The Fort Stockton Pioneer. (Fort Stockton, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 18, 1909 Page: 1 of 8
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STOCKTON PIONEER
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I 11|{ | «* |«»« l\ 11 *\, '| IA N*» till |p*l i \ V. SOX Ktl III It h, I'm
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M Hl.lt
ItRRiBLE DISASItn
IN ILLINOIS r,IINl
CMSCOVIRtCS MADE
AT STATE PRISONS
lit M A V | I AIM A
llTlWtlV
0 f t>»
• t
tire, tolloHlnq Irrrlllc hplosioo, Orcirs Hhilf COMMITTEE STILL IT W0R$
Hundreds Irr -Stmt's trr
Most Hrdrtrrndinq.
GOOD ITEMS OF NEWS
WHOLE WORLD THE FIELD
Ol* m t 1*1 tl<
0* * »0 (Dw* It t |nt
**•*• II l»>i *
hfoit n
400 MINtRS’lIVtS ARE SNILLIII OUI
tfinr Is Vdlfd to Sutidur lldmrs...ltrs» or Horfcrrs \rt fid! I led Ir
I Hurts to Sdsr \m tims—-Hu pinq dnd tfrtplrss
Homrn and t hildrrn fidthrr dt I ntrdm r.
No Hop* It Given.
It. II
>n ink
it l<
in H
K1 I*
>r tl
'4
Him
1. art*
Almo
et to a man th«
la red that
1)0 VI
Paul
there v
i«s no ho|M* for
tho
*.• Ml l*e
ii.In
i pi|H*rti whf
hind, t
t IlllOI-t of l 111
litei
i Imprison
l*nl In
inn tht* MDokn
fi li,-i
ed. the
declared, wer*
In
third vein
hafft lo a |
th Of &O0 f#H*
lati
th" (Mil
> nit ranee to w
liich
wa* from
of »h* Ido
Ink" off III
if
it 11
yesterday. returned with a ray of hope
for the grief itrk'kut relative* of the
entombed m»n.
Tli.it Hit- fire htt been extinguished
wa* the conclusion of mining piihtii
and ti.*p"< tor* M-nt here by Gov. IM*-
n> • r to Investigate thr rnlanitty and
It• can**' For more thnn thirty hour*
the prisoner* have boon subjected to
■moke-filled veins. That lift* could i-x
lt>t und' r the terrible condition* ap-
parent I* doubled by iriktir, but t»«*
chuhc no trace of high t*'iiii*erature
w a* found In tho depth* of ttie mine
> t-terday, friends of the miner* and
even official* of the company have
hope that the victim* may have found
safety In remote rece**e* of the mine
Cherry, 111., -Nov. 15—Officials of
the 81 Paul Ton! Company mine,
where nti •-(plosion, caused by fire
occurred Saturday, nay that 250 men
are dead In the mine. Twelve bodle*
have been taken out. Hlx of these
wen* heroe*. not employed In the
mini', but who gave their live* In a
futile effort to save the Imprisoned
worker*
Mine Superintendent James Steel
declared flv« hours after the explo-
sion that It was almost impossible
that any of the miners could escape
The mine has a day shift of 4*1. Of
those a number left the mine at noon.
Twenty-five arc known to have es-
caped alter the fire broke out The
others are believed to be dead.
Mm* Shaft Sealed to Stop Flames,
Tho entrance to the mines ha* been
w< aled up In the hope of checking the
flames. The building above the pit
entrance was biown up to permit this.
Despite the frantic effort* of the
officials and the scores of volunteers.
It seemed assured at midnight that
only bodies of the dead would l>e taken
out. I ntll tomorrow morning, when
the covering will 1m« raised and the
rescuers permitted to enter the smoke
and gas-choked veins, no certainty n*
to the fate of tho Inmates ran be
lea rm d.
Fire Cause of Explosion,
The f|r< causing the explosion,
which may prove one of the greatest
tragedies In the Hat of mine horrors,
. had an origin almost trivial. A pile
' of bay. allowed to smolder t<»o long
fltinlly Ignited the timbers of the mine,
nml before the workers realised their
danger the mine was filled with smoke,
gases nnd flames and all escape was
Impossible.
Heroism cf Cherry Citlxtns.
Heroism such as Is rarely exhibited
was shown by officials of the mine nnd
residents of the town of Cherry. Those
tnen who were outside the mine when
the fire origlnnted contributed five to
the list of twelve dead. Alexander
Nerberg. a pit man. gave his life un-
hesitatingly In a vain effort to save
those of hls comrades who risked
their lives with him.
Hero Dies After towing Bodice of Four
Viet I me.
Standing at the bottom of the ehaflt
he carried the bodies of the four men
Into the rage, the only way of oaca|>e.
Aa he carried the last man up he fell
unconscious across the body. He was
dead, aa waa all hls companions, when
the cage waa lifted to the top.
Those who had gone Into the pit
with him were John Bundy, the mine
superintendent; John Flood and Isaac
I/ewis, merchants of Cherry, and Domi-
nic Fonenli. Dr. W. Howe, a physi-
cian of the dty, who had sought to
•o with the men when they descended
In the cage, had been thrust oat by
Bandy, who exclaimed:
'They will need you at the top If
we get any one out. No nee rtaktng
tjronr life down here."
Tim phyotetnn vainly sought to to*
noscitate, the men when they wore
curried to him n tow minutes tutor.
Vi mid they hud dtod at
the second vein, almost 500 f««»*f from
the main shaft of the pit. Superin
tendent Steele reluctantly echoed the
opinion of the miners When the ex
t<Ot of the fire wan realised the off!
rials saw that ordinary measures were
Ineffectual The fire had burned
away the timber* of the *haft and the
flames soon reached the e*ea|»e shaft
A few minutes lat• r the fan which
*U| piled air to the abaft collapsed and
tumbled through the opening The
flames then swept on to the tnnuth o<
the pit where they w.t« carried to the
surface, forcing back ail those win
ventured near.
Mouth of Mine Sealed.
The official- km*w that the fire must
be eating Its way back Into the shafl
and th*n the heroic measure of seal
lug the mouth of the pit wa* adopted
lb fore this water had been poured
down the escape shaft but with no
better effect than to flood the floot
and further Impede any effort of those
Inside to escape.
That tho**- of tho men who wore
nblo had retreated to the furthermost
end* of the vein* was the statement
of the miners on the surface. There
they might huddle together, gnsplns
what little oxygen remained In th«
sealed nnd burning mine and pray
Ing that the rescuers might reach
them before It was exhausted. Th«
most hopeful of those concerning thus*
In the mine are doubtful If more thnn
n score will Ik- found alive when that
aid comes.
Beenes at Mine Shaft.
At the entrance of the shaft n seen*
was enacted such ns In seen only nt
a disaster of this kind. Hundreds ol
■creaming women, weeping children
and frnntlr twit helpless tnen crowded
about the place. A few survivors wort
surrounded by groups of the women
and their answer* to the loudl)
shrieked Inquiries only added to tlu
terror of the women.
Rescuers Court Death.
After about four trips the rngei
ceased moving and no more miner*
cante from the shaft. What dlsaatei
occurred In the minutes following the
e*cai»o of the muo near the shaft Is
unknown. After waiting a few min-
utes nt the head of the shaft, Mine
Superintendent Hundy leaped Into the
cage, ending Nerberg nnd two miners
The two nilnera were afraid and from
the sinnll group of residents who had
gathered near the entrance volunteer*
raine who were eager to Msslst llundy
In the work of rescue. Flood. fo'Wls.
Fonentl and Kublnskl entered the rage
and descended. The next trip of the
esge operated from below, carried the
bodies of six miners.
Then a few minutes elapsed, which
teemed an hour to those watting at
the top. The cage tgaln ascended,
this time bearing the unconscious
bodies of three of the rescuing party.
Again It waa lowered and the last
of the six were brought up. I>r. Howe
gave prompt medical treatment to
them, but the men were deed. Ner-
berg lived tor a few minutes after be-
ing taken from the cage.
By this time the air fan had col-
lapsed and the fire waa pouring up
the ahaft. Superintendent Steele then
tow that the eacape of the miners
through the shaft was blocked. Tbs
sealing up of the ahaft entrance as a
last retort then waa ordered.
•Heavy timbers were soaked la water
and placed acroea the ahaft entranoe
and piled over with sand. Volunteer*
had been peering water over the mine
through the eacape abaft, located
■ome yards away, hut this was dis-
continued. sad the betid lag above the
ahaft tad that shaft also sealed.
It was declared that the Rro hod
been bmralac more than a
Part of Cohn's Testimony.
'1 work' d la the water nnd rain or
th" ram farm for two month*. W»
were trotted into the building some
fin*-* from a i»oint seven miles dl*
taut seldom having wagon* to haul us
"I work* d at the Kastham farm threi
wo k* during September and October
! was transferred here from Huntsvlll*
for talking to the Investigation eotn
mlttee. Under Keeper Harris said tc
me when ho notlflod me of niy trans
for: I gin -s you want to talk to th«
committee some more *
Cohn snid that at the Imperial Rtat#
farm he had seen sergonnt* «trlko con
vlots on the head with stalk* of sugnt
cane. At the KaMham fnrni he fre
quently saw Assistant Sergeant Kittle
bran strike men with hls quirt. Th*
provocation for the blows wn» the fall
ure of men to keep up w 1th their work
ing squad*.
"While I was at Imperial," said th*
witness, "everything was lousy. I fur
nishod my own underwear nnd had
seven *ults taken from me. I *aw- th*-
steward wearing n pair of gloves and
a pair of shoe* that were sent to me,
My brother-in-law came down at my
complaint and identified then* articles
and Informed the sergeant, who only
said he would see about It.”
Driven Like Cattle.
Asked If while at the KasthAm farm
he could get hi* tank. Cohn said-
‘There was no task there; It wn* all
you could do. They drove you to It
and the guard* would run their horses
over you." lie said also that while nt
thl* farm It waa the dally custom tc
run to and from work.
"I have been soaked from working
In the min In the field nnd hnvo had
to put on the same wet clothes the
next morning when I went out. We
had no night gown* at th* Imperial
farm, but did have them at tho food
ham farm."
A clean sweep of hish official* In th*
Post office Departin' tit at Washington
I* understood to Ik tie* plan of “To
form" which Postmaster General
Hitchcock has rut out for hit depart
meat In the near future.
The Frank McOue ru-e will not b«*
transferred from the Ft. Worth 1M»
trlct Court, m* suggested. Judge Sim-
mon* announced Monday he would
again conduct the trial. It I* probable
that the ease will be set for Nov. *6.
The Land ConimlsHlnner at Austin,
Saturday sold approximately 20.0O0
acre* of school land In (’rune County
At an average of 15 per acre. Some
of the land wan bid In for $«5 *0 per
acre, and all of It rounded up well.
Hettlng is a crime only when accom-
panted by a record, registry of the u*'i
of some part of the paraphernalia ol
professional gamblers, according to a
decision handl'd down Tuesday by the
Court iV Appeal*, in Albany. N Y.
John Shaw, a negro, the driver of
a moving wagon In Waco, was terribly
Injured by the explosion of a blttle of
nitroglycerin Wednesday, both bin leg*
being shattered and flesh torn off iu
strips. The bottle was found near a
house In Fast Waco.
After Inspecting twenty-nine mine*,
State Mining Inspector S. J. Taylor re
turned to Austin Tuesday nnd reported
that he had not yet found a mine In
Texas which was In all respect* satis-
factory and could meet the require-
ments of the state laws governing the
mines.
A compilation of the October re-
ceipts of the fifty largest postoffices
makes a remarkable showing for Dal-
las, which reports a gain In receipts
for October, limit, of 17.40 per cent
over October last year. Only one city,
Hartford, Conn., shows u greater gain,
namely 23 per cent.
To study typhus fever problem Dr.
Goldberger of the Public Health and
Marine Hospital Service has been de-
tailed to go to Mexico, lie will In-
vestigate particularly the supposed re-
lationship between typhus and the so-
called Montana tick fever and Rocky
Mountain fever.
The Tyler Creamery I* meeting with
a Idg demand for Its output. From
Houston they have received from one
customer a standing order for 100
pound* of butter a week nnd from
another flr*t at that place a letter has
been received offering to take all tho
factory con turn out.
John Metier, a Slav, owner of *
stave mill near Hungflon, Texan, was
held up and robbed Monday night near
the mill by five escaped convicts, nil
wearing prison garb. The robber* un-
dressed him and fled with $15, hls
watch, shoe* and clotnlng Vt Is be-
lieved the convicts escaped from the
Louisiana turpentine catup*.
Rlx Texas Company nnd two Hig-
gins tanks near Henumnnt, each con-
taining 55,000 barrel* of oil, are burn-
ing. and one 37,500-barrel tank of low-
grade naptha of (lulf Refining Company
at Fort Arthur are burning. All w*r*
fired by lightning.
Twenty five thousand dollar* was
subscribed Thursday night by the Bap-
tist general convention of Texas In
session In Dallas, to lluckner Orphans'
Home. For nearly an hour, following
the submission by Dr. R. C. Buckner
of hla report concerning the home sub-
scriptions were announced without cee-
Button.
The question ot locating th* ltv*
stock feeding station* for North Texas
nnd the black land experimental farm
provided for by the Thirty-First Leg-
Austin. Nov. x —The startling dl*
closure* made by the penitentiary In
vestigntlon commit tee are sufficient to
Justify the calling of an extra session
of tho legislature, according to Lieu
tenant Uovernor Dn' Mson.
Austin: Because t* alleged prls
oners In the Texas prlsona nnd on
the state convict farms were whipped
to death or shot by their guard* a
special session of the legislature will
lie called to enact measures reforming
the whole convict system. This Is
the announcement made here Satur
day.
Governor Davidson asserted that
conditions, as found by the committee,
are repugnant In the extreme. "The
matter should be Immediately Invest!
gated, and you can quote nie as say-
ing I would be In favor of an extra
session of the legislature.”
It follows an Investigation Into the
state penal conditions that haa, It Is
alleged, revealed brutal and revolting
stories of cruelty. The committee In-
vestigating the prisons was named be-
cause the Texas system of leasing
prisoners to plantation owners was ob-
jected to. The Investigation was made
sweeplngly broad and aa u result not
only wer* conditions on plantations
where convict* were sent considered,
but the conditions in prisons them-
■elves were scrutinised.
Whipping convicts wa* on# of tho
practices the committee uncovered.
One convict. It la said. In order to
avoid tho hard work he had boon ask-
ed to do, chopped off two of hi* finger* hslaturc. ha* been decided In favor of
with n hatchet. When he recovered
he wa* whipped for mutilating him-
self.
The conditions nt nlnot where none
of tho oonvlote w*re eeot to work
were dtoeovered ky the committee to
he —tr—ily ananntteiy. The mee'a
otothtng wna waMied enee to twe
tort Worth, the site selected and bonus
»( 11,000 subscribed.
The Supreme Court refused a re-
leering Wednesday In Dallas Consol-
idated Electric Street Railway Com-
may vs. State of Texas, from Dallas
fcanty. thereby Anally affirm tag Its
Men of toot term, anetatolag the
>a)ldtty of i doable nwnito tog an
Tii«* lit,If. Colorado und Santa Fe
Railway Company ha* paid over tin-
$«2,07» Ml to Iln Sii r Collett, at An*
tin, which was awarded the In
Ih«‘ Judgin'til si -cured against the Se-
curity Oil Company, «*t al
Mrs Daisy Gayer West, of Knox
City, wa* accidentally shot Friday and
died soon aft'T. Mrs. West was cook
Ing dinner, when a 5-year-old son In
some way <ll*charg> -d a shotgun. The
charge entered her right lung and
rausi d her death.
Dr. William Brumby, State Health
Officer of Texa*. *• cm* much alarmed
at the possibility of the spread of pel-
lagra and favor* the pasnage of a law
to appoint an Inspector to carefully In-
spect all mill* where corn nieul Is
ground.
Ton* ntlal rains, causing serious
flood* have fallen In Jamaica since
last Friday. The downpour continues,
the dally fall averaging ten Inches.
Telegraphic comnninleation I* possible
only with a part of the Island. Many
cases of drowning are reported, while
the property damage la Incalculable.
With a revolver In onrh hand, a
young man. Identified ns Thomus Jef
ferson Hall, and, according to hls
father, but 17 years old. entered the
Merchants’ National Bank In New Al
biiny, Ind., shortly after 11 o'clock
Thursday morning, with robbery h* his
Intention, and as a result the cashier
Is dead, the president fatally shut and
the robber is In Jail.
When the sixty-first annual meeting
of the Texas Baptist general conveu
tlon opened Thursday In Dallas, a
great auditorium was filled and men
stood in any place that gave view and
henring of the platform. More thHii
2,100 messengers were announced
wlon the rolls were presented and It
Is known that there are many In at-
tendance who have been delayed 111
registering.
Judge Campbell of the United State*
District Court In Muskogee. Thursday,
granted a temporary Injunction to the
Interior Department restraining the
treasurers In all the counties In Okla-
homa, with the exception of three,
from selling for delinquent taxes in
dlnn and freed men lands. The land
had been advertised for sale next
Monday. The Injunction was asked
on the lands of minor . Indians and
freedmen mid lands allotted to full-
bloods, The records w hich were made
exhibits In the suit, make threo wagon
loads.
Nearly os.onn.ooo pine trees nr* for
sale by the Government of Honduras.
United States Consul McCIIntock at
Teguclgnepa, In n communication to
the state Department, snld that these
trees occupy 4.430 square miles of nat-
ural land In the mosquito territory on
the north coast of Honduras, In which
there sre five navigable lakes and five
large streams.
According to advices received In
Austin Monday from the Texas Farm-
ers' union officials ten million dollars
were saved this season to members
who sold cotton seed through the un-
ion’s system of holding the product for
advantageous price. The system caused
the price to advance from $11 per ton
at the opening of the season to $35
Monday. The Texas yield of cotton
seed Is reported at one million tona.
Avery I^ewla, aged thirteen, son of
W. 8. l^wls, of Waco, was shot and
Instantly killed Saturday while hunt-
ing. by Richard Torrence, the same
Me.
F. D. Williams, of Bellingham.
Wash., states that he will offer f 1 SB,-
000 for the Jeffrlesslohnson fight If It
la given In hi* town.
A new two-*tory brick school build-
ing I* about completed at Oroford.
which I* the w*imt building of IU kind
In thl* section.
Th* Quanah, Acme and Pnctfle Rail-
roa£ *as the steel laid within one-half
mile of Paducah aud will aoon be In a
pottton to haul In th* great quantity o*
votldtnf material tor the brick
art to ho
iy
&
d
Th* safe In th>- iu n Arnold State
Bank, erven tulles north »A Cameron,
wa* blown by et|N n* early Thursday
morning and $3,ouo taken Three men
! were In the party, all on horseback
Hunt Tlftord Dickinson a 10 vesr old
moth) rle** Ih»v, now with hi* father on
i a Georgia plantation, ha* it*h- rtteo
$4 iHMt.iHMi from the estate of hi* gran«i
uncle, Who roceatlv died In New York
Wednesday inotnlng the Northwest
Texas Conference of tho Methodist
Kpiscnpal Church. South, began It*
forty-fourth Hnnunl session Id Stam-
ford with Bishop Jo«»« ; h S Key pre
j siding.
The Turkish Ministry will urge upon
th*' ottoman Parliament soon after it
convene on Nov, 15 the Hdoptlon of a
naval program providing for the ex
pendlture within the next seven years
Of $100,000,000.
Mrs. KIIh Palmer, who organized the
hospital corps of the Confederate Army
of Tennessee and remained nt Its head
until th" close of the Civil War, died
In a sanPartum nt Boulder, Colo., Mon*
i day, aged eighty years.
Knterlng her residence by removing
a screen door, burglars Thursday
night chloroformed and robbed Mr*
D. A. peals, a former Ohio resident, ol
a lnrge sum of cash nnd three or fout
very valuab1" diamond rings.
An automobile, containing four per
sons whose identity has not been
| learned at n Inte hour, plunged into the
Chicago river Sunday night, In Chi-
cago. The occupants of the automo
bile were drowned. No bodies have
been recovered.
A fast passenger trnln on the l^ouls-
vllle nnd Nashville road leaving Coal
1 Creek. Tenn.. Tuesday night. wn«
wrecked nt fo'lnerfs nt an early hout
Wednesday In n head-on collision with
a freight train standing on the tracks
Three persons were killed und three
Injured,
The first train load ot the 100.000
bushels of corn which Is being ship
P'-d by Armour K- v <>. under contract
to supply th" Mexican Government
passed through Knn Antonio on Thur*
day. The price* nt which the corn
waa sold f. o. b. was slightly Iu ex-
I cess of 75c.
’
Thnt a gigantic combination of eoal
Interests Involving a capitalisation ol
$131,000,000 and to Include the Consol-
idation Coal Company of Baltimore and
the Pittsburg Coal Company, the two
largest producers of bituminous coal
In the world, is pending, Is the genernl
belief in financial circles In Baltimore.
•
One of the most Interesting feature*
of the Southern Medical convention in
New Orleans Wednesday was a brief
statement from Dr. J. W. Kerr of Cor
alcana. Tex., who was a surgeon al
the Andersonvtlle Confederate prison
during the Civil War. in which b»
tween 13,000 and 14,000 Federal pris-
oner* died, Dr. Kerr declared that in
the light of recent scientific research
he was now convinced that this terri-
ble mortality at Andersonvllle was
caused from pellagra and th* hook-
worm.
R. C. Roger*, fireman on th* log
tram at Klrbyvllle for th* Kirby Luui*
ber Company, was run over by aonia
empty car* Wednesday. He died lo
* short.
William J. Bryan is to make o At*
months' tour of the countries of South
America this winter. Following hla ad-
dreas to the Japanese Commissioner*
at Omaha next Saturday Mr. Bryaa
will leave for Arisons, going from
there to Galveston and thenco
to New York, whence he will sail for
Panama and then to South American
countries, remaining principally to
Braitl.
Five person*, all railroad empknroq
were killed and a score of pamencero
were tnjui?d. none. It la believed, oe»
riouily, la an accident to Peaaoylvanln
railroad In the elevated structure to
Jersey City Saturday.
More thnn half a million dollar* o
year will hereafter he dtoMboloA
among the faithful employe of too
railroad* control led by the NW Toil
Central system who have frown ofeA
In tho oorvtoo or who hove boots
uaftt tor duty, uoooritof to o vaoSl
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Wood, Leslie. The Fort Stockton Pioneer. (Fort Stockton, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 18, 1909, newspaper, November 18, 1909; Fort Stockton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth806711/m1/1/: accessed July 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .