The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1892-01-16
Rescuins the Miners.

MoALLIsTER, l. T., Jan. 9.-The ex-
citement, intensified almost to insanity,
because of the mine explosion, shows no
abatement. All day yesterday and to-
day 5000 people were around the shaft of
the mine, crowding, gesiicuiating and
shrieking. This morning the company
ordered sixty-fve, and local undertaken
ordered a carload of coffins. All the
mines in the vicinity have shut down,
and The miners and women of Krebs are
working to rescue and perform offices
for the dead, and to relieve the suffering
OF the wounded. Everybody is helping
with the work of rescue with the excep>
tioD of The negroes. Some time ago the
white miners refused to Work with the
negroes. This morning a number of
negroes went to Krebs and assisted in
the work in half-hearted way, aud one
OF their number was heard to say it
served the miners right to have been
billed, The word passed from mouth to
mouth and the indignation of the miners
knew no bounds. A United States dep
Cty marshal, anticipating trouble, was on
hand with a posse and drove the
colored men from the place at the point
of Winchesters. As body after body was
removed from the ground, women crazed
with despair would throw themselves in
front of the shaf: in their efforts to de :
termlue at once whether 1t was that of
father, brother or husband. Time and
time again we're the women pressed back
from the mouth of the shaft, but as the
work of rescue proceeded the same scene
was enacted
THE REMAINS TERRIBLY MANGLED.
It was almost impossible to recognize
any resemblance to human form in the
bodies of many of those rescued. Heads,
arms, legs, hands and feet were in many
instances torn from the trunk. Their
clothes were either partially or entirely
burned away, and in several cases the
flames had literally roasted almost all the
flesh on the bodies. The dead were
taken to the blacksmith shop near the
main shaft, where morgue was impro-
Yised, and the living taken to their
| homes. The crowd vacilated between
the shaft aud the blacksmith shop ell
iIaCu oiiaCiC VI duu tuS
contents of the pockets were closely
scrutinized for any Distinguishing mark
whereby the body could be identified. A
most horrible sight met the gaze of men,
bers of the rescuing party at the bottom
of the shaft, where lay on lndiscriminate
mass of debris and dismembered bodies
of miners. The explosion was terrific.
1t literally tore the mine to pieces. 1t
closed up galleries, tore down barricades
which kept the air from circulating
freely through the unused portion OF the
NINE, thus cutting off all air from the
galleries. This morning relief party of
Krebs miners were compelled, after
forty-elght hours steady labor, to stop
work. The party were completely ex-
bausted. Three carloads of mules were
in the mine when the explosion occurred,
and only two animals were hurt The
superintendent said the blame sshoui be
laid upon whoever fred the blast, as it
was done too soon. 1t should have been
fired at 5:10 O'clock, after the miners had
left the mine, in which case should The
explosion have occurred, only five or SIX
men would have been killed. The work
of bringing out the dead bodies and re-
moving the living is still progressing
The Usage mines at Krebs are Gould
property, and nave been operated for 9
number of years, under the management
of Earties in ST. Louis.