Wichita eagle., 1888-11-10
MINE DISASTER AT P!TTSRURG. KAN

MINE DlSHO l En- a l ~ De OriO NAiN'
KANSAS CITY, Mo-, Nov. "a special to
the Journal from Pittsburg, Kan, says:
The most dreadful disaster in the history
of Kansas occurred at o'clock this even
ing When the men were preparing to
leave off their work at SHAFT No. at
Frontenac, a suburb of Pittsburg, a ter
rible explosion was heard that shook
the earth for a great distance
and completely shattered the shaft
Upon investigation it was found
that 100 men were within the mine
at the time of the explosion, being liz feet
below the surface. 1t is almost certain
that all are dead at this writing The only
exceptions are two men who were IN a car
coming up and being near the top OF the
shaft, managed to escape.
Pittsburg is in the center of the coal
mines of southeastern Kansas and is about
% miles sout of Kansas City on the Fort
Scott 81 Gulf road.
KANSAS CITY, Nov. AT this hour Il
a. N } no further advices have been re
ceived FROM the scene of the mine disaster
near Pittsburg, Kan, and there seems
small hope of obtaining further details to-
night. The snow storm in Kansas has
Frustrated the wires and there is great
difficulty in reaching Pittsburg where the
hour
ST. LOUIS, Nov "a special from Pitts
burg, Kan, TO the Republic gives the fol-
lowing account of the coal mine explosion
there this evening: "A terrific explosion,
that broke the windows in this little vii
lage and spread CONSERVATION among its
inhabitants, occurred at dusk tonight
The violence of the shock was SO great as
10 hurl dishes from shelves and demolish
chimneys Half an hour after the eXplo-
sion the villagers, who were preparing to go
so the mines, were startled by a ragged
bleeding man who almost staggered into
the armssof the searcherS. He said that
No. , shaft at Frontenac, a mining suburb
Of the village. had been DESTROYED by an
explosion and that all the men in the
mine at the time except himself and II
Dane, whom he left bleeding at the mouth
of the pit, were undoubtedly dead. Horses
were quickly harnessed TO wagon and in a
few minutes the villagers were hurrying
through a fierce snow and sleet storm
which was raging AT the mouth of the
mine the tremendous force of the
explosion was apparent. There were
huge seams in the earth, and the timbers
of the hosting apparatus were shivered
and burned. Foul gases were escaping
The Dane who escaped with the man who
alarmed the villagers, lay in the mud with
his face covered with blood. For long
u,
regained consciousness in few hours, and
is now il his home He cannot
speak and does not know what
caused the explosion. His clothes
were in ribbons. The man who reached
this village with the first tidings of the
disaster and who accompanied the rescu-
ers back 10 the mine, said the men were
about TO quit work for the day when the
explosion occurred. Together with the
Dane he had ridden in the car to the top
of the shaft when the earth seemed to
snap beneath him, and the next thing he
realized was the splaShing of the snow
and water upon his face as he
wreckage above the mine. There
were 100 men in the mines at the time of
the explosion and as they were at work liz
feet below the surface il is believed that
not one survived. The shock of the explo-
sion must have DESTROYED everything in the
pit, Big fires were built near the mouth
of the pit and beside these blazing piles
the women of the entomed miners placed
their children, while they themselves tried
by al Kind of entreatieS to induce miners
from other shafts to enter the pit and
rescue their relatives. One rescuing party
started down the shaft az o'clock bnt
was forced to turn back on account of the
foul air. Another attempt was made at 8
but the plucky miners again were
forced TO abandon their work. They
could hear no sound from the
the chambers below and this leads old
miners TO believe that all the men in tbe
rhaft have persisted Other attempts will
he made to reach the eutombed men before
morning. Those who started down the
shaft early in the evening say that the
shock has destroyed whole drifts and that
that it is possible that men in the lower
levels are buried beneath tons of slate
Black damp is supposed to have caused
the explosion. Most OF the miners at
these shafts came originally from Illinois
and PENNSYLVANIA