Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-03-02
ANOTHER COAL NINE HORROR,


The Rapid Thnw Causes a Great Cave-in as
Braidwood, III, Entombing and Drown.
ing the Miners in q Shaft-Seveuty.on
Lives Lost. tn
CHICAGO, February II.
A report was received here this evening
from Joliet that the town of Braidwood, about
| fifteen miles from Joliet, had been the scene
to-day of great mine disaster, in which the
first report said sixty lives had been lost.
correspondent succeeded in getting con-
firmation OF the reported disaster at Braid
| wood in a brief interview with A. L Sweet,
President of the Four Mines Company and the
| Diamond Mine Company.
Mr.. Sweet says that 500 men were in the va
rious shafts this afternoon, when the ground
sagged under the weight of water that had
saturated and loosened it. Sixty-two men
were in one shaft, which caught the bulk of
the falling debris, and which was instantly
flooded. Every one of them was either
drowned or smothered inside of ave minutes.
Their bodies are buried beneath many tons of
/ earth. One hundred acres have been exca-
waited, and the miners not in the one unfor-
tunate shaft escaped. Digging and pumping
Is going on vigorously, but il will be many
hours before the first bodies can be reached.
A section of prairie land forty by fifty feet,
over which the floods had extended until the
caved in, resulting in an instant flooding of a
| mine in which 300 men and boys were work.
ing. Inside of half an hour the water reached
all parts OF the works, and to night it stands
within five feet of the main shaft. Seventy
one human beings were choked to death in
the grim recesses of the mine All hope OF
possible rescue of any OF them by the open
ing of a dividing from an Old shaft in the
empties was abandoned at dusk.
visited the Wilmington coal-feld. 1t was in
the No. shaft of the Wilmington Coal Mining
Manufacturing Company, known as the Da-
mond Company's. The little village of Dia-
mond is scene of desolation, calculated to
wiring the heart of even the most hardened.
The pit in which to-day's horror occurred
has been operated about two years and 200 to
400 men and boys have been regularly en-
ployed in it. This morning go or 800 went
in. Those who escaped did so by a miracle
Shaft No is ninety two feet deep, and
above the coal is 80 to ITO feet of earth. The
coal-vein ranges in thickness from two feet
nine inches to four feet. Above it is layer
OF soapstone resting bed of fire CLAW
The vein winds and dips a good deal, and
thus some parts of the mines are lower than
others. From the main shaft radiate pas
sages in every direction, in which coal is
found. These must be four feet high and six
with timber and soapstone. These props did
not prove strong enough for the superincum-
bent mass of soggy earth
The following is the story ofDJoln Haber, an
eyewitness of the whole affair, and q mar.
who was i'll the mine at the time of the acct
dent: was working in one of the west Sec
lions OF the main corridor, and had Just got my
car ready for transfer when l heard a voice,
weak at first. saving, Look out, the water is
coming" For a few minutes did not com
preheud the awful meaning of the language
used, and so went back to block up the coal
when heard the warning again and again,
and saw small stream of water running
down the center of the track. The truth at
once flashed upon me that I was
In danger, and that the water was coming
from some unknown locality. l rushed as
fast as the nature of the passage would allow
to where thought my two sons were at work,
but found that they had gone. 1 then yelled
at the top of my voice to the men near me,
and made as fast as could for the air shaft,
where knew there was a ladder and that /
could get out. By this time the water was ND
to my armpits. and had a hard time to get
up the shapt, exhausted was 1 with the
rapid run had made in the STOPPING posi-
ton. When go home. there upon her bed
lay my wife tearing her hair and wailing and
almost crazy.
'Oh, Jonn, sne salu, where are the
boys?''
haps they were dead went back as fast as
i could and found that my horrible anticipa.
tions were true and that the boys had not
been seen since entering the shaft in the
morning.
Andrew Costigan was hauled out of
theshaft more dead than alive, and after
being resucitated gave the following recital {:
81 was working in chamber ID in company
with n German whose name do not know
We had just shipped the car and sat
for short breathing spell when my
partner noticed dripping noise as though
the water was coming through the roof and
said he thought there was a leak somewhere
We both went out of the chamber into the
main corridor that leads to the hosting
shaft and listened. 1t did not take us long
to determine what was the matter. The roof
had caved and the water was upon us. We
both ran in the direction of the shaft nv
partner being behind me. The wall above
this corridor was not level, there being holes
in the floor with a corresponding sloping of
the walls. so that we had to run down and lp
THESE small hills. The water had already flied
these scoopsd out places and we found the
water three feet deep in some of them.
By the time we had gone 200 feet
we had water up to our necks on
the level, and when we went into
one of the hollow places we held our noses
until we came to another place at last got
TO the shaft. but what became of my com
panion. God only knows. He was never seen
, again and was only too glad myself to get
out alive"
The following is a complete list of the lost.
obtained from David Mackie, Superint. dent
of the mine: A. McQuestion, Sr., A.. McQues-
tion, Jr., Robt. McQuestion, - McQuestion.
Isaac Pearson. John Neil, b. Schatzel. p. =.
, Redmond, Matte Redmond, John Boyd. Henry
? Eadie, James Carroll, William Scholtz An
: gust Rambart Jacob LEM, Carl Schiller,
II. Nesbit, Robert Harper, Alexander Orr, Geo.
, Butskerouski, +. Butskerouski, Joe Gootes
NJ. Neysk, an unknown man, John
} Denbroki, A. Heca, Simon Stumps, Fritz
. kae, Frank kloss, John bullock, Lou Huber
John Huber, Chris Huber, James Piersou.
Anton, Denbroki, Frank Murray, A. Damn
. Z. Damn, John Smith, Samuel Atkins, -
Arlington, ID. Mcbride, Otto Osterlow. John
Person, John French, John johnson, John
, Anderson, John Atkins. Frank Nation,
z Pat Hallywall, Thomas Costigan, H Ungt r.
= ID. GrOter, X. stewart, William Sekora An
{ drew Fulton, Joe Smith, Joe Mattem, Jr.
{ Henry Klesser, Hugh Ramsey, Frank S. Ocup
A. stewart, Jr., A. Kalenburg, Murray Sulli-
. van, William McCully, Joe Mattem, Sr, vii
: liam klesser, Thomas Rogers, Joe Ruseek
John Brokman, John Polenas, an unknown
, man.
News of the accident soon spread and q
great crowd gathered about tile mouth of the
pit, workmen fishing out the almost exhausted
and nearly drowned men who were alive a,
the bottom of the shaft.
The mine was of the ordinary kind. sun
Piled with regular shafts and supposed to be