Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-20
DEAD MEN LIE
BEYOND REACH
ONLY FIVE BODIES TAKEN OUT
OF MINES
Rescuers Hope to Save Many CorPses
from Flames Today-Inspectors
Satisfied and Return
Home
LBv Associated Press.l


CHERRY, ILL.,, Nov. 19,-Science and
desperation have greatly checked the
fire that snuffed out 300 lives last Sat-
urday in the st. Paul coal mine. Men
braved today the fire-swept tunnels to
bring the dead to the surface.
Charity has poured aid into homes of
suffering survivors But all of this
could not subdue the grief of Cherry s
inhabitants when the sight of the dead,
lifted from the tomb blasted their
hopes that the men might be rescued
alive.
1t has been just six days since fire
started in a bale of hay and swept
the bread winners of this community to
their doom, and in all that time of
anxiety only five bodies have been re-
covered, four today and one last night.
1t is expected that many bodies Will
be recovered tomorrow. More were
found today, and explorers working
deep into the second gallery were
forced to flee, as they were about to
bring them out, when falling earth and
rock endangered the rescuers.
Miners Put to Work
Miners were put to work tonight in
the galleries replacing burned timbers
and clearing obstructions which i'm
pede access to the coal veins for more
than 250 feet from the main shaft. Be-
yond this point fires still burn, and 1t
will be some time before they can be
extinguished.
The second and saddest act of the
st. Paul mine tragedy-the recovery
and attempted identification of the
dead-began early today.
Four bodies, those of three men and
boy, were brought to the surface to-
day. Four others were dragged from
the debris of the second gallery and
taken in reach of the cage, but We're
not brought to the surface.
Fifty or seventy-five bodies beyond
reach, for the time because of the fire,
were seen in the wreckage of smoul-
dering timbers and mud.
The sad prospects for the day be-
came apparent when firemen spread
canvass on the prairie beyond the main
shaft. Here the three bodies which
were the first to be brought out were
laid
The grief stricken men, women and
children formed a great circle about
them, but many turned away, unable
to endure the sobs and cries of those
who mourned seeking their dead. TWO
of the bodies were quickly identified
but not until scores of women had
gazed on the blackened features and
turned away to await the next dread
load from the ueplnS Oh the iililS was
the third body recognized.
Body Is Identified
"Why, 1 know the lad; it's poor lit
tie Dick Buckley" exclaimed miner.
Eyes, it's Dickle, the stable boy. an
other said, looking at the lads face.
"Old Man" Stearns, an invalid,
whose only boy is among the missing,
limped to the outer fringe of the crowd.
He has haunted the mine since Sat
urday.
81 can't; Oh, I can't look" he fall
tered. with his hands covering his
face.
Finally word was brought him that
the body was not that of his boy.
The body of Louis Gibbs was next
identified. Gibbs widow was i'll at
her home and the corpse was recog-
nized by comrades.
There were many women. but there
were more children. With their heavy
shawls about their heads, the women
pushed their way to where the bodies
Law, and one after another turned
away, some weeping, others past the
relief of tears, with hopeless grief in
their eyes.
Many scattered about the yards and
switch tracks to be alone; many with
their wondering children clinging to
their skirts.
81 was at Messina after the earth
quake, but the horror of that catas-
trophe was no worse than this" said
Ernest p. Bicknell, the Red Cross
representative.