“…a loud explosion at the home of R. Frediani tore out the front of his house but luckily none of the family were injured. The cause of the explosion is attributed to the Black Hand, as Frediani received several demands and letters for money but paid no attention to them. The police found a large quantity of dynamite. So far no arrests have been made.” (FWV 12.28.07 pg. 1)
Morning
In New York City:
FWV 12.28.07 – pg 1
“Happy that her children, for whom she had sacrificed everything, even the last scraps of food, had at last found friends, Mrs. Phyllis Prisco died at a Brooklyn hospital today of starvation. Mrs. Prisco’s husband has been dead for some months and four little ones, the eldest four years, the youngest four months old, to care for, she labored day and night until she was taken ill.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 5)
“Her pride prevented her from asking for aid so she saved what bits of food she could obtain for her little ones, while she gradually grew weaker and weaker from the lack of food. The last bits of crusts went for the children’s Christmas dinner and the next morning neighbors heard the crying of the little ones in the unfurnished room in which the mother and children lived. They entered and found Mrs. Prisco dying the children weak from the lack of food and from the cold. The police removed the mother to a hospital and the Children’s society took care of the little ones.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 5)
“When the physicians found that all hope for the mother was gone, the little ones were sent for and Mrs. Prisco was assured that they would be cared for. They were happy again for they had had plenty of food and toys. Rosie and Katherine cooed over pretty dolls. Sam’s eyes glistened at a furry horse and baby Angeline clutched in her chubby hands a wooly lamb.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 5)
“Their troubles were forgotten in their new found happiness and as they played with their treasures on the floor beside the hospital cot the tired woman realized that their sufferings were over. And as she watched them playing there, the mother smile faded out of her eyes, the mother heart was stilled and the mother’s sacrifice was complete.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 5)
At the Darr Mines in PA:
“During the work last night the removing of corpses from the fatal entry No. 27, which held 74 bodies, was accomplished and the total death list was swollen to 220.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 4)
“The excact number of victims will not be known until the last vestige of wreckage is removed, but developments show the estimate of 225 dead was nearly correct.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 4)
“Some of the bodies last removed were in better shape than those taken out earlier. They had fewer burns and were less mutilated.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 4)
The “task of clearing up the workings” begins. “The dead horses, of which there are 20 in the mine, will first be hauled out. This will be a difficult task because of the limited space and the numerous falls which are encountered.” (PDP 12.28.07 pg. 3)
Afternoon
In Baltimore, MD:
BS 12.28.07 pg 7
In Parkersburg, WV:
Charles Huffman is dead, Orland Bennett will lose his eye sight and Ruday Backman will lose a leg as the result of hunting accidents near Wadesville over Christmas. (FWV 12.28.07 pg. 1)
“Huffman was killed by a discharge from a shotgun when he had been holding on his lap while sitting on a fence. The gun fell from his grasp and the hammer struck the fence and the content of the shell entered the stomach of Huffman. His funeral will be held this afternoon…” (FWV 12.28.07 pg. 1)
At the Darr mines in PA:
“Workmen this afternoon removed the carcasses of 20 horses and mules.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 4)
“Attention will now be directed toward clearing away the piles of debris. Under this, according to the company officials, probably six or eight more bodies will be found, but others think 20 to 30 corpses will be located beneath the masses of wreckage.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 4)
“Coroner Wynn has set the date of the inquest for January ninth and he will hold it at Smithton at two p.m.” (FWV 12.28.07 pg. 1)
“By that time all the bodies will have been recovered.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 4)
“George A. Campsey, representing the Carnegie Hero Fund commission, which gave $35,000 to the Monongah sufferers, was at Jacobs Creek yesterday investigating the conditions of stricken families. It is expected that the commission at its January meeting will take action similar to that in the Monongah disaster.” (PDP 12.29.07 pg. 4)
“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)
“This is the day of ‘little mothers’ in Monongah. The little girls tend the babies, wait on the sick and get what bits of food there are.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)
~7:30 am
The Fairmont West Virginian predicts even more rain for today and tonight, followed by snow and slightly cooler weather (12.10.07 pg. 1)
“It has been raining here steadily since last evening and wretched conditions prevail throughout this section today.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1) (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1)
At the mines:
“The stench from decomposed bodies in the mines is becoming almost unbearable to rescuers. The stench is made worse because thirty-six horses were also killed in the mines.” (GWA 12.12.07 pg. 7)
“Many rescuers have become sick. One hundred and fifty miners from the mines in George Creek district have been summoned here to assist in the rescue work.” (GWA 12.12.07 pg. 7)
“The health officers 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. Quicklime will be taken into the mine and scattered over the bodies if conditions become much worse.” (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“The crowds of idlers who surged about the pit entrances…have been dwindling ever since the rainstorm last night…” (AR pg. 1) (LAH 12.11.07 pg. 2) (SFC 12.11.07 pg. 1)
“The mud at the opening of the mines is several inches deep and has been trodden by the great crowds into a perfect quagmire, through which the men with the stretchers have to carry the dead. In conveying one of the recovered bodies down to the railroad tracks this morning a stretcher bearer slipped and the inanimate burden, which was wrapped in a blanket, was thrown into the mud. The sight of it gave the crowd a convulsion.” (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1)
At the morgues:
“Bodies brought from mines Nos 6 and 8 …during last night carried the list of victims beyond the hundred mark, and others are being carried into the morgue in intervals.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)
2 men taken out this morning had some money on them: #101 – Salvadore Lobbs had $150 in a belt strapped around his leg and #110 – Andy Morris had $23.19 in his pocket-book. This brings the total amount of money found on the miners to $200.19. Money is in the hands of the coroner as are all other things that are found. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)
In Fairmont:
J.E. Sands, cashier of First National Bank, receives a check for $500.00 from the City Bank of Wheeling and a check for $100.00 from the Second National Bank of Cumberland, MD and $100 through Mr. Zack Robertson from a friend in Wheeling. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)
In Grafton:
Floyd Parsons “came up from Fairmont” and gives the Grafton Republican newspaper his statement “concerning the horror…”. Floyd was employed as chief engineer in the mines that exploded at Rush Run some months ago and in which he narrowly escaped death. Later he entered into special examinations of mine disasters for the journal he now represents. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 2)
~8:00 am
“Carrying out orders from officials of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, a force of between forty and fifty trackmen that have been working on the railroad between this city and Parkersburg, left Clarksburg Tuesday morning on the interurban trolley line for Monongah to assist in digging graves for the dead that are taken from Monongah mines Nos 6 and 8. The men took picks, shovels and other tools with them and as soon as they arrived at Monongah they proceeded to the cemeteries and began work digging graves. The men were called to this city from various points along the railroad between Parkersburg and this city where they had been working.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)
In Monongah:
Milroy “Toy” Watkins is taken from Monongah to Montana for burial. The brother of Will Watkins, “…hearing that his brother was in No 6 mine went to work to help find him and he did not give up until he had found him and recognized him by a pair of black patent leather shoes and a black sateen shirt.” (FWV 12.12.07 pg. 2)
The Marion County Board of Health issues an order to advance the burial procedures. Viewing and ID opportunities for families and friends are limited to 4 hours maximum, no matter the condition of the body. The new accelerated ID and burial process cause many burials to occur immediately, without funeral masses. Catholic parishes hold whatever services they can at graveyards. (McAteer)
~9:00 am
On the far east side of Fairmont:
“Impressive were the services conducted by Rev. Hess” for Toy Watkins which takes place at the United Brethren church at Montana. He was the son of Mr. Willis Watkins and was a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. John Freeman, “an aged and respected couple residing at Montana and was related to many people living in and around Hoult and Montana.” Toy is survived by “4 brothers and 2 sisters; his mother having died about one year ago.” He is also survived by wife, Gettie Hyson Watkins, of Simpson, “who is very poorly in Cook Hospital, she being almost prostrated by the awful shock and untimely end of her husband.” (FWV 12.11.07 pg. 2)
In Monongah:
“Shock and grief have already destroyed many of the little unborn lives. Many women are so distraught with suffering that they forget all about their children.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“Funeral after funeral is being held at the churches in Monongah. The funeral cars are on the move most of the time. The unknown dead are being buried in the potter’s field near the Polish Catholic church.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)
Over 70 bodies are interred throughout the day. Some of them get funerals at the church, particularly those who could be preserved, but due to the condition of so many of the bodies brought out in the past hours, more frequently they are simply taken to one of the cemeteries. If identified, a small prayer is said; if not they are just buried. (McAteer) (news)
“The relief work is well under way and will soon be systemized. There is now plenty of food but there is urgent need of clothing in many families. Cash funds are being raised in many places and installments have already been forwarded from some points. The coal companies of this district have contributed $20,000 cash.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“Thirty-seven funerals were held Monday and a number today. One body was sent to the cemetery followed by one lone woman, the widow, who had stood for days at the mines waiting for it.” (GWA 12.12.07 pg. 7)
At the mines:
“Every day since the explosion, hands, legs and arms have been removed. The stench from the decomposed bodies in the mines is becoming almost unbearable. This is one of the greatest difficulties which the rescuers have to overcome.” (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“Up to nine o’clock this morning one hundred and one bodies have been removed from the Monongah mines, thirty-one having been taken out since midnight.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 1)
~10:00 am
In Clarksburg:
“Charles McKane, aged 28 years, one of the Monongah mine victims, was buried in Holy Cross cemetery here at 10 ‘clock Tuesday forenoon. McKain’s body was found in one of the rooms of No. 8 mine and was taken from the mine shortly after midnight. With others it was conveyed to the morgue at Monongah and prepared for burial. It was then sent to his late home in that town arriving there at 2:30 o’clock, and Tuesday morning it was brought up on the interurban and buried. Relatives and friends accompanied the body. Mr. McKain’s body was not mutilated. It is evident he smothered to death. He leaves a wife and one child.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 3)
“Mayor L.C. Crile announced Tuesday morning that all moneys received at the council chamber in response to his proclamation calling for donations for the relief of the Monongah mine suffered, would be turned over to the Telegram relief fund, and due credit will be given to each donor. The donations will be published in the Telegram daily. A list of all the donors who leave supplies, provisions, clothing, etc., at the mayor’s office for the Monongah mine sufferers will be published each evening in the Telegram also. Donations are coming in freely and they should continue so for there are many unfortunate women and children left in destitute circumstances by the awful disaster.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)
In Monongah:
“Quite a number of Bridgeport people today went to the scene of the great mine disaster at Monongah. Some went for the mere sake of seeing, while others went with the hope of getting tidings from relatives and friends who were employed at the ill-fated mines.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 7)
“There is no change in the demeanor of the people of the stricken town except that the gloom of sadness and sorrow deepens all the time. Funeral after funeral was held today, mostly at the Catholic cemeteries, where scenes are most sad. After loved ones have been identified at the morgue and prepared for burial, hundreds of women and children gather at the cemeteries on the hill instead of going to the churches and await the arrival of the dead.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“Women were found today weak from pain, who are also suffering from lack of proper nourishment. Some of the Fairmont women have depleted their own stores of winter supply food in relieving the distress.” (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“Ever since the explosion the most heroic action has been displayed on all sides by the women who despite their great stress and suffering, clung to their children. From the start they realized that the little tots were to becomes a serious burden, but on all sides could be heard the same sentiment, they would rather die than give up their children.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“Some of the widows have no relations in America, for many came to Monongah with their husbands from the old country. Others came as sweethearts, years ago, after the lovers had made enough money to send for them. And while their married lives began here, they apparently prefer, in their distress, the old homes far away.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“There are not many of the women who can now find any charms about Monongah, and although foreigners, most of them want to return to their native country, feeling that the few short years of the country of liberty has brought them nothing but grief and suffering.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 1)
Special correspondent for the United Press, Dorothy Dale, and her photographer are approached by “the brightest Italian girl in the settlement”, Faustina Davia (last name reported as “Daria”).
Faustina Davia
Faustina is the oldest child and only daughter of Victor and Catherina Davia (DaVia). Victor was a “day man” working in #6 at the time of the explosion and was recorded as the 15th body recovered from the mines and to go through the morgue. He was identified by George Gibbons at the Italian Catholic church in Monongah sometime on Monday, though it is generally known that none of the family got to actually view and confirm that the body which was buried in Row A Grave 9 of the Italian Catholic cemetery contained Victor’s actual remains. (Tropea) (News) (McAteer) (Loss) (Amos)
“’Please you get something for me, I can do.’ A little hand touched my arm. A curl-framed face of a girl of 10 looked into my face. ‘You know mans all dead. Boys all dead. Only girls left to work.’ Do you know the half apologetic half appealing look of the trembling old man who shoved out of his life’s track by younger men—the man who begs you to buy matches or shoestrings? Well, that was the expression in the old young eyes of little ten-year-old Faustina Daria. Faustina was in the sixth grade the day before the explosion. That is ages ago to her.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)
At the mines:
“With 112 bodies on the surface at 10 o’clock today, 25 more ready to be brought out of Mine No 6 and 4 awaiting removal from Mine No 8. It was expected that the total number of bodies recovered from the wrecked mines by noon would be 140.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“The rescuers are working the right side of mine No. 8, where, it is thought, a majority of the bodies yet in the mine will be found.” (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1) (RIA 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“The rescue work is being pushed and before night it is expected that most of the bodies will have been taken out.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1) (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1)
~11:00 am
In East Monongah:
The General Relief Committee holds a meeting at the First National bank, which is currently operating as the primary morgue, and passes an order that the receipts and disbursements of the committee be published in the Fairmont papers from day to day. (McAteer)
Bishop Donahue of Wheeling and Judge Mason are added to the General Relief Committee. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)
Donahue has “visited many of the homes of miners and found so many children made orphans by the disaster that he immediately took up the work of providing homes for them. He will arrange to have as many as can be accommodated sent to the orphanages maintained by the church at Huntington and Wheeling.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)
In West Monongah:
Faustina Davia has taken Dorothy Dale and her photographer to her family’s three-room house on Walnut Avenue.
“‘See my Ma, Resta, Kipling, Georda and Ojgenia to work for,’ as she pointed at the group on the steps. ‘My pa make $2 a day,’ she explained. ‘And wasn’t it awful; three days he was home with a hurt on his back, and Friday he went in again and—and—’. But even the brave lips of strong hearted women of ten sometimes give way. The little figure crouched against the wall and quivered with sobs. ‘You know we paid $5 rent and had lard and cheese and bologna,’ she said with pride. The child spoke as rich people spoke of automobiles and theatre parties. And there was little Faustinas in almost every house in Monongah.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“I tell you there is nothing that makes one’s heart go out more to that stricken people than the way tiny girls put their little shoulders to the burdens that their mothers can not bear.” (NCH 12.10.07 pg. 1)
Photo taken of the Davia family on the porch of their home.Photo of Davia family at Ellis Island. Catherina and her family is the focus of this author’s historic fiction, therefore, there will soon be areas of this site which will be dedicated solely to her story.
~11:30 am
“At eleven thirty, one hundred and thirteen bodies have been taken from the mine by rescuers. The bodies of those taken out since daylight are in good condition, and many were identified.” (CET 12.10.07 pg. 1)
“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)
“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:
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
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)
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)
“Tonight, the work of the rescue has been turned to a struggle to the death with the fire demon.” (US Dept of Labor-Dispatch)
~5:00 pm
“When the fire broke out forty-two bodies had been recovered, forty-two out of the 391 who were known to have been in the mine. Add these to those who worked outside who were hurried to death by the force of the explosion or struck by the flying missiles, and it makes a total death list of 406. The list may even be larger than that.” (WH 12.9.07 pg. 1)
“It is not known just how long a man can stay in the foul air of the mines and relays of fifteen minutes have been provided. With clock-like precision the relief appears and good progress was made all day until halted by the fire.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 2)
At #6:
The fan is stopped and all are ordered out of the mine because of developments at #8.
Inside #8:
“Shortly after 5 o’clock Sunday afternoon fire broke out again in mine No. 8 and the rescuers were at once ordered to the surface.” (FCT 12.13.07 pg. 1) (AMJ 12.9.07 pg. 1)
*As #8 fills with smoke, all miners abandon for the surface.
“For the first time since Friday morning the heroes in the rescuing parties turned their backs on their dead comrades in the mines. If the flames are not soon extinguished there will be little hope of recovering many of the bodies which are hidden in the recesses of the frowning hill.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
*As they emerge from the mine mouth, many miners report smoke and “fire” in parts the mine to the first officials or leaders they find, though no sign of burning is yet visible to the outside. To an experienced miner, “fire” can mean may more things than ‘flames’. But to the average onlooker, the word “fire” conjures only one meaning in their minds. These leaders at the mouth of the mine have the authority to take initiative without reporting to any other company official like Haas and so they do. They order immediate evacuation and send word directly to #6 to do the same.
*Even the reporters who are lingering about the mine mouth hear these reports before Frank Haas who is watching on (probably from the other side of the trestle) and sees only what he expects to see: a new fan installed and the remainder of the crews evacuating both #6 and #8 mine, just as planned.
“The fire was located by one of the rescuing parties which had penetrated 1,500 feet into No 8 mine.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
The fans are stopped and “Efforts were then directed toward extinguishing the fire and it is thought it will be subdued within a few hours when the work of rescue will again be taken up.” (FCT 12.13.07 pg. 1) (LAH 12.9.07 pg. 2)
*Some people—either reporters, workers, visitors, etc.—rush to the company offices in the middle of town to announce that the workers have found “fire” in #8.
In the Monongah offices:
“When the report of the fire was first received at the offices of the company at Monongah, an official denial was made and the same explanation given of the stopping of the fans as had been made at the two mines.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
“A second explanation was that it was feared the gas in some of the sidings and rooms bratticed off might escape and imprison the rescue parties in No 8, who were farther in the mine.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
Inside #8
*3 smoldering areas discharging smoke are found and the water line is moved up to 1st south.
“…it was believed that another fire existed to the left of the main entry in No 8 and Chief Inspector Paul thought it advisable to withdraw all men from both mines and concentrate attention on this fire before carrying rescue work further. This plan was followed out…” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 2)
“Later conditions became much worse and it was impossible to longer conceal the fact that fire had been discovered.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
In Monongah:
*Word once again reaches the offices about “fire” in #8.
“It was declared that there was no fire in the mine and that the reason the fan had been stopped at that mine was to allow the installation of the second motor fan and to prevent fresh air reaching any possible explosion that might occur. Orders had been sent to No 6 mine to stop the big fan there for fear of an explosion.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
At #8:
“Through the air holes leading to the surface and through fissures caused by the impact of the explosion smoke began to escape. The fire is in one of the left side entries of No 8.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
Outside the mines:
*When smoke is visible in the air around #8, it is obvious to every one in the area that something within #8 is burning.
“Everyone was warned to be as far away from the mine as possible but this appeared to make people more anxious to approach the mine. The rumor spread like wildfire that No 8 was on fire and an explosion was feared in No 6 from gas communicating with the flames.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
“It was necessary to have a large force of mine guards, special officers, and police from Fairmont to aid in holding the crowds in check at this point owing it to being situated near Fairmont.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
At #8:
“Thousands of sightseers from the surrounding towns had gathered about the openings. Through megaphones the crowds were notified of the fire and the danger of another explosion, but they refused to leave, and it was with great difficulty that the special police, assisted by many miners, forced the people to seek places of safety.” (News)
“Tonight C.W. Watson, president of the company, stated that the serious were pressed back and left the scenes reluctantly until the guards announced that another explosion was liable to happen at any moment. Instantly the crowd scattered along the trolley tracks, over the hills and some ran pell mell across the bridge to the town.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
“There were some about the mine entrances, however, who did not join in the panic. These were men and women who had dear ones in the smoking entries. Instinctively they desired to remain, regardless of their own danger. Some had to be driven back from the fatal site.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
~6:00 pm
In Monongah:
Bodies are getting to be so numerous that the families’ abilities to ID and the morgue’s ability to wash, embalm, dress, prepare, and present the bodies cannot keep up.
“While the workers in the mines were assailing this new terror the work of relief was going on. The morgues were crowded and upon the hillside the bodies of some of the victims were being committed to the grave.” (US Dept of Labor-mine disasters-Dispatch article)
FCC gives an official statement to the press. (FWV 12.9.07 pg. 6)
“It was said by members of the rescuing party that over a hundred bodies have been located in both mines and that they will be brought to the surface as soon as the fire has been extinguished. It is not believed the fire will reach any of these bodies.” (FCT 12.13.07 pg. 1) (LAH 12.9.07 pg. 2)
Newspapers
Daily Arizona Silver Belt reports that, “Hundreds of women widowed and destitute of whom fifty at least are prostrated and a dozen insane…” (DASB 12.8.07 pg. 1)
Los Angeles Herald:
Washington Herald:
The Pacific Commercial Advertiser in Hawaii:
The Richmond Palladium in Indiana:
The Albuquerque Morning Journal:
Salt Lake Herald:
The Baltimore Sun:
~6:30 pm
“Fifty-six hours after the terrible explosion in mines No. 6 and 8 of the Fairmont Coal company but fifty-three bodies had been recovered, and then fire broke out again in mine No. 8 and the rescuers were all ordered to the surface.” (MD 12.11.07 pg. 2)
“On account of fire in mine No 8 and imminent danger of an explosion in mine No 6, all rescue work has been suspended for the night. 56 hours have elapsed since the awful explosion and a majority of the bodies brought to the surface were in a terrible condition, necessitating immediate burial.” (News)
“Returning from a grave late in the day, a team drawing a hearse became frightened and ran away. Hundreds of people were in the path of the maddened animals and that all escaped injury or death seemed almost miraculous. The driver jumped to save himself, but was seriously, probably fatally hurt. The wagon was almost completely wrecked.” (RP 12.9.07 pg. 2)
Sightseers thin out around Monongah and the word spreads that fires are breaking out in the mines. (McAteer) (News)
* = 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.
“Nearly 400 coffins reached Monongah today from Pittsburg and from West Virginia cities.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“Many coffins have arrived and more have been ordered and as fast as identification is made sure the bodies are being taken away by their friends for burial.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
At the mines:
“The galleries are still filled with poisonous gases and it is impossible to open them till the main entries are opened and the fans can clear them.” (TBE 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“Working conditions are terrible, owing to gas and the wrecking, shifts can work less than an hour at a time.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“While only sixteen bodies have been recovered or brought out of the mine, members of the rescuing parties stated that eighty bodies have been located.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“Only sixteen of the dead bodies have been removed from the shaft entrance of No. 6, but 100 others are in the first level and are being kept in the mine until the authorities can get the half-crazed people away from the entrance.“ (TBE 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“Preparations are being made to bring the bodies from the mines in electric cars, with which the mines were equipped.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“The rescuers in mine No. 6 report so many bodies that it will take hours to get them all out. In No 8 mine the rescuing parties are just getting started as poisonous gases there were worse than in No 6 mine.” (TEP 12.7.07 pg. 1)
~1:00 pm
At the mines:
“Up to 1 o’clock today but sixteen bodies have been brought to the surface…” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“A dozen undertakers are also in waiting in one of the buildings near the entrance to take charge of the bodies as soon as they are brought out and make them as presentable as possible.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“A thousand men are working…” “About 130 corpses had been found in the wrecked Monongah mines here at 1 o’clock this afternoon.” (Pitt. Press. 12.7.07, Sparks)
In Monongah:
The body of Fred Cooper (one of first men found in the shanty of #6 mine) has been fully processed through the morgue and his body is brought into Fairmont on the one o’clock car. He is taken to his father-in-law’s home, Mr. Shingleton, at the corner of Locust Ave and 11th St. (FWV 12-7-07, pg. 1)
~1:30 pm
Clarksburg Daily Telegram puts out a special, extra edition:
The local newspapers are correcting their previously published information on the location of the mines. Though the Clarksburg Daily Telegram puts out far more accurate information now that they have their own reporters on the scene, their original source—the Associated Press—never corrects their original inaccurate information at any point and it continues to circle around the country for the next several weeks.
The results of just some of these inaccurate reports have already made their way back to Monongah. For the next several days, Watson and other officials will struggle with the press. They have little to no experience with mass swarms of reporters nor with managing a catastrophe of such magnitude. They will make several mistakes in their attempt to control the release of information over the next week, including the most devastating mistake of making it obvious to the press that information is being controlled.
Quietly tucked away on page 3 is an update on Sam Furk, reported leader of the local Black Hand, which would have taken front page status had the disaster in Monongah not occurred:
~2:00 -2:30 pm
Inside #6:
Search parties find only 5 men between the bottom of the slope of #6 to the connection of the 2 mines – distance of about ¾ of a mile, over 4,000’. Only the main heading has proper ventilation and cleared wreckage that far back, but not the rest of the mines proper (rooms, hallways, etc.) where most of the victims surely lay. Ventilation systems “will have to be rebuilt throughout the mine” starting “this afternoon”. (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
“The resources are being reinforced as men are needed, so that as soon as one man is overcome his place is taken by another.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
Though it is quite clear that the town is teaming with news reporters all day based on the sheer number of events accounted throughout the afternoon, few reporters managed to note the time of when certain events occurred. The best this author can provide at this moment is a list of these events in what is the most likely order in which they occur, trying to keep in mind that some of these may have been occurring simultaneously.
At some point during the afternoon,
“…with hysteria in all its devious forms rampant among the populace.” (RIA 12.7.7 pg. 1)
At the mines:
Several rescuers enter the mines “only to return to the open much more dead than alive.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“The first emergency hospital is crowded with men who have been overcome with the mine gas…” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
“The rescuers as they come out report that men to the right and left of them are lying all about the mine…” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
“A foreign woman whose husband was in the mine, rushed to the entrance but the gas forced her back. Realizing that she could do nothing toward aiding her husband, she tore the skin off her face with her finger nails and pulled out large twists of hair.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
At the morgue:
“The following bodies were identified in the morgue today: DOMINICK, who worked for John Preston. MIKE ____, also one of Preston’s men. FRANCISCO LORIA, who is horribly mangled. CARMO ZEVOLA, who was identified after some time by his [whole line of text is missing]. Much doubt existed in the authenticity of her identification but the small tobacco sack which he carried was the means of making the identification sure.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
“Another body that has been positively identified is a man who is known as Louis, his other name not being known. Mr. Caldara says he is from Naples.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
In Monongah:
Lorin Wise, brother of Charlie Wise, and Mabel & Edith Wise, his sisters, arrive from Canton, OH. (FWV 12.12.07 pg. 1)
A wagon load of bodies is trying to get from #6 mine across the Iron Bridge and to the morgue. Before it reaches the bridge, the crowd rushes the cart from all angles, pinning in and frightening the horses. The horses panic and bolt, racing through the crowd, overturning the cart, and dumping the bodies onto the ground before running over the embankment. The crazed horses continue down the river bank and run straight into the icy waters of the West Fork River, taking along the driver and his assistant. As the cart hits the water, the driver is violently thrown out and seriously injured. (McAteer)
“As the day advanced, [the widows] became almost crazed through grief and suspense. One pulled out her hair in handfuls at a time and another tore all the skin from both cheeks with her fingernails. Some lay down on the frozen ground and cried themselves asleep, and in this condition, many were carried to homes nearby without awakening.” (RIA 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“The company has provided clothing, food, and supplies for all who are in need and charity on every hand is being observed.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
The body of a young man is brought to his home and placed inside. 2 hours later and one room away, his wife gives birth to their child. (FWV 12.9.07 – pg.8)
At the mines:
“The workers at both pits are being cheered and helped in their heroic task by the presence and good words of their bosses.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
“Everything possible has been and is being done to recover the bodies of the dead miners and to take out any who might be alive. The coal company officials have given their best energies to the work and are yet grimly at work sleepless and hungry without thought of rest until all has been done to reach any miner possibly alive and to recover the bodies of the dead ones.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“Late today the deadly blackdamp became more pronounced as the more farther recesses of the mines were approached…” (DASB 12.8.07 pg. 1) (LODD 12.12.07 pg. 1)
“One hundred men are working in mine No 8, where the damage was greatest…” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
In Charleston, WV:
Gov. William M.O. Dawson calls out the National Guard: Company H of First Infantry under the direction of Col. M.M. Neely. Despite Watson’s telegram earlier in the day, the Governor is concerned about potential disturbances among immigrant families and the throngs of sightseers. (McAteer)
At #6:
“Some bodies have been brought to the mouth of #6 but have not yet been made known.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
“In No. 6 there are 150 workers. Though the interior of this mine is not so badly damaged as the other, the gas in the tunnels is more troublesome, and it is necessary to come frequently to the surface for fresh air.” (WT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“As the rescuers groping and dazed came from the mouth of the mine they were besieged by anxious ones and bringing no tidings or news of the unfortunate men below there were fresh outbursts of sobbing and cries of grief went up for their loved ones.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“Now and then rescuers came staggering forth, gasping for fresh breath but to hear from the women gathered near the pit renowned cries of distress and sorrow.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“And to add further to the mine horrors the wails and moans of the wives and daughters of the entombed miners were heartrending.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)
“In the great crowd one or two women would scream, perhaps faint, and be carried to their homes while the undertakers put the bodies in coffins and followed the bereaved ones to the little miners’ cottages. This scene was repeated again and again all day.” (TEP 12.7.07 pg. 1)
~4:00 pm
All saloons and bars in Marion county are closed by order of the mayors and the Marion county Sheriff and no liquor sales, anywhere, are permitted. “The saloon keepers willingly consented and will not open their places again until Monday.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg.1)
As the main morgue in the bank overflows, bodies are taken directly from the mouth of mine to tent morgues at the cemetery or to church basements (McAteer)
If no ID has been made on a body within several hours, the dressed body is placed in a coffin and buried in the potter’s field as unknown.
“Foul gases in the No. 8 mine prevented any attempt at rescue until late this afternoon and even now it is impossible to make any headway. At this time the force of the explosion was so great that holes were blown through the side of the hill in several places along the river bank.” (TBE 12.7.07 pg. 1)
~5:00 pm
Newspapers are just beginning to hit the streets and stands. A majority will sell out within the hour.
The Monongah Disaster 