St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-10
Heartbroken Survivors at Nc
Allister Finishing Their
Awful Task.
Victims Of Deaths Harvest
Being Gathered in Shat
tered Shreds.
Number of Lives Lost Will
Probably Never Be Told
Correctly.
Wild Shrieks Of Mourning and
Silent Misery That Make
the Heart Sick.

McALLIsTER, /. T., jar. 9.-Excite-
ment is Intensified almost to insanity
because of Thursdays explosion, and
shows no abatement. All day yester-
day and today 5000 people were around
the shaft of the mine crOwding, geSticu-
lating, shrieking, some attracted from
idle curiosity born of morbidness, but
the majority driven to the spot half
crazed through the fear of what they
might have to realize. Others were
standing about, and their blanched
faces, eyes from which the light had
departed, and apathetic features told
the same story, but told 1t in different
way. Wives, sisters. Sweethearts. moth
ers, fathers, all in their own way painted
such picture of despair upon the
minds of beholders that the impression
will never be defaced.
Up to 2 O'Clock this morning 4S dead
bodies had been taken out OF the mine
and lC0 injured, Is of whom died before
morning. The remaining So miners are
lying at their homes swathed In cotton
and vaseline up to their eyes, with their
off and
The Cooked Flesh
drOppiug from their bones. This morn
ing the company ordered siXty-five and
local undertakers ordered a carload of
collins.
All the mines in the vicinity have
shut down, and the miners of the fami-
lies are at Krebs, the miners to aid the
work of rescue. their wives, sisters and
mothers to perform the offices for the
dead and to relieve the suffering of the
wounded. Men of all natlOnalitieS are
aiding in the work of rescue. Ameri-
cans, IriShmen, Scotchmen, POlanders.
Welshmen, Italians, Swedes-all but
negroes-are at work. Some time
since the white miners refused
to work with the negroes. This morn
and assisted in the work in only half
hearted way, and one of their number
was heard to saythat 1t served the
miners right to be killed.
The word was passed from mouth TO
mouth. and the Indignation and fury of
miners knew no bounds. 1t seemed as
though another horror would be added
to the scene, but the United States dep
uty marshal. anticipating some such
trouble, was on hand with Ia posse and
drove the colored- men from the place
at the point of Winchesters. All day
and all night, scenes intensely sad and
heartrending-scene which made
Women Shrek in Horror.
and strong men weep; which made
some pray to God for relief from the
burden of sorrow that crushed their
spirits to earth, and which impelled
others to curse Him for the same cause,
were being enacted at the mouth of the
shaft. Such panorama was never be-
fore unrolled to the gaze of the thou
sands assembled there.
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 the all that was human of
some poor fellow was not father,
brother or husband. Time and time
again were the women pressed and car
ried back from the mouth of the shaft,
but as the work of rescue proceeded the
| scene was enacted and re enacted.
1t was almost impossible to recognize
any resemblance to the human form in
the bodies of many of those rescued.
Heads. arms, legs. hands and feet were
i'll many instances torn from the trunks.
The pit clothes were either partially OF
entirely burned away, and In several
cases the flames had literally roasted
almost all the flesh from the body. The
dead were taken to q blacksmith shop
near the main shaft, where a morgue
had been improvsed, and the living
lllated between the shaft and the black
smith shop all day. The latter place
was constantly crowded with people
searching to find those whom they knew
| must be either dead or badly hurt.
Picked Up in Pieces.
Each article of clothing and the con-
tents of the pockets were closely scru-
tinized and any distinguishable mark
of any nature whereby the body could
be identified WAS eagerly searched for.
party as the bottom of the shaft was
reached. Here a head, there a hand Or
leg, prOtruded from the mass of fallen
rock. A number of burned lamps, caps
and dinner buckets completed the DESC
latiOn 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 COM
pletely torn off when taken from under
the wreckags.
The force of the explosion was ter
pieces. 1t closed up the galleries, and
tore down the barricadeS which kept
the air from circulating freely through
the unused portion of the mine. thus
cutting off all air from the galleries in
use, and left them, as was supposed,
wholly untenable. None escaped with
the exception of those brought up from
the entrance. This morning the re-
lief party of the 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,
strange to say, only two of the animals
We're hurt. The trenzied brutes COM
mitted great damage to the mine In
their efforts to find an outlet.
Number of Lost Uncertain.
Perhaps it Will never be known just
how many lives were lost in the acct
approaches are so blocked with debris
that it is nearly impossible to open
them. The mine officials now claim
that only one man is missing. This is
an Italian who seems to have no family
and no friends except those who were
killed. His body is supposed to be near
the main entry under mass of rocks
which has nearly all been moved. The
men claim that there are others dead or
imprisoned in the mines.
There were 1856 men working In the
mine Thursday, according to the pay
roll and the tally reports of every man
who goes down the shafts. Of these