28 Die in Duvin Mine Explosion Here; 
Inspectors Agree Accident Causes Dust Explosion

Following a thorough investigation, the consensus of mine inspectors and safety
experts is that coal dust, and not gas, caused the explosion in the Duvin Coal
Company mine, near Providence, early Friday night in which twenty-eight lives
were lost.
The official statement issued by John F. Daniels, chief of State Department of
Mines and Minerals, and which was collaborated in by all the other state and
federal experts present follows:
Indications are that the explosion was due to the ignition of coal dust at a
working face caused by a premature discharge of permissible explosives while
"shot firer" was preparing explosives for shots."
That the explosion did not cause greater property damage is attributed to the
fact that, after traveling 1,000 feet, the force of the dust found expansion and
died out.  If the explosion  had occurred in a more confined section, probably
even the tipple would have been destroyed, it is said.
Investigators arrived at the dust theory from the physical evidence.
Upon reaching the room in which the blast occurred they found a man's body minus
one leg.  His torso was mutiliated.  He was a shot firer.  Other bodies in the
room gave evidence of violence - battered and burned - but the cutting machine
operator was still by his machine, the bits still in the coal.
From these facts it was decided that the shot-firer carried one or more sticks
of "permissible" explosives in a trouser side pocket as he prepared a shot; that
in some manner the detonator he carried came in contact with an electric charge
setting off the charge, flame from which ignited the dust.
After permissible powder is placed in the hole and tampered with rock dust (the
practice in use in Duvin), there is no, or very little flame.  But since the
firer's leg had been blown away, it is accepted as a fact that a charge he
carried was set off.  This, of course, without the protection afforded by rock
dust, and flame spread to the coal dust.
Death to all nineteen in this area came instantaneously.  Death to the other
nine came through deadly gases forming after the explosion.

WORST TRAGEDY SINCE 1917
The explosion Friday  night resulted in the worst mine tragedy in Webster county
since 1917 when an explosion in West Kentucky Coal Company No. 7 at Clay claimed
sixty-three lives.  Ten years later to the day, another explosion rocked No. 7
with the toll this time being about sixteen.
The explosion at Duvin occurred at 7:22 p.m. after the night shift had been in
the pit for more than three hours.  The last three bodies were brought to the
top of the mine at 1:04 Monday morning, exactly eight-one hours and thirty-four
minutes after the doomed shift entered the mine.
The explosion occurred in new territory about 250 feet beneath the surface and
about 12,000 feet from the shaft.
Roscoe Higdon, Ed Mays, Joe Thomas, Everett Hibbs and Henry DePriest, Negro,
were near the shaft and were the first men to reach the surface.  They came up
about 9 p.m.  Roy Baker, Negro, was next out, followed by William Reynolds, who
had suffered a slight injury but managed to get to the cage where he collapsed
and was later pulled up.
It was 1:10 a.m. before Ernest Johnson, Douglas Cates and Dennis Walker were
brought to the top.  They were found at a parting, one and a half miles from the
shaft where Walker had telephoned outside the three were safe.  Over the
telephone he had been told to find good air and "stay there, we will get you
out."  He followed instructions.
Walker found Johnson, who had been blown from the motor he was operating, and
Cates, exhausted.  He dragged them into a break-through where there was better
air.

RESCUE CREW ENTERS
The first rescue crew was led into the mine by James Fugate, of Madisonville,
district mine inspector, at 9 p.m.  His crew consisted of Wynn McCormick, Vester
Parker, Ed Gold, Everett Hibbs, Ed Rich, John Fitts, Henry Moore, Elie Clark,
Ernest Wallace, James Cluster, Burley Fugate and Kearney Cole, Jr.
The second crew went in at 11:40 p.m. headed by Carl Blackwell and consisting of
Cleo Maloney, Harry Smith, Arthur Vinson, Aubrey Higgins, Robert Buckner, Henry
Salmon, Billy Wilson, Herbert Hinton and Leonard Eastin.
Part of these crews came back out with Walker, Johnson and Cates.  The remainder
of the two crews combined and found the first bodies around 3 o'clock Saturday
morning.  They telephoned the news that 19 were dead and continued pushing
forward hunting the other nine.  Some of these men did not come back out until
3:05 Saturday afternoon.  These men got within a few hundred feet of the nine
men but were forced back because of the after damp.  However, the nine men were
probably dead hours before the rescue crew neared them.
The bodies of the first 19 men found were as follows:  Daniel B. Barnes, Sr.,
D.B. Barnes, Jr., Daniel W. Byrum, Richard B. Byrum, Ira Taylor Campbell,
Forrest Dunbar, Ned Fugate, Randall Greene, Carl Holloman, Jr., Arthur Little,
Robert A. Mays and Earl White Woodring, all white; and the following Negroes:
Ellis Chandler, George Clark, James R. Gaither, Dave Ivy, Leet Mitchell, George
Springfield and Hobard Williams.
The bodies of the last nine miners were located early Monday morning and the
office was phoned the news at 2:40 a.m.  Hope had been held out until the last
minute for the finding of the men alive.
F.V. Ruckman listened briefly at the mine telephone connecting his office with
rescue operations and then turned to the ones gathered in the office and stated:
"They're dead."  The news spread rapidly over the grounds. Rescuers were then
called out of the mines and the work of removing the bodies did not start until
around 8 a.m.
Some of the bodies had been removed Monday afternoon and all by shortly after
midnight.

BARRICADE CONSTRUCTED
The last nine miners had barricaded themselves behind a brattice of jute one-
half mile from the explosion 260 feet underground in a desperate effort to "seal
in" against deadly gas following the explosion which took the lives of 19 other
miners whose bodies were found Saturday.
The nine whose bodies were found last after a search of around 76 hours, were
Arch Gold, Rudell Little, Charles Wallace, Clyde Cole, Gordon Hodge, Elmer Sale,
all white; and Sike Boyd, Wanda Williams and Allen Chambers, Negroes.  All were
married.
These bodies and the body of Carl Holloman, Jr., were the first to be brought
out of the mine.  Holloman's body lay in a passageway en route to the spot where
the other nine had perished.
Griffith T. Powell of the U.S. Department of Mines, Norfolk, Va., who led the
crews to the last bodies found, said the nine were lying in a row - one white
man, three negroes and five white men.
He said the men had conformed to established emergency procedure - they had
erected a brattice and lain down to preserve strength and conserve air.
If they had taken time to construct the brattice of more durable material which
was on hand, than jute bagging, Powell said they might have lived.

NOTES FOUND
Two notes were found near the bodies.  They had been marked on cross ties with
chalk.  They said:
"12:45 -- Still alive and singing praises to the Lord.  All that is unsaved are
saved tonight.""
" 1:25 -- Still Alive."
Powell said he believed the notes had been written early Saturday morning, less
than six hours after the blast since the men's water supply "had hardly been
touched and their lamps (battery light worn in caps) were very strong.
Following the recovery of the bodies, Coroner Guy Riley directed a continuous
inquest at the two local funeral homes where the bodies were taken.  Coroner
Riley collapsed Monday morning at the mine but was able to proceed later with
the inquests.
Before bodies of the victims could be brought to the surface they were wrapped
in blankets, placed on stretchers and carried more than 2,000 feet through
passages between four and five feet high.  Rescuers proceeded in a bent over
position, John F. Daniel, state mine and minerals head, said.

RESCUE WORK HARD
Daniel explained that because of carbon monoxide the first persons to enter the
mine had to fight their way into the depths of the mine step by step.  The
chambers were loaded with the deadly gases and progress was made only .....
construction of wooden and cloth brattices brought partial restoration of normal
air circulation as the men advanced.
After finding bodies of nineteen men about 10 a.m. Saturday, workers pushed on
toward the other nine entombed men and were within 200 feet of them before air
conditions prohibiting further advance were encountered.
The squads then were ordered out of the mine and the ventilating fan was set in
reverse to pull the gas laden air to the surface through the fan shaft.  During
the process all workers and spectators were kept at a safe distance from the
shaft.
The fan was not damaged by the blast, and after several hours of reverse
ventilation, the workers were allowed to reenter the pit with the fan being
operated in the normal manner.
"We had to go as slowly as we did to protect the men in the rescue squads,"
Chief Daniel said.
"Throughout the ordeal," he added, "my department and the mine operators had
every cooperation from other mining companies in the western Kentucky field.
For this, and for the quet fortitude manifested by families of the entombed men,
I am very grateful."

DANIELS' AIDES
Assisting Mr. Daniels in directing rescue operations and arriving at the cause
of the explosion were: Charles A. Herbert, Supervising Engineer of the United
States Department of Mines, Vincennes, Ind.; A.U. Miller, mining engineer and
W.O. West, safety instructor, both of Herbert's staff; L.H. McGuire, assistant
mining engineer, and G.T. Powell, safety instructor, U.S. Bureau of Mines,
Norfolk, Va.; James Fugate, district mine inspector, Madisonville; Lindsay Cobb,
district mine inspector, Earlington; W.E. Wheeler, district mine inspector,
Pikeville; and Ed Starling, Pikeville, all with the State Department of Mines
and Minerals.

$150 FOR EACH BURIAL
Families of 27 of the 28 men killed in the explosion will receive $150 apiece
from the burial fund of the Progressive Mine Workers (A.F. of L.) Clarence
Edwards, District 5, secretary of PMW, said this week.
The 27 were members of the union, Edwards said.  D.B. Barnes, sr., an inside
mine foreman, was ineligible, because of his position, to join the union.

CONGESTED TRAFFIC
Within two hours after the explosion Friday night, Providence citizens were
involved in and saw the most congested traffic conditions ever experienced here.
The road out to the mine was a confused mass of two-way crawling lines that
bogged down time and again as willing but inexperienced volunteers sought to
keep the lane open.
Before midnight, however, Sergeant Glyn Seward, Henderson, heading the Western
Kentucky area, had a squad of state police on the job and at his request
reinforcements were sent in to bring the number up to 15.  There also were on
duty several police officers from Henderson. Traffic out to the mine was
drastically curtailed with only those having official business and relatives
being permitted to drive cars along the narrow road.  American Legionnaires
also cooperated in keeping the road cleared.
Out at the mine, Chief of Police J.W. Hughes and Patrolman John Sigler, Sheriff
Whit Kuykendall and Deputy Sheriff R. L. Hankins handled the crowd perfectly.
But the crowd was very orderly throughout the entire ordeal.
Mine operators and mine officials from all surrounding territory reached the
scene as soon as they could after hearing of the blast.  Many brought supplies
along with them, feeling they might be needed.
Hundreds of citizens volunteered their services in every way possible.
The Salvation Army set up a field kitchen before 2 a.m. Saturday and continued
to serve coffee and sandwiches until Tuesday morning.  The Providence Chapter of
the American Red Cross purchased food supplies which were prepared and served by
church organizations.  The National organization of the Red Cross had a field
worker in the city by Saturday night to assist in any way possible.
A large number of volunteer rescue workers went down into the mind to assist.
Many of them went in several times.  Following is a list of most of those who
engaged in this very necessary work:
Merwin Alsbrokings, B.J. Ashworth, Tony Adkins, Carl Blackwell, Thomas Belt,
Lewis Buckner, Roscoe Babb, Bourland Bentley, Charles Blackwell, Mile Blanchard,
Clarence Burton, Robert Buckner, Bill Bail, Bert Babb, Carl Board, Dell Bowles,
Walter Bruick, John Brown, Raymond Browning, Charles Blanchard, Frank
Blankenship, W.D. Barrows, Walter Bentley, Shorty Boswell, R.D. Bradley, L.S.
Babb, Raymond Baker, Lem Blackwood, Walter Beatty, Howard Blackwood.
Kearney Cole, Jr., Paul Coffman, Claud Cain, J.D. Cloen, Calvin Cunningham, Lono
Cherry, Dewey Crowell, Charlie Curry, Jim Corbin, Ernest Carrol, Ben Crowell,
Eli Clark, James Cluster, Boyd Cole, Dan Crowell, Roscoe Crowell, Lyman
Cornelius, Lindsay Cobb, Porter Cole, Charles Crowell, Carney Cates, Guy Curry,
Floyd Creasy, Hubert Crowell, Aubrey David, Ted Dyer, Posey Dunscomb, Taylor
Dunnagan, James Dillbeck, Arthur Dinson, Son Dudley, Henry DePriest, Clay
Dorris.
Willie Early, Allen Ewing, Leonard Eastin, Travis Easley, Burley Fugate, Robert
Fugate, Marshall Fritts, John Fitts, Eure Ford, James Fugate, Edward Fort,
Dorman Franklin, Lee Fox, Will Fox, Ira Fulcher, Buford Frederick, Thomas Ford,
Odell Gaston, Ed Gold, Dessie Glover, Martin Grant, Jimmy Gold, Vernon Gold.
Roscoe Higdon, L.W. Huber, John Hunt, Guthrie Hyde, Everette Hibbs, Arthur
Hinson, Dick Herron, Everette Hopgood, Robert Hill, Glynn Holeman, Otis
Hedgepath, Virgil Hill, Johnnie Hart, Aubrey Higgins, Herbert Hinton, Ray Hunt,
Basil Hinton, Tom Hail, Herb Hughes, Lester Jarrett, Clay Jones, Lambert Key,
Claud King, Finis King.
Herbert Love, H.T. Little, R. Love, Leslie Lindsay, Carl Lacey, Wynn McCormick,
Charles McGuire, Beeler McKnight, Edwin McGaw, Bobby McDowell, Henry Moore, Cleo
Maloney, Lester Miller, Lloyd Miller, Ralph Martin, Raymond Martin, Morris
Massey, Ernest Martin, Eugene Marvel, Frank Mitchell, Beckham Marks, Durwood
Marks, Richard Nance, Elliott Nance, Thomas Owens, Jack Ogilby.
Carlton Proust, Griffith Powell, Thurman Phelps, Sampson Price, Johnny Parker,
Vester Parker, Thomas Price, Claud Price, Lee Powell, Guthrie Quartermouse, Ed
Rich, Ben Rich, Curtis Rule, Ed Reynolds, Carl Ramsey, Henry Salmon, Otto
Smiley, George Siria, Walter Springfield, Harry Smith, E.A. Starling, Virgil
Scott, Alec Stoner, J.W. Scott, Ralph Sheridan, Claud Stevens, Herman Sales.
Joe Thomas, Francis Turley, Ed Tandy, Will Todd, Ed Todd, Alec Thompson, Glynn
Thomas, C.E. Vick, Enoch Vaughn, Arthur Vinson, Billy Wilson, Frank Wood, Volney
Wright, Arthur Wilson, Roscoe Wood, Estel Walker, Dennis Walker, Les Whitfield,
John Wallace, Ewing Williamson, Ernest Wallace, W.D. West, W.E. Wheeler, Willie
Welch, Guy West, Ray Walker, Leonard Walker, Dell Warner, Sherman Wynn, and Lem
Young.

The Providence Enterprise
Providence, Kentucky
Thursday, July 20, 1939
used with permission