Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-03-30

KANSAS CITY, MO, March 20 The
Wsson exposition In Mine No. st Rich
Hill, Mo at O'Clock this evening 100
miners were buried. Forty dead bodies
nave already been taken out.
A MEAGER ACCOUNT.
KANSAS Cry, No, March 29.-The
following dispatch has just been received
from Rich Hill: About o'clock this
afternoon there WAS rumbling sound In
mine No. 6 at this place and 8 momert
afierward fearful explosion that entire
ly wrecked the mine and buried In the
debris over leo miners, who were cut of
from all means Of escape. Up to the
hour of sending this dipatch forty dead
bodies had been taken out, and at lesst
fifteen more are expected to have met 9
similar fate. The superintendent OF the
mine was taken out badly Ijured but
will survive. In the terrible excitement
| and confusion it 10 impossible to give o
list OF names or even an estimate as to the
full extent of the disaster, bat 1t Is now
thought that over nity men were killed.
LATER-Anotber dispatch from Rich
Hill Is to the e1ecI that the mine is SIT
usted six miles distant from the town.
There were two explosions, and It Is ssid
| the total loss of life will reach sixty men.
Rich Fill IL located in Bates county, about
ak y i've miles south of Kansas City, on
the Missouri Pacific Railway. 1t is in
the center of the coal bearing district.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
KANSAS CITY, Mo March 2s.-The fol-
,nyv,rp IL the + urDalsa aprnuut nf
accident at Rich Hill:
Rich HILL, March 20 The most hor-
ribe mine disaster that has ever occurred
IN the we happened ct noon to-day in
Keith Perry's No. mine, and
as a result large number men
are entombed, and thousands of
dollars worth CT property destroyed. Just
at the dinner hour when the men were
ascending eight at q time on the cage 8
terrible gas explosion occurred, filing
every entry with fame OF
fire, which shot out of the
shaft distance Of one hundred
ana fifty feet. II cannot be ascertsined to-
night just how many men are yet in the
mine, out at II O'Clock one man had been
| taken out dead. The work Of removing
the debris and cleaning the shaft has been
going on all afternoon; but it wi
be several hou:s before much
can be done toward entering the mine
proper. Tue Journsl reporter called st
lsthe residence OF tine superint ndent at IL
o'clock aud found him proppt d up IN 8
chair, with is face ard HANDS bsndeged
and scarcely able 10 talk, but he made
the following statement:
"At just seven minutes after noon
VI q toll ,n,Du nYn'nlinn hed
CURED at No G, which is four miles
northwest Of town. l vent out as soon
ss possible and found the south cage, on
which the men always ascend, stuck
ia the shaft about hslf way from the
b).tom with eight m. on it. l went
down on q tub lowered with ropes and
found them ell badly burned and in
frerzy. In fact, they were crszv, some
shouting and others singing. l found
it impossible to have the
cage hoisted, as the timb,rs were
all blown out of position. We Anslly
mspeged to be hoisted by means OF ropes
and pulleys in fsiDtipg condition and it
was then ascertsined that
Tie north cage could be worked
by clearing some timbers which
had been driven through from the south
shaft. This was done by saving them
short off then called for volunteers to
go down with me, to see if any of
the poor fellows st the bottom could be
go! out Robert Bick, George Henry,
Charles Smaliwood aud Mst Dulth re
sponded When We reached the bottom
looked through into the entry and saw
light, and l asked who was
there and a voice responded, "Gray"
/ told him to put out his
light. I then asked him to crawl to me,
not do so, ana reached through small
Just IS this was done 8 who'd rushed with
entry putting out all Cur lights but one.
sac q see hiog fame OF Ere which came
with deaf ing roar completely
envelopIng us for length Of time
which seemed like an age AMI
shot out the mouth of the shaft, $40 feet
above our heads, aud we were all horri-
bly, burned and thought our time had
denly as It had come and
the others. yelled to them at the top
LU uOlbb Always UuL IL WAS SOmS litIIc Dc-
fore they got the signsl or understood
my meaning. The nom nts thus spent
were q living death. I thought they
could not hesr me ard concluded We
would have to climb out that way, and
was Just in the act of doing 80 when
felt the cage move. We assembled
about thirty feet when the csge
began to descend. 1 thought the
machinery WAS broken and that we were
falling to an awful and certain desth.
The wal that went up from those men
was heart rending, and shall never for
get It. Tee knowledge that at the top
were thei; wives, extending their arms
ready to clasp snd shield them from further
danger was maddening snd enough to
destroy resson. All st once, however,
the cage came to sudden stop and again
began responding to the pressure OF the
ropes and pulleys and We were soon 81
the top"
It Is probable that all who were in the