The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-10
TAKING BODIES FROM THE MINE.
Heartrending Scenes at the
Great Disaster.
About Fifty Dead Bodies Already Re-
covered and Nearly a Hundred of the
Seriously Injured Miners-Cofins Or
dered by tho Carload-aIost of the
Bodies Unrecognizable-The Negroes
Chased Away From tho Shaft

McALLIsTER, Jan. o. Especial Tx
element, intensified almost to insanity
because of the mine explosion. SD sws
no abatement ALI day yesterday and
to-day 5000 people were around the
shaft of the mine. Up to o'clock this
morning forty-eight dead bodies had
been taken from tho mine and 100 in
jured, fifteen of whom died before day-
break
Tho remaining eighty five miners arc
lying at their homes, swathed in cotton
and vaseline up to their eyes, with their
eyebrows, hair and tinger-nails burned
OIL and cooked flesh dropping from their
bones
This morning company ordered sixty-
five collins and local undertaken or
dered carload. All the mines in the
vicinity have shut down and the miners
and the women OF tho family are at
krebs, miners to aid the work OF rescue;
their wives, sisters and mothers to per-
form offices for the dead aud to relieve
the suffering Of tho wounded
Men OF all nationalities are aidinr in
the work of rescue. Americans, Irisn-
men, Scotchmen, Polanders, Welsh
man, Italians, Swedes-all but negroes
are at work. Some time since the
white miners refused to work with ne
groes. This morning number OF ma
groes wenG to lNrebs and assisted in the
work in only half hearted way, and
one of their number was heard to saw
that it served tho miners right. In-
stantly the whito men turned upon
them, and they were chased from the
place at the point Of Winchesters.
All day and all night scenes intensely
sad nd hpa r n r,,,nr ha;,
at tho mouth of the shaft. 1t was.
almost impossible to recognize any re-
semblance 10 human form in the bodies
OF many OF those rescued. Tho heads,
arms, legs, hands and feet were in
many instances torn from tho trunks.
Pit clothes wore either partially or
entirely burned away and in several in
stances flames had literally roasted all
the flesh on the body.
The dead were taken to q blacksmith
shop near the main shaft, where u
morgue had been improvised, and the,
living TO their homes. A crowd passed
between tho shaft and blacksmith shop.
all day. The latter place was con
stantly crowded with people searching
to find those whom they knew must be
either dead or badly hurt.
The force Of the explosion was ter
rifle. 1t literally tore the mine all to
pieces. 1t closed mp the galleries and
tore down the tarricades which kept
the air from circulating freely through
the unused portion of tho mine, thus
cutting off all air from galleries in use,
and left them, as wasssupposed. wholly
untenabe.
None escaped with the exception of
those brought up from the entrance or
by shaft No. z. This morning tho re-
lief party of Krebs miners was cont
PEELED, after forty eight hours of steady
labor, to stop work. The party was
completely exhausted. j.i.at
Three carloads of mules were in tho
| mine when tho explosion occurred, and
strange to say only two Of the animals
wore hurt. The boss driver was killed.
The frenzied brutes committedi;igrea
damage in their efforts to fl md an outlet.
Mining experts say the disaster was
due to two circumstances. The blast
was overcharged and 1t was fred twen-
ty-three minutes too soon!t twas fred,
at 5:07 before the miners going oil duty
had left the mine. 1t should have boon
fired at $40. AT that time tho loss OF
life would not have been over half q
dozen, although the wreck would have
been equally extensive! Nf g"-' t2et4