Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-11-12
AN AWFUL PICTURE.
Graphic Account of Terrible Scenes at
the COlliery Horror.

the Colliery Horror.
ST. LOUIS, November 11th.-Dispatches
from Pittsburg, Kan, give the following as
some OF the incidents of the mine horror
at that place: For hours after the explosion
snuffed out the lives of nearly a hundred
men the scene at the pit was distressing.
Poorly-clad women, with babies clasped to
their breasts, came through the darkness,
| by the light cast from bonfires, like haggard,
uncanny beings from another world Some
shrieked above the storm and muttered as
| they fell helpless on the shoulders of
! strange 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 the miners from the other shafts One
poor woman, whose husband and two SONS
were i'll the pit lay her three youngest
| children beside blazing fire and then fell
IN mysteries among them. She lay un-
noticed III this position until morning,
when she was removed TO her home,
RAvING MANIAC.
| AT one time the crush of women and
children was so great that it was feared yio-
| lence would be necessary in order to clear
the way for the rescuers. The poor crea-
lures fought each other in their despair,
and in some instances inflicted severe pun
ishment.
As night wore on, the work of recover
ing the bodies continued, until the floor of
the engine-house was strewn with man
| gled men. Their bodies were placed in
rows upon the ground, where the rain and
snow beat upon them.
Most of the victims were shockingly mu-
tilated. Some were so disfgured as to be
unrecognizable. 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 his
bleeding, pulpy trunk, the extremities hay-
ing been blown off.
| MANY OF THE sEARcHERs PAINTED.
AS fast as the bodies were brought to the
surface there was a rush made 10 identify
them, dozen women in many cases being
engaged 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 found in groups
and in all kinds of positions. Two men
who had not been identified were so
tightly locked in each others arms that it
| was with great difficulty they were torn
apart. Their eyes had been blown out bv
the explosion, and their faces so horribly
crushed that the bones were ground into
| the flesh.
THE sEARCH-A REMARKABLE ESCAPE.
| KANSAS CITY, November 11th.-A Times
special received tonight from Pittsburg.
Kan, says: The searching parties at the
Frontenac mine have worked without ces-
sation all night and to-day, but only thirty
three additional bodies have been taken
out.
The most astounding escape recorded
during the whole history of such disasters
was made to-day. At O'Clock this morn
| ing squad working at the foot of the
main shaft were astonished to see an appa-
ration approaching. 1t was not one of
their party, and they did not believe
their was living man in the mine
beside the rescuers Their surprise can
therefore be imagined when the mysterious
vision staggered up to them, dimly out
lined by the uncertain light of their lamps.
and greeted them with: Here, fellows.
let me have lightp' 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 story of one OF
| the most
(, REMARKABLE ESCAPES FROM DEATH
On record. After the explosion he was nm