Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-01-28
Last Sad Rite 5 Said Over
Remains o: T Lost Creek
Mi ners. !
SCENE IND EsCRIBABLE
Sorrowing ReIati' YES of Dead Men Al
most Overcome Seventeen Funer-
ais in All Hell j Yesterday-Hund-
dreds Attend s ervces.,

'-i Az
IFrom Mondays Z hily.l
Amid scenes which were so sad
that they defy d escription but which
will, nevertheless be printed for life
upon the memory of every one who
was witness TO the sad affair, the
remains of sevel teen of the twenty
men who gave p their lives in the
Lost Creek coal nine catastrophe Fri
day were tenderl, Y laid away at Eddy
vile and Oskalo, psa yesterday, while
more than a tho lsand people braved
the bitter cold t. , pay honor to the
memory of the i'll -fated men.
The funerals | fifteen of the men
were held at Edo lyville, twelve at the
Congregational hurch and three at
the Catholic chur ch, Two of the men
were inferred at 0skaloosa, and funer-
al services will ie held at Eddyville
and What Cheer pday for the remain
ing three unfortul late victims.
A Grief Str. :ken Gathering.
The means of heart broken wives
and mothers ming led with the cries of
orphans and The sobs of strong men
as the words of Re ". w. H. Dillon, pas
tor of the Eddyvil le Methodist Episco-
pal church sounde d through the Con-
gregational churcll at that place,
when the funeral iervices over the re-
mains of twelve c If the unfortunate
victims of the eXplt bSion We're held yes
..arday afternoon. All the expression
1f grief that had b cen Withheld during
: me lonely. days an i nights since the
awful accident foul i'd vent when the
relatives of the dea d men gathered to-
gether TO say their last farewellS to
the mortal remains of those who had
but few days bef. Ire been alive and
well, but who could not withstand the
awful forces which brought almost in
stantaneous death to them all.
Run Specia Trains.
Although the heav y snow and the
falling temperature which followed
rendered the weather. exceedingly dis.
agreeable yesterday several hundred
people from Oskaloos a, Eddyville and
the surrounding min ing settlements
were present at the funeral services
yesterday. The Rock Island and Iowa
Central roads ran spec hal trains which
carried the passenger: as near as
possible to Lost Creek and the remain
der of the distance rs covered on
foot
Six Hearses Re quired.
Six hearses and seve .ral light wag-
ons were used to transl ,ort the bodies
from Lost Creek to Ed dyville, where
the funerals of fifteen t,f the victims
were held The MEMBERS of the min
ers' union and of the di tferent orders
to which the various mi ners belonged
when living attended theE services and
marched on foot from Lost Creek to
Eddyville.
Twelve in One Church.
Three of the bodies, hose of John
Elder Andrew Pash land George
Demschok, were take In to the
Catholic church in Ec ldyvlle, the
remaining twelve being i,taken to the
Congregational church where Rev
w. H. Dillon, pastor of tile Methodist
Episcopal church, conduo ted the ser
vices. The twelve men whose flrner
ais were held at the Co ngregatonal
church We're: Alexander tIray James
McNeeley, c. B. Crews, S amuel Hum
phrey, James Humphrey, RUSSELL Fish
Daniel Fish, James Stow III, (colored
S. G. Creighton, (coloredl John Kav
al, John Berto, John Martin.
Rev. Father O'Carroll,, pastor oil
the Catholic church at Oskalcosa
conducted the services' at the
Catholic church. All of tn e houses O
worship and many of the lprivate resi-
dences In Eddyville were brown oper
to the relatives and frier ids of the
dead miners, but even then they stood
on the streets and suffere d from the
cold.
Women Grief stric ken.
The services were short but impress
sive. The sermons were at once ex
pressions of sympathy to The sorrow
ing relatives and words of comfort fo
the women who have lost II le ones wht
were dearest to them. Bot h ministers
invoked the aid of the Di1 vine Powe
in behalf of the motherles childre1
and the sorrowing wives who hav,
been left without means of support
Despite all the words of G. Dmfort tha
could be spoken, however, the grief O
the bereaved ones was too great to b.
withheld, and several wonaen entirel,
lost control OF themselves. When tn
services at the churches were finish
ed the; professions were I'd rmed again
the twelve bodies being t aiken to tn
Highland cemetery near Eddyville
where they were interr ed. The re
naming three bodies wer'e laid ava
in the Catholic cemetery.
Two Funerals at osA .aoosa.
The funeral services { Wer the re
mains OF the two Casper pc brothers
Frank and James, We're h eld at Osks
fCon+;prol