The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1891-01-30


I51 Men Were killed
Outright or suffocated by the terrible
fire damp. The fire boss, Smith, whose
body was so terribly mangled,' had early
Tuesday morning fled the following re-
port in the Office of the company at the
works:
MAMMOTH, Jan. 81, 1891
To Thomas Lynch, General Superin-
Iendent:
This IS to certify that we, the under
signed, have this day, Jan. 81, 1891, ex-
aln1ned the working places IN Mammoth
mine and found same TO be in a fit con-
diion for men and other workers en-
ployed herein.
(Signed) WILLIAM SMITH, Fire Boss
T. PATTERSON. ms. of Mach'y.
GEORGE PFEFFER, Engineer
The Mammoth mine was examined by
Inspector jenkins, of the Second district,
ON Jan. is, 1891. His report says:
General condition of the mine good,
with 5,55s cubic feet air inlet.
The Explosion a Mystery.
Interviews We're had with the former
owners of the Mammoth mines and 9TH
ers whose business interests and duties
required them to keep posted on the con-
dition of every mine IN the ConnellsviIle
coke region. Their statements agree In
that there is absolutely no way to ac-
count for the accident. At no time has
there ever been a suspicion of gas in the
Mammoth mine. and at this plant as
well as at others owned by the Prick
company, no expense has been spared to
make their mines as safe as experience
and science can make them.
This horror has cast gloom over the
entire coke region and the little Village
of Mammoth is crowded with the sym
pathetic and curious from the surround
ing country. All night the workmen
made their appearance with appalling
regularity at the mouth of the shaft,
bearing between them the mutilated re-
mains of one or more of the victims A
building about 400 yards distant was
used as a mOrgue. Here the dead were
washed and dressed and a card bearing
a number tied to the clothing. They
were laid in rows on porch to await
Identification. By ] o'clock the porch
was fully occupied, the floors of an adj
Joining house were occupied and the
floor of barn was cleared for the re-
ception of the victims yet to be brought
from the mine. At / 80 o'clock an alarm
was sounded, and every person in the
village rushed to the shaft. The excite
ment was intense over the report that
the
Mine Was Again on Fire,
and that the rescuers had also persisted.
The men in the shaft also heard the
alarm and dropping the bodies they
were carrying, rushed to the cage and
were hoisted TO the surface. When 1t
was discovered that the danger was
passed the men heroically returned to
the work Of getting the remains Of their
comrades out of the pit. The work of
cleaning the bodies and preparing them
for identification was horrible task.
On one board lay the body Of boy
scarcely over is years old, while along
side lay full grown man, both horribly
burned about the body, head and face
Some had the tops Of their heads blown
off, others the face
Disfigured Beyond Recognition.
One man was identified by his having
had portion of his foot shot of while
serving in the rebel army A man ap-
pareutly is years old had a hole from
the top Of his head clear through to the
chin. Some had all the bones on one
SIDE Of their bodies broken when they
evidently had been hurled by the force
Of the explosion against the side of the
mine. One had his leg drawn up and it
was imp9ssi Die to stralghten ii, and in
fact the bodies were found IN all posi-
lions and conditions Those who We're
taken from the mine first were close to
the cage on what was termed the level
and were almost hard. while those taken
out later and from what is termed the
dip were horribly burned and manned.
Now and then a friend would come for
ward and identify body, when it
would be quickly encased In a coffin and
properly marked. 4 young Hungarian
woman came and gazed into the face OF
each BODY as 1t lay on the porch. She
finally stopped and, with heartrend-
ing wall began shaking the face and
body Of a fne-looking young man, who
was her husband. She patted his face
and smoothed his hair, all the time talk
ing rapidly III her own language, and
her tears streaming down on his face. It
was a wierd scene, all the dead lying
there, all the crowd surrounding them,
and all under the flckering light of an
oil lamp. An old man came along and
said: That is my boy, my poor boy
Let me take him home to his mother"
and he helped to place him tenderly in
coffin. towards morning the work of
removing the bodies became more diff
cult on account of the accumulated gas.
Manager Lynch says that he viii have
all the bodies out by noon.
Heartrendins Scenes.
At II o'clock the rescuing party had
taken out ninety-seven and discovered
thirteen more in section of the mine
which had not been visited Ohe wives
Of the victims went from body to body
and as soon as they would discover their
loved one would burst into tears, and
early in the day the grounds in the
vicinity OF the morgue resounded with
their cries. The mothers would lift
their children and point to the corpse
and tell the little ones it was their
father.
The majority of those killed were
Slays, and to hear the lamentations of
the poor creatures who were thus bereft
of protector was heart rending. The
bodies were laid out on boards and the
wife with child in each arm would
lay her head against theface Of the dead
and In her own language pour out her
distress.
Laid on the Driveway.