The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-10-11
DOOMED like CANNON
Boiler After Boiler EXplOdes at
ShamOkin, Penn.
Thirty-six Boilers of Mining
Plant Utterly Destroyed.
FOUR MEN KILLED.
Half Of One Boiler Thrown a
Quarter Of a Mile
Many Employees Narrowly Es-
cape Scalding from Steam.

SHAMoKIN, Pa, Oct Flour men
were killed, two fatally Injured and sew
eral others were painfully burned by a
disastrous boiler explosion that occurred
at the Henry Clay colliery early today.
The entire steam supplying plant of the
mine, consisting Of thirty-six boilers, was
totally demolished, and in addition to the
monetary loss, which viii be $4,000, the
Henry Clay, Big Mountain, Sterling and
Peerless collieries Will be unable to re-
sumo operations for at least month.
The explosion il the worst of its kind
that has ever occurred in this region and
its cause is a mystery. The dead and
injured were:
Thomas Carr, fireman. leaves a wife
and three children, one arm and one leg
broken of and body cut in two.
VIM Boyd, fireman, leaves widow, hor-
ribly crushed and lacerated about the
body, dead when discovered
VIM E Slick. aged Is, neck broken
and both hips fractured. died in a few
minutes after being found
Peter Heck, fireman, side Of head
crushed and severe Internal injuries; can
not recover.
Jacob Oldham, water boss of Mahoney
Valley, married, scalded and crushed
about the abdomen and legs; cannot re-
cover
John Mclaughlin, fireman, both legs
broken anu 40aQ CEuS40us 0l0Q Two
hours after the accident
John Flenkenstein, married, received
serious injuries about body; may re-
cover.
Dennis Brennan, scraper, struck in the
face with bricks; not dangerous
VIM. Quinn. lamp man. Of Springfield,
injured by flying bricks.
1t was about rs this morning when
the workmen at the Henry Clay colliery
were startled by a heavy explosion. At
the same moment a portion Of the
boiler house was blown into the air.
and flying bricks were hurled in every
direction. Several other explosions took
place. The air was filed with escaping
steam and debris for a radius Of 40
yards. and many of the employees narrow
~ escaped death.
The report of the explosion was heard
in this city, distance Of over two miles.
The terrible accident came up
on the boiler house employees
without warning, and only one of
them, a Pole, escaped uninjured. The
others were buried beneath the mass
of debris and some of the bodies were
not recovered for two hours. The boiler
on the west end of the house IS supposed
to have been the first to explode and then
the adjoining boilers went up in quick
succession.
The repeated explosions resem bIed the
roar of heavy artillery. Only nine
of the thirty-six boilers escaped de-
struction and these were so dam
aged that they are useless. Many Of
the boilers were torn apart near the cen
ter by the terrible force and the two sec
tons would then take different directions
One-half of a boiler was hurled full
quarter of a mile and lodged in the slush
bank northwest of where it had former
" stood Another, that took a similar
direction, crashed through the side
of the breakers and lodged against the
scraper line. Another crashed through
the tip house and came near killing
several employees.
Four colleries will be thrown into idle
ness by the accident for a month or six
weeks 50 that the total loss will aggre-
gate 100000.