Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-11-12
The Dead in the Pit.
Search for the Corpses in the
Mine at Frontenac.
sIoKENING SIGHTS UNDERGROUND.

and Few Writing Sufferers-Names Of |
Those Recovered rs Far as Known-The
Missinc-One Miraculous Escape-Roch-
ester's Horror Results In Thirty-Three
Deaths--Ghastly Find In the Ruins-A
Dead Hero--The Latest Channel Collision
Sends About Eighty to Eternity.
P1TTsBuRG, Kan, Nov. 12.-As result of
the frightful accident at shaft No 2 of the
Cherokee & Pittsburg Coal company mines
at Frontenac, the community was made a
community of widows and orphans. The
disaster was the most appalling that ever &C.
CURED there and one of the worst on record
in this country The company had more or
ders than they could fill, and in their at
tempts to keep up had running an unusually
large force of miners, Friday morning l64
men were lowered into the mine At $50 in
the afternoon terrible rumbling noise was
heard above, and 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 hosted and filling the
shaft with debris
The explosion occurred when the usual
daily blast was fired. One of the blasts proved
to be defective and shot a stream of flame
into the air igniting the gas and fine par
ticles of coal dust stirred up by two previous
blasts. In an instant there was terrific ex
plosiou, which knocked all the miners on
their faces, hurled masses of coal upon them,
and shook every part of the mine. The ex-
plosion was heard in every part of Frontenac
and Pittsburg and in an incredibly short
time the road leading to the mine was
thronged with wives, mothers and daugh-
ters Of the miners, with looks of terror de-
picted upon their faces. Hundreds of citi-
zens and miners Joined the throng of anxious
relatives about the shaft, and one fortu-
nate miner after another emerged from the
air shaft in safety he was seized by his wife,
mother or daughter and hurried off home
On account of the air-fan being damaged
and the shaft blocked by the debris the
work of rescuing could not be begun until
after midnight, when a rescuing party de-
scended the shaft and began searching for
the living. A most horrible sight met their
gaze. The dead lay in piles in every entry
on the north and west sides, while the pas
sageways were strewn with dead men, mules
and wrecked carts. The air was very bad
and number of the rescuing party were
Frustrated and had to be carried out, but
their places were supplied with ready volun-
teers. In some entries every man was dead,
| the bodies being mangled and burned in the
| most horrible manner Here and there in
| protected spots man was found vet alive
and he was quickly carried to the surface,
where force of physicians had been organ
lied to receive and attend to the wounded.
| Only fourteen of such were found, but the
| last one was not received until after day
light Saturday morning. They were all
terribly burned and the greater number will
| die.
| The bottom of the shaft was badly dam.
aged and it was difficult to get at the dead.
As fast as found they were piled to-
| gether at the bottom, while the living
and badly wounded were hoisted to the top
| At a. m. nine men had been rescued alive
| About this time the party struck an entry
containg twelve more dead. The shaft by
this time had been pretty well cleared Of
foul air and the work of rescue proceeded
rapidly. temporary hospital was pre-
pared in blacksmith shop near the moutl
Of the shaft, where the most heart-reudins
scenes were witnessed as the mangled anc
badly burned men were carried in. Twt
men died while being carried into the hos
pital Up to q late hour Saturday Afternoon
ninety bodies had been recovered from th,
mine and it was still believed there wer,
forty-six more below the surface.
LATFR-Out Of a total of 1854 men, whc
descended into the mine only fourteen hav
been taken out alive, the greater part o
them being terribly burned and cannot live
- i III,
and west sides, when the work OF rescue hat
to be stopped until other parts of the min
could be strengthened, so it could be ex
plored for the remaining victims. 1t wi
probably be three or four days before tn
bodies can be recovered, and many bein
burned beyond recognition full list of tn
names will never be learned
The following is a list of those who ar
supposed to be still in the mine, but Their
may be, and as things look now probably are
more: j. Greitzger, Louis Sozie, Peter Nell
Jame1 Quick. William Shspparel, Thoma
Jones, Atom Bietler, John D. Ibbey, A. Bar
Der, W. Jennings J. W Crockton, E
Longaka, Joseph Krois, Frank Zeelick, Ere
Yorkahan, Charles Fisher, William Tin
leers, Herman Smith, Joseph Romicala, E
Mole, NJ Zulk, L. Romicala, H. F. Harris
p E Bent
At the present time only partial list {
the dead can be made, as follows: job
Labecg, James Barbriera, Harry Hanson
George Weisenbacher, George Crocksor
Billy Foster, Antonio Birnicha, A Leeall'
Gustave Dufranee, Albert Molle, J. William
son, John Horseby, james Lacy, Jimm
o'Brien, Charles johnson, David Tweed, "
! n 7 T
Elwood, Frank Marshlinger, August Ba
briera, Lew Lemon and brother, job
Weisenbacher, Joseph Julietta, Johnn
, | Connors, Carlos Tasco, Brazio Barra, 1
Shipley, D. Male, Adam Duez, Tom Lon
; koskee, Frank Thompson, Jim Wilsol
Robert johnson, George Koner, Dan Lin
: Daniel Randall, Henry Rngo, Charl
! Lamole, Robert Prichard.
Various causes are assigned for the acc
|, dent The hest informed of the miners ayr
that 1t was the result of an overcharge
powder imperfectly put in by an unskillf
miner in the third entry on the north sid
/, where French and Italians were employee
y The damage caused by the explosion W
l. greatest thare, and not a single person in &
entries escaped death. their bodies being he
3 ribly mangled.
The state superintendent of mines is at t
u mines and says he is confident that the d
u aster was caused by the flame of an impe
feet blast igniting the coal dust, which,
account of the extreme dryness of the min
Is great source of danger The minel
however, severely censure the company
= employing incompetent miners, thus enda
gering the lives of all
The desolation In Frontenac is compile
" One half of the homes in the little villa
have lost Sheir bread winners. A subscri
ton for their benefit has been started a
:, 800 subscribed in few moments by g
;. ployss In shafts Nos and g.
y The most astounding escape report
:; was made yesterday morning. AT 5 o'clo
n the squad working at the foot of the m,
. shaft were astounded to see an appariti
approach them. The mysterious visit
staggered up to than and greeted tn
with. Here. fellows, let me have light
II was Henry Burns who had for thirty six no
been counted among the lost He was slig
g ly dslirious, but there was considerable
Id herency in his account al was working
u the first room, first north entry, when tn,
e was roar and shock at first though
* had been asleep and in fact was so bew
cred that l did not know whst
| was in this world OF the next Manag
is to make light with my only remain
match found that my watch had stop
at O'Clock. was suffering internal agon
from inhaling the after-damp, but was 9th
e. wise unhurt, Or proceeded to make my '
ne to the foot of the shaft do not know b
of long the journey lasted"
BURNS cnnld not raaliza that two mic