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SOME DETAILS OF THE HORROR. Recovery of the Mangled and Scorched Bodies—Cause of the Explosion. As soon as it was possible preparations were made to recover the bodies of the victims, and a gang of workmen was at once organized to undertake the work. Superintendent Keighley, who was the inspector in charge at the Dunbar mine after the accident there, assumed direc tion of the rescuing force, and an army of men was sent down into the pit to stay the progress of the flames, and recover the bodies of the hapless victims. Soon the first body was brought to the surface. It was that of John Kleen, a German, who had been dashed against the side of the shaft and rendered lifeless in an instant. His body was fearfully crushed and burned, but yet his relatives, with sight made keen by anguish, recog nized him, and claimed the poor remains. Sixty Corpses Brought Up. In a few moments another body was hoisted to the mouth of the shaft, and thus the stream of bodies from the foun tain of death below flowed on till by 7 o'clock at night sixty of the victims of this fearful sacrifice had been recovered. Many more were below and it was feared that it will be impossible to save all from the fires, which were steadily advancing despite every effort to check them. Fresh relays of men were sent down into the shaft every hour to relieve the exhausted crews below, and the work of rescue was pushed with almost superhuman energy. List of the Identified. The names of the identified up to a late hour last night were as follows: August Lunk, Jr.; Mike Stonyck, Sr.; Mike Sto nyck, Jr; Stephen Watt, William Birch ell, Steve Horen, James Duple, James Dori, William Snail, Patrick Lumbley, Priz Newell, Louis Lewis, William Lewis, James Murphy, Jacob Meyers, John Roch ers, Martin Brannon, George Wilson, Mike Kelly, Frank Keskey, John Eaton, David Gordon. The other bodies taken from the wine are so horribly mutilated that they cannot be identified. Effect of the Explosion. Those who have been in the shaft prose cuting the work of recovering the bodies say that the scene is one of awful horror. The force of the explosion shattered the walls of the shaft and filled the drifts with masses of earth torn from the roof and sides. The bodies of many of the dead are buried in the debris and are difficult to find. The entrance to one of the drifts was completely closed and the timbers in the mine have been torn out or broken, making the work of rescue exceedingly difficult and dangerous. The fires stead ily encroaching in two directions have stopped the rescuers, the fearful heat mak ing the air throughout the mine absolute ly stifling. A Scene to Rend the Heart. The scene at the mouth of the shaft when the disaster became known was one to rend the heart. In what seemed but a moment a crowd had collected, and when they learned of the extent of the calamity their grief was unrestrained. Mothers and wives crowded around the mouth of the pit and urged the men around to res cue their loved ones. Some even at tempted to descend into that yawning chasm of death themselves to search for their dead. One woman, unable to be re strained, threw herself into the shaft, and added one more to the list of the victims. She was found lifeless at the bottom by the first body of rescuers, who sent her to the free air above, and lies beside the blackened and mangled form of him to whom she was to have been united to day. Horrible Scenes in the Pit. One hundred and ten men were em ployed in that part of the mine to which the explosion occurred, and not one was
Newspaper Details
Ottumwa Daily Democrat
Ottumwa, Iowa, US
Thu, Jan 29, 1891
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Tanisha C.
USA 14 Jul 2026
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