Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 April 1888 — HORRIBLE MINE DISASTER [ARTICLE]

HORRIBLE MINE DISASTER

"■' - I A Terliic Explosion Causes tho Death of About Forty Miners at Rich HUI, Mo.— Graphic Description of the Calamity by the The most horrible mine disaster that has ever occurred in tbe west happened at noon, Thursday, in Keith A Perry’s No. 6 mine, at Rich Hill, Mo., and as a result, a large number of men were entombed and thousands ot dollars’ worth of property destroyed.- Just at the dinner hour, when the men were ascending, eight at a time in the cage, a terrible gas explosion occurred, filling every entry with a flame of fire which shot out of the shaft a distance of 140 feet, and causing death on every hand. Twenty bodies have been taken out, and at least fifteen more are expected to have met a'similar fate. The superintendent of the mines was taken out badly injured, but will survive. The work of removing the debris proceeded with all speed possible, but it required several hours to clear the shafts. A reporter called at the residence of the superintendent at 11 o’clock and found him propped in a chair with his face and hands bandaged and scarcely able to talk, but he made following statement

“At just seven minutes after noon it was telephoned that an explosion had occurred at No. 6, which is four miles northeast of town. I went out as soon as possible and found the’south cage on which the men always ascend stuck in the shaft about half way from the bottom with eight men on it. I went down on a'tub lowered with ropes and found them all badly burned and in a frenzy; in fact they were crazy, some sbouting and others singing, I found it impossible to have this cage hoisted as the timbers were all blown out of position. We finally managed to be hoisted by means of ropes and pulliee, in a fainting condition, and it was then ascertained that the north cage could be worked by clearing some timbers which had been driven through from the south shaft. This was done by sawing them short off. I then called for volunteers to go down with me to see if any of the pocr fellows at the bottom could be got out. Robert Bick, George Henry, Charles Smallwood and Mat Dulehand responded. When we reached the bottom I looked through into the entry and saw a light, and I asked who was there, and a voice responded “Gray,’ and I told him to put out his light. I then asked him to crawl to me, but he was so exhausted that he co uld not do so, but I reached through the small aperture and dragged him on to the cage. Just as this was done a wind rushed with ihe velocity of a cyclone up the entry, putting out all our lights but one. This was followed by two loud reports and a seething flame of fire, whi ch came with deafening roar, completely enveloping us for a length of time which seemed like an age and shot out the mouth of the tank 240 feet above our heads and we were all horribly burned and thought our time had come. The flame receded as suddenly as it had come and we had to abandon the attempt to save the others. I yelled to the men omthe top to hoist aw r ay, but it was some time before they got the signal or understood my meaning. The moments thus spent were a living death I thought they could not hear me and concluded we would have to crawl through into the south shaft and undertake to climb out that way. I was just in tbe act of doing so, when I felt the cage move and we ascended about thirty feet, when the cage began desending. 1 tboughtthe machinerYbrokfcnand..that we were falling to an awful and certain death. The wail that went up from those men were heartendering and I > &hal?nffsvW“foFgetThe knowledge ’ that at the top were their wives extending their arms readv to clasp and shield them from further danger was maddening and enough to destroy reason. All at once, however, the cage came to a audden stop and again began responding to the pressure of rapes and pullys and we were soon at the top.” It is probable that all who were in the mine at the time of the first explosion are dead. The bravery of Supt. Sweeney almost cost him his life and is applauded by everybody. About eighty five miners were employed in this mine, but the majority of them were out. They are mostly negroes who came from Springfield, 111, when the mine was opened less than a year ago. Rich Hill it located in Bates county about 100 miles south of Kansas City, on the Missouri Pacific road. It is the center of the coal bear ing district.