Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-04-04
BRAIDWOOD'S CALAMITY.
Recovering the Bodies Of the
Drowned in the Diamond
Mine.

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Mine.
When the sun rose last Monday
morning upon the prairie on which is
situated the Diamond Mine the scene
was changed materially from that Of
twenty-four hours before Around the
shaft and the morgue instead OF a
only by that morbid curiosity which
brings many people to scenes where
horrors climax is reached, there were
about one hundred miners, mostly sur
viv;rs from the disaster, some seventy
five women-among whom were MOTTO
ed many of the widows-boys and
girls: add to this one hundred chill
dren, the most of whom were fixed up
in their best clothes, showing a marked
de gree of cleanliness heretofore not
noticeable since the disaster, and you
have the picture of a Diamond shaft as
it appeared that morning.
There we're a few among the throng
who had stayed around the main shaft
and between there and the morgue all
night long waiting for the recovery of
the corpse of son or husband. TIE
low tone Of conversation, the earnest
nod of the head, the sad expression of
the face and swollen eyes of oil the
mcr, women and children denoted the
struggle they had passed through dur
irg the night The children clustered
around the funeral train, and sad eyed
women gazed at the morgue, occasion
ally stopping and peeping through the
windows, where the undertakers are
placing the bodies in the collins. Dur
ing ell the siege they and their chill
dren have watched each succeeding
days developments with that eagerness
which sends pang to the heart of the
observer. The children had become
impatient in their childish desire to see
their fathers and the funeral train, which
for the past three days they have been
eagerly watching for.
That morning at an early hour those
who had not spent the entire night at
the n;nc were on hand at day break to
pay the last tribute of respect to the
memory of their nearest and dearest
friends AT six o'clock the report of
the exploring committees showed that
twenty-five bodies had been removed,
eighteen of which were Unidentified.
THE FUNERAL TRAIN.
AT nine o'clock twenty had been
coflined and carried to the funeral cars.
five of the bodies were claimed at the
morgue by relatives. At twenty min
utes past nine the signal was given for
the funeral train to start. Three
coaches end fiat car comprised the
train. The latter were draped in
mourning at either end, having frames
elevated about four feet in height, up
on which is stretched the black Grape.
Upon this surface the ladies of Braid
wood had arranged black and white
rosetts, and also large diamond shap-
ed figure Indicative of the name of the
min0 in which the men who were soon
to be carried to their last resting place
lost their lives. Hanging gracefully
from these elevations were heavy Grape
decorations, festooned upon the sides
until none of the woodwork of the COM
mon fat car was exposed to view.
The coaches were draped from the top
with Grape, festooned. and on the sides
of the coaches were three diamond
shaped decorations, with large rosettes
at each end and side.
MopRING woMEN AND CHILDREN.
Thirty-fve widows and upward of
eighty children, accompanied by
friends and relatives, were seated in
the coaches. Many of them were
weeping, while others seemed too ut
terly crushed at heart to shed tears
A sadder assemblage was never con-
gregated On & railway train. AT the
sound of suppressed whistle and
amid the mild ringing of a muflled bell
the train moved slowly down through
the rows Of cottages, now made desc.
late by the reaper Death.
LOST WITH HIS BOY.
A short distance from the mine is
the cottage of Mrs. Patrick Redmond.
Her husband reached the top of the
air shaft Ia safety at the time of the
disaster. Hastily inquiring after his
two boys he learned that they were
still in the mine He fastened down
the shaft and brought out the eldest
and returned second time after the
younger one. 1t was of this heroic
act that all sorts of stories were writ
ten. That Mr. Redmond reached the
foot of the main shaft, with his boy in
his arms, and was caught by the rush
of water and swept back down some of
the various roads or alley ways, &c.
The body of the boy was found in the
west road and it was one of the few
that could be easily identified by the
features.
A TOUCHING INCIDENT.
AS the train arrived within hailing
distance of Mr.. Redmond's little cot
tage the old lady placed herself near
the track and signalled the en- gineer to
stop. After the train had been brought
to a stand still she asked for the corpse
of her son, which request was granted.
Four men volunteered to carry the
body to the house, and the train again
moved on.
At the depot where hungry crowd
of morbid sightseers awaited its COM
ing the bodies were met by four hears
es and carriages and taken immediate
ly TO the ourying ground, were services
were held by the Rev. Mr.. Adams, of
the First Presbyterian (Scotch)
Church. The coal company have de-
frayed the expenses Of the funeral, pay.
ing the undertakers $50 corpse for
the burial
CLAIMING TWO BODIES
Shortly after the arrival of the first
train this morning woman neatly
clad in black, having swollen eyes and
otherwise showing marks Of intense
sorrow, appeared upon the scene, walk