Times articles about the 1867 explosion at Ferndale No. 1

[mochyn]

I'm in the process of transcribing the articles that appeared in the Times concerning the 1867 explosion at Ferndale No. 1. As I finish them, I'll post them here. The first is from 11 November 1867.

Frightful colliery explosion. RHONDDA VALLEY, Saturday Evening. The telegram which appeared in The Times of this day has prepared the public for the details of one of the most disastrous colliery explosions ever recorded. It was stated that 300 persons were in the colliery when the accident occurred, but it has since been ascertained that the number was greater. At 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon there were from 360 to 400 men underground, the exact number up to the hour of writing not being known. Of those who went down on Friday morning, some 62 have been brought up alive, but all hope of rescuing the others has been abandoned. The Ferndale Colliery, the scene of the accident, is situated near Rhondda Fach, in the Rhondda Valley, seven miles from Pontypridd and 21 miles from Cardiff, and is worked by Messrs. David Davies and Sons, extensive colliery proprietors in the Aberdare Valley. For some days in the end of last week the weather was foggy. So dense was the mist yesterday morning that nothing could be distinguished half a dozen yards off, and in the neighbourhood of the colliery, which is situated at the bottom of a valley, between two ranges of lofty hills, the fog was particularly thick. No doubt this state of the air interfered with the ventilation of the pit and caused an accumulation of fire-damp. The explosion occurred at half past 1 o’clock, and such was its terrific force that the concussion shook the whole mine. The report was heard throughout the valleys. Flames almost burst up the shaft of the pit, with a cloud of ashes and stones. it was evident at once to those above that a frightful accident had occurred, and steps were instantly taken to descend the pit as soon as the state of the air rendered it safe. Messengers were sent down the valley to the neighbouring pits,and over the mountains to Aberdare and Merthyr, and from all parts of the district workmen rushed to the scene of the disaster. The manager of the colliery, Mr. J. Williams, was down in the workings at the time of the explosion, and efforts were first made to find him, if possible, so that, if alive, his assistance might be had in directing operations for the rescue of the men. He was among the first found, but, unhappily, quite dead, having been suffocated with the choke damp. Exploring parties were rapidly and sent into all the workings, but the air was very foul, and they had to proceed cautiously for fear of another explosion, the pit having been so shaken that large quantities of gas had escaped. They were also met by heavy falls in the airways, and in many instances the men had to be dug out with pick and shovel. The process was excessively slow, and it was found that almost all had been suffocated by the carbonic acid gas before the men could descend the shaft to their assistance. By 7 o’clock in the evening only three persons had been rescued and about 20 bodies recovered. Of the three hitchers employed at the bottom, two had been blown violently into the sump and killed by bruises, the third miraculously escaped with slight injury. Relays of workmen were continually sent down, but the obstacles were more formidable than they anticipated, and the delay which took place—sometimes several hours elapsing before any body could be got at—was productive of the most intense and painful anxiety in the people who crowded around the pit waiting the arrival to the bank of their hapless relatives. The work of recovery went on without intermission during the whole night, many of the volunteers remaining at work until they could barely stand with fatigue. The bodies were generally recovered in batches of 12 or 15 at a time, as the falls were removed, and then there was the prolonged interval of heartrending suspense. By 4 o’clock this morning four or five persons had been received above, almost all so frighteningly injured that there is little hope of their recovery. Fifty-three dead bodies had been recovered. Several valuable horses were also found dead in the drift, and brought out. At this point the work of recovery was brought to a stand, for the force of the explosion was such that the walls and roofs of the pit had been loosened, and enormous quantities of rubbish kept falling in all parts of the mine, choking up the air ways, and absolutely cutting off all communications. Tramload after tramload of rubbish and masses of rock that had to be broken up with quarrying tools had to be removed, and this added to the delay. Thus the whole of this day was spent in clearing a fall in the Duffryn level, behind which it is believed there are some 25 workmen. It is not thought that one of them can be alive, as the air current is completely cut off, and in the face of the working the atmosphere is so foul and dangerous that the working parties have to grope their way in utter darkness. Mr. Curnew, the manager of Plymouth Collieries, Merthyr, and who was formerly manager of this very pit, went down about 11 o’clock today, with Mr. H. Lewis, of Merthyr, and remained with a working party in the foul air until 6 o’clock. He then thought that in the course of 12 hours the obstructions would be removed sufficiently to get at the bodies. Mr. Curnew has determined not to leave the pit until the Duffryn level has been cleared, and on Sunday morning his party will be relieved by a party under Mr. Morgan Joseph, who will be succeeded, if it becomes necessary, by Mr. Jones, until the men are got out. Operations will then be commenced for the removal of the men in the other parts of the pit, all of whom, it is feared, are dead. In the Duffryn district at the time we write communication has been established with two horses which were found alive, and water was supplied to them through a hole. It is hoped that these animals will be saved. The distance between Curnew’s party and the workings beyond the fall was calculated at 7 o’clock to be about 20 yards, and to drive through it would take until to-morrow morning. Messages frequently came to bank that the air was exceedingly oppressive. The crown at the bank—two or three thousand in number—who had pressed up close to the pit’s mount were then sent back by the police, and barricaeds put up so as to have an open space about the shaft. A stream of water was also sent down the shaft, and about an hour after this had been done the report was received that the air was greatly improved. Mr. Wales, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Mines for South Wales, arrived at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and went down the pit immediately. Mr. Davis, the principal proprietor, was present soon after the explosion, and went down the pit. He was also down nearly the whole of to-day, and the pit has been visited by many viewers of the collieries in the adjoining valleys. The levels appear to have been injured to an extent beyond that of any other pit in this district which has been subjected to a similar calamity, so that, in addition to the awful and overwhelming sacrifice of human life, the proprietors will suffer a heavy loss in property. This afternoon the Coroner for the county of Glamorgan, Mr. G. Overton, empanelled a jury, and inspected the bodies of the dead. A visit to the desolate homes where they lay disclosed cases of the most distressing character, whole families having been swept off. In one house a father and three sons lay stretched in death as though they were calmly sleeping, and the fourth son lay dead a few doors off, leaving a young widow in agony of grief. In another family of six that went out well and hearty in the morning only one had been brought back alive, and he will be a cripple for life should he survive his injuries. In some houses the poverty of the occupants was so great that they were destitute of the means of laying out the bodies, and consequently the corpses in all their ghastly disfigurement lay on the stone floor covered with sacks. In one house two lads injured lay on the floor as they were brought up from the pit, the inmates fearing to touch them lest they should kill them too soon. In most of the houses the distress and sorrow were intensified by the fact that others were to come to swell the list of victims. In all cases certificates of burial were given and the funeral expenses, we believe, will be borne by the firm in whose service the unfortunate fellows have died. Orders were given by Mr. Davis for an unlimited supply of everything requisite for the injured from the shops in the place, but sad to relate this generosity will not be largely drawn upon, for of all the 170 souls who were down the fatal pit at the outside it is feared only two can survive these injuries. As to the cause of the accident it would not only be premature, but rash, to venture an opinion, as until the fall in the main drift is cleared away and the whole of the workings open to inspection it will be impossible to obtain any data upon which to found a rational opinion. There is no evidence as yet to show where the gas exploded. The colliery, which has not long been in existence, has been rapidly extended, and it is sunk to the celebrated four foot seam of Merthyr steam coal, about 300 yards below the surface. In ordinary work the colliery employs about 300 hands, nearly equally divided between the day and night shifts, and the most of them reside in the village, which is within a short distance of the pit. It has a population of about 800, and has sprung up so rapidly that many of the houses are still of wood. It may here be observed, because it will explain how it has happened, that the details of an event which tool place on Friday last have not been given to the public sooner, that the Ferndale Colliery is five miles and a half by road from the nearest station, Port, on the Rhondda branch of the Taff Vale; and person starting from Merthyr or Cardiff at 8 a.m. cannot get to the colliery till after 11 o’clock. From Aberdare the distance is scarcely less, and the route over wild hills is one of the most rugged and trying that pedestrians can encounter in this country. Sunday. This morning all hope of safety for those still below has been abandoned, as the managers of other collieries who were down in the pit the greater part of the night, on reaching the surface declared it to be an utter impossibility for any of the unfortunate workers to be still alive. It is believed that the explosion took place in a heading where some 70 colliers were at work, and that place becoming filled up, the only means of exit was cut off, and the remainder who were in the pit have been suffocated by the after damp. Relatives and friends are naturally loth to accept the prevailing belief, and they still cling to the hope of many being rescued, and they still linger about the pit. One poor woman was at the pit’s mouth with an infant in her arms during the whole of Friday night, anxiously but vainly watching for her husband, who worked below, and it was not until yesterday morning that she consented to be led away. Mr. Williams’ death was evidently caused by suffocation, as he was not at all burnt, and his features were as placid and composed as if he were asleep. His body was found with that of nine others, all of whom have been recognized by sorrowing relatives. In another lot there was an aged man and his four grown-up sons, all brought up in rapid succession, and all lifeless. The coal trade in this district has been in a depressed state for some time past, and several colliers from some of the collieries in the neighbourhood of Porth have been working at Ferndale, and numbers of those who visited the pit yesterday and to-day have had to walk several miles to obtain tidings, if possible, or relatives. An old and experienced manager who was in the pit during the whole of Friday night, says, although it has been his lot to witness the effects of many explosions, he never during the whole of his career beheld such a sight as that which he witnessed below. He is also of opinion that unless very great care is taken other explosions will follow. Many of the bodies that have been brought to surface are frightfully burned, the clothing completely destroyed, and in some cases portions of the body have been literally burnt away, the charred remains presenting a sickening and frightful spectacle. At the time of the explosion 35 horses were working in the pit, and every one of them has been killed. Some of them had portions of their harness still on, but every vestige of hair was burnt off. It is difficult to conjecture what has been the cause of the accident, but it is feared that long immunity from accidents in the Rhondda Valley have made the colliers reckless of their safety. Some of the lamps have been found open, but some believe that this may have been caused by the force of the explosion, but those who are well acquainted with the construction of the safety lamp declare that to be an impossibility. In the colliery is a new stable, in which it is said that four carpenters were working with naked lights. This is believed to have been the cause of the accident, as a large quantity of gas is said to be constantly in the pit. There are numerous rumours afloat as to the cause of the accident, but nothing reliable has yet been ascertained. The following is a list of the dead at present known:—John Williams, manager, aged 50; Benjamin Morris, 29; Thomas Thomas, 48, and four sons,—John Thomas, 16, Lewis, 13, Thomas, 29; and Richard, 22; William Wills, 13; David Davies, 25; Thomas Vaughan, 23; Thomas Lewis, 19; John Harris, 26; John Owens, 25; Thomas Williams, 35; John Jenkins, 48; Philip Saunders, 20; William Waters, 13; Evan James, 14; John Jenkins, 65; John Lewis, 28; Henry Hughes, 30; Morgan Jones, 36; Evan Meredith, 28; Benjamin Morris, 49; and four sons,—Ebenezer Morris, 27, John, 23, Daniel, 21, and David, 17; Morgan Griffiths, 44, and son Morgan, 15; David Lewis, 34; John Williams, 25; Miles Hughes, 13; Robert W. Roberts, 13; W. Williams, 29; W. Williams, 13; John Davies, 36, and son James, 13; W. Griffiths, 23; Edward Williams, 14; Edward Moseley, 27; John Richards, 15; David Thomas, 22; David Evans, 17; Richard Burke, 24; Daniel Burke, 22; David Jones, 14; Thomas Thomas, 24; W. Williams, 33; W. Williams, 17; and W. Heeman, 26. It will be seen that most of the victims are young men.

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The times, 12 November 1867:

FERNDALE COLLIERY EXPLOSION. MERTHYR TYDVIL, Sunday Night. The operations for the rescue of the men still alive and the recovery of the bodies buried in the Ferndale colliery were continued uninterruptedly all last night, and to some extent with gratifying results. About 9 o’clock one of the men, under the direction of Mr. Curnew, thought he heard a groan close by, and upon that the whole party, who were working in complete darkness, agreed to rest a few moments. They sat down and remained silent, and in the course of a few moments another groan was heard close beside them. One of them then asked where the voice came from, and having been answered, proceeded to the spot on hands and knees, and found a young man about 24 years of age lying in the airway. He was immediately removed and taken out, but was so stupefied by his long confinement that he could give no information beyond this—that until about three hours before his rescue he was followed by another man, but since then he had not heard him. A mining engineer who went down to-day thought that, with the utmost expedition, it would be impossible to get at the 20 men who are on the east level until midnight to-night. With the exception of the man brought up alive, none have been recovered since 5 a.m. on Saturday. It appears now t hat the fire was restricted to only two districts of the pit, and that 80 men who were employed in the Rhondda and Duffryn districts escaped unhurt. These men were afraid to go down the pit again in search of their less fortunate companions, and the work had to be performed principally by strangers. The pit has been visited by nearly every mining engineer in the district, the engineers heading working parties. About 15,000 people also visited the pit to-day. At present it is impossible to say the exact number that have perished, as no account to be relied on can be obtained. Some say there are 170 in the pit at the present time, while other say there are 253 bodies to be brought up. Should the latter prove correct the extent of the catastrophe will rival that at Risca in December, 1860, when 141 lives were lost. The vein in which the explosion occurred is the well known four-foot vein, and was a portion of the new working. The pit is worked on one level, and is about 300 yards deep, but although the vein is known to be one of the most fiery in the district, the Government Inspector a short time since spoke of the colliery as one of the best managed, and the system of ventilation as perfect as it was possible to make it in such deep and fiery workings. The mode of ventilation was by furnace, and the colliery, as far as we have been able to learn, was divided into two main districts—one to the deep and another to the rise. The explosion, it is believed, took place in the rise workings, and those who have been save have been mainly from the deep side. Immediately after the explosion the furnace either went out or had to be put out in consequence of the fire in it; and here it may be stated is the advantage of machine ventilation, because, although occasionally air machines get out of order, yet when explosions take place there is no necessity for stopping them. The colliery is said to be laid out in the most approved manner, and no expense has been spared to find adequate ventilation and timber for the safety of colliers. Many of the men and boys who were brought up alive have since died, and the number of deaths so far is 53. A gentleman, writing from the neighbourhood of the colliery, says:—“I doubt if any previous accident recorded in the annals of coal-mining can have proved fatal to so large a proportion of the population of a district as this one. There are not more than two houses in the village that will not have to take in one or more dead bodies in the place of the living man or boy who left them on Friday morning. I have been in some of the houses, and the scenes witnessed there were of a truly heartrending character. The first house I entered contained the body of a young married man. His wife went about the house moaning with her first child (a mere baby) in her arms. The next cottage I entered had two families residing in it, both couples having been only recently married. One of the women sat scarce her child (her first-born) which lay on her lap, as she gave way to excessive grief for the young husband she had just lost. The other woman’s excitement was terrible. Her husband is still in the pit, and the alternation of hope and of despair, as shown in her face and in her movements about the house, is terrible to witness. Many of the bodies which I have seen are frightfully burned about the face, the hair is singed, and the eyes look like holes fixed with tar more than anything else. In one house I saw four men laid on a coarse mattress on the floor, and within four feet of the door. They were all much burnt. In another cottage I saw the bodies of father and son ‘laid out’ together on a board and covered with clean sheets. The lad was not more than 13 years of age. He had not suffered much from fire, but had been suffocated by the after damp. There was a sweet smile on his face, and it was hard to believe that there had been anything like violence in his death. In another house I found that a lodger had been taken in dead, and the housewife told me that he husband and two other lodgers were still in the pit. Of course she did not know whether they were dead or alive. There is one family from which the father and four sons have been taken by this dreadful calamity. I give you such notions as I can hastily; it is not possible to write wither with great accuracy or with much calmness amid such scenes of death and of suspense as I never before witnessed.”

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The Times, 12 November 1867:

Another of those dreadful catastrophes which of late have appeared to succeed each other with unaccustomed rapidity is now reported from South Wales. An explosion in a coal-mine has suddenly sent we cannot say how many souls into eternity. As generally, and, indeed, necessarily, happens on these shocking occasions, the extent of the fatality cannot at once be ascertained. It is never known exactly how many men may be in the pit, and even if the numbers in the pit could be certified, there is always a chance, though unhappily a slender one, that some of them may be released alive. All we can say in the present case is that perhaps even the frightful hurricane in the West Indies has not been more deadly in its effects. The Ferndale Colliery—the scene of this appalling calamity—is situated in the Rhondda Valley, in the heart of the mining districts of Glamorganshire, but it is not very accessible, being some five or six miles from a railway station, and in an extremely rugged country. The mine itself is comparatively a new one, having been only recently opened, but the works have been pushed on with great rapidity until they have approached the famous Merthyr seam of coal. As usual, a kind of village or hamlet has sprung into existence near the mine, and there a population of some 800 souls is lodged in houses rudely built of wood, like American log-huts. The men engaged in the mine are said to have been about 300 in number, divided into two “shifts,” or reliefs, one working by night and the other by day. On the basis of calculation there would have been about 150 souls in the pit at the moment of the explosion, but the estimate appears to be carried higher than this, and some time may elapse, perhaps, before the truth can be known. It seems that the coal trade of the district has been rather depressed of late, and that several miners from neighbouring collieries had come to Ferndale for work, so that the number of hands engaged might be greater than usual. We are informed, too, that there was an underground stable attached to the colliery, and that 35 horses were employed to work at the mine. Such was the Ferndale establishment at noon on Friday last. In the afternoon of that day, at about half-past 1, an explosion of terrific force shook the whole mine, we may say, together. A volume of flame rushed up the shaft with a cloud of ashes and stones, as in the eruption of a volcano. There was no need to tell the inhabitants of the valley the import of the sound. They rushed to the pit’s mouth with a forecast of the truth only too certain, and in an incredibly short time workmen arrived from all parts of the district to the succour or rescue of their brethren. It was too late; or, rather, there had never been a moment at which human help could have been of any avail. The violence of the concussion had so shaken the ground that the earth fell in along the galleries and passages of the mine and precluded escape. It was like an explosion in a tunnel, not only filling the place with a poisonous atmosphere, but bringing the roof in too. In such a case the first demand is for a guide well acquainted with the pit. Every mine has its ways, and its turns, and its workings, like an underground city, and the great object is to learn the plan. At Ferndale, the manager of the colliery, who was, above all others, competent to give this information, was known to have been in the pit at the time of the explosion, and search was immediately made for him, in order that his directions might be obtained for the rescue of others; but though he was soon found, he was found quite dead. So the exploring parties had to work by instinct, or with what hints they could get, and unhappily every step of their progress showed the hopeless character of the calamity. The unfortunate victims were reached in batches of ten or twelve together, after distressing intervals of suspense. The working parties came upon a fall of earth blocking the way, at which they toiled painfully with pick and shovel till the obstacle was removed. Behind it lay a group of corpses, charred or suffocated; and then a little further on was another “fall,” to be attacked in like manner, and with a like discovery. On Saturday, a gentleman who had formerly been manager of the Ferndale pit arrived on the spot, and other managers, together with the Queen’s Inspector of Mines, soon followed, but there was little to be done. Not only the miners, but the very mine itself appears to have been destroyed. The explosion, besides its ordinary effects, acted like an earthquake, too; and the unhappy victims who were neither burnt by firedamp nor suffocated by mephitic air must have been buried alive. If the origin of this shocking disaster is inquired for, the answer cannot be confidently given, but it may, perhaps, be only too reasonably conjectured. There was more firedamp, or inflammable vapour, about than usual, and the precautions against this danger were probably neglected. The generation and escape of firedamp in a coal-mine cannot be prevented; the antidote consists in such an effective ventilation of the workings as to render any dangerous accumulation of the gas impossible or unlikely. In addition to this general preventative, a strong safeguard is afforded by the use of the safety-lamp. If any reader will try the effect produced by a common fire-guard of wire in modifying the power of his own fire, he will be able to comprehend without difficulty how an enclosing apparatus of very fine wire indeed may prevent the flame of a lamp from communicating with inflammable air outside. But the same cause which confines the flame diminishes the light, and miners, with the carelessness or indifference to danger which familiarity almost inevitably produces, are apt to open their lamps, or, in other words, to leave the flame unguarded, and then, if firedamp is present in the atmosphere of the mine, an explosion ensues. This is presumed to have been the case at Ferndale, for open safety-lamps—that is, lamps deprived of their safety—have actually been found in the pit, although, on the other hand, it is remarked that they may have been shaken open by the explosion itself. For the extraordinary violence of the shock a probable explanation is found in the unusually heavy atmosphere recently prevailing. Towards the close of last week the weather was foggy and think even in the most open country, but in the Rhondda Valley, between ranges of lofty hills, the air, as well might be imagined, was dense and heavy in the extreme. This would necessarily obstruct the ordinary ventilation of the pit, and favour the accumulation of inflammable gas, so that when the explosion occurred the shock was in proportion to the magnitude of the charge. We may possibly discover other causes conducing to the catastrophe or its destructiveness as the inquiry proceeds, but at present the disaster appears attributable to an explosion of ordinary firedamp on an extraordinary scale. We are not told that the ventilation of the pit was in itself defective, but are led rather to presume that the accumulation of inflammable air was due to the exceptional operation of the weather. It should certainly be asked whether the unprecedented collapse and ruin of the mine itself resulted merely from the irresistible violence of the concussion, or from and misconstruction in the passages and galleries; but after these points have been ascertained, the moral, we should fear, will be only too simple. The precautions against a known danger were neglected, and the danger owing to accidental circumstances was realized on a most frightful scale. We only wish we could persuade ourselves that the warning would be proportionately impressive.

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The Times, 13 November 1867:

THE FERNDALE COLLIERY EXPLOSION. MERTHYR TYDFIL, Monday Night. We regret to report that although operations for the rescue of the bodies in the east district have been continued incessantly by relays of workmen up to 8 o’clock to-night, none of them have been got at, and a considerable amount of labour would be necessary before the fall could be cleared away. One of the greatest obstacles which have had to be overcome has been the foulness of the air in the workings; this has been such that lights would not burn, and the work has had to be pushed forward in total darkness. It was with extreme difficulty, too, that brattices were put up for the conveyance of the air to the front. On Sunday evening a consultation was held by the engineers who were heading the working parties, and, after deliberation, it was determined by Mr. Wales, the Government inspector, to attempt the lighting of the ventilation furnaces by means of which it was calculated there would be created such a powerful draught as would draw off all the foul air in the workings, that rendered it dangerous to introduce lights. The proposition was fraught with the utmost danger, inasmuch as in attempting to effect a second explosion might result as disastrous to the explorers as the first was to the colliery and colliers before. However, it was necessary to do something, the state of the workings being such that it was questionable whether it would be possible to remain below even without light except at the imminent peril of life. The task was therefore attempted, and we rejoice to say that shortly after midday to-day the furnace was blazing away and absorbing stream of vitiated air from the workings. The men were this enabled to work with greater vigour, and towards the evening spoke hopefully of reaching the bodies soon. But all these hopes are merely hopes—it is beyond human knowledge when the bodies can be recovered, for the simple reason that the falls are dead masses of rubbish, the thickness of which nobody know. All the efforts up to the present moment have been directed to the release of the bodies confined in the east district, about 20 in number, and nothing will be done towards clearing the falls, which, it is believed, are still more extensive in the west district; or the rise, where many people think the explosion was felt with the most terrible effect. In all cases of disaster of this melancholy description and magnitude, and occurring as this has in such an unfrequented and inaccessible spot, the truth is got at only with great difficulty, and many statements go forth which have to be partially contradicted or explained. We are now enabled to give some figures with tolerable exactness, which show the extent of the calamity. The number of hands employed in the pit does not greatly exceed 350, and at the time of the explosion 328 of them were in the workings. Of those 170 were distributed in the east district, which descends with the dip, and the west district, which is the “rise;” and in two other districts, the Rhondda and south, there were nearly as many more. The explosion occurred in one of the first two, and affected with dire results the whole of their workings, and reached as far as the latter; but by the time it got there its force had been almost expended, and though the airways &c., were considerably shaken, only a small proportion of the men were injured, and not one of them killed. They made their way to the bottom of the shaft, and were brought up as speedily as possible. They had been so frightened that nearly all of them refused to go back to the assistance of their comrades. Of the men in the east and west districts, 53 have been recovered dead up to the time we write, 138 came up uninjured, and 21 who were hurt, some of them badly, from the Rhondda and south districts. There now remain down the pit 117 persons in the east and west districts. These figures have been obtained from the returns of the police, who have made careful house to house inquiry, and ascertained in every place the number of persons missing. When the young man named Rowlands was brought up alive on Saturday night it led the people to entertain a hope that others might still be living, but, considering the horrible condition of the pit and the fact that they have been incarcerated between the falls ever since midday on Friday without the slightest means of sustenance, even supposing they obtain air, this hope is now abandoned. The mining engineers, who are the best judges in this matter, believe every man beyond the falls is dead. To-day a number of the bodies were interred; the greater number at Llanwonno churchyard, a burial-ground about two miles from the scene of the explosion, on the plateau of the mountain. A few were conveyed to their friends at Aberdare and Merthyr. The writer, who has witnessed many similar scenes in South Wales, certainly never visited a more poverty-stricken lot of houses than the cottages of those poor people last Saturday; nearly all of them were destitute of the comforts which are ordinarily found in the Welsh collier’s home. Bit how this happens it is beyond his ability to explain, since it is a fact that men and boys at Ferndale earned 50, 60, and 70 per cent. more than the colliers of Merthyr and Aberdare-valleys. The mourning is very widespread. Blaenllechau of Ferndale had no population of its own before the colliery was opened, and the residents are all immigrants from the neighbouring valleys; consequently, families in all the towns and villages of earlier growth in the district are thrown into mourning, and Ferndale will be peopled by new settlers. The damage done to the pit is immense, and the loss will fall heavily on the owners, for the force of the explosion was so great that, in the words of one of the engineers, “the pit has been blown to pieces,” and the shock was such that the houses on the mountain side rocked over the heads of their occupants. Among the mining engineers who have gone down the pit and assisted in clearing the windways, restoring ventilation, &c., are Messrs. W. Adams; C.E., G. Brown, D. Curnew, H. Lewis, W. T. Lewis, L. Lewis, Jones, Morgan Joseph, Williams (Taff Vale Railway), Burns, Fruvan (Dowlais), Walker, &c.

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The Times, 14 November 1867:

Ferndale colliery explosion. To the editor of The Times.Sir,— Referring to the report and article upon the terrible accident at our Ferndale Colliery, contained in The Times of yesterday, allow us to call attention to one or two inadvertencies which, unless corrected, will convey a false impression. Respecting the miners who escaped your report says:— “These men were afraid to go down the pit again in search of their less fortunate companions, and the work had to be performed principally by strangers.” The very reverse of this was really the case. The men who escaped were among the most prominent of those who went down the shaft in search of their missing companions, and their labour in the work of recovery has become unremitting. It is, therefore, but just to those brave fellows to let it be publicly known that instead of shrinking from a danger which they might, indeed, be well excused for avoiding, they were foremost among those who encountered the difficulties and perils of searching the pit. And regarding the statement your article contained, that “not only the miners, but the very mine itself appears to have been destroyed,” we may be permitted to say that the mine is so little injured that in the course of a week the principal obstructions caused by the explosion will be removed. We are, Sir, your obedient servants, D. DAVIS and SONS. 7, Bute-crescent, Cardiff, Nov. 13.

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The Times, 15 November 1867:

THE FERNDALE COLLIERY EXPLOSION. MERTHYR TYDFIL, Tuesday Evening. The wisdom of lighting the fires of the up-cast shaft yesterday was apparent in a very few hours, the operations for the clearance of the falls having been carried on with an activity that was physically impossible before. Several hours elapsed before the extent of the fall could be ascertained, but about midnight, to the great relief of the workmen and engineers, a hole was made, through which the bodies of several men were seen inside. Nevertheless, it was not until about 3 o’clock this morning that the first was got at. There were eleven persons lying there closely huddled together, all burnt, some to a frightful extent. To avoid an increase in anxiety of those above ground it was agreed that the whole of the bodies should be removed to the bottom of the shaft and sent up in two or three lots, and this was accordingly done, the first arriving at the bank about 5 o’clock. They were not to be recognized except by the remains of the clothing about them, and were put into coffins immediately. In their further progress into the workings the men were again interrupted by a fall, and throughout the whole affair the falls have been so numerous and extensive that not more than 12 or 15 corpses are found in one place, great masses of rubbish, shale, rock, and coal separating them from each other. By 8 o’clock this morning nearly all the men were brought out of the east or dip heading, and at the time we write only four, it is believed, remain in those workings. Parties then set to work to clear the workings in the rise, and, in consequence of the communication being totally destroyed in some places, very slow progress was made in the recovery of the bodies. They were found in twos and threes, and sometimes eight or ten together, but the spectacle presented by them was most harrowing and sickening. Trunks were found without heads, arms, or feet, and in one instance a boy was sent home without an arm, which, being subsequently found, was sent home to be placed with the body. Decomposition had already set in and the odour exhaled was very offensive, the very clothes of the workmen being so impregnated that it could be smelt wherever then went. By 10 o’clock 20 bodies had been brought up, and this number was gradually augmented by fresh arrivals until 1 o’clock, when 29 had been raised. A fall was then encountered, and some delay arose before any more came up; but about 3 o’clock five were sent up separately wrapped in canvas, the bodies being too bad to be exposed to general view. An hour afterwards three others were brought up, including one whose head had been blown off the trunk. He was recognized by his wife at the bank, who, uttering a shriek of agony, sank into the arms of her friends, and was led away. The expense of all the funerals is borne by the proprietors, of whose kindness the people speak in high terms. Mr. Lionel Brough, the Inspector of Mines for the South Western District, arrived from Bristol about midday, and descended the colliery, his colleague of this district, Mr. Wales, being then down the pit. His long experience will be of great assistance in the clearance of the workings and the renewal of the entire ventilation. Up to 5 o’clock 37 bodies have been brought up, making in all 89, and it is feared that, when all that are now down have been brought up, the number of fatalities will be nearer 200 than 170. Several more dead horses have been brought out, and one of the two which we have already reported as having been found alive between two falls was got out safe and sound. The engineers who came up to-night are of opinion that a succession of falls would be met with from beginning to end, and that it would be at least two days more before the last of the bodies could be got out. Some of the dead were taken to Merthyr and Aberdare for burial, and some of them to other places, but nearly all those who are brought up from this time forth will be buried in the parish burial-ground on the top of the mountain as quickly as possible. It is sad to record that several bodies have been so burnt and bruised that identification is impossible, and they were placed in coffins and left during the day on the mountain side. Mr. Curnew, Mr H. Lewis, Mr. L. Lewis, Mr. Burns, Mr. Jones, and other colliery managers have been down all day to-day, and a fresh party will relieve them to-night. Too much praise cannot be given to these men and to the workmen who followed them in their heroic exertions for the rescue of the unfortunate fellows who were entombed in this fatal pit. Several men altogether ignorant of pit work volunteered to go down on Saturday, but, in consequence of the bad and dangerous condition of the airways then, only one or two of these offers were accepted, and those for the least hazardous work. The machinery by which the pit is worked is most powerful, and happily there is no fear of any disaster to the shaft. The following are the names and ages of the men and boys who have been recovered to-day, all of whom were burnt:—James Robbis, 51; Evan Samuel, 21; Nathaniel Roach, 35; Owen Owens, 17; William Nicholas, 15; Thomas Parfitt, 53; Benjamin Thomas Parfitt, 16; Daniel Rowe, 15; William Davies, 19; Evan Lewis, 21; David Davies, 15; John Davies, 22; Edward Williams, 19; John Neath, 19; Henry Evans, 19; Thomas Powell, 12; John Edwards, 59; John Powell, 20; Thomas Powell, 14; John Davies; Henry Lewis, 28; James Prosser, 23; John Walters, 28; Lewis Lewis, 58; Edwin Lloyd, 30; William Williams, 31; Roger Morgan, 16; Thomas Edwards, 36; John Davies, 40; Joseph Brickley, 21; William Davies, 28; Henry Jenneal, 21; Edwrd Griffiths, 19. The amount of distress caused by the catastrophe seems to increase as the bodies are brought up. In one house there was as many as seven dead bodies lying together, and in another no less than eight were brought home dead. Of course some of these were lodgers, but in numerous instances the whole of the males of the family have been carried off. As to the support of the destitute families nothing as yet has been decided upon. Probably, as the population is migratory, those who have lost their supporters by the explosion will return to their friends with the saddest of all recollections at Ferndale. Mining engineers appear to be well satisfied with the means of ventilation in the colliery; the ordinary intake of air is from 100,000 to 120,000 cubic feet per minute,—a larger amount for the size of the colliery, it is said, than that supplied to any other pit in the district. Mr. Curnew believes the furnace capable of inhaling 200,000 cubic feet per minute, and at present the air in the windways blows with such a current that lamps have to be sheltered, or the lights become extinguished. Mr. Brough, who went down the pit, had a very narrow escape of being killed. From some cause unknown there was a disarrangement of signals. The banksman had signalled for the cage to be lowered, and Mr. Brough, unaware that the man at the bottom had given the signal, or believing that he had given the wrong signal, had just placed his foot on the cage when the engine started. He was thrown with great violence back into the level upon his back, but fortunately sustained no injury beyond a temporary shock. Had he but planted his foot firmly on the cage he would have gone up, and his head been crushed between the arch and the cage. He went up the shaft immediately afterwards, and censured the banksman for his inattention to the signal. Wednesday Night. We announce with great regret that the recovery of bodies ceased almost simultaneously with the despatch of our parcel yesterday, only one having been recovered afterwards. This was not so much the result of falls as the sudden discharge of immense quantities of gas in the face, by which the general reader will understand the front of the workings. So great was the discharge that it became necessary to change the entire course of the ventilation,—a work of very considerable difficulty, which occupied the greater portion of to-day. This change is not yet quite effected, but we understand from the inspectors that it would not be many hours again before it would be done. The gas in the face would then be rapidly drawn off, an the recovery resumed. The greater number of the bodies are expected to be brought up to-morrow, but there will be some left under falls, &c., which it will be impossible to get at until a thorough clearance of each fall has been made. As to the working of the furnace its effects were astonishing, and the following figures which are supplied by an engineer who took the admeasurement of the air passing into the pit will afford an idea of the relative conditions of the pit before and after it was lighted. Before the fire was lighted the quantity of air passing into the workings through the downcast shaft was 39,600 cubic feet per minute. The furnace was lighted at 12 30 p.m. At 1 40 p.m. the quantity of air going through the workings had increased to 65,700 cubic feet per minute, at 2 p.m. to 74,700, at 3 15 to 85,500, and since then the quantity has averaged 100,000 cubic feet per minute. Yesterday a few bodies were brought up which could not be identified; but to-day one of them was recognized by the remains of his clothing as a young man, 19 years of age, named Edward Williams. Many funerals took place again to-day. The proprietors, knowing that large numbers of colliers had friends at Merthyr and Aberdare, issued a notice that they would defray all the expense of conveyance in addition to the other funeral charges for as many as liked to have their deceased relatives taken to their own homes for interment. Many availed themselves of the liberal offer, and conveyed the corpses to Aberdare and Merthyr. At the latter place to-day seven of the victims arrived and were buried in the cemetery, being preceded to the burial ground by a long procession of thousands of colliers. Indeed, so great is the turnout in the district that some of the forges have been brought to a standstill for lack of coal.

[mochyn]

Letter to the Times, 15 November 1867:

Blaenllecha, or Ferndale colliery. to the editor of the times. Sir,— You yesterday published a letter from Mr. C. M. Barker about the explosion at the abovenamed colliery. I quite agree with him in thinking that these cases of enormous sacrifice of human life, which are now unhappily so frequent, might be avoided by full and adequate ventilation. In this respect many colliery proprietors are, to say the least, “penny wise and pound foolish.” It is very important that something should be done immediately to prevent these fearful occurrences. At the same time it would be highly dangerous in many fiery mines, however well ventilated, to use open lights in the workings, even though they be used safely at the bottom of the downcast pit, and for this reason:—there are occasionally sudden outbursts of firedamp from the floor and roof of the mine in such large quantities as quite to fill the workings, and in some cases force back the intake air for a considerable distance. These have occurred in some of the best ventilated collieries in the country, and had it not been for safety-lamps more explosions would have taken place, and that very recently. From many experiments made at various times it is proved than Stephenson’s safety-lamp is by far the safest for the use of the ordinary miner. If these were adopted and proper means for ventilation provided in every colliery in the country, I fully believe we should be spared nine-tenths of the explosions which now occur. The ventilation is, however, by far the most important. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Nov. 13. A colliery manager.

[mochyn]

The Times, Letter from Lord Kinnaird to the Home Secretary, 18 November 1867. Interesting to see his final line, quoting “these poor miners”, “If people as knows dared to speak, these things would soon be stopped.”

The following letter, suggested by the recent disaster in Ferndale Colliery, has been addressed by Lord Kinnaird to the Home Secretary:—“Rossie Priory, Nov. 15, 1867. “Sir,—I wish to draw your attention to the frequent and serious accidents which occur in the coal mines, in the hope, that the Government may be induced to appoint a commission to inquire into the causes, and into the state generally of coal pits. I have no hesitation in saying that the fearful sacrifice of life which is going on on the coal and metal mines might, to a great extent, be prevented if proper care and due precautions were adopted. And althought the mining interest— both coal and metal— may be too strong in Parliament to allow any legislative measures to pass founded on reports of commissions, yet, at all events, the attention of the public is drawn by these reports of the disgraceful state of things in our mines. “There is no doubt that these accidents, fearful as they are, do good in the end by forcing on unwilling proprietors and lessees the introduction of improvements, without which the men in some instances have refused to work, and by the excitement they create, leading those who are anxious about their men to inquire into the most efficient means they can adopt for their safety, and to such proprietors and lessees a good report would be invaluable. “I am not without hope that in a reformed Parliament some legislative measure may be carried, rendering the adoption of precautionary and other measures imperative, without which there will be a continuance of fearful accidents, followed by the usual farce of a coroner’s inquest, with inspectors, colliery viewers, and witnesses, who are compelled to withhold the truth, or else take themselves off to another mine. All these proving before a jury selected from tradesmen and others dependant on colliery of mining people that there was no blame, winding up with the usual verdict, ‘accidental death.’ To use the words of these poor miners, ‘If people as knows dared to speak, these things would soon be stopped.’ “Yours faithfully, “KINNAIRD. “The Right Hon. Gathorne Hardy, Home-office.”

[mochyn]

The Times, 19 November 1867:

THE FERNDALE COLLIERY EXPLOSION. MERTHYR TYDFIL, Sunday Night. Since out last report the bodies have been recovered with tedious slowness, in twos and threes, only at long intervals. Early on Thursday morning there was a reasonable prospect of a large batch being brought to bank before daylight, but while preparations were being made to convey them to the pit’s mouth a great mass of rubbish fell from the roof and cut them off from the workmen. This is the story of the whole affair, and probably it will have to be repeated to the last. Falls are continually occurring to frustrate the calculations of the most practical men on the ground. Instead of driving passages through the falls, and bringing the bodies over the stones, which has been attended with the most disagreeable results, the engineers are now clearing the falls as they go. Consequently it is not at all likely that there will be a large finding of bodies again, but that they will be exhumed singly, or in groups of two or three. As they are in such an advanced state of decomposition, identification is out of the question, and coffins are now sent down to the pit, so that the bodies are coffined before they are sent up—the wisest and most humane course to be adopted under the circumstances. Another horse has been brought up alive. Thomas Davies, a carpenter, who was working in the stable in the south district, where rumour says the explosion originated, has died of his injuries; leaving only 18 of the injured now living. The gas gauges appear to have been blown towards the stable in question, which would be hardly consistent with the theory that the gas was fired in that place. This will be a question for the jury to investigate. In restoring animation to the men and boys who came up in profound coma after the explosion the surgeons have adopted Sylvester’s system of artificial respiration in preference to the method recommended by the later Dr. Matthew Hall, and with the happiest results, all those operated upon now doing well. Two gentlemen entrusted with a sum of money for distribution among the bereaved families had ascertained that the number of widows (exclusive of the widow of the manager) is 63, and orphans 125. The majority of the victims of the deplorable event are young men unmarried. The owners of the colliery have distributed pecuniary relief in each case, and a meeting is to be held at Pontypridd on Thursday, to consider what measures may be taken for the relief of the whole of the widows and orphans. The inquest on the bodies will be opened on the 25th inst.; but it is feared by many that they will not be all out of the pit by that date.

[mochyn]

The Times, 20 November 1867:

STATE OF TRADE ... CARDIFF, 18th.—The demand for steam coal on foreign account keeps tolerably good, and the exports for the past month showed an increase of over 20,000 tons as compared with the corresponding month of last year. A somewhat less quantity than usual has been shipped during the last few days, owing to the terrible explosion at Ferndale, which is one of the largest collieries in the district. The stoppage of this colliery alone is a small matter; it is the cessation of work at several of the neighbouring pits has brought about the diminished supply. Vessels have in consequence been detained, demurrage is some cases being claimed, and the loss to the merchants will be considerable. Quietness characterizes the house coal trade, and the shipments last month showed a decrease. So far there is no change to record in the iron trade, and the business transacted is decidedly small. The state of things will probably continue until the commencement of the new year, when a turn for the better is confidently looked forward to. Tin plates are selling rather slowly.