a civil war in some of the provinces, just as the slave trade causes
a constant warfare between various tribes in Africa.” During the
most prosperous years of the coolie trade the mandarins and village
chiefs used to connive at the robberies, and sometimes they sent their
personal attendants to assist in the capture of citizens of their own
town.
If they had a spite against any one, or considered that he ought to be
out of the way, they combined business with pleasure by assisting to
sell men to the coolie traders.
In 1854 the extensive traffic and the cruelties practised came to the
ears of various governments; one after another the civilized ones
forbade their ships to engage in it, and from that time the business
declined, though it by no means entirely died out. The wholesale
capture and sale of men have been greatly restricted, and at the
present time the traffic is confined to Macao, where prisoners taken
in the civil war are sold, and where certain captives taken by the
lorchas find a market.
One mode of obtaining men is by coaxing them into gambling-houses, and
inducing them to play for money until they have lost an amount beyond
that they have about them. They are then required to sign bonds which
hold them as securities for their debts. With these bonds they can be
turned over to a coolie-trader, who has a depot or private jail of his
own, where he locks up his human securities. When a sufficient number
is accumulated, the men are sold to the exporters.
[Sidenote: NUMBER OF COOLIES STOLEN.]
From 1847 to 1870, the number of coolies or forced laborers taken from
China to Cuba was one hundred and thirty thousand, to Peru two hundred
thousand, and to Australia, Java, and other parts of the Indian Ocean,
about fifty thousand. These do not include voluntary emigrants, nor
any of the coolies taken to India or the Sandwich Islands; neither
does it include a good many ship-loads known to have been sent away,
but of which no record exists. Together not less than half a million
coolies—and some persons, familiar with Chinese affairs, say nearly
a million—have been taken away by this Asiatic slave trade. The men
are bound by contracts to a service of eight years, the contract
stipulating that at the end of that time they are free to return
to their homes, that they shall receive a certain amount of money,
and their return passage shall be paid; but such are the cruelties
practised in Peru, Cuba, and other countries, that not one man in five
hundred ever returns to China.
The treatment of the coolies on shipboard is quite as severe as that
of African slaves. They are crowded densely together. Frequently they
are chained or loaded with irons, and the food and water which they
receive are in very small quantities. Hundreds of them die on the
voyage, and hundreds and thousands more live but a short time after
arriving at their destination, especially at the Chincha Islands,
where they are, or were until quite recently, made to perform tasks
which speedily drove them to despair. They were cruelly whipped, and
to escape their tortures thousands put an end to their lives. Many
committed suicide by jumping into the sea. One day in 1856, three
hundred and forty-two coolies committed suicide in this manner. Two
hundred of them walked into the sea together, and were drowned. It
can be readily understood that the treatment they received was of the
severest character, to drive them to kill themselves.
[Sidenote: MUTINIES ON COOLIE SHIPS.]
Several coolie ships were never heard from after their departure from
China for Peru. Sometimes it happened that the coolies mutinied; and
when defeated in the attempt to take possession of the vessel, the
entire party jumped overboard, and were drowned in the sea.
In several instances the attempted mutiny was successful, and the
vessels were burned, sunk, or abandoned, at some of the islands.
In 1857 a cargo of coolies murdered the officers and crew of the ship,
and then drifted helplessly about the ocean until two thirds of them
were dead through starvation, and the remainder were scarcely alive.
The vessel was stranded on a sand-bar, near one of the Fiji Islands.
Another ship was captured by the coolies and carried southward, where
she went ashore on one of the islands, and all that remained alive
on board at the time of her destruction were eaten up by cannibals.
Horrible stories are told of the fights between the coolies and crews
of ships. In case of a mutiny both sides fight with desperation,
as they know it is a matter of life and death. If the coolies are
overpowered they are killed or commit suicide. If the officers and
crew are overpowered, they are killed, and their bodies thrown into
the sea.
[Sidenote: HUMAN MINCE MEAT.]
In one instance the bodies of officers and crew of a coolie ship were
literally cut into mince meat before being thrown overboard. One of
the survivors afterwards stated that there was not a piece of any one
of the murdered persons that weighed more than two or three pounds,
when the mutiny was ended.
[Illustration : COOLIES PLANNING A MUTINY.]
[Illustration : MUTINY ON THE LOWER DECK.]
On one occasion a ship sailed from Macao, and had made nearly two
thirds of the voyage to the Chincha Islands when a mutiny occurred.
The fight was long and severe. A part of the crew were surprised and
killed on deck, the remainder were below and suffered great torture
for several hours. The coolies obtained complete possession of the
ship, and one by one the prisoners below were brought up and murdered.
When this work was ended the men turned the ship’s head to China, and
for days drifted in a helpless sort of way, knowing nothing about
navigation, and allowing the sails to be blown to pieces, and the ship
rendered helpless.
After nearly two months floating about, they finally arrived in one of
the ports of Japan. On the voyage they had several times quarrelled
among themselves, and their quarrels had led to bloodshed, in which
many of their number were killed. The survivors were arrested and
taken to prison by the Japanese. They were finally sent back to China,
to be dealt with by their own authorities. Some of them were executed,
and others were imprisoned for various periods.
XXXVIII.
AVONDALE.
THE GREAT CALAMITY IN PENNSYLVANIA.—ITS CAUSE.—DISCOVERY OF
THE FIRE.—SCENES AT THE MOUTH OF THE MINE.—BURNING OF THE
BREAKER.—DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRE.—EFFORTS FOR RESCUE.—THE DOG AND
LAMP.—DESCENT OF THE SHAFT.—WHAT THE EXPLORERS SAW.—DISCOVERY
OF THE BODIES.—AFFLICTION OF FATHER AND SON.—BRINGING OUT
BODIES.—BURIAL OF THE DEAD.
In a former chapter a brief allusion was made to the terrible disaster
at Avondale, Penn., where nearly three hundred lives were lost. Public
attention was everywhere called to the disaster at the time of its
occurrence; the daily and weekly journals were filled with details of
the incidents at Avondale, and the illustrated papers vied with each
other in giving pictorial representations of the horrifying scenes.
To many readers the accounts of the time are doubtless still fresh in
memory, and will remain so for years to come.
Avondale, the scene of the catastrophe, is about four miles from
Wilkes Barre, and the same distance from Plymouth, and is situated on
the right bank of the Susquehanna, in Luzerne County. Near Avondale
the scenery for some distance is quite pleasing to the eye, and has
often been praised by tourists. At the time of its occurrence the
accident was called “The Unparalleled Disaster,” and very properly so,
for never before and never since has it seen its equal in the United
States.
[Sidenote: DISCOVERY OF THE FIRE.]
The fire broke out on the morning of Monday, the 6th day of September,
1869. It was thought by many persons that the fire was the work of an
incendiary, and to this day there are some who adhere to this theory,
although no evidence was ever obtained to warrant such a belief.
The idea rose from the fact that, for nearly two months before the
disaster, the miners had been on a strike for an increase of wages,
which their employers had refused to grant, and the men were compelled
to give up the contest in consequence of the exhaustion of their
funds. It was on the first morning of the resumption of work inside
the mine that the fire broke out, and at a time when nearly three
hundred men and boys were at work.
The Avondale Mining Works were built in 1867, and at the time of their
destruction yielded a supply of about four hundred and fifty tons of
coal daily. The mouth of the mine is two hundred feet up the side of
a mountain, and over it was erected a large building, known in mining
parlance as the “breaker.” Here were also the engine-rooms, and the
machinery for breaking and screening coal as it comes up from the
mine. Above this entrance the ground rises at an angle of forty-five
degrees, the town of Plymouth lying to the north. From this point
there is a charming view of the valley of the Wyoming. On both sides
of the mine are mountains, which stretch far away to the north and
south, while meadows and gardens slope gently to the edge of the
river, which meanders through the valley.
About eight o’clock on the morning of the disaster, some boys, working
in a field near the breaker, observed a bluish vapor rising, but paid
no attention to it, knowing that the miners had resumed work. An hour
or so later the keeper of the stables in the mine took a quantity of
hay for his mules down the shaft, and on his way nothing attracted his
attention; but as soon as he reached the bottom he discovered fire. He
at once gave an alarm; and at the instant his cry was heard, a column
of flames shot with terrific fury up the ventilator and into the
engine-room. So great was the heat, that, before the engine-man could
reverse or stop the engine, he was driven from his post, and in a very
short time the breaker and out-buildings were a mass of flames. The
hoisting apparatus, the only avenue for the escape of the miners, was
completely destroyed, while there were two hundred and fifty persons
below. The only way to get air into the shaft was through the main
opening,—in fact, the only opening,—and this was found to be partly
filled with burning timbers and _débris_. Before the flames could be
stopped the shaft was partly filled up, and all communication with the
miners was cut off.
Immediately after the fire broke out there was the greatest excitement
around the entrance to the mine. For a time everybody appeared to have
lost his reason, and men were rushing to and fro, not knowing what to
do. But this state of things did not last long, and confusion speedily
gave place to order, or at any rate as much of it as could be expected
at such an occurrence. Despatches were sent to different places, and
soon the fire departments of Scranton, Wilkes Barre, Kingston, and
other cities were on their way to the scene of the conflagration,
where, it is needless to say, they did good service, and were gladly
welcomed. In a few hours thousands of people were journeying to the
Avondale mine, some as sight-seers, and others to render what aid they
could to the poor fellows known to be below. The neighboring mines
suspended operations, and master and men joined heartily in the work
of rescue. When the fire department arrived, it was thought impossible
for the men below to be alive, as they were supposed to have been
suffocated; yet there was a hope of their reaching some retreat in the
inner chambers of the mine, and it was determined to lose no time in
attempting a rescue of the miners at all hazards.
[Sidenote: THE FIRE IN THE SHAFT.]
The shaft, which was lined with wood, was ten feet by sixteen feet
square, and about three hundred and fifty feet deep. A partition
extended from the top to the bottom, forming a flue for the foul air
to pass out of the mine. It was up this wooden box or chimney that the
fire first came, and, as it was separated from the main shaft, the
stable-man could not discover the fire on his way down.
In order to purify the air in a coal mine like the one at Avondale,
it is necessary to force out the foul vapor; and, in addition to the
fans used, it is customary to build fires at the bottom of the shaft,
in order to get rid of the “damp.” When the mine is in operation these
fires are never allowed to go out. When work is resumed after a
suspension, care is necessary in kindling the fire. As before stated,
there had been a strike among the miners, and work entirely suspended
at the mine. The fire at the bottom of the shaft had gone out, and
when work was resumed, it had to be rekindled. When it was relighted,
the blaze flashed up before any coal had been placed upon the wood.
It was supposed that the wooden lining of the shaft caught from the
blaze, although there were several feet of brick-work at the bottom.
With a strong current of air, the flame immediately rushed up into
the engine-room, setting fire to everything combustible in its way.
The appearance of the fire, to one who could forget the peril of the
men in the mine, was grand in the extreme. When it was at its height,
the flames rose a hundred feet and higher. They were swayed by the
wind, and could be seen now at an angle of forty-five degrees, and
then almost perpendicular, while dense clouds of smoke rose and filled
the air. As the day drew to its close, the excitement of the scene
increased. For many miles up and down the beautiful valley the glare
of a thousand lights was visible. The vast quantities of coal that had
caught fire in the breaker were covered with sheets of colored flame,
and occasional flashes added to the glare that lighted up the valley.
[Sidenote: A TERRIBLE SCENE.]
While preparations for entering the mine were in progress, hundreds
of eyes were in tears, and the air was filled with the shrieks and
sobs of those whose relatives and friends were below. As soon as the
firemen could get to work, they began operations by sending a stream
of water down the burning shaft in order to extinguish the fire; but
for a long time the flames seemed to defy their efforts, and it soon
became evident that the water supply was a very meagre one. It was
also found very difficult for the firemen to work, as the location
was upon a steep hill-side. In a few hours after the outbreak the
shaft was completely choked up, for a distance of forty feet, with
rubbish. Most of the day was taken up in endeavoring to clear away the
_débris_, so that the engines might be used.
While all this preparatory work was going on, the throng of miners and
workmen increased, and the hill was crowded with people. Meetings were
organized for various purposes, and at one of them fifty experienced
men were selected to enter the mine as soon as it was practicable to
go there. Among these men three were owners and superintendents of
adjacent mines; they volunteered their services, and were ready to
die, if necessary, in the effort to rescue their fellow-miners, and
subsequently some of them barely escaped death.
[Sidenote: THE DOG AND LAMP.]
About half past five P. M., most of the timber and rubbish had been
cleared away, and a dog and lamp were sent down the shaft to test
the condition of the air. The cage was lowered as far as possible.
When it came back the dog was alive, and the lamp was still burning.
At half past six a man went down in a bucket, and returned in about
seven minutes. He was able to breathe, but could not get beyond the
obstructions. Soon after his return two men went down with tools, and,
after clearing away the obstructions, they returned safely. While they
were down they went through a gangway sixty or seventy yards, and came
upon three dead mules lying near the stables. Then they came to a door
which led into the mine, and, although they shouted and struck upon it
repeatedly, they obtained no reply, and there were no indications that
any of the imprisoned men were alive. Clouds of sulphurous gas were
pouring out of the mine; so the men retreated.
Again another party descended to make explorations, but they were
obliged to retreat, owing to the foul air and “black damp,” and by
the time they reached the top they were partially overcome. An engine
was then rigged for the purpose of driving a fan at the mouth of the
shaft, so as to force in air through a canvas hose, as the “choke
damp” was found to be three or four feet deep at the bottom of the
mine. One gang of men from the Scranton mines also suggested that an
attempt should be made to drive a gangway from a neighboring mine into
the Avondale; but it was found that it would take too long to cut
through the solid rock, and the suggestion was not carried out.
[Sidenote: SEARCHING FOR THE IMPRISONED MEN.]
After the engine had been put at work forcing air down the shaft,
another party descended into the mine. They penetrated through the
gas about seventy-five feet, and found the large door leading into
the mine open. They went for some distance farther, and in one of the
passages found a small door closed. They reported that, had the door
been open, there might have been some hopes for the men, as the gas,
and fire, and smoke would have had a free passage around the circuit
and out again. Owing to the presence of a large quantity of gas and
sulphur, the explorers had to retire, and were more or less affected
by it, one of the men being overcome and almost insensible for some
time after coming out of the mine.
After a consultation, a fresh party of volunteers were sent down,
and when they came back they stated that they had made an important
discovery. They said all efforts had been made to extinguish the fire
in the shaft and send in air, it being thought that the fire in the
furnace had been drawn out by the miners on the first alarm. It was
found, however, that the furnace was full of coal and burning, and
that a pile of coal had just caught fire and was blazing. Consequently
the air sent down the shaft had not only swept over this fiery
surface, but must have carried the gas and smoke to the inner recesses
of the mine, and caused the death of every one of the unfortunates. A
change of operations was to be considered, and all hope of getting to
the men that night was abandoned.
During the night efforts were made to extinguish the fire in the
furnace and beyond it, as nothing could be accomplished until this
was done. A hose was let down the shaft, and four men descended. They
were gone about twenty minutes without being heard from, and there was
considerable anxiety for their safety. At last they gave a signal, and
were brought up. They could not fix the hose, owing to the foul air,
but reported that the fire appeared to be dying out.
The next day another party went down, although those outside had
given up all hope of seeing any of the miners alive. On the return
of the explorers, they reported the air to be less foul, and they
had arranged the hose so as to throw the water against the roof at a
great pressure, and allow it to fall on the furnace. Another visit was
shortly made. The fire, though still burning, was much less, and the
hose was hoisted so as to get at the flames. The heat at this time
was very great, and the explorers were much fatigued, and had to be
brought up, one of them being insensible.
On the next journey the fire had still decreased, and while the party
were down the cracking of the roof of the tunnel was heard, and part
of it fell from the effects of the cooling water. The noise of the
falling roof was heard outside, and the party were loudly cheered as
they came up the shaft safe.
Throughout the second day efforts were made to get at the bodies of
the men, but this was found impossible until the fire and foul air
could be controlled, as the men could not remain down the shaft for
any length of time. At midnight of the second day a party went down
to throw more water on the fire, and reported that in a few hours all
would be safe for entering the mine.
At two o’clock on the third morning the atmosphere was found greatly
improved, and the fire nearly extinguished. The party who went down
this time succeeded in getting to the stables, and there came upon the
first two bodies of those known to be below. When light was procured,
the bodies were unrecognizable, their features being blackened and
distorted. One body was evidently that of a middle-aged man, and the
other of a young man about eighteen. The explorers were brought up the
shaft, and made known their discovery.
[Sidenote: FINDING THE FIRST BODIES.]
At once preparations were made for sending down gangs of men, four in
each gang, for the purpose of bringing up the dead as fast as they
were found. At half past six A. M., four hours after the discovery of
the bodies at the stables, a gang of men went down, and remained about
half an hour. This proved the successful visit, so far as finding the
bodies of the dead miners was concerned. Nearly the entire number
of men were found to have fled to the east side of the plane. As
this gang came up, and reported the finding of the bodies, another
party went down, but were hindered in getting at the bodies by a car
packed around with coal, culm, and clothing, and when this was removed
another obstruction appeared.
[Sidenote: HOW THE DEAD MEN LAY.]
One man was found lying upon the outside, where he had been assisting
to build the wall. The wall was completed, save a small aperture
sufficient to admit a person. Apparently the man had just finished his
work, and was crawling back to his companions, when death overtook
him. The majority of the miners were found piled one upon another.
The first body brought out caused great excitement among those whose
relatives and friends were below. The countenance wore a placid look,
and was not much disfigured. The left eye was partly open, and the
arms and legs were slightly burned.
The next body had both eyes open, and the head turned aside. The next
was that of a boy, who had gone down the mine on the morning of the
fire for the first time. Then came the body of a man who had evidently
suffered extreme agony, judging from his countenance. His hands were
firmly clinched, and in one he tightly grasped a pick. Another body
appeared to have suffered great pain. Two boys had clasped their arms
about this body, and the three proved to be father and sons. Another
man was found in a kneeling posture, as if his dying moments were
devoted to prayer.
Some of the men in the fresh gangs lost their way on several
occasions, and so a barrel of lime was sent down to make a direct path
to what may be called the dead-house.
About four hundred yards from where the most of the miners were
discovered, a body was found by itself. It was resting upon the face,
and had apparently been thrown upon the ground. At a little distance
was another body in a similar position, and this, too, had been thrown
to or had fallen upon the ground.
[Sidenote: GRIEF OF THE SURVIVORS.]
In less than two hours over sixty bodies had been taken out of the
mine. As they were brought up the grief was intense and heart-rending.
Almost to the last moment wives, children, and relatives hoped against
hope; but as the bodies were one by one sent up the shaft, the hopes
died away. All around the sobs and moans of mothers and wives broke at
intervals into piercing shrieks and wails of agony as the bodies were
recognized. Many of the men were overcome with grief as they saw the
remains of their comrades, and tears trickled down their cheeks from
eyes unused to tears. Children too young to know their bereavement
clung in mute astonishment to the sides of their weeping mothers,
and shrank from the blackened corpses in which they were unable to
recognize the fathers who kissed them farewell on the morning of the
fatal day.
[Illustration: REMOVING BODIES FROM THE MINE AT AVONDALE,
PENNSYLVANIA, SEPTEMBER, 1869.]
The men who brought out the bodies described the scene in the mine as
best they could through their mingled grief and horror. Fathers and
sons, they said, lay clasped in each other’s arms. Some of the dead
were kneeling; some were sitting hand in hand, as if they had vowed to
live and die together; some lay on the ground, as if they had fallen
while fleeing; and others lay as if pressing their faces into the
earth in the hope of extracting from it a breath of pure air. Near
the embankments were the picks and shovels that had been used to lay
up the works that should exclude the foul air. In one chamber every
man had stripped off his clothing to use it in stopping the crevices
of the embankments, and one man was in the attitude of pushing his
coat into a crevice. Apparently while he was so employed the foul gas
rushed in and overcame him.
[Sidenote: NEW LAW ABOUT MINES.]