On March 8, 1926, a mine explosion at Eccles, near Beckley, killed 19 miners. Sixteen women and 59 children lost their husbands and fathers. Ten other miners barricaded themselves inside the mine and were found alive by rescuers.
The mine was operated by the Crab Orchard Improvement Company. About a month after the explosion, a coroner's jury issued a report stating:
"We find that the men in mine #5 Eccles came to their death by gas and dust explosion and afterdamp (a toxic gas mixture remaining after an explosion.) We are unable to find from the evidence produced how the gas was ignited."
The panel heard testimony from a number of people. Two of the trapped survivors were Jim Keith and his 17-year-old son, Green, who helped erect barricades for the men to get behind. The senior Keith was questioned at the hearing. It went this way:
Q: After you had completed the barricades, what did you do?
A: There was lots of talk. Some of them thought we would never get out. Mr. Davis said the men on the outside would seal the shafts and leave us in, and would not try to get us out.
Replica Christian Louboutin Q: Did you think the men on the outside would do this, Mr. Keith?
A: No sir. I knew they would try to save us. I knew how many friends I had on the outside, men I had been working with for years, and I knew they would save us if it was possible. I felt sure we would get out all right if we would only stay there and wait for them to come and find us. I told them who I thought would be the first ones to come to help us.
Q: What did you do then?
A: We all laid down except the night boss, Davis. He prayed continually and wrote a letter to his wife telling her goodbye.
Gucci Replica Handbags Q: What did you do then, Mr. Keith?
A: I told them we had better line the stoppings. Davis told the men they only had air enough to last them for about 40 minutes and for them all to pray, and there was no hope for them.
Q: Did they all pray then?
A: They all prayed except me. My boy got scared then and began to cry. You see, he is only 17 years old. I took him off to one side and told him not to be afraid - that he and me was coming out of there all right, even if the rest didn't. I told him that we could starve along on what little food we had and that we had enough good air to last us for two or three weeks.
Q: Did that satisfy him then?
A: Yes sir; he laid down and went off to sleep then.
Q: Didn't you pray then?
A: No sir; I told Davis that I had not prayed before I got into that fix, and that the Lord wouldn't pay much attention to a prayer that a man was scared into.
Q: What did you do then, Mr. Keith?
A: I was cold and I backed up against the colored fellow, McKenzie, and listened to the rest of the men praying.
Q: What were you doing when you first heard the rescue party?
A: I was laying down when I heard them coming. I could hear them walking. I mentioned it some of the others, and we heard them holler. I couldn't hear what they said, because they had on their helmets. I asked them if they wanted us to tear down the barricade, and they said yes.
Other articles:
http://www.myoutdoors.tv/blog/view/id_104/title_found-13-sneakers-worth-every/http://bbs.chinaeds.com/Blog.asp?BlogUserName=mywatches&menu=ShowBlog&BlogID=268http://www.philippines.com.au/blog/view/id_421/...
