pg 28
Believe it was gas ---
The blast occurred in No. 15 Butt, about one and three quarters miles from the main shaft, as mear as company officials could figure out. They said the explosion was probably caused by gas.
The interior of the mine was badly wrecked, brattices being torn down and heavy rock falls occurring in many places. Many of the victims brought to the surface were buried under heavy rock falls and in some cases their bodies were mutilated beyond recognition.
Nearly all of the bodies brought out up to late Sunday were badly burned off some of them and the flesh was burned as black as the coal they dug.
Practically all of the bodies of the men brought up to the surface were seared with flames, although clothing appeared to have not been burned much.
From the fact that faces and hands of practically every one of the dead were burned, the skin peeling off on a majority, it was said by miners, pg 29
that the men evidently had been killed by the explosion. For the most part, the bodies were in good condition, although many were bruised. A number showed that they had been struck on the head, blood being congealed in their hair.
Carload after carload of lumber had gone down into the shaft as the rescuers made their way to the interior of the mine. Several hundred experienced miners, all members of rescue teams from practically every section of the state, were working in shifts to open the entries and explore the innermost recesses of the mine.
Fifteen rescue teams, led by the United States Bureau of Mine experts from the Pittsburgh station and state mine inspectors, had been at work in the mine since Saturday night. Most of the crews were from the region, representing companies at Mount Pleasant, Leisenring, Crescent, Crucible, Chartiers, Vestaburg, Orient and Nemacolin. Some teams were from West Virginia.
Relief for living --- On the surface, a number of relief organizations had taken their places beside the rescue teams and were doing everything in their power to relieve distress among women and children. pg 30
The Waynesburg Chapter of the American Red Cross was the first relief organization on the scene. A group of capable women arrived soon after word of the disaster reached them and they brought food, clothing, cigarettes, tobacco and many other necessities for the rescue squads, police and firemen.
Food was scarce, because of the great demand of the small stocks available at Mather, supplies were being rushed in from nearby towns. Doctors and nurses were on hand from all parts of the district.
The shortage of food was caused by the great influx of relief and rescue people, fireman and police from all over this end of the state. The Pennsylvania Railroad sent a dining car loaded with foodstuffs and truck loads of provisions were sent in from nearby towns. The dining car was put in operation alongside the United States Bureau of Mines rescue car near the shaft and the workers were fed as fast as they came out of the mine all night and day long/
Three large trucks loades with caskets arrived from Pittsburgh late in the night. Several other large shipments were on the way, a scarcity of burial boxes being felt in this region following a removal of the first bodies.
The Salvation Army was not long in bringing relief, and several troops of boy scouts came in from the surrounding towns to assist in the establishment of safety lines and routing traffic.
Nearby to the movie and recreation hall is a little church. Sunday morning services were dispensed with and the women of the town busied themselves preparing food for the rescue squads and police.
The whole town was literally turned "upside down." It was the first disaster to occur in this mine.
A coroner's jury comprising six men and augmented by inspectors from the State Bureau of Mines was ordered to delve into the cause of the blast.
The first step in official inquiry into the disaster was taken with the selection of a coroner's jury by Coroner John W. Ross and viewing of the bodies taken from the mine. More bodies were reviewed Monday with more state mine inspectors arriving.
Away from the eyes of the waiting relatives, in the interior of the machine shop, a temporary morgue was prepared to take care of the bodies as they were brought to the surface. It was there, in the makeshift quarters, that the identification of the bodies was established through brass checks found in the clothing of the dead men.