, 1888-11-11
THE MINE HORROR.
Particulars of the Disaster at
Pittsburg, Kas.
The Rescue of the Men Slow
and Difficult.
Forty-siX Miners Still I'm
prisoned.
The Nine Explosion.

tAAAS AN$ASoASHs
ST. LOUIS. Nov. 10.-A special from
Pittsburg, Kas., gives details of the hor-
rible holocaust in the shaft of the Pitts
burg-Cherokee Mining c~ompanylas night.
The company had more orders than they
could fill and have been running an unus-
ually large force of miners. Yesterday
morning 164 men were lowered into the
mine. At noon the shots were fired rlgLt
and later the miners descended for after
moor duty. At $50 they were ready to
fire the shots again. The first shot had
been fred, but before a man could be
hoisted a terrible rumbling noise was
heard above and a black cloud of dirt,
slate and dust shot into the air from the
mouth of the shaft, tearing away the
tracks upon which the cages were hoisted
and filing the shaft with debris.
The explosion occurred on the east side
and is attributed to the inexperience Of
some of the new men. Before the men
on the outside could recover their senses
one of the miners appeared at the air
shaft nearly suffocated. He was helped
out and followed by others until a large
number escaped, but how many is not
known.
There was plenty of help at hand and
those at the top devoted their attention to
rescuing their enuombed companions. The
fan house was only slightly damaged and
was first repaired, canvass being tackled
over the holes, About IL o'clock the fan
house was ready and fresh air was pumped
into the mine, driving back the poisonous
gas and averting sutfocation. Attention
was then turned to raising the cribbing so
that the cages could be edlower.
Men were then lowered into the shaft
by a rope and bucket, but could accomp-
lish nothing. At2 a. m. the cage was
ready to descend and the first rescuing
party was lowered into the shaft. Owing
to the bad air they could not remain long,
but on the first return of the cage it con-
tanned a number of uninjured, but badly
demoralized, men. The bottom of the
shaft was badly damaged and it was diff
cult to get at the dead. AS found they
were piled together at the bottom, while
the living and badly wounded were
hoisted to the top.
AT 4 a. m. five had been rescued, and
at l p. m. four more were brought out
alive.
At this hour, 2 p. NJ, there are twenty
five dead and niue wounded found, with
twenty-five missing. supposed to be dead.
A large number killed are French and
Italian miners.
A temporary hospital was prepared in
a blacksmith shop near by, where the
most heartrcnding scenes were witnessed
as mangled and badly burned men were
carried in. David Tweed and w. ELL
wood died soon after being taken out.
The casualties are now placed at ifty-two
dead and eight wounded.
LATER-A special from Cherokee,
Kas., says: Ninety bodies have been
recovered. 1t is believed there are still
forty six in the mine.
The principal difficulty in ascertaining
the names of the victims lies in the fact
that there were a large number OF new
men who were not known to the Pitts
= burg people, and many may never be
identified.
KANSAS CITY, Nov. 10.-A Journal
special from Pittsbrug, Kas., says: De-
yelopments of yesterdays accident have
only added to the horrors in No. . shaft
OF the Cherokee Pittsburg Coal company.
The citizens of Girard and Pittsburg have
responded nobly to the call for assistance
and every citizen in the latter city offered
his services for the unfortunate victims OF
the mine disaster. During the long and
dreary night thousands OF men, women
and children thronged about the main
shaft waiting ~anxiously for some tidings
of the condition of the men beneath the
clouds of %sulphurous smoke and suffering
death. Now and then some poor woman
learned that her husband was among the
victims and would break the stiffness of
the night by a heartrending wall of sor
row that melted the strongest hearts with
pity.
The r%escuing party did noble work dur
ing the night. and when morning came
many willing hands came to, their relief.
Throughout the entire day the great cage,
which had been repaired, made regular
trips, bringing to the top of the shaft the
maDgled and torn bodies of the unfortu-
nate miners. Up to a late hour last even
ing thirty-tour dead bodies had been re-
covered, most of them so badly bruised
and burned as to be u~nrecognizable by
either friends or relatives.
Robt. Pritchard, a Scotchman, and
Frank Marshlinger, a German, were
found near the main shaft at an early
hour this morning in a dying condition
and brought to the top. Both died be-
fore 4 o'clock. A temporary hospital has
been provided and a neighboring black
smith shop served as "a morgue. There
the bodies Of the dead were placed for
the inspection of friends.
The mine is divided into two divisions,
east and west. The explosion took place
on the east side and it is thought nearly
all those on that side succumbed to the
powerful smoke and gas about the main
shaft. Only a few succeeded III reaching
it, the majority of those saved escaping