The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-01-10
MANY WERE DISMEMBERED
Victims of the Indian Territory Mine
Explosion Torn Into Shapeless Masses.
Some Lost Their Heads. Arms and Legs, and
Others We're Burned Until the Flesh Fell
from Their Bodies-NegrOes Driven OF.


of the miners injured in the Krebs coaI-pit
explosion are lying st their homes swsthed
in cotton and vasaline mp to their eyes.
with their OF e-lashes. hair and fnger-nails
burned of and the cooked flesh dropping
from their bones. This morning the COM
psny ordered sixty-ive collins, and local
undertakers q carload. All the mines
IN the vicinity have shut down and the
miners and women of the family are at
Krebs, the miners to aid the work of res
cue. their wives. sisters and mothers TO per-
form the Offices for the dead and to relieve
the suffering OF the wounded.
Men of all nationalities arc aiding In tho
work of rescue. Americans. Irishmen.
Scandinavians, Polanders Welshmen. Ital-
ians, Swedes-all but negroes are at the
work. Some time since the white miners
refused 10 work with the negroes. This
morning number of the negroes went to
Krebs and assisted in the work in only
half-hearted way. and one of their number
was heard to say that 1t served the miners
right to have been killed. The word was
passed from mouth to mouth. and the IN
dignation and fury or the miners knew no
bounds. Il seemed as though another hor-
TOR would be added to the scene but the
United states deputy marshal. anticipating
some such trouble, was Cd hand with
posse. and drove the colored men from the
place at the muZZle of Wlnchesters.
All day and all night scenes intensely
sad and heartrending were being enacted
at the mouth OF the shaft. As body after
body was removed from the ground women
erazed with despair would throw them
selves In front of the shaft in their efforts
TO determine at once whether the all that
was human of some poor fellow was not
father, brother or husband. Time and time
again were the women pressed and carried
back from the mouth of the shaft, but
rs the work of the rescue proceeded
the same scene was enacted and re-enact-
sd. It was almost impossible to recognize
any resemblance to the human form In the
bodies CT many of those rescued. Heads,
arms, legs. hands and feet were In many
Instances torn from the trunks The pit
clothes were either partially or entirely
burned away, and in several cases the
aames had literally roasted almost all the
Hesh on the body. Each article of cloth
ing and the contents of the pockets were
closely scrutInized and any distinguishing
mark OF nature whereby the body could be
hentlted was eagerly searched for.
A most horrible sight met the rescuing
parties as the bottom OF the shaft was
reached. Here a head. there a hand or leg
protruded from the mass of fallen rock.
number of burned lamps. caps and dinner
buckets completed the desolation of the
scene. The bodies were removed with all
possible care. but this did not prevent an
arm or @ leg, almost severed from the body,
from being completely torn off when taken
from under the wrecksge. The force OF the
explosion was terrific. 1t literally tore the
mine all pie 1t closed mp the galleries.
tore down the ricades. which kept the air
from circulating freely through the usual
PORTION of the mine. thus cutting of all air
from the galleries in use, and left them, as
was supposed. wholly untenable. None
escaped. except those brought ND from the
2 Thraa
loads of mules were in the mine when the
explosion occurred, and. strange to say.
only two of the animals were hurt. The
boss driver. Thomas Kane. was killed.
The frenzied brutes committed great dam.
age TO the mine In their efforts to find an
outlet.
Thomas Fleming. a mining expert. and
for eight years superintendent of the mine.
was interview ed. this morning, in regard TO
the explosion. He said that the whole
blame should be placed upon the shot firers,
who fired the blast too soon. A window
shot caused the catastrophe. The blast
was overoharged. It should have been
fired after the miners had left the mine. As
IL was the shot was fired at 500 o'clock. be-
fore the men had assembled from the mine.
The mine officials now claim that only
one man is missing. This Is an Italian
named Antonio GeneZtel, who seems TO have
no family and no friends. except those no
were killed. His body is supposed to
be near the main entry under q mass of
rocks which has nearly all been moved.
The men claim that there are others dead
or Imprisoned in the mine. There were 335
men working in the mine on Thursday, &C
cordlng to the payroll and the tally re-
ports of every man who goes down the
shaft OF these. fifty lone dead bodies have
been recovered. 1877 men escaped by way of
shaft No; 2. now used as a ventilating
shaft, and los were rescued from the main
shaft in critical condition. This leaves
thirty mine still unaccounted for. The
list of those who escaped by shaft No. z
and of those who were rescued from the
main shaft IS known 20 be incomplete, and
1t is believed about twenty escaped who
have not been listed. This would leave
aoout nineteen bodies still in the mine.
The work of recovering the bodies is very
slow. and is impsded by the caving IN of
shafts and galleries. It is believed all who
escaped death have been rescued. No gns
of live miners entombed within the nine
were detected to-day. aud the rescusrs ex-
pect to lind nothing but the remains
of the dead. Ii is claimed
now that the undue haste of the
entry men to etaway from the mine caused
the death of many miners The entrymen
fire theiI own shots. John Hurley and
John Williams are blamed as the authors
OF the accident, but death has already
called them to their court. The mine COM
mittee and the mine-owners will hold an
investigation into the cause of the acct
dent. Missouri. Kansas. Pennsy lv ania,
Ohio ana other great mining States have
State inspectors of mines. but there is no
such an officer appointed by the govern
in nd