St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-11-12
THE KANSAS HORROR.
Scenes the Like of Which Were
Almost Never EQualed.

ILL LAsx4NtTsAN C~AAS(4g4eNI1Vs
Scenes the Like of Which Were
Almost Never Equaled.
PITTsBURG, Kan, Nov. Hollow
ing are some Of the incidents of the
mine horror at this place: For hours
after the explosion suffocated out the
lives Of nearly 100 men the scene at the
pit was distressing. Poorly-cIad
women, with babes clasped to their
breast, came through the dark
ness by the light cast from
the bonfires like haggard, uncanny
beings from another world. Some
shrieked above the storm, and muttered
as they fell helpless on the shoulders, of
the stronger neighbors. Still others
were mad in their despair. and tore
their hair and garments, and would
have dashed into the tomb headlong
but for the strength eXerted by mi
ners from other shafts. One poor
woman, whose husband and two sons
were in the pit, lay her three youngest
children beside a blazing fire and then
fell in Mysteries among them. She lay
nnnoticed in this position until MORN
ing, when she was removed to
her home q raving maniac. At one
time the crush of women and
children at the shaft was so great
that it was feared violence would be
necessary in order to clear the way for
the rescuers. The poor creatures fought
each other in their despair, and in some
AS the night wore on the work of re-
covering the bodies continued until the
floor OF the engine house was
STREWN WITH MA NCIEn MEM
Then bodies were placed in rows
upon the ground. where the rain aud
snow beat upon them. Most of the vic
tins were shockingly mutilated. Some
were so disfigured as to be unrecogniz-
able. All were covered with
blood and dust, and many were
almost stripped of their clothes.
There was nothing left of the
first man brought up from the dreadful
hole but a bleeding, PUPPY trunk. The
head and arms and legs had been blown
off. Many of the searchers tainted at
their work; others, stimulated by
brandy and the entreaties of the demo-
niacal women, continued at their bloody
task all through the night. Some of the
victims were not distigured. They were
in a chamber least affected by the shock
and died of asphyxlation. AS fast as
the bodies were brought to the surface
there was a rush made to identify them,
dozen women in many cases being en-
gagged at one time in scanning the bleed
ing face of some unfortunate. There are
still about fifty bodies in the lower levels.
Some OF the victims were found buried
beneath immense weights of slate, while
others were discovered in groups and
in all kinds of positions. Two men,
yz,h n I, mr. bann fdnnfif;nd
tightly locked in each others arms that
it twas with great difficulty they were
torn apart. Their eyes had been blown
out by the explosion and their faces so
horribly crushed that the bones were
ground into the flesh.
THE SEARCHING PARTIES
at the ErOntenac mine have worked
without cessation all night and to- dav,
but only three additional bodies have
been taken out. The most astounding
escape recorded during the whole
history OF the disaster was made to-day.
1t amounted to almost miracle, and
the lucky fellow, taken from the grave
itself, was surrounded by curious
and almost incredulous crowd all the
morning. At 5 o'clock this morning
the relief squad working at the foot of
the main shaft were astonislied to see
an apparition approaching them. 1t
was Hot one of their party, and they
did not believe that there was
living man in the mines be-
sides the reScuerS. Their surprise
can therefore be imagined when the
mysterious visitor staggered up to them,
dimly outlined by the uncertain light of
their lamps, and greeted them with:
Here, fellows, let me have light"
1t was Henry Burns, who for thirty six
hours had been counted among the lost.
He was quickly taken to the surface,
and there told the story OF one of the
most remarkable escapes from death on
record. He was
SLIGHTLY DELICIOUS,
but there was considerable coherency
in his account. He related his story as
follows: II was working in the first
room, first north entry, east side, when
there was a roar and shock. l at first
thought had been asleep, and in fact
was so bewiIdered that did not know
or the next. Managing to make
a light with my only remaining
match, found that my watch had been
stopped at 5 O'Clock, but did not know
the day or know whether it was MORN
ing or evening. l was suffering internal
agonies from inhaling the after-damp,
but was otherwise unhurt and pro-
ceeded to make my way to the foot of
the shaft. l do not know how
long the journey lasted. After being
removed to the open air, became
more nervous and delirious and could
not be.made to understand the full sig
nificance of what / had undergone"
Burns could not realize that two nights
and day had passed since he had
lost consciousness and insisted
that people were joking when
they told him it was Sun
dayimorning. He is being well cared
for and will be all right in a few days.
Tonight it can be positively asserted
that thirty-nine bodies have been taken
fromfthe mine and that there are proba-
lily nine Or ten more in the mine OF