The small group of men fleeing onrushing water through the Knox Coal Co.’s River Slope Mine tore frantically at the pile of debris before them, trying to clear a way to the air shaft through which they hoped to escape. But even when they managed to reach the bottom of the 10-foot-by-10-foot Eagle Shaft, they found it was a good 50 feet to the surface – straight up the dirt and rock walls. Miner Amedeo “Paul” Pancotti was not ready to quit. “For 10 minutes he climbed, seeking holds wherever he could before reaching the surface, at one time depending...