121 MEN PERISH IN DEADLY DAMP OF BANNER MINE.

WORST MINING CATASTROPHE IN HISTORY OF ALABAMA COAL FIELDS.

LIKE RATS IN A TRAP CONVICTS ARE CAUGHT.

FOLLOWING EXPLOSION DEEP IN WORKINGS OF PIT, GASES PERMEATE EVERY CORNER OF MINE, MAKING ESCAPE OF ENTOMBED MEN IMPOSSIBLE -- ONLY THREE BODIES RECOVERED.

Littleton, Ala., April 8 -- One hundred and eighteen men are tonight entombed in the Banner mine, and but three bodies have been brought to the surface, following a terricif [sic] explosion early this morning. It is believed all the men are dead.
The fatal afterdamp which followed the explosion has so far kept the rescuers from penetrating the mine, although they have been far enough in the interior to see a gruesome pile of human bodies huddled together near the shaft. It is estimated that about twenty men are in the pile. Officials of the Pratt Consolidated Coal Company, who own the mine, have practically abandoned hope of bringing out any of these below the surface alive.
Ominous Stillness Pervades Pit.
This afternoon they could be heard knocking on the pipes below, but there is an ominous stillness tonight which indicates that the suffocating afterdamp has done its deadly work.
Practically all of the men killed were negro convicts.
The rescue work cannot proceed with much efficiency until the mine can be bratticed so that fresh air can be forced in to drive out the afterdamp. This work is going on tonight, but it will probably be several days before all the bodies are recovered. There is a possibility some of the men in remote parts of the mine will survive the deadly gases, but this hope is based on a very slender foundation.
JAMES OAKLEY, president of the state board of convict inspectors, reached here tonight. The government rescue car made a record run from Chattanooga this afternoon.
No Mourners at Openings.
Todays explosion differs from those of the past years in Alabama in that there are practically no mourners at the openings. Usually there is a great crowd of widows and orphans waiting for their loved ones, but the men at Banner were convicts, for the most part, without friends and whose relatives are scattered through the various counties of Alabama, from which the convicts were sent.
The special train which hurried here from Birmingham stopped at Mineral Springs for mine timbers and other needed equipment for building the brattices. The real rescue work waited upon the arrival of this train. The fans are working tonight but the fresh air cannot be forced far in the interior until the brattices are in place to convey it to the extreme portions where it will do most good.
Rush Order Sent For Coffins.
A rush order for 100 coffins was sent to Birmingham early tonight, and 25 will arrive before morning, while the others will be hurried here the first thing Sunday morning.
One of the rescuers who entered the mine this evening after the fans had partly cleared the atmosphere, stated that he found Foreman SPRADLING less than half a mile from the entrance, seated on a board, with his head buried between his knees. He had been dead but a short time. He evidently had started for the entrance, but realizing the helpless condition of the convicts, is believed to have turned back to aid them, and been overcome by gases.
It was stated tonight that unless relatives should ask for the bodies of the dead, they will be buried in the convict cemetery at the mines. Little trouble was experienced today or tonight in handling the crowd about the entrance to the mine. In addition to the rescuers, there were not more than fifteen or twenty women in the crowd, and these all were negroes.
Property Damage Light.
All those who have been in the mine claim the property damage will be light. So far inspectors have been unable to locate the point where the explosion occurred, but it is believed to have been about a mile from the entrance in the No. 1 mine. Representatives of the powder companies doing business at Banner are on the scene, and doing all in their power to aid the rescuers, as well as to determine the cause of the disaster.
While the actual number of victims cannot be determined tonight, it is the opinion of mining experts here that this will prove the worst mining catastrophe in the history of the Alabama coal fields, the nearest to it in number of victims being the Virginia mine explosion in 1905, which caused the death of 112 men. A rigid investigation by the state is expected to follow, and every facility is being offered the state and federal inspectors here to make a full inquiry.
Coroner BREACHER was here late this afternoon making a preliminary investigation. He announced that he would return Sunday to hold an inquest.

The Atlanta Constitution Georgia 1911-04-09
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!