ELK GARDEN MINE DISASTER GAS EXPLOSION IN NO. 20 MINE The Town in Deepest Mourning - Twenty-Three Dead Heroic Work of Rescuers For more than 30 years Elk Garden, Mineral County W Va, has been the center of one of the most noted mining districts in the eastern section of the United States. Thousands of miners have worked in the different openings in that section and many millions of tons of coal have been shipped from that point, and, as has been the history in all mining districts, there have been numerous accidents and sad fatalities, but never before has there been a mine disaster in that region that paralleled, or even approximated, the shocking calamity of last Mon. morning, when twenty-three men, all citizens of Elk Garden, except one, were suddenly ushered into eternity by an explosion in Mine No. 20, which is owned and operated by the Davis Coal and Coke Company. This mine is at the foot of the mountain about half a mile below Elk Garden, and on the main line of the Western Maryland Railway, between Chaffee and Blaine. Mr. Robert Grant is superintendent of that and all the other mines owned and operated by the same company in the Elk Garden region. Work in all mining districts has been slack all winter and No 20 has been working regularly only two days in each week. Monday was not a regular work day for that mine, had it been many more men would have lost their lives in that awful disaster. the twenty three victims of that explosion were there cleaning up - sprinkling the mine and arranging for the next day's work. The explosion occurred about 8:30 AM and soon the sad intelligence was carried to wives, mothers and children that their loved ones who had left them but two hours before for a day of toil by which to win bread, were entombed in that mine. Within a short time, hundreds of men, women and children had assembled at the mine opening and the lamentations of the bereaved were heart-rending. Superintendent Grant at once assembled all of the men available and began the work of rescue. Men were dispatched from other sections. A large number came from Thomas WV. The officials of the Davis Coal and Coke Co. immediately called the Dept of Mines at Washington and the Government hurried their rescue car to the scene of disaster from Wilkes-Barre Penn, where it was stationed. Regular and special trains brought crowds of sympathizers and rescue workers from different sections and the work was kept up day and night with frequent relays of forces of men. The parties could work in the mines only an hour at a time because of the poisonous gasses, and the work was necessarily slow. four of the rescuing party, Wm Willis, Geo. May, Martin Garvey, Mine Supt. of Thomas and Supt. J W Paul, of the Government Bureau of Mines, were overcome by gas Tues afternoon and were revived only after very heroic treatment by mine expert rescuers and physicians. By Monday. night they had found but one body, that of Wilbur Shears; about midnight five more were taken out. During the day Tuesday nine other bodies were found and Tuesday evening they found five others. Not until Wednesday noon were all of the bodies found and brought out of the mine. Some of the bodies were blackened, burned and mangled. In many instances they were buried under tons of slate; in other instances death came solely from inhaling the heat. A temporary morgue was made of a nearby building and inquests were held there. The miners have been working on short time all winter and it is feared that the families of some of the victims may be in want. It is thought that some action looking to their relief will be taken by the directors of the Company. It is thought that the explosion was due to the accumulation of gas and dust in the mine. The fan had not been running for some time until it was started Monday morning. The bodies of thirteen men were recovered Tuesday morning. They were: John Pritchard, married, hair and moustache burned off, body burned, asphyxiated. Arthur Pritchard, single, head burned and squeezed, death from fractured skull. William Pearson, married, death from fractured skull. John F White, Sr., widower, death from lacerated thorax. William Hetzel, married, death from carbon monoxide. James Brown, married, death from asphyxiation. Hawthorne Patton, single, death caused by shock. Leo Dempsy, single, suffocated. James Dempsy, married, slightly burned, death from inhaling heat. Harry Trainum, married, death from inhaling heat. Charles Wilson, single, death from inhaling heat. Edward Hershberger, married, death from inhaling heat, slightly burned. Thomas Wilson, face lacerated and head fractured, death from inhaling heat. The body of Wilbur Shears, who died from asphyxiation, was taken out Mon. night. Five of the bodies were buried Wednesday and the rest were buried Thursday. In another part of this paper can bee seen a complete list of the 23 names. NEWS TRIBUNE APRIL 28, 1911 (Courtesy of Patti McDonald Posted July 25, 2010   FROM OUR ELK GARDEN CORRESPONDENT Monday morning April 24, at 8:30 o'clock a violent gas explosion occurred in mine No 20 by which 23 men lost their lives. The force of the explosion seems to have been in Dean and Baldwin headings. As soon as the report went out that a violent gas explosion had occurred in No 20 mine, a feeling of horror came over the people as they rushed to the scene of the accident. The fan, which had been started early that morning, was uninjured. Supt. Robert Grant, mine foreman, John Kenny, cashier, R M Dean, and mine foreman, B S Coleman of 14 mine were soon on the ground and had the situation in hand. A guard was placed at the different openings. Crowds of people collected but good order prevailed. Bolts of bed ticking and other goods were hurriedly brought to the mine to construct temporary brattishing to get air into the mine. All the brattice had been blown out by the force of the explosion. During the day, Supt Orestes Tibbetts, with 6 or 8 picked men from the WV Junction; Supt Martin Garvey, of Thomas; Supt P J Branan of Coketon, arrived. They assisted in and pushed forward the work of braddishing the mine headings. Mine Inspector, Mr Plaster, arrived in the afternoon. Larger grew the crowd as the work progressed. Men, women and children made their way to the scene, but the women and children kept at a distance from the openings. Wilbur Shears was found first, several hours before any of the others were reached. He was some distance from the others. No other bodies were rescued until Monday night. Five special trains came to the scene on Monday. This mine is but a few hundred yards from the Western Md RR at the foot of the mountain below Elk Garden. Monday night a special train brought General Superintendent Lee Ott from Cumberland. He had been at Baltimore. C H Smith, Vice President, and Gen Manager Durham, Coal & Iron Co, Ky, former assistant of B F Bush, with others arrived Mon night on special train. D C Hershiser, train dispatcher from Cumberland, arrived Tues morning and established telegraphic communication from the mines. The Government Rescue Car No 1, Wilkes-Barre, Pa, arrived early Tues morning. Conductor D A Moran was in charge of this train, which made the run in eleven hours and thirty minutes. The rescuers began at once to train miners in the use of oxygen helmet which would enable them to go ahead of the air in the work of the rescue. These helmets aided materially in the work. By eight o'clock, fourteen bodies had been rescued, one in the Atlantic and thirteen in the Dean heading. The other nine bodies are in the Baldwin heading. The work is beginning to tell on the men, though they work by section. The bodies of the fourteen miners were brought out in mine cars, two at a time, and taken to a building for identification. Wagons were provided and the bodies were conveyed to Elk Garden where undertakers, F C Rolman and Wm H Kight took charge of them jointly. Festival and Moody's halls were both converted into morgues. The undertakers from Blaine are assisting in embalming the bodies, and Gordon B Greer, of the Clarksburg casket Co, is assisting. By nine o'clock Tues night all the entombed men were rescued. Some are badly bruised by falling rocks and faces and hands are burned. The hair is entirely burned off the heads of several. The morgues were open to the public an hour or more late Tuesday afternoon. It was then that the full realization of the disaster came in full force. No funerals will be held until Thursday. Following is a list of the 23 dead: James Dempsey, married Leo Dempsey, single Ed Hershbarger, married Wm Buski, single Thomas Yost, married Harry Trainum, married Wilbur Shears, married John White, widower Wm Pearson, married Geet White, single Hawthore Patton, single Frank Pugh, single Wm Pugh, single James Brown, married Temor Runion, single John Prichard, married Arthur Pritchard, single Wm Hetzel, married John R Wilson, married Charles Wilson, single Thomas Wilson, married Lester Wilson, married Roy Wilson, married All the dead are Americans except Wm Buski. Some of our best citizens are numbered with the dead. Our town is in deepest mourning. Everyone feels the heavy stroke. People retired Monday night, but could not sleep. The suspense was awful. May we never witness such a scene again. Tuesday afternoon several of the rescuers were overcome by the after-damp. Geo May was brought from the mine unconscious an the physicians worked with him for some time. Martin Garvey, superintendent from Thomas, was also in a critical condition for a time. Drs Keim, Copeland, and two other physicians were at the mines at the time. Coroner F C Rollman has begun an inquest, but it will not be concluded until after the funeral services. A free commissary was established at the mine by the Company and lunches given to everybody that came to the scene of the disaster, which was open night and day. Inspector L D Vaugh, formerly of this place, was on the ground today. Friends and relatives of the deceased are coming in on every train. The remains of Wm Pearsonn were taken to Lonaconing Wednesday. morning where the body will be interred on Thursday. Roland NEWS TRIBUNE APRIL 28, 1911 (Courtesy of Patti McDonald) Posted July 25, 2010 Tragic Mine Explosion Takes the Lives of Twenty-three Men April 24, 1911, No. 20 Mine ~  Elk Garden, W. Va. Those who perished: James Brown, Wm. Buski, James Dempsey, Leo Dempsey, Ed Hershbarger, Wm. Hetzel, Hawthorne Patton, Wm. Pearson, Arthur Prichard, John P. Prichard, Frank Pugh, William Pugh,  Walter Runion, Wilbur Shears, Harry Tranum, John White, Sr., John White, Jr., Charles Wilson, Frank Wilson, George Roy Wilson, John R. Wilson, Lester Wilson,  and Thomas Yost. "Sad Funeral Services - Over the Twenty-Three Miners Who Perished In No. 20 Mine, Elk Garden, W. Va., April 24, 1911- The Dead Are Buried - The dead are buried. The ghastly scenes that will remain in our memories while life shall last are now in the past. The heart still aches but submits to the awful stroke, and feels that some day we shall understand. It was stated last week that Festival and Moody's halls were converted into morgues, and Undertakers F. C. Rollman and Wm. H. Kight were given charge of the dead jointly. These undertakers and their assistants worked faithfully at their gruesome task. Hundreds of persons, home people and strangers, visited the morgues when conditions were suitable and thus realized to some extent the force of the awful calamity. Some of the dead were burned about the face and hands, some were bruised and faces scarred, while others showed no external signs of violence, but seemed to be calmly sleeping. Wm. Pearson's remains were taken to Lonaconing Wednesday morning to the home of his sister, Mrs. Wm. Reiber, for interment. His age is 32 years and he leaves a wife and three small children. On Wednesday afternoon at 5 o'clock four of the Wilsons were interred in Nethken Hill cemetery. Rev. J.W. Bedford and L.C. Messick conducted the church services. The remains in the four caskets which were all in the church at the same time were, John R. Wilson, aged 57 years, 5 months, 16 days. He leaves a wife and a number of children, all adults. Lester Wilson, aged 18 years, 2 months and 26 days, leaves a young wife. George Roy Wilson, aged 23 years, 6 months, and 16 days, leaves a wife and two small children. Lester and George Wilson were both sons of Jno. R. Wilson and Frank Wilson, his son-in-law. Thursday was funeral day. The undertakers did their parts exceedingly well, and worked on almost exact schedule time. The congregations gathered quietly and quickly, and while one interment was going on in the cemetery another funeral was being held in the church. The M.E. church, South, was used for all church funerals on Wednesday. The large crowds of people at the cemeteries, on the streets and in the church were noted for their quiet demeanor and orderly conduct. At seven o'clock in the morning Father O'Hara conducted the funeral services in the Catholic church of James Dempsey, aged 57 years, Leo Dempsey, aged 23 years, and James Brown, aged 38 years. James Dempsey leaves a wife, one married and four single daughters, and a small boy. His remains and that of his son, Leo, were taken to Barton for burial. James Brown leaves a wife and two small children. His remains and those of Wm. Buski, aged about 25 years, were take to Westernport for burial. At nine o'clock Rev. Geo. W. Yost preached the funeral sermon of Harry Tranum, aged 26 years, at his late residence. He leaves a wife and one small child. At ten o'clock the funeral services of John P. Prichard, aged 48 years, 9 months and 14 days, and his son, Arthur Prichard, aged 17 years, 9 months and 20 days, were conducted at the church by Rev. L. C. Messick. Mr. Prichard leaves a wife and seven children, some of which are grown. At eleven o'clock, in the church, the funeral rites of Charles Wilson, aged 21 years, and married, son of Floyd Wilson, was conducted by Rev. W. J. Bernard. At twelve o'clock Rev. J.W. Bedford conducted the funeral services of John White, Sr., aged 42 years and John White, Jr., aged 24 years, in the church. John White, Sr., is a widower and leaves two daughters, Mrs. Maude Shriber and Miss Goldie. John White, Jr., was single and was know by the name of "Geet." At one o'clock the funeral services of Ed Hershbarger were conducted at his late residence by Rev. L.C. Messick. His age is 33 years, 2 months, and 17 days. He was the son-in-law of Rev. W.S. Rau and leaves a wife and two small children. At two o'clock the funeral services of Hawthorne Patton, aged 20 years, son of Mr. F. C. Patton, deputy assessor of this county, was conducted by Rev. J.F. Leeper in the church. The Red Men of Elk Garden and Modern Woodmen, of Kitzmiller, Md., attended his funeral. At three o'clock the funeral services of Wm. Hetzel, aged 61 years, were conducted in the church by Rev. L.C. Messick. He leaves a wife and two grown daughters, one a widow and one single. The Mystic Chain attended the funeral. At four o'clock Rev. J.F. Leeper conducted the funeral rites of William Pugh, aged 24 years, and Frank Pugh, aged 29 years, at the residence of their father, Mr. John Pugh. Both were unmarried. Frank Pugh was a fireman on the B. & O. R.R. , and had been home on a furlough several months. At five o'clock the funeral services of Walter Runion, son of John Runion, aged 19 years, 11 months and 14 days, and Wilbur Shears, aged 31 years, 1 month and 23 days was conducted by Rev. L.C. Messick in the church. Walter Runion was unmarried but Wilbur Shears leaves a wife and five small children. At six thirty the funeral services of Thomas Yost, aged 29 years, 4 months, and 9 days were conducted in the church by Rev. L.C. Messick. He leaves a wife and three small children. Thus as the evening shades were falling the last of the ill-fated miners was laid to rest. Rev. L.C. Messick was assisted by Rev. A. B. Mann, of Bayard, Rev. Geo. Burgess, of Laurel Dale, and W.S. Rau, of Virginia. The choir was composed of Misses M.V. Arnold, Lizzie Grant, Olie Clark, Lou Barrick, Mrs. Maude Grant, Mrs. Rosa Dean, Mr. and Mrs. D.C. Arnold, Misses James Norman and David McKinley, of Elk Garden, Mr. Burns, and Mrs. Richard Markwood, of Kitzmiller. But what will the Davis Coal and Coke Company do for the widows and friends of the unfortunate victims of the explosion? In the first place $400 will be paid for each death which is the amount of miners insurance with the Company. This amount to $9,200. In the second place the company pays the funeral expenses, which amounts to $2,160.60, and further the widows are allowed to get goods at the B. & L. store to satisfy their immediate needs, and the price of goods is not deducted from the insurance. In giving credit for heroism displayed in rescue work at the mine we do not wish to detract any credit due the many faithful mine officials, but we do wish to commend the miners of the Elk Garden region, including Wabash, Oakmont, Kitzmiller, and from distant mines for their coolness, still and daring. It was their brother miners entombed and they toiled, they braved the dangerous gases, they reeled under the influence of the poison and when refreshed plunged into the mines again. The city __ drew on their imagination in stating that women and children were at the mines uttering heart rending cries. The women in nerely (sic) every case staid (sic) at home and there patiently bore the awful suspense until their loved ones lifeless forms were brought to them by the undertaker. It is difficult to tell which were the greater heroes, the women remaining at home in deepest grief, watching, hoping, praying, or the miners braving the deadly gases to rescue the bodies of their unfortunate comrades." "Piedmont Herald, Piedmont, West Virginia, 5 May 1911 (Courtesy of Shawn McGreevy) Posted July 15, 2009 THE MINE DISASTER After his return from Elk Garden, Chief Laing of the State Dept of Mines, gave out a statement in which he relates in a detailed manner the apparent cause of the explosion in the No 20 maine which killed 23 men. One notable fact, is shown in this statement, and that is that five men escaped from a wet entry of the mine where there was little coal dust, thus demonstrating that the explosion primarily caused by a blown out shot from the solid was made a catastrophe by dust not dampened. The evidence gathered, the chief states, seems to point to the breaking of the mining law by their miners, who are thought to have used black powder. "After a thorough examination of the mine by these experts, it was very easily determined that had the mine been damp or had it been sufficiently watered, as it should have been, the disaster would not been as widespread as it was; and there is no doubt in the minds of any of the gentlemen who investigated the explosion but what dust was the main factor in the explosion. But while the mine was known to liberate a small amount of gas, it was quite evident that gas was not the cause of the explosion as the men had been at work with naked lights at the face of their working places. The only possible way that department can avoid accidents of this kind is to prohibit absolutely any shooting of any kind or character in such mines that are dry and dusty during the day or while men are at work and that expert shot-firers be employed for the purpose of doing all blasting after all men have left the mine. A ruling of this kind will for a short time work more or less hardship on the miners and perhaps curtail the output of the mine, but is the only way that I see to prevent a repetition of the accident and I have issued a circular letter so each of the inspectors of the different districts to put such ruling into the force at once, as we cannot permit dangers of this kind to exist where every man's life is depending on the most reckless miner. We expect to meet with some complaints and opposition against this order, but we propose to execute it regardless of how it may be approved of by either miners of operators." Keyser Tribune, May 5, 1911 (Courtesy of Patti McDonald) Posted July 25, 2010 INQUEST The inquest over the 23 miners who lost their lives in No 20 mine was held in the schoolhouse Thursday and Friday before Justice C E Shillingburg. John Lang, chief of the department of mining, conducted the inquest. Arthur Arnold, Prosecuting Attorney, was present and a large number of officials. The verdict of the jury was "That the 23 men came to their death by a blowout-shot at the face of the Dean Air Course, igniting the dust, therefore causing some explosive and dust explosion, and said shot supposed to have been fired by John Pritchard or his son, Arthur." Jury, Lloyd Oates, John Tice, J W Schwinabart, W J Schwinabart, A C Dixon, S B Stullenbarger. NEWS TRIBUNE, MAY 12, 1911 (Courtesy of Patti McDonald) Posted July 25, 2010