Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-01-28
SOME DETAILS OF THE HORROR.
Recovery of the Mangled and Scorched
Bodies-CatIse of the Explosion

Recovery of the Mangled and Scorched
Bodies-Cshse of the Explosion.
As soon as it was possible preparations
we're made TO recover the bodies of the
victims, and a gang of workmen was at
1nee organized to undertake the work.
Superintendent Keighley, who was the
inspector in charge at the Dunbar mine
after the accident there, assumed direc-
Non of the rescuing force, and an army of
men was sent down into the pit to stay
che progress of the flames and recover
the bodies of the hapless victims. Soon
the first body was brought to the surface.
u was that of John Kleen, German,
Who had been deshed against the
side of the shaft and rendered lifeless in
an instant. His body was fearfully
crushed and burned, but yet his relatives
nth sight made keen by anguish, recOg.
zized him. and claimed the poor remains.
Sixty Corpses Brought Up.
In a few moments another body was
Aoisted to the mouth of the shaft. and
shus the stream of bodies from the foun-
tain of death below flowed on till BY :
o'clock at night sixty of the victims of
this fearful sacrifice had been recovered
Many more were below and it was feared
that it will be impossible to save all from
she fires, which were steadily advancing
respite every effort to check them. Fresh
relays of men were sent down into the
shaft every hour to relieve the exhausted
crews below, and the work of rescue was
pushed with almost superhuman energy.
List of the Identified.
Tho pf tha Eal =
hour last night were as follows: August
Lunk, Jr.; Mike Stonyck, Sr.: Mike Sto-
nyck, Jr.; Stephen Watt, William Birch
ell, Steve Horen, James Duple. James
Dori, William Snait, Patrick Lumbley,
Priz Newell, Louis Lewis, William Lewis.
James Murphy, Jacob Meyers John Koch
ers. Martin Brannon, George Wilson.
Nike Kelly, Frank keskey, John Eaton,
David Gordon. The other bodies taken
from the mine are so horribly mutilated
shat they connot be identified
Effect Of the Explosion.
Those who have been in the shaft prose
cutting the work of recovering the bodies
any that the scene is one of awful horror.
The force of the explosion shattered the
walls of the shaft and filled the drifts with
masses of earth torn from the roof and
hides. The bodies of many of the dead are
buried in the debris and are difficult to
end The entrance to one of the drifts
was completely closed and the timbers in
che mine have been torn out or broken.
making the work of rescue exceedingly
difficult and dangerous The fires stead
lily encroaching in two directions have
stopped the rescuers, the fearful heat max
ing the air throughout the mine absolute
ly sitting.
A Scene to Rend the Heart
The scene at the mouth of the shaft
when the disaster became known was one
to rend the heart. In what seemed but
moment a crowd bad collected, and when
they learned of the extent of the calamity
their grief was unrestrained. Mothers
and wives crowded around the mouth of
the pit and urged the men around to res
aue their loved ones Some even at
TEMPTED to descend into that yawning
ehasm of death themselves to search for
their dead. One woman, unable TO be re-
strained. threw herself into the shaft, and
added one more to the list of the victims.
She was found lifeless at the bottom by
the first body of rescuers, who sent her to
Che free air above, and lies beside the
slackened and mangled form OF him to
whom she was to have been united to-
day
HorribIe Scenes in the Pit.
One hundred and ten men were en-
Moved in that part of the mine III which
the explosion occurred, and not one was