Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1910-01-08

ploSiOn of November Is and the events
which followed in heartrending variety
until Thanksgiving day is done 1t
has passed into history. to be referred
to only for comparison with the next
big mine disaster. 1t is a good thing
to forget the details of these horrors
as soon as may be.
But though much has been written
in the press about the Cherry mine
and the terrible accident, one chapter
in the story has not been completely
told. says a writer in the New York
World. 1t is the story of the most
dramatic, thrilling scene which it is
possible for the mind to conceive. A
fight among a score of maddened, des-
perate miners, 500 feet down in the
bowels of the earth, in the pitch dark
ness of their prison. No doubt it was
not the only fight OF the sort which
ever took place There have been
many mine horrors, thousands and
thousands of men have been caught
under the ground, and nobody knows
what frightful things have gone on
while they have waited for death Mad
with, hunger. fear and thirst, men in
hundreds of instances must have fig
ured in scenes the telling of which, if
there could be any telling. would
shock the reader beyond expression
But never before have men who came
back from the tomb as these did
brought an account of such a scene.
Among the Fortunate.
When the explosion came on that
Hateful Saturday afternoon there were
400 men down in the mine. Some
miners found themselves grouped to-
gether. struggling to escape from the
flames, at the end of long tunnel
some five hundred feet from the bot
tom of the shaft. They pushed ON.
climbing over over the bodies of other
miners who had fallen overcome by
the black damp; the stronger helping
the weak, who would have succumbed
but for assistance. There was scarce
ly five feet of head room, and the
black damp hung heavy in the dark
chamber. They fell in pairs, with
means of despair. but still there were
survivors who got to the end of the
tunnel and flung themselves on the
ground against the impenetrable wall
of coal.
After a while. when their eyes en-
abled them to see little in the dark,
and they found that there was a con-
siderable number of them together, a
miner named GeOrge EQQy look IL on
himself to find out just who was
there and how the men were situated
Boys" said he, we're in pretty
fix, but we mustn't give up We're al
the end of the tunnel. and between us
and the shaft there's probably all
kinds of distractions But if we can
hold out a while they'll try to get to
7us, and they may do it. First of all
Though. we've got to have some
scheme for living down here"
Whats the good of planning any
scheme?" interrupted another man
We've got little food, but the black
damp is sure to fill this place, and
that will be the end of u.s.
Hard Crowd to Govern
mot a bit of it, said Eddy Were
going to wall ourselves up" And then
lunder his leadership. these men
with picks and shoveIs. proceeded tic
perform what must have been one OF
1.-THE most unusual tasks that ever fell
to mortal's lot. this was to seal the
door of their tomb 1t had to be done
of course else the black damp would
have rolled in with its death-givins
fumes. and their end would have beer
quick and certain