Slavic – Page 2 – The Monongah Disaster

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, Afternoon & News Hour

“The moment it is announced in town that bodies have been brought from the mines there is a renewed stir of expectancy and anxiety until the bodies have been viewed in the bank building. Relatives and friends press forward to get the first glimpse of the features of the dead, eye them closely and turn away in deeper sadness and depression, if they recognize them not. Recognition is followed by outburst of grief and distraction, which with some impends upon the very brink of insanity.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

~12:00 pm

At the mines:

“At noon today the bodies of 146 of the men…had been taken out and it was said at that time that by the night a majority of those not buried under the debris would be removed.” (TMDM 12.10.07 pg. 1)

Snow and sleet fall all day long and “…miserable conditions prevail throughout this section.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Rescuing parties are able today to reach all parts of the mine.” (TMDM 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The work of rescue is being pushed along rapidly and by night it is expected most of the bodies will have been taken out.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“At noon today the company announced that at least three or four more days would be required to get all the bodies out, unless the work of recovery becomes still more rapid. There is every reason to believe that the bodies will be taken out even faster as all the brattices have now been installed and the air currents amply furnish opportunity to get into all the side headings and rooms.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The wide scope of territory to be searched, however, will prolong the search even beyond the next three or four days and the same may even extend into next week for scattering bodies.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 1)

Floyd Parsons leaves Grafton to return to Monongah “where he will continue his investigation until tonight, and he will then go to Pittsburg.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 2)

During the Afternoon

At the mines:

“…rescuers…in a sorry plight this afternoon. In a driving rain, which is more unpleasant and discouraging even than last night, the workers are, nevertheless, able to do more than yesterday as the smoldering fires have practically been put out…” (PP 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“One young woman on Tuesday viewed the charred remains of the man she was to marry that day as they were brought from the fatal hill.” (FWV 12.12.07 pg. )

In Monongah:

The Union Relief Association completes its own survey of the community.

“A canvas by women workers of Fairmont, completed today, develops the fact that practically 100 women who were made widows…are soon to be mothers. As a consequence of the fearful strain of the past few days, at least 20 of these women are seriously ill. 10 of the babies are said to have died unborn and into 30 or 40 of the little cottages physicians have been called within the last 24 hours. Four of the afflicted widows are at the point of death today…48 of the men killed were widowers with small children. There are 19 brides of 3 months. This feature of the disaster appealed to the women of Fairmont, who organized yesterday for relief. They called it the ‘Mother’s Work’ and enlisted the sympathies of woman friends and relatives in Fairmont and nearby towns. Some of the prominent women, known throughout this section of the state, volunteered to assist financially at least, personally if possible.” (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“A count by the women has said to have developed nearly 900 fatherless children.” (RP 12.10.07 pg. 1)

Out of 30 houses on Camden Ave., 27 didn’t have a man left in them.

“Deeper and more hopeless depression now seems to have seized the town of Monongah.” (TMDM 12.10.07 pg. 1)

The Monongah Verdi Brass Band suffers greatest loss from the disaster. “This was a very proficient musical organization of the mining town and had gained a reputation for the discoursing of high-grade music.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 6)

Professor Verdi disbands the group and will be returning to Italy. (McAteer)

“Undertaker R.C. Jones came down from Monongah today to attend to business matters. Mr Jones stated that he had found it necessary to send for three extra men to aid in the embalming the bodies from the Monongah mine. Two men are expected from Wheeling and one from Parkersburg.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 5)

“Many bodies are being buried direct from the mine entrance, while others were buried yesterday either from the residences or from Catholic churches.” (TMDM 12.10.07 pg. 1)

~3:30 pm

“Up to press time there were no official statements given out. The search work is being done with all possible dispatch. There is no one in destitution. All are being cared for and the relief organizations are doing effective work.” (FWV 12.10.09 pg. 1)

“Special guards are still on duty, while physicians under the direction of the Marion County Guards are looking after the injured.” (WT 12.10.07 pg. 11)

“There is not much change in the situation at Monongah today except that the mines are yielding up more of their dead. Of the 114 bodies that had been found up to 3:30 today, 13 bodies were unidentified, having nothing on them to indicate who they were.” (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“The work of relief is becoming better systemized and is performed with much more ease on account of the crowds of curious having departed.” (WT 12.10.07 pg. 11)

~6:00 pm

Newspapers

The Fairmont West Virginian publishes a list those who have already contributed to the various relief funds and a rather unclear picture of #8 on the first page:

Floyd Parsons publishes his theories in FWV and Grafton papers. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 2)

C.W. Watson’s theory is also published. It is apparent he wrote it over the course of a few days and that Watson is utterly exhausted and overwhelmed. (FWV 12.10.07 pg. 7)

Clarksburg Daily Telegram:

“Among the bad effects of the terrible mine disaster is the continuance of premature births. It is estimated that there has been more than forty of these since last Friday morning, when the explosion occurred. In some instances, the mothers have died.” (CDT 12.10.07 pg. 7)

Waterbury Evening Democrat:

“Chief State Mine Inspector J. W. Paul is quoted as saying he believes the explosion was started by an electric spark from runaway cars in the main entry. A string of these cars was piled up in the entry at the bottom of a slope.” (WED 12.10.07 pg. 1)

The Pittsburg Press:

The D.C. Evening Star:

“Many of the rescuers have been stricken with illness and it was found necessary to bring a number of recruits here from the George Creek district.” (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“…considerable suffering is likely to occur during the winter months and for such a contingency assistance should be available. Mayor W.H. Moore of Monongah has telegraphed to the headquarters of the organization here that contributions would be gratefully received.” (ES 12.10.07 pg. 1)

The Evening Journal in Deleware:

“During the great anthracite coal strike of 1903, George Baer, president of the Reading Railroad Company, said there were no particular dangers attached to the mining of coal. As a matter of course he gave out this piece of information to offset the claim of the miners, and when he uttered the words he either falsified or exhibited his ignorance. The terrible calamity at Monongah, West Virginia, is the answer to his statement. How long will God’s children permit such men as George Baer to fool them is the question I would like someone to answer. Sincerely yours, William John Hogan. Wilmington, December 8” (EJ 12.10.07 pg. 4)

The Hawaiian Star, page 3:

Lake County Times in Indiana prints:

“The coal company officials have adopted a scheme of news suppression. The men in the rescue shifts were given explicit orders not to talk to any outsiders, and the policemen around the temporary morgue were told to allow no newspaper men to enter. The explosion, therefore, takes on a propriety air—it belongs exclusively to the Fairmont Coal Company.” (LCT 12.10.07 pg. 8)

“There is no doubt that there is a serious fire in No. 8 and that the work of rescue in that mine has been hampered. The smoke of it was visible over the mouth of the shaft on Sunday and all miners were ordered out.” (LCT 12.10.07 pg. 8)

“The people were driven away from the mouth of the mines by the authorities because they feared another explosion. The miners themselves confessed that the smoke inside the shaft was practically unbearable.” (LCT 12.10.07 pg. 8)

“’I don’t know why they should deny it,’ said one of the miners this morning. ‘It does not do any harm and we have it under control right now. Neither do I understand why they will not allow us to take the bodies out as fast as we find them. Yesterday we found and dug out thirty bodies. We placed them all in a row, according to the company’s orders. Then the fire drove us out and the bodies are there yet. Many of them are so torn up that they cannot be recognized. But I’m pretty sure I recognized Tom Duval and John Bloner. Somebody else said that Nick Sandy was there, too, but I did not see anything that looked like him. Several of the ones we dug out were trapper boys.’” (LCT 12.10.07 pg. 8)

Albuquerque Citizen publishes 2 pictures:

“Who is guilty? Is a question newspaper men and others are asking. The only answer obtainable is the echo, ‘guilty’.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Theory follows theory regarding the cause.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“A possible explanation which old miners give is that a string of coal cars, breaking loose, plunged down the tunnel and probably crashed into a lot of dynamite, which is taken into the mines in 50-pound lots. This, it is thought, caused an explosion which in turn exploded the first collection of deadly coal dust, wrecking both mines.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Another story, and one that is given credence despite the fact that every effort to hush it has been made, is that a connection was made between the two mines, and that the gases rushing together exploded.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“This is West Virginia’s fourth mine horror in 10 months and the governor has promised swift punishment if negligence has been shown.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“A New York correspondent, who was hurried to the scene of the recent big disaster by his paper, wrote a short description—a word picture of the flight of the women and children left to shift for themselves by the sudden taking off of their husbands and fathers and sons and brothers.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“The men who died in the mine met a merciful fate as compared to the ones they left behind.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“A flash and it was all over, so far as they were concerned. They were stricken down in nearly every instance without a minute’s warning and with no time in which to suffer.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“But up above, in the little mining town, were women and children whose sufferings will only be cured by time.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“Writing of these—the ones who bore real suffering, the New York correspondent in his paper said:

‘The tragedy of the wives, mothers, the sisters and sweethearts of the victims of this awful mine horror is the tragedy of the mine women the world over.

‘Her whole life is one of apprehension. And when at last the blow falls, her lot is to wait and suffer, to hope against hope, to meet the worst with such courage as God has given her, to take up the miserable battle of life again single handed and to retain her faith in Omnipotence if she may.

‘There is a grewsome sameness in these mine horrors which differ only in detail, the number of dead, the periods of heart wringing uncertainty, the waiting women must endure, the pitiable harvest of widows and orphans that is left. There is always the same agonizing despair, the same utter hopelessness.

‘The surmounting of it all centers about the newly made orphans who do not understand. They follow their mothers to the pit mouth, where the rope cordon keeps back the swaying crowd and upon the strange shifting scene of woe with inexplicable tearless wonder written in every line of their little faces. Perhaps it is their common fate in the years to come, but mercifully they do not know.

‘For hours, long, agonizing, almost never-ending hours, the women weep and wait before the first return party of rescuers, smoke-blackened and dirt-begrimed, emerges from the yawning mouth of this subterranean hell. The first revolution of the throbbing engine starts a quiver of alternating hope and fear in every heart, there is the distracted babble of many tongues, but above and over and through it all the woman’s cry of heartbreak.

‘Perhaps they bring only a comrade who has been overcome by the dread black damp in his heroic effort to rescue. Mayhap they bring a body, burned and blackened, the arms crooked over the scorched, coal-pitted face in a last pitiable effort at protection. Be it the one or the other, the first sight of the inanimate body opens the long pent-up floodgate of that awful terror which has held them in its thrall. Here is all the horror of the inferno itself; here seems the concentrated agony of the universe.

‘And so it is until the bodies are all removed. Perhaps some are still missing after a week, but haunting the pit-mouth, even as the myriad tolling of the bells tells its own mute story, are the women of the dead, faithful to the last, waiting and weeping and suffering as is their fate.

‘And the real tragedy of it all is only begun. The woman has lived and obeyed and suffered. Now does her real trials begin. She has children, perhaps; boys big enough to be door-tenders and oilers, who to help her in her fight to keep the wolf from the door, must go into the pit where their father went down to death. If there be babies, only so much the worse.” (AC 12.10.07 pg. 4)

The Stark County Democrat in Ohio attempts to correct rumors:

“The force of the explosion was awful. Fifty bodies, at least, have been blown to atoms. One motorman had his head cut off at the neck.”

“Charles D. Wise’s body was blown to atoms. His overcoat and shoes alone were recovered. Wise represented Senator J.N. Camden of Parkersburg, who owned the mines, and the Fairmont coal company paid him five cents a thousand royalty as the coal was mined.” (SCD 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Advices from Monongah, W. Va., last night were to the effect that the body of Charles Wise, civil engineer and brother of Lorin C Wise, the local attorney, had not been removed from the mine in which he was making an inspection at the time of his supposed death. There were contradictory reports out, some to the effect that the body had been found and others that it had not. The latter statement proved to be the truth.” (SCD 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“Attorney Wise left for Monongah the night he heard of the mine accident and of his brother’s probable death. Since that time numerous messages have been received from him.” (SCD 12.10.07 pg. 1)

“At the mine, waiting for the searchers to find the engineer, either dead or alive, are, besides Attorney Wise, the wife and two children of the missing man. The wife had not given up hope of her husband’s safety yesterday afternoon and had their home prepared for his coming. She said, however, that if he is found dead she wants the body taken home as soon as [text missing] where the funeral will be held is not yet known but it is thought it will be in West Virginia at the home of the engineer.” (SCD 12.10.07 pg. 1)

The Salt Lake Herald:

“The hearts of the people of Utah will go out to the stricken ones, for the disaster of May 1, 1900, at Scofield, is still fresh in the minds of this people. And there is a striking similarity in the causes.” (SLH 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“The Scofield catastrophe was caused by an explosion of coal dust. That at Monongah seems to have come from the same cause.” (SLH 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“The great different between the two is in the rescuing of the bodies of the unfortunates who lost their lives. At Scofield, where 299 perished, it was possible to go into the mine almost immediately. At Monongah the deadly after-damp is seriously hampering the work of the rescuers. It is in connection with this rescue work that a bright light is cast over the gloom.” (SLH 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“According to the dispatches the men who form the rescue parties, though thoroughly cognizant of the danger of suffocation, are valiantly battling to bring forth the bodies of their comrades. There has been no hesitation, no halting, no falling back. Ten men are said to be dying as a result of their attempts at rescuing bodies. Every one, if he lives, should be given a medal for bravery and the families of those that die should be cared for.” (SLH 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“Another bright feature of these situation is the prompt relief that is being given to the families of the men who were lost. Every case of distress and there must have been many, have been relieved, and all that is humanly possible is being done for the afflicted. This was done also in Utah. The public remembers that we took care of our own without help from outside sources.” (SLH 12.10.07 pg. 4)

“There will be time enough later for investigations with a view to fixing the responsibility for the disaster. And, if the responsibility can be fixed, the guilty party should be made to suffer the extreme penalty of the law.” (SLH 12.10.07 pg. 4)

Times Dispatch in Virginia:

“It is distressing beyond the power of words to express that several hundred men who had the hardihood and industry to dig the coal from the bowels of the earth for the world’s benefit should have been caught in the mine, like so many rats in a hole, and smothered to death.” (TD 12.10.07 pg. 6)

“There is necessarily some risk in mining, but the public and the legislative bodies should demand that this risk be reduced to the minimum by the use of scientific agencies of prevention.” (TD 12.10.07 pg. 6)

The Evansville Press in Indiana:

Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska:

New Castle Herald in Pennsylvania:

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!

Friday, December 6, 1907, Mid-Afternoon – Dusk, 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm

“Not less than 400 are dead and the number may run to 700, as officials have been keeping down the number as much as possible.” (FWDN 12.6.07 pg. 1)

~3:00 pm

“At 3 o’clock this afternoon it is known that the mine disaster is the worst in the history of the country.” (FWDN 12.6.07 pg. 1)

In Parkersburg:

“Mr. Watson was in Parkersburg at the time of the accident and went at once to the scene.” (TBS 12.7.07 pg. 2)

In Baltimore:

“Mr. Wheelwright left here at 3 pm over the Baltimore and Ohio for the mines. He was accompanied by Mr. J.R. Buckingham, his secretary, and some of the others of the company’s officers.” (TBS 12.7.07 pg. 2)

“Mr. Clarence W. Watson is the president and Mr. Jere H. Wheelwright the vice-president, both of whom spend most of their time here in directing the executive affairs of the corporation. Mr. Watson has a home at Fairmont, where he spends the summer. On this estate, which is just on the outskirts of that city, he has recently built a magnificent stable for his famous show horses and also a half-mile track for their exercise.” (TBS 12.7.07 pg. 2)

In Monongah:

It is “Press Time” and some of the reporters are in line to use the telegraph or telephone in the company store post office or the company office just across the river from #6 to submit their reports in time for the evening papers. A majority have had to go into Fairmont to find more communication resources. (News)

Outside #6:

Carl Tarleton arrives from the mines just down the tracks in Enterprise to help with the recovery. He works personally with David Victor on restoring proper ventilation to the mines, despite only having one working fan. By this point they have only achieved breathable air in most of the main shaft of #6, but they are almost to the area where the two mines are conjoined. David Victor decides to go ahead and make an attempt at a fire examination of #6. (Inquiry)

~3:30 pm

The two staff writers for The Clarksburg Daily Telegram make “fast time” despite taking the back roads to Monongah. “…they arrived some time before the first train and about two hours before the first trolley car arrived from Clarksburg, beating other newspaper representatives.” (CDT 12.8.07 pg. 1)

Outside #6:

The second round of rescue crews is starting to be organized just as several experienced miners arrive from the Montana mines just outside of Fairmont. As these men already work together as a congruent team underground, they are formed into a rescue crew all their own. (FWV 12.7.07 pg. 1 – noon)

Outside #8:

Someone standing near a toad hole, possibly a company watchman, happens to hear a sound like moaning coming from the ground. He calls out to nearby work crews for help. Several run off to a nearby supply house to collect materials.

~3:33-3:35 pm

Outside #8:

The rescuers have returned quickly from the supply house with armloads of rope and begin tying critical hitch and harness knots in one end to safely support the men who will be lowered down through the toad hole.

~ 3:40 – 3:45 pm

Inside #8:

The first rescuer, a long slender rail worker in the mines named Charlie “Skinny” McGraw, has been lowered over 100 feet before getting to the floor of the mine. He unties himself from the lowering lines so they can be raised back to the surface for the next man to follow down and help.

He follows the moans through the dark and soon finds the Urban brothers. Stan is lying face down in a puddle of water and Peter is sitting atop Stan’s back sobbing uncontrollably, simply staring ahead into the dark space with wide glassy eyes.

~3:45 – 3:50 pm

Inside #8:

The second rescuer, Tom Weeks, has been lowered into the room with McGraw and the Urbans. As they come upon Peter and Stan, Peter begins to shout at them and protect his nonresponsive brother. The Urbans are from Poland (their original last name is Rosebeiq) and, unfortunately, Stan knew more American English than Peter and neither of the two rescuers speak or understand Polish. (News, Ancestry, Inquiry, McAteer)

Absolutely crazed by the trauma, fear, and utter darkness he has endured for the past 5-6 hours, Peter begins to aggressively fight with McGraw and Weeks to keep them away from his brother. He shouts at them but they do not understand him and again try to grab Peter and force him away from his brother. A full-on struggle ensues.

~3:50-3:55 pm

Inside #8:

Weeks and McGraw have managed to wrangle Peter into submission. They tie him into the rope hitch and give a signal to the men on the surface to start pulling. The workers on the surface grapple with the line as Peter continues reaching and screaming for his brother on his way back up the 100’ ascent to the surface

As Tom Weeks keeps an eye on Peter from below, Charlie McGraw rushes back to check on Stan’s condition. Despite the severe head injury and 5 hours face down in a puddle, Stan is still breathing but barely hanging on to life.

~3:55 – 4:00 pm

Outside #8:

Several people grab a hold of Peter as he nears the surface and assist in pulling him out. They get him safely out of the hole, pull him away to solid ground and untie his rope when, again, Peter begins to fight off the rescuers around him. The rope is dropped back into the toad hole again as Peter continues to struggle against those trying to help him.

Inside #8:

McGraw and Weeks have moved Stan out of the puddle and closer to the toad hole. They begin to tie him into the rope harness, just as they did with Peter. Stan is still breathing but unconscious.

~4:00 – 4:10 pm

Inside #6:

“For fully two hours nothing but wreckage, such as blocks of coal mine timbers and machinery rewarded the search, but at 4 o’clock in mine No. 6, twenty bodies were found in a heap a short distance from the opening. These were not brought out at the time as the purpose of the searches was to find if any survived the awful disaster and to bring them out first.” (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

“Men who entered the mine say there are twenty dead men sitting on one bench, where they were awaiting their turns to take cars.” (TS 12.7.07 pg. 1)

Outside #8:

Peter Urban manages to break free from the rescuers. He tears through the crowd of onlookers, screaming and crying, sprints down the bank towards the river but crashes full-force into a fence. Rescuers follow and though Peter gives them quite the chase he begins to put up another brief fight as they catch up with him. Peter is simply too exhausted by this point and they manage to subdue him again with little issue.

Inside #8:

At some point during the ascent back to the surface, Stan Urban dies.

~4:10 – 4:15 pm

Outside #8:

Dr. F.W. Hill quickly looks over Peter Urban for any sign of significant injury or need for hospitalization. Though Peter is so distressed and upset that he can not even give the doctor his own name, Dr. Hill finds no reason to hospitalize him and sends Peter home to his family to rest.

At the toad hole, Stan is pulled out and taken to the side. Though he shows no signs of life, the warmth coming off his body gives them hope. Resuscitation is attempted but soon it is accepted that they are too late.

Stanislaus Urban is put onto a horse drawn cart, sent across the river to the morgue.

~4:30 pm

Word has already begun to spread through town and reaches #6 that at least one man has been found alive and rescued from #8.

Outside #6:

Crowds swarm in the direction of #8. For some, especially many newspaper reporters who have arrived from out of town, this is the first notice they get that the #8 mine they have just submitted reports on isn’t actually #8 mine at all. Dozens of reporters who have been on or around the Iron Bridge all day have already gone to print and have mistakingly identifyied either #1 or #2 mine, which are across the river from #6, as being mine #8 simply because they can see smoke coming out of this mine from their vantage point.

Outside #8:

Despite the lack of ventilation and being driven out hours earlier by toxic gases, the discovery of Peter Urban alive and relatively well encourages another round of rescue crews to prepare to attempt another tour into #8. John C Thompson is in charge of one of those crews. (News, Inquiry)

Inside #6

By late afternoon, part of the broken trip that clogged the heading of mine #6 was removed and the entrance to the mine proper was clear enough to allow for the removal of bodies. “It was the blockade of broken cars that made it so difficult to get the work started.” (FWV 12.7.07 – pg. 1 – noon)

“The entry of No 6 mine, 300 feet from the mountain is piled high with wreckage of two strings of cars and two electric motors. Some of the rescuers have climbed over this and found dead bodies beyond, but have made no attempt to remove these to the surface, partly because it would be almost impossible to carry the bodies over the debris, but more particularly because they do not want to lose any time in reaching other sections of the mine where it is possible men still living may be imprisoned.” (ES 12.7.07 pg. 2)

~5:00 pm

At the mines:

By now, it has become very clear to the physicians and nurses who rushed to the scene that their services will not be needed. Some stay for the night to care for the rescue workers who are injured or overcome by the gases. Many leave on the 5 o’clock trolley car as a 3^rd round of rescue crews gets organized.

~6:00 pm

In Monongah:

By this time, only Stan Urban has been recovered from the inside of #8 mine and arrangements are being made to begin bringing bodies out of #6.

Dr. Hill calls on Peter Urban at his house just to check on his condition. Peter can finally tell the doctor his name and now that Peter is around those who can understand him, he tells them that not far from where he and Stan were found, another man was also trapped but still alive.

A special train arrives on the main B&O line from Parkersburg and pulls into the center of Monongah carrying C.W. Watson, president of Consolidated Coal Company and its subsidiary Fairmont Coal Company, along with his private secretary.

In Fairmont and other cities around the country:

Newspapers are already publishing reports in their evening editions which have been circulating for about an hour now. Local papers from Monongah’s neighboring cities will put out several special extra additions over the next few days in an attempt to keep the local populace as updated as possible.

The Fairmont West Virginian publishes these headlines along with an article written by reporter L.M. Davis who was on the very first trolley to Monongah and got the opportunity to watch the action go down all day long and speak directly to some rescue workers like Fred Shaver.

They also publish a list of those “known” to be dead or injured based solely on what little information they have received from rescuers like Fred Shaver and officials who are simply too busy at the time to give in depth, detailed statements.

In the next city south of Monongah, the Clarksburg Daily Telegram publishes slightly different information.

12.06.07 - pg 1 - special edition tonight

Unlike the Fairmont West Virginian, The Clarksburg Daily Telegram is not yet publishing personal reports from those directly on the scene, though they do include a small announcement that they have reporters on the scene and will put out a special evening edition with those updates. Rather, for this first printing they rely on an article created by the Associated Press after a candid conversation with an official from either the Consolidated Coal Company or Fairmont Coal Company, or possibly a combination of both.

At this point in U.S. history, the Associated Press has a practical monopoly over the spread of news across the country and a majority of U.S. papers rely almost entirely on the Associated Press for national news at this time. To battle what many saw as a corrupt control of information, The United Press formed earlier in the year to challenge that hold. Over the next month they will both make drastic, lingering mistakes in the mad dash to be the first to publish the latest information to the country.

The Pittsburg Press is just one of the many papers that uses the United Press to collect their information. On the evening of Dec. 6, it publishes what will become one of the most notorious headlines associated with the disaster, some of the first photos of Monongah, and several articles detailing events that have taken place through the day.

Almost all of it is wrong.

Monongah-MnDs-Ptt-Prss-1-Slope-Opening-Dec-6-1907

Monongah-MnDs-Ptt-Prss-2-Tipple-Dec-6-1907

Monongah-MnDs-Ptt-Prss-3-Power-Hse-Dec-6-1907

The Cumberland Evening Times in Maryland also uses the United Press as a primary source and reports that, “The accident happened in Monongahela mines Nos 6 and 8 and was caused by the fan house, which supplied the miners with air, failing to work.” They follow, “The mines were idle yesterday and that is why it is thought that the fans failed to work this morning.” They will also, unfortunately, report that “Over one hundred men are known to have escaped.” (CET 12.6.07 pg. 1)

~6:30 pm

In the Monongah offices:

C.W. Watson and several other company officials hold a meeting to bring the president up to date with events. Watson decides that, “the bodies of the miners, so far as could be reached should be taken out during the night.” From here, Watson personally supervises all rescue work aided by General Manager Malone. (CDT 12.7.07 pg. 1)

At #8:

Word makes it back to #8 mine that Peter Urban has revealed that another man was still trapped in the mine, not far from where he and his brother were found.

General Manager Frank Haas is personally overseeing the rescue work at #8 but little progress has been made compared to #6. Nonetheless, rescue crews, again led by “Skinny” McGraw, reenter #8 through the toad hole. True to Peter’s word, 20-year-old Francisco Loria is found nearby, but it is too late.

Francisco will be the 5^th body to enter the morgue.

At the mines:

By dusk, rescue crews are once again pushed out of the mines by gases but it is confirmed to those on the surface that there is no hope of finding any survivors inside of #6.

“Men and women who had congregated around the mine knelt down in the falling snow and prayed, offering a miner’s benediction.”