Bryon Wootton rescued Claude Jude in a mine after an explosion, Nolan, West Virginia, December 28, 1949. Jude, 32, and Wootton, 40, coal miners, lighted 29 dynamite charges in the working face and in an adjoining wall of an entry, which was 2.5 feet high, and then crawled toward the mine entrance 280 feet away. A charge exploded prematurely when Jude was 20 feet from the face, and he was struck by flying coal, sustaining a broken leg. Wootton, who was farther from the face, suffered only bruises but was thrust to the floor opposite a cloth brattice which extended parallel to the sides of the entry. Headlamps worn by both men were extinguished, and visibility was negligible. Dense smoke containing noxious gases filled the entry. Wootton, after calling to Jude and ascertaining his injuries, obtained a hold on the brattice as the other charges began exploding at intervals of five seconds. He drew himself prone for 30 feet along the brattice to Jude, who was unable to move. Coughing violently because of the fumes, Wootton groped and touched one of Jude’s hands, which he grasped. Pellets of coal repeatedly struck Wootton, and lumps of coal fell to the floor about him. Wootton dragged Jude 60 feet to opposite an air-course, where the smoke was light and free of gases. When the explosions had ceased, three other men entered and removed Jude on a stretcher as Wootton crawled outside. Jude was hospitalized for nine weeks. Wootton’s bruises healed in two weeks. He also suffered from shock and was nervous but recovered in 10 days.. 42036-3692
42036 – 3692
42036-3692