of the men supposed to have been blown into the river at the entrance of No 6 was not at work that fateful morning. When he learned that his friends were mourning him as dead he lost no time in returning from a visit to Grafton.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

At the mines:

“But 3 bodies have been removed from No 8 mine this afternoon, two being those of a motorman and a brakeman found near their car at the first left entry of the north heading near where the third body was found. All were badly burned about the face and hands but friends were able to recognize them at the morgue.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

“A thrilling incident occurred on the bridge on which the mine cars were pulled from mine No. 8 in which an aged Polish woman nearly lost her life. Her only son, and the bread winner of the family, was killed in the awful explosion. She wandered out on the bridge and was climbing on some planks used as a temporary walk and was viewing the workers about the wreckage in front of the mine. Suddenly she staggered and fell. Several men ran to her side and caught her just as she was falling into the river. Friends carried her away in hysterics.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

In McKeesport, PA:

Lester E. Trader and his brother are at their father’s home in McKeesport when General Manager Frank Haas “… called up and said he wants us to get back here. Frank and I couldn’t leave the company that way. I went back and they gave me a job in the auditor’s office in Clairmont.” (McAteer)

Victor told Trader that in return for being given an office and a job in the accounting department, he would be quoted as official spokesperson for company. (McAteer)

In Fairmont:

The Union Relief Association is organized at the Methodist Protestant Temple for the purpose of receiving and distributing aid of all kinds to the stricken families in and about Monongah and is rapidly shaping plans through the various committees, to do the necessary work in a thoroughly business-like way. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. ?)

Collections from the morning’s church services are turned over to Mrs. Thomas W. Fleming, “who will see that it does the most possible good to lessen burdens that the grief-stricken ones are bearing.” (FWV 12.9.07 – pg. 1 – extra)

“Donations of money can be handed to any member of the following committee and receipt for the same will be sent to the donor by Mrs. Thomas W Fleming, chairman.”

~2:30 pm

Chief Mine Inspector J.W. Paul goes into #6 to inspect conditions. (McAteer)

“At both mines members of rescuing parties are being taken from the mines weakened and unconscious condition but after being out for a few hours they have fully recovered. None of the rescuers who have been overcome is now in serious condition.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

At the morgue:

“One thing that is considered strange is that few things of value are being found among the effects of the dead. From information received from the company officials Coroner Amos was of opinion that large sums of money would be found in the clothes of the foreign miners and working upon this supposition a careful search was made of every garment removed from the body. It was known to be a custom of the foreigners to carry their money with them, but the most valuable article so far found was a silver watch in the pocket of Peter Alexander, who was removed to the morgue Sunday afternoon.” (CDT 12.9.07 pg. 1)

~3:00 pm

At #8:

“All Sunday until 3 o’clock in the afternoon, when the searching parties were ordered out so that the mine inspectors make a test and experiment with the new fan at No. 8, there were sixty men engaged in the work of recovering bodies and nearly a score were taken out during the day.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1) (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 10)

*For the past 32 hours or so, all of the local mines owned by Fairmont Coal Company have been shut down and those miners have been reporting to Monongah for work. 2 small fans on loan from local smaller mines have been circulating air into #8. With rescue and recovery work now formally systemized under Inspector Paul and the other state inspectors and a plan to regularly change out volunteer crews, Fairmont Coal Company intends to restart regular work in their other local mines tomorrow.

*A replacement fan is currently is on its way from Pittsburg and scheduled to arrive on a special train around 4 pm. One of the fans is to be switched out and sent back to its original mine so that regular work may resume there tomorrow.

*Around 3 pm General Manager Frank Haas, who has been in charge of overseeing work at #8, begins to put their devised plan for switching out the fans into action. A majority but not all miners are ordered out of #8 just before one of the 2 fans is switched off. The outside crews are prepared to begin unmounting the fan from its temporary housing and get it across the trestle to the railroad line.

*Inside #8, small “hot spots” in explored and still unexplored areas of the mine (where coal is smoldering and radiating heat but there is not enough oxygen to ignite flame or smoke) become fully deprived of air. As the coal burns, it continues to release methane gases, but the air circulation is not powerful enough anymore to disperse or dilute these gases. Those who are permitted to remain in the mine during the fan switch are more than likely those who are working near or in the direct path of the 2^nd fan which is not turned off.

*At #6, men are also ordered out at this time as the air current from #8 will likely push dangerous gases into the workings of #6.

“The work at No 6 progressed rapidly owing to the conditions of the powerful fan there, until the rescuers were ordered from the mine because of the temporary cessation at No 8.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

“After the men were ordered to cease temporarily from the rescue work at No. 6 the opening was closed and late in the day the big new fan was set to work at No. 8. One reason for the ordering of the men out was the discovery of some gas at the connection of the two mines, and another was that it was the purpose to divert the air-course from No. 8 into No. 6, thus making it dangerous for men to work in No. 6. While this was going on a heavy guard was placed on the city side of the bridge running across the river to the tipple and no one was allowed to cross there, lest there might be a deadly current of air out of No. 6 at any moment.” (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 1) (CDT 12.9.07 xtra pg. 10)

~4:00 pm

In Monongah:

The Company hires 3 Fairmont undertakers to manage the bulk of transporting the dead: Musgrove & Sons, R.I. Cunningham, and Jones & Co.; these 3 hire on 20 more undertakers from Fairmont and surrounding towns. (McAteer)

Unfortunately, the undertaker transport drivers are not very familiar with area of Monongah. Much confusion occurs over the next days in the transport of bodies to the correct homes. Priests will end up helping with most. (McAteer)

“The rapidity with which the remains began to be recovered late this afternoon and evening necessitated the coal company pressing into service a number of transfer wagons. These were filled with straw and the gruesome work of carting the charred remains across the river through the dense crowd began. Scenes that were sublimely pathetic transpired. The weeping of the bereaved ones as they madly chased after the vehicles was heartrending. They overwhelmed the morgue in their clamors for a look at the dead and it was necessary to drive them back by force and draw ropes across the main street. Pickets were stationed and the crowd thus held in check. It would only separate when the carriages of death were forced through to take the bodies to the cemeteries.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)

At #8:

*The anticipated 4 o’clock B&O special train arrives carrying very important materials for the rescue efforts and, more than likely, Paul U. Kellogg and several others who will become key figures over the next few days

“The victims at Monongah were working with open lamps on their caps; it was 2 days after the explosion before a supply of safety lights sufficient even for the exploring parties reached the mine.” (Forbes)

“A big mine fan, with auxiliary machinery arrived here on a special train from Pittsburg this afternoon at 4 o’clock, for use at the opening of Mine No. 8. Machinists and other workmen at once began work on installing it at the mine entrance and as soon as possible the machinery was in operation.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

*When the train arrives, crews load the uninstalled fan onto an empty car or flat bed. The train pulls up slightly and crews unload the new fan and begin to haul it back across #8 trestle. The train continues on southbound to return the old fan to its proper mine in the Shinnston area.

*It takes approximately 45 minutes for this very experienced and driven crew to complete this task and get the fan running ventilation through #8 again. As far as Haas and the other onlooking reporters who may have known of this plan in advance, everything is going splendidly. Once ventilation has had some time to work its way through the mine, the state inspectors will perform the first formal fire and air check of #8.

“As soon as the fan was in operation the work of rescue was stopped at both Mine No. 6 and at Mine No. 8 for the purpose of testing the fan and ascertaining the result of the air current it would make.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

*It does not take long for the new burst of air flowing through #8 to begin feeding these small “hot spots” throughout the mine. Smoke begins to fill the galleries and headings of the mine.

“New difficulties and complications have confronted the rescuers on every hand, but with only brief interruptions the work was continued until 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon. Then the fire drove all from the unexplored regions and the search had to be abandoned for the remainder of the day and for the night.” (TEW 12.9.07 pg. 7)

* = Author’s description of events. There is much conflicting information over the next 24 hours for several reasons and there will be an “Issues” post about this event and this author’s choices in the future. See ‘Dislaimer and Guide’ for more insight on this process.

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