River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-04-05
A MINING HoRRoR
An Explosion In a Missouri CoiIferS
Causes Great Slaughter Forty-Fivo
Lives Lost-Mauy Miners SIN I'm the PIE
Thrilling Storr Of tI,. I,isnlt.r


An Explosion In a Missouri CoIIiery
Causes Great Slaughter Forty-Fivo
Lives Lost-sIany Miners Stil i'm the PIE
Thrilling Story of the Disaster.
RICH HILL, Mo, March so Slaughter. the
like of which has never before occurred in
Missouri, took place in Keith & Perrv's mine
No O, at 1915 o'clock yesterday Seventy
men were at work in the mine and fifteen
had lust come up and were standing
at the mouth of the shaft when a volcanic
explosion took place that shook the earth
for miles around, and was followed
by a burst of flame from the mouth
of the shaft that leaped fifty feet
in the air The first shock was
followed by q second, as violent and as
terrible in its destructiveness as its
predecessor.
The panic and excitement were SO great
that il was impossible TO ascertain the
names or exact number of the dead. a
conservative estimate places the number OF
dead at forty-fiye There was still alive
large number in the shaft The majority
of the miners were negroes who came from
Springfield, Ill, when the mine was opened
less than year ago. The superintendent
of the mine tells the following:
" At Just seven minutes after noon was tel
'ephoned that an explosion had occurred at No.
G. which is four miles northwest Of town
went out as soon as possible and found the
south cage, which the men always
ascend, stuck in the shaft about half
way from the bottom, with eight men
on II. / went down on q tub lowered
with ropes and found them all badly burned
and IN frenzy, in fact they were crazy, some
shouting and others singing found II lmpos-
sible 10 have this cage hoisted. as the tmbers
were all blown ont OF position We finally man
aged to hoist them by means Of ropes and pull
legs, in a fainting condition, and il was then
ascertaned that the north cage could be
worked b. clearing some timbers which had
been driven through from the south shaft
This was done by saving them short C0 l
then called for volunteers TO go down with me
TO see II any OF the poor fellows at the bottom
could be got ont. Robert Brick, George Henry,
Charles Smallwood and Mat Dalehand re-
sponded.
when we reached the bottom I looked
through into the entry and saw light, and
asked who was there, and voice responded
Cray and told him 10 put out his light.
then asked him TO crawl to me, but he was 80
exhausted that he could not 70 so, and reached
through the small aperture and dragged him
onto the cage.
Just as this was done wind rushed mp the
entry with the velocity OF q cyclone, putting
out all our lights but one. This was fol
lowed by two loud reports ana seething fame
Of fire, which came with a deafening roar,
completely envelOping US FOR length OF time
mouth Of the shaft 40 feet above our heads.
We were all horribly burned and thought our
time had come. The flames decreased as sud
denly as they had come and we had 10 abandon
the attempt TO save the others. yelled to the
men the top 10 hoist away, but it was some
time before they got the signal or under
stood my meaning. The mOments thus spent
were a living death. thought they could
not hear me and concluded we would have
10 crawl through into the south shaft and
undertake t6climb out that way. Twas just in
the act OF doing when ] felt the cage move
and we assembled about thirty feet, when the
cage began descend "a. ! thought the ma
chine=y was broken .-. s. we're falling TO
an awful and certain
THE wall that went ~ fIon these men was
heartrending and shall never forget II. The
knowledge that az the top were their wives
tending their arms ready to clasp and shield
them from further danger was maddening
enough 10 destroy reason. All at once. how
ever. she cage came TO a sudden stop and again
began responding to pressure of ropes and pull
leys and We were soon at the top