Weekly journal-miner., 1909-11-17
Wives and Daughters, Grief -Crazed, Rush
 To Flaming
 Shaft

OlldlL
 --..s- CHERRY, ILL, NOV. 1S.-AT LEAST 400 MEN WERE KILLED IN AN EXPLOSION AT THE ST. PAUL COAL COMPANIES MINE, ACCORDING ITO THE ESTIMATE MADE TONIGHT BY THE MINE OFFICIALS AFTER A CAREFUL IN vEsTIGATIoN OF THE FEARFUL DISASTER. ONLY TWELVE BoD- IFS HAD BEEN RECOVERED AT A LATE HOUR. FIRE IS RAGING IN THE MINE AND THERE IS NO HOPE OF SAVING THE ENToMB- ED MEN FROM THE DEvoURING FLAMES AS THE ENTRANCE WAS BULKHEADED IN AN EFFORT TO CHECK THE FLAMES.
 In three veins, one of them 300 feet below the surface, the miners are imprisoned awaiting a most hor- ribIe death. Their only chance for Tiff is to retreat to the end of the veins in hope of finding air enough to sustain them until help arrives.
 Like Rats in Trap.
 The first explosion occurred short ly after o'clock this afternoon. It was communicated swiftly to all other sections of the mine and in less than ten minutes all avenues of escape were cut off.
 While smoke and jets of flame swept up through the mine entrance, the cage which carried the miners to work made regular trips. The first load of miners who escaped had no worse injuries than bruises and slight burns received while rushing to safety.
 Scenes Beggar Description.
 On the last "trip the bodies of the superintendent and his assistant were brought out.
 A half hour after the first explo- sion, the entrance to the flaming shaft was surrounded by hundreds of shrieking women-wives and daugh- ters of the doomed men. Men also broke down and wept as full re- alization of the horror came to them. Many women tried to rush into the smoke filled shaft in a frantic effort to save their loved ones, but they were driven back by the wall of flame.
 Numbers were overcome by the pungent fumes issuing from the levels where the explosion occurred.
 For two hours earnest eIIorts were made to devise some means of saving at least few of the imprisoned min CTS but when the fire ate its way to the entrance and theratened to com municate to piles of coal outside and thence to the town, it was finally decided the safety of the people de, pended on checking the flames as soon as possible and the entrance was boarded up to smother the eonflagra tion.
 The mine had a day shift of 4S5 Of these a few left the shaft at noon Twenty-Five more are known to have escaped before the fire cut off every egress. Ihe others are doubtless dead.
 May Be Worst Known.
 The fire that caused the explosion which may prove one of the greates tragedies in the list of mine horror was of a most trivial origin. A pill of hay left smouldering ignited tn timbers and before the workers re alized the danger the mine was file with deadly gases, smoke and fume which closed all exits.
 The only men to escape were thos near the mouth of the shaft. It said a careless miner threw tore on the pile of hay used to feed fh mine mules. In a few minutes tn smouldering pile was placed in ca which was started toward the ope1 ing, but a slight explosion occurred An instant later the chamber was mass of flames.
 Those nearest the cage rushed int it to gain the top. The cage mad four swift trips. After that no mol miners came up.
 Volunteers Gave Lives.