The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-11-19
Bodies of the Dead in the st.
Paul Mine
Found i'm Water With Their
Clothes Unscorched.
FIRE is EXTINGUISHED
work OF Taking Out the Victims
Has Commenced.
Horror at Messina No Worse
Than This One.

merry. III. Nov. 19.-The second and
saodest act of the ST. Paul mine
.laseuy-tne recovery and attempted
'ueli'incation OF the dead-began today.
hiee oooles, those of two men and a
Doy, were brought to the surface. Fou-
o'iiers were dragged from the debris of
the second gallery and taken in reach
OF the cage. but were not brought tn
.he surface Fifty or rs other bodies
beyond reach, for the time because of
! the hre. were seen in the wreckage of
| smouiderlng timbers and mud
lie sad prospect for the day became
| apparent when firemen unrolled a great
strip OF canvas on the prairie beyond
the main shaft. Here the three bodies
! which were the first to be brought OUT
We're laid.
| Grief stricken men, women and chill
uren formed great circle about them.
put many turned away, unable to en-
dure the sobs and cries of those who
nourned. seeking their dead. Two of
the podles were quickly identified but
not not untll scores of women had gazed on
the blackened features and turned
away to await the next dread load from
the depths of the mine.
| Why, know the lad, it's poor Iitt.s
Dickle buckles" exclaimed a miner.
Yes, It's Dickie. the stable boy said
another, looking at the lads face
| Old Man Stearns, an invalid, whosa
only boy is among the missing. limped
TO the outer fringe of the crowd He
/ mas haunted the mine since Saturday.
Il can't oh. can't look" he faltered.
with his hands covering his face Fin
ally word was brought him that ths
| body was not of his boy
! The body of Louis Gibbs was next
identified. Gibbs widow was i'll at her
home and the corpse was recognized by
| comrades.
There were many women. but there
NM oI
! shawls about their heads. the women
! pushed their way to where the bodies
! lay. 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 AMI
switch tracks to be alone, many with
their wondering children, clinging to
/ their skirts. TsT
4 As Bad as Messina
7 was at Messina after the earth
| quake, but the horror of that
catrastrophe was no worse than this"
said Ernest P. Bicknell, the Red Cross
representative.
Among those in the crowd were
woman and her young daughter The
mother, with folded arms and dry ewes
! swayed from side to side as if rocking
an infant. while her little girl sought
| to comfort her.
| Never mimi. mamma" said the little
one, we'll find papa
The third victim to be identified was
| George McMulln. His check number
'2OO," was found in the pocket of his
coat: Word was sent to one of his
| brothers.
Yes, that's George. Mr. Coroner, he
| said, but don't take the body to the
| Rouse. There are two more to come.
/ have two more brothers in that
! tomb
| Mrs McMullin, wife Of the victim.
reached the temporary morgue just as
! the body was being carried in
| My George My George," she
screamed and collapsed into the arms
/ of her brcther-in-law
| William Redmond. a Chicago fireman,
who aided in the taking of McMulin's
body from the mine. told of the dis
| ooVery.
rs trat little boy in there. his son?s
asked Redmond of McMuiin's brother.
mo. he had no SON.
| We'll, he had that little boy clasped
/ iE his arms when we found him. said
| Redmond: The bows arms were
| around his neck and the man held the
hoy to his breast. The man had on
a black sweater and this he had pull
+ ed over his face as though he had tried
4 to project himself from suffocation.
/ The lads head was tucked down under
! the mans coat.
THAT is the way they died We found
| them about 100 feet from the shaft.
/ suppose the man had been carrying the
boy and trying to get him to the air.
shaft"
The Fire Is Out
The fire in the mine through the ef-
forts of the Chicago firemen apparently
was extinguished early today.
"They apparently fought the fire incil
| by fnch.'' said Thomas Steele. superin-
tendent of the mine after had
been down there nearly two hours be-
/ fore daylight l thought it was long
enough for one effort and started back.
l told the firemen to come back to rest.
They refused to come and kept on driv-
| ing the fire back. They stayed in that
| gallery for two and half hours and
| did not leave it until every trace of fire
in the vein had been extinguished-"
| The condition of the bodies show5
] that they died from suffocation and
! that they had been dead several days.
| Superintendent Steele declared that his
! assertion that death came to every man
day, the day of the fire, was clearly
/ demonstrated by the disclosures.
Water was poured into the mine dur
| ing the fire without quenching It, Ths
water was converted into rivers on the
(, floors of the veins where lay the dead
/ The heat of the flames boiled the wa
| ter and in it lay the unfortunate dead
| That they did not die by fire is evident
because the clothing was not even
| scorched.
/ Identification Is Difficult.
Much confusion arose over the iden-
| tification of the dead Though the
rescuers described the body of McMui-
lin as that of the man who clasped the
boy in his arms, the boy was claimed
by the mother and sister of Alfred
they also identified another body as
that of his father, Henry Kron, 60
years of age.
| Helen Kroll, sister of Alfred. de-
clared there could be no mistake
/ "It is papa and Alfred she said
/ ------------