Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-10
THE KREBS DISASTER,
EXCITEMENT INTENSIFIED ALMOST
( so TO INSANITY.
the Shaft Watching the Work of Res
Y cue = Fifty-one Dead Bodies Recov-
! ered-Others Believed to Be In the
Mine.

McALLIsTER, 1. T., Jan. 9.-Excite-
ment, intensified almost to insanity,
because of the mine explosion, shows
no abatement. All, day yesterday and
today 5000 people we're around the shaft
ofthe mine, crowding, gesticulating and
shrieking. Up to 2 O'Clock this morning
forty eight dead bodies had been taken
out of the mine and 100 injured, fifteen
of-whom died before morning. The re-
maining are lying at their homes
swathed in cotton and vaseline. This
l,poruingsthe company ordered sixty-five
cofins, and the local undertakers or
dered an additional carload.
All the mines in the vicinity bave
shut down and the miners and women
at Krebs went to aid the work of rescue.
Everybody is helping with the excep-
tion of the negroes. Some time ago
eight miners refused to work with ne
groes. This morning a number of ne
groes went to Krebs and assisted in the
work in only hall hearted way, and
one of their number was heard to say it
served the miners right to have been
| killed. These words passed from mouth
to mouth, and the indignation and fury
| of the miners knew no bounds. The
United States deputy marshal, anticipat-
ing trouble, was on hand with 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
shaft in their efforts to determine at
once whether it was that OF father,
brother or husband. Time and time
time again were women pressed back
from the mouth OF the shalt, but as the
work of rescue proceeded the same scenes
were re-enacted. 1t was almost I'M
possible to recognize any resem-
bance to human form in the
bodies OF many OF those rescued.
Heads, arms, legs, hands and feet in
many instances were torn from the
trunks. The clothes were either par
italy or entirely burned away and in
several cases the flames had literally
roasted almost all the flesh en- the body.
The dead were taken to blacksmith shop
near the main shaft, where morgue was
improvised, and the living were taken
! to their houses. The crowd vaclllated
between the shaft and the blacksmith
shop all day.
Each article of clothing and the con-
| tents of the pockets were closely scrut-
inized for any distingushable mark
whereby the bodies could be identified.
A most horrible sight met the gaze of
the members of the rescuing party at
| the bottom OF the shaft, where lay an
indiscriminate mass of debris and dis
membered bodies of miners.
The explosion was terrific. 1t liter
ally tore the mine to pieces. 1t closed
up the galleries.; tore down the barri-
cades, which kept the air from circulat-
ing freely through the unused portion OF
the mine, thus cutting off all the air
from the galleries
This morning the relief party of Krebs
miners was compelled after forty-eight
hours' steady labor to stop work. The
party was completely exhausted.
Three carloads of mules were in the
mine when the explosion occurred, and
| only two of the animals were hurt. The
| boss driver, Tom Kane. was killed.
The superintendent of the mine says
the blame should be laid upon whoever
| fired the blast, as it was done too soon.
| 1t should have been fred at 80 O'Clock,
after the miners had left the mine, in
| which case the explosion would have
occurred when only five or six men
could have been killed. The work of
bringing out the dead bodies and re-
moving the living still progresses.
The Usage mines at Krebs are good
property, and have been operated for
number of years under the manage
ment OF parties in st. Louis.
Perhaps it will never be known just
how many lives were lost by the acci-
dent. Some of the galleries and APP
proaches are go blocked With debris that
it is nearly impossible to open them.
The mine officials now assert that only
one man is missing. The miners assert
that there are others imprisoned. OF
1856 men in the mine Thurs