Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1883-02-21
TINE ssaspy oo6 Ds5as1kis,

A Terrible Condition Of AnalEu aA the
Joliet, Feb. 1.-THE gloom, despair
and dcsolat;on generally that sattled ever
the poor miners of the Diamon0sl some
thin. that csnnot be pictcISd. TAql
great Ter portion Of tie families who sun "a
are II foreign birth, and have been fGi..
leIS oi this country hnt shost time. !
The prairies about Tie shafts are q wide1
waste of water, across which q colo, ,pierc.
ing gale is now sweeping, adding much
to the horror OF the catastrophe. As
matters are settling down and attention
turns to the cause of the despair some
are blaming the corporation because q
more experienced man was not kept at
the bottom of 'the shaft, whose duty was.
to watch the pumps and sound the alarm.
Thomas Daily, new hand. stood
ut the post. When he saw the water was
gaining on him, instead of sounding the
alarm he rushed to the top of the shaft
to see If the pumps were at work. Upon
his return he found the water up to bis
waist. He then directed the drivers to
run back and escape by the air shaft,
and call to the men as they ran, and did
what he could himself. He saved one of
the boys. all that he could reach. then
ascended and sounded the steam whistle,
which called out the villagers. When
the company heard of the accident they
drove over and organized a movement if
possible to render aid to those who were
dead or confined in some air chamber.
A large division of miners and teams
were set to work to build
dam around the hole that was
admitting the water. The officers of the
company examined the vent and found
that the earth had csved in nearly in
the same spot that had on the previous
occasion yielded to the weight Of water
that rested upon it. Destitute and dis.
tracted families were next looked up.
Everything that could be was done to
mitigate the awful effects Of such a
calamity. There were plenty Of willing
hands. but in spite of this the work
moved slowly. All day men have lent
willing hands to relieve the distress.
Donkey pumps were sent down from
Chicago, and were manned early
this morning. But it is NO
use to attempt to pump the
mine until the hole is stopped up, and
there is enough water lying upon the
surface of the country to fill a small lake.
It is thought by practical miners that
no bodies will be recovered for at least q
few days. Until that time many hearts
that feed upen the hope that the men
are still alive will never he satisfied until
their lifeless bodies are laid out at the
mouth of the shalt and identified as
those they hoped were still alive. The
greatest excitement still prevails. Every
one has at tongues end some new tale
of woe or some story of brave loved
relative cut off from friends aud home
perishing in the bowels of the earth
Matters will be rushed and neither
money nor labor spared to make speedy
find Of the buried men, dead or alive
One of the saddest features is the fact
that most of the drowned men have
families who were depending on theil
support.
The scene of devastation and destitu
tion the town of Diamond presents car
readily be conceived when it is know
that forty.slx widows ore left to tel
the tale. This is one of the most horri
BILE disasters that has ever been recorded
in this state.