The Forrest City times., 1892-01-15

SOUTH McALEsTER. l. IT, Jan. 10.- There are 100 miners entombed in mine No. II of the Osage company's plant here. The accident occurred at o'clock Thursday evening and until to-day no definite information as to it's extent could be received. Even now reports are much mixed as to the num- Der of the dead. Twenty seven bodies have been taken out, but the failure of many of the 200 who escaped to come from their homes and show themselves makes it difficult to foot up the losses
 A careful estimate by Assistant Man ager Krebs places the dead at 130 and the injured at 200. Of these at least 100 will die, as they are burned so that the flesh is dropping from their bones.
 Forty-nine bodies have been recov- cred from the shaft Of these twenty three have been identified.
 When the explosion occurred there were as near as can be learned about 400 men in the mine. They were the day shift and were just preparing to ascend when the explosion took place. Six men who had already been hoisted in the cage had just stepped on the platform at the side of the shaft. The cage was blown through the roof of the tower and fifty feet into the air. Flames shot up the shaft and above the ground fully 100 feet, which were fol- lowed by a terrific report which was heard for miles around and shook all tie neighboring country 90 violently that people in the surrounding mining towns four and five miles distant thought an earthquake was shaking the ground.
 The men already above ground were prostrated by the force of the explos- ion, but did not receive severe injuries. The scenes about the mouth of the shaft immediately following were fear ful in the extreme.
 The search by the searching party still continues. There is one disheart- ening fact connected with the search up to the present time, and that is that not one live miner has been found. All the ladies SD far recovered have been found to be burned, and maimed ir al- most every case beyond recognition. In fully half the cases Identification has been possible only from either the clothes or the contents of the 10 ,kets.
 The mines have long been regarded as dangerous, as there are few escapes and the ground is very gasy. The ex- act cause of the fearful catastrophe Is not lpcwn as yet, but it is believed by those who escaped to have been caused by premature explosion, which took pace before the usual safety precau- tions could be taken.
 The Osage Mining company was or ganized in 1868 by Congressman R. l. Stephens of New York, who built tho Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad. Col Stephens agents, while canvassing the prospects of the proposed road through the Indian Territory, saw the possibilities of the coal-producing region, and when the road was put into operations immense shipments were at once made from McAlester and 300 or 4C0 men were employed in the various mines. A few years later the Gould interests gobbled the Missouri. Kansas and Texas and the mines went with it. Later, when the road got con trol of itself again. Gould held on to the mines because they were productive of great profits. He has operated them ever since under the original lease of Col. Stephens from the Osage Indians.