Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-09-16
Death in q Lime Ailn-A Terrible
Fate.
Rarely has a more sickeninc specta

Rarely has more sickening spectacle
boen presented than that which was witnessed
by large number of people at the lime-kiln OF
Z. E. Johnson, on Water street. last evening.
Shortly after hy0 O'Clock representative OF
the Courier was notified that a man had fallen
into the mouth OF JohnSonS Eule-kiln and wa
roasting to death. The newsman fastened 10
the scene Of the accident, and found a large
crowd collecting, while q number had climbed
up 10 the mouth Of the kiln and were gazing
horror-stricken into the yawning furnace
Climbing up, the scribe looked into the crater
and saw & human bong IN the last agonieS or
dissolution and 50 firmly wedyed in by tine
limestone ~ to render efforts 10 rescue him
futile. The clothing had taken fire and com
menced to burn, but the flames were stopped
by couple OF pals OF Tater thrown on l,
baked through and had been burned on in
places, the body below the hips not being Wis
Ible.
After taking in the situation of the unfor-
tunate the work of eliclting the facts as to
how the accident occurred was commenced
1t seems that occasionally the stone in the
kiln burns ont below, leaving quantity on
the surface that packs closely together, form
ing a sort of crust some two, three, or four
feet thick. In order to loosen this it became
necessary to pound it with iron bars called
"thumps,' SO that il would sink into the kiln
and thus burn. 1t WAS III this Work that Mr..
johnson, Daniel ParkhursI tine unfOrtunat O.,
and two others were engaged at 80 o clock
last evening. They felt the stone sinking be
meath them, and all jumped CUT OF the mouth
of the kiln ut the shout of johnson but Park
hurst, who. being new hand, evidently did
not the uluTer, ana, 0eSitaIlny an
instant, was carried down into the kiln with
the stone. some two or more tons of which in
weight closed around him and wedged him from
the hips down a. firmly as In a wise, while the
surface being broken the heat from the fur
mace below came up and added to the horrors
OF ParKhursts situation.
As he went down MIR. johnson handed one
of the "thumps'' to him, and. holding the
other end attempted to pull him out, but
could not accomplish it. Parkhnrst called on
his companions to help him, and a rope was
quickly procured which the imperiled man,
rapidly roasting, fastened about his own
waist. The cd strength of six men was
insufficient to start the body OF the man an
inch, and the broken stone were so hot that it
WAS impossible to touch them had they been
companions of ParllhurSt. who were Juggling
and pulling at the rope, aided by his cries and
command to pull him in two, if necessary,
were unable to extricate him, saw him rapidly
roast to death before their eyes, his head be-
ing only three or four feet from the top OF
his situation, and his groanS touched the
hearts of his companions. Soon the intense
heat stified his voice, and insensibility and
death followed within fifteen minutes from
the time he went down.
A large pair of tOn2s were finally procured
and the work of recovering the body COM
menced. Only portion Of the stone could be
removed owing to the heat, and a dozen men
took hold of the rope around the body and
finally succeeded in lifting it out and over the
mouth, whence it was lowered to the ground
on stone car, used in taking stone from the
ground to the mouth of the kiln, nearly an
hour after he fell in.
Not vestige of clothing remained on the
body Of the unfortunate man, the flesh was
baked. blistered and torn in places by the fire
and the Jagged edges Of the stone, presenting
sight not soon OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES (ntch.)
Courier.