USA > Missouri > Macon County > General history of Macon County, Missouri > Part 12
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In 1896 there was a dispute between State Coal Mine Inspector Charles Evans and W. E. Murlin, superintendent of the Kansas & Texas coal mines, as to what was really meant by the term, "shooting off the solid." The matter was brought to the attention of the court by the mine inspector by filing an action against Mr. Murlin, to compel him to obey the law as the mine inspector understood it. The case immediately attracted wide interest in the mining districts of the west.
Murlin was charged with the violation of Section 7077 of the mining law adopted by the State Legislature in January, 1895. It was alleged that the violation occurred at mine 33, Ardmore, and mines 43 and 46 near Bevier. This is the law the inspector claimed Murlin had disre- garded in his mines :
"And in all dry and dusty mines discharging light carbonated hydrogen gas, or mines where the coal is blasted off the solid, shot firers
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must be employed to fire all shots after the employees and other per- sons have retired from the mines."
The next section provided a penalty of not less than $50 or more than $200, or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than three or more than twelve months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
The purpose of. the mine inspector was to force the defendant to employ shot firers so as to relieve the miners of the hazard of making their own shots. That is why it became material to have a legal defini- tion of the term, "shooting off the solid."
Mr. Murlin contended that shooting off the solid was not the practice in his mines, because the operatives loosened the coal by a side cutting, which made it easy to remove as if the vein had been under- mined. The practice, Mr. Murlin insisted, was entirely safe for the miners.
The inspector replied that in order to remove the practice from the classification of shooting off the solid the coal had to be first under- mined by a deep cutting with a hand pick.
The case came up before a justice in July, 1895, and Mr. Murlin was acquitted. Nothing daunted, the inspector filed an information in the Macon County Circuit Court, and secured the attendance of expert miners from all over the country, either in person or by deposition, and prepared to make a strong fight for his contention. When the case was first called the defense objected to the information on the ground that the term, "blasting off the solid," was not specific enough to inform the defendant what he would have to meet and that he could not properly prepare a defense to such an allegation. The attorneys for the mine inspector insisted that they had followed exactly the language of the statute, and that their information was good. The Court-Judge Elli- son-remarked that in a case of this sort it was necessary to go a little further than the statute and allege more than "blasting off the solid" to fairly put the defendant on his guard and let him know the issues he would have to meet.
This second defeat didn't dismay Mr. Evans, the determined inspec- tor of the coal mines. He instructed the prosecuting attorney, Mr. R. W. Barrow, to perfect his appeal to the Supreme Court.
The higher tribunal, in an opinion written by Judge Gantt, and con- curred in by JJudges Sherwood and Burgess, sustained the mine inspec- tor on every point. The court, in its opinion, referred to the disaster at Rich Hill, Mo., in the Keith & Perry mines in 1888, by which twenty- three miners were killed and fifty others seriously burned, and said that had the law, in regard to the employment of shot-firers been in existence
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and in force at that time, only one life could have been imperiled by the explosion. Further, on the opinion, Judge Gantt said :
"If the Legislature can regulate the harmless business of the citi- zens on the ground that possible frand may be perpetrated, surely there can be no hesitation in holding that a regulation requiring mine owners to operate mines in which the dangerous agency of blasting powder is used, to so use and handle that powder as to protect the lives and insure the safety of their miners."
Judge Gantt also said : "The statute is wise in its purpose, and it is the duty of the courts to enforce compliance with its plain and obvions provisions."
So the indomitable inspector won at last, and from that time shot firers have been employed in all the Macon county collieries to go down into the mines and tonch off the powder after the workmen have left.
For several days during the first part of November, 1899, there was a reign of terror about the mines, owing to a clash between the negroes employed at 61, the officers of the county and some white miners. The first news reached Sheriff A. J. Glenn in the shape of a telegram from Edward Vail, an official of the Kansas & Texas Coal Company. The telegram read as follows:
"A party of colored miners was attacked by armed men west of Bevier and left lying on the track badly wounded, perhaps dead. Your presence needed immediately. Edward Vail."
Sheriff Glenn had been a cowman in Wyoming, and had handled desperate situations before. He immediately depntized some men and went over to the scene of the trouble. When he arrived the negroes had retired to the enclosures at 61, where they remained during the night. The sheriff returned to Macon.
The next day was Sunday. The negroes secured possession of some arms and started down the track. They took a position in a cut and began firing in a northeast direction, towards the Watson mines and the homes of a number of union miners.
Sheriff Glenn was again summoned by Mr. Vail, who stated that the negroes had become uncontrollable. Prosecuting Attorney Ben Frank- lin drove over with the sheriff, reaching Bevier about 12:30 p. m., Snn- day. The town was found to be considerably excited. The people clam- ored for instant action against the negroes. Both Glenn and Franklin addressed the crowd, nrging moderation and promising to do everything they could to restore order. While the meeting was in progress a man rode up and related the narrow escape of himself and his family from the bullets of the blacks. He said that his house had been riddled and
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he and his folks had been forced to lay flat on the floor to avoid the bullets.
This fresh outrage greatly increased the excitement, and it was with some difficulty that the citizens could be induced to remain quietly until the sheriff returned from the mines.
The white miners held a mass meeting in the afternoon, at which time they resolved they would not return to work in any of the mines until all danger of the negroes attacking their homes had been guarded against.
There was a meeting in the city hall at Bevier to talk over the situa- tion. It was called at the request of the sheriff. There was a large crowd present. Among the prominent ones there were John J. Bovard, then manager and now president of the Northwestern Coal Company; John H. Gay, auditor; L. J. Loomis, of the Black Diamond Coal Com- pany; W. S. and John Watson, of the Watson Coal Company, Mayor H. A. Bott, ex-mayors James G. Edward and Lewis Nowlan, W. E. Rob- erts. of the United Mine Workers of America; Prosecuting Attorney Ben Franklin ; Sheriff A. J. Glenn ; D. R. Hughes, an attorney of Maeon; W. A. Clymans, T. D. Francis, postmaster; A. D. Goodale, F. D. Jones, editor Bevier Appeal, and Dr. D. D. Rowland.
Sheriff Glenn explained matters as fully as he could and asked the advice of the citizens as to the proper course to take, under the grave exigeney confronting him. Everybody realized the serionsness of the- situation. The negroes were well armed and had given every evidence of being desperate and reckless. All sorts of rumors had been coming in hourly. It was even stated that the negroes were planning an attack on the town. Requisitions were made for guns, and every household was supplied with arms and ammunition.
In addressing the citizens in the hall Prosecuting Attorney Franklin stated the law of the case and advised that deliberation be exercised until sufficient evidence could be secured to locate the parties guilty of ineiting the riot. He then said they should be promptly and vigorously prosecuted.
Some of those in attendance were in favor of immediate action- the arrest and disarmament of all the negroes at 61.
Finally, a resolution was adopted requesting the sheriff to put . on a sufficient foree to maintain order and to insure protection to the residents in the south part of Bevier.
There was quietude all the balance of Sunday night and Monday. In the afternoon of Monday notices signed by the sheriff were posted around town and at the mines. These requested that everybody refrain
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from carrying firearms. A strong posse was stationed just north of 61 and another near mine No. 7. The sheriff swore in Superintendent Vail and the mine guards as deputies and instructed them not to allow any of the negroes to pass out of the mine limits.
Sheriff Glenn, unaccompanied by deputies, drove down to the spur of mine 61, hitched his horse and walked in among the crowd of negroes who had been causing the trouble. Several rifles were pointed towards lim, but the sheriff did not flinch. He is quoted as having said on that dramatic occasion.
"You can shoot me if you want to, men, but if you kill me, there will be others to take my place and they will kill every one of you. They are in no mood to tolerate this outrage. I am the sheriff of this county, and I am here to preserve order. I want you fellows to lay down your guns and go back with me to the mine."
The negroes looked at the little officer sullenly, then lowered their weapons and went back to the works. There they handed over their rifles and were placed in charge of a sworn deputy. This incident prac- tically ended hostilities between the negroes and the whites.
John Killholland, a well-known mining man, happened to be near one of the encounters between the whites and the blacks during the riot. He said that seven negroes left the mine and started towards Bevier, traveling by way of the track at No. 43. In that vicinity were several white men. Two of the negroes, it was said, displayed weapons and threatened to use them. Mr. Killholland was sinking a shaft near the place, and says he saw the negroes fire in the direction of some small children. Almost instantly, it appeared to him, the whites and negroes were in battle array against each other, using their weapons rapidly. There was a thick wood on the west side of the track, and the negroes retreated to it, followed by about twenty men. Each side used the trees for shelter, but the blacks fell steadily back. Mr. Killholland stated that there were fully 500 shots exchanged during the battle. Occasionally a negro would drop, then rise up and limp away. But, finally, the blacks retreated out of range and the firing ceased. The whites did not pursue them very far, fearing an ambuscade.
During the riots, which occurred at several different points, it was reported that a great number of men had been slain and their bodies secreted, but after order was restored and investigations made, no fatal- ities were discovered. Quite a number, however, were injured. Many honses bore the marks of bullets. A great deal of shooting was donc. more or less at random.
At one time during hostilities Mr. John H. Bovard happened to be
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dangerously near the firing zone, superintending some track work. As he was not a combatant, he moved to a safer spot. In discussing the situation Mr. Bovard remarked at that time:
"Your sheriff, I think, is trying hard to do his duty. Of course, it has been a somewhat difficult proposition for him to handle. I think he ought to keep those negroes out of town, at least until things quiet down.
"We have a good town here and good people. I have been in a number of mining towns, and I know something about them. You can say for me, without reservation, that I have never seen a person insulted on the streets of Bevier, nor a drunken man. The real work- ingmen of this town never molest anybody. I am satisfied with con- ditions and prospects here."
After quiet was restored, the sheriff put under arrest the parties suspected of being implicated as leaders and the law took hold of them.
One of the old Bevier miners, in discussing early day troubles, said that they used to make bullets for the old Springfield rifles by digging a hole in a brick and using it as a mold. When the hole was full of melted lead the overflow would be scraped off with a case knife. It was a quick method and the balls thus made would sing as mournful a song as those which were traveling from the latest army rifle.
The sheriff of Macon county had the most trying position of any man connected with the duty of putting down the riots. In discussing this, a Bevier citizen said :
"In a time of war an officer onght not to try to explain things to everybody who asks him questions. The right thing to do is for the officer to plan his campaign and then go ahead and work it out according to his system. It is mighty easy for a fellow to get rattled by those who do a great deal of talking. I remember during a strike some years back the boys met and discussed the prospect of taking the mines. They talked long and loud about how they would do it, and finally they started out on their campaign. The enemy fired back, and the only one of the lot who held his ground and responded with his blunder- buss was a quiet little chap who had been at the pow-wow, but hadn't said a word about what he was going to do."
On Friday morning, August 16, 1901, three miners were killed and two seriously injured by the explosion of a 25-pound can of Dupont powder in the Kansas & Texas Coal Company's mine No. 52, a short distance west of Excello. It was what is known as a slope, the tunnel having been sunk for a short ways in the hillside. The three men who met death were W. R. Brown, aged 76; J. C. MeCully, 40, and Charles
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P. Stokes, 31. The injured were I. J. Lucas, 65, and John MeCanne, 32. Charles Stokes started to open the can of powder. The lid did not move smoothly and MeCully told him to stand aside and he would show him how to get into the can. MeCully struck the lid what seemed to be a light blow with a pick; he followed this with a more vigorous stroke. A terrific explosion followed. The five men named above were thrown against the sides of the entry, blazing and burning like pillars of fire. In their fearful agony they rolled around on the ground, shrieking and calling for help, all the while frantically trying to tear the burning garments from their bodies. Some men who were working at an air shaft some distance away heard the cries and ran to their rescue. They tore the clothing from the poor fellows' bodies, enduring serious burns themselves in doing so. MeCully, Brown and Stokes were taken to the hospital at Moberly in the afternoon, and after endur- ing dreadful suffering passed away. Stokes lived twelve hours after the accident and MeCully died at 1:30 Saturday morning, Brown following him at 5.
W. H. Frazier, one of the men who was sinking the air shaft, was the first man on the scene of the accident. His story of what he saw was as follows:
"The first thing I knew about the matter was when I heard what I thought was a shot, but as it was followed almost instantly by terrible screaming I knew something had gone wrong. We dropped our tools and dashed down the hill. As we hurried along we saw a great pillar of smoke arise in the air and move slowly and solemnly away. It looked like a monster balloon. MeCully was the first man I saw. He was a living pillar of fire. His shirt was burned completely off. All of them were trying with their maimed hands to put out the fire that was scorch- ing their lives away. The cries from those poor fellows will ring in my cars as long as I live. If I had known that I was going to witness such a dreadful sight I am afraid I would have turned and fled in some other direction. As it was, none of ns thought of the horror of it just then. All that entered our heads was to relieve the poor men as quickly as we could.
"It was pitiable to hear them call to ns, 'Oh, save us, men,' 'For God's sake, do something for ns!'
"I tore the shreds of McCully's clothing off and threw them to one side, where they were rapidly consumed. Then I turned my atten- tion to Mr. Brown. I didn't know who he was. Yon couldn't tell one of the men from the other. They were so disfigured by the burning and the powder. We got Brown's garments off, and when we were wrapping
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him up in one of the men's coats, someone told me who he was. By this time assistance was coming from all directions, and the charred bodies were all wrapped up and driven to town.
"I don't like to talk about this thing. I have been in the army and seen a great deal of suffering, but nothing quite so fearful as this. After it was all over, I was as weak as a cat ; my legs would hardly hold me up. People who visited the mines soon after the explosion picked up buttons, buckles and metal pieces the men had in their pockets. A number of finger-nails were found and several fingers literally burned off. The heat these poor men endured was about the same as if they had been placed in a small room of solid fire and a force draught turned upon their bodies. Every hair on their heads and faces was burned off, giving their features a weird, uncanny look.
"I don't see how anyone could be blamed for this unfortunate affair," Mr. Frazier went on. "It was an accident, pure and simple. It has always been the custom of the miners to press their picks through the lids of the powder cans to get at the contents. Some struck the lid, but I believe the rule is rather to push the sharp point of the pick through the tin. McCully was the foreman and was considered a safe and careful man."
The Sunday following the disaster funeral services were held at Mount Salem church. The attendance was enormous, nearly every home in the neighborhood being represented by people who sorrowed for the dead miners.
The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. F. T. Mayhew, of Bevier, and the Rev. M. L. Heifner of Macon.
Not long after the Supreme Court's decision affirming the law regarding shot-firers, a member of the staff compiling this history was invited to accompany "Jack" Richards and "Bill" Jones, two of the shot-firers in Northwestern colliery No. 8, on their rounds. "Jack" and "Bill" promised to be gentle with the layman and to see that part of him reached home alive. The tenderfoot went out to the mine, arriv- ing there a short while before dusk. Engineer James Leyden, a big, good-natured sort of fellow, welcomed the visitor in his large and well- kept machine room, grinning slightly as he thought of what was in store for him. Jack and Bill were there, dressed up like desperadoes, it seemed to the tenderfoot, but it was only the ordinary regalia for use in the pit: The shot-firers scrutinized the explorer and sarcastically sug- gested that he might have shown them a little more respect had he worn a high hat and shined his shoes. Then they lighted their pit lamps and led the way to a place that looked like it might be the gate-
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way to the inferno. The tenderfoot followed, trailing along in the midst of the four shot-firers, and the little party passed on to one of the cages. There was the sound of a gong and the wire ropes overhead began to move. After a drop of 130 feet the "eage" struck the "bot- tom" so gently that not a man on it could detect the contact. This was the last mercy to the visitor. Leyden, the engineer, knew he had troubles enough ahead without his adding to them. At the bottom a little coffee-pot, which the shot-firers said was a lamp, was filled with lard oil, lighted and handed to the guest of the mine.
"You want to hold it behind your wrist so the wind won't blow it ont," said Jack.
The visitor followed instructions, and when he got into the enrrent on the double entry there was the smell of burning cloth. His coat sleeve had caught fire.
"Never mind," he said, feebly, when the shot-firers turned around to sympathize and to criticize; "I can have it patched."
At the turning of the "First East," two of the shot-firers, John Ramsey and Ben Evans, went straight ahead.
"So long!" was the parting of the two little forces. Only five men were in the underground world, with its miles of narrow streets, hall- like rooms, its eross-cuts and its caverns. With heads slightly bent, Jack and Bill led the way along the "First East." The roof here was of solid rock and fairly high. The roadbed between the narrow rails was firm and walking was easy.
"This ain't so bad," remarked the tenderfoot, who thought he'd show his nerve was with him.
"Huh !""
The observation from Jack was enigmatical, rather than reassuring. On the right there was a fissure in the coal. Two great ears projected over a wooden barrier, and cast a sinister shadow. The big ears belonged to "Murphy," one of the pit mules. His "flat" was of nearly as meager limitations as the conventional sort above ground. "Mur- phy" looked bored when the three foot travelers stopped and tried to make friends with him.
"He's heard the company's going to put in motors," said Jones, "and it's made him sullen. While back he was the most sociable mule in the pit."
There are from twenty-five to thirty small mules stowed around in the honeycombs of No. 8, and it is said they fare well under ground. They are given periodie baths in sunshine, during which they express their joy by trying to kick holes in the sky.
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On through the gloomy avenues the trio marched, their torch lamps revealing great slides of rock and coal on the side, and here and there a black hole penetrated by a narrow iron track. Into one of these Jones dauntlessly led the way. As they advanced the roof came down and the men had to bend lower, reaching their hands out ahead like great spiders. For a long time the tenderfoot tried to unloosen the cross timbers with the top of his head, and then he learned the lesson of humility. The roadway began to get soft and soon the gray mud and water reached over the ankles. The recruit murmured.
"Why don't you walk on the rails?" demanded Jack.
The slender iron rails were about as inviting a prospect as a slack wire. But the man who had come to see endeavored to obey the sug- gestion. One foot went off into the ooze so suddenly that he fell against a side prop and went to his knees. The ruination of his new trousers didn't insult him so much as the affront to his bones. But he got up and stumbled along after his companions, whose tiny lamps were flick- ering far down the inky corridor. A good quarter mile of slush and water and they came to a solid wall. It was the end of the fifth entry south.
"Nothin' doin'," said Jones.
They explained that all the rooms along that entry were marked "0," by which the shot-firers understood that there were no cartridges for them to touch off and no holes to tamp. The information is con- veyed by marks on a small board at the month of the miner's room. Through a cross-ent almost entirely filled with fine coal and debris the party passed into the next entry.
"Now, here's what you come to see," said Jaek. "You stand here now and don't move on your life !"
The shot-firers darted off like shadows of the night. Now and then their lights could be seen twinkling in the distance like fire-flies. Then they would disappear. Presently there came a dull roar like the boom of a cannon. This was followed by a cyclonic rush of wind which blew off the tenderfoot's new hat and put his lamp ont of business. He was alone with his imagination and darkness that could have been carved with a meat ax. Sulphur fumes followed in the wake of the wind. Two more heavy blasts came in quick succession. One was near the entry and the fire from the five-pound cartridge made a pyrotechnic display that would have been worth money on the Fourth of July. Volley after volley of coal crashed viciously against the side of the entry, and the cross timbers cracked.
"B-o-o-m ! B-o-o-m ! B-o-o-m!"
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It was a reproduction of the Boer war 130 feet below daylight.
The cannonading was getting closer and fiercer as if the battle line were advaneing. Now and then there was a tearing sound as if some angry carpenter were splitting a plank, and the soapstone roof over- head moaned uneasily.
"Come with me! Step lively, now!"
Jack kindly relit the tenderfoot's lamp and showed the way. Block- ing the "neck" of a room was a loaded car of coal. The shot-firer shinned through a space that would have squeezed the life out of a cat and hauled the layman after him by the coat collar. On the other side of the coal car was a wide space that looked like a miniature forest. A wilderness of props was supporting a "touchy" roof in the miner's room. Arriving at a high black wall in the far end, Jack pointed to something which looked like a baby garter snake climbing out of its hole backwards.
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