I always enjoy finding interesting items in Oklahoma’s
history that were never taught in school.
So when I came across an article about the mining explosion January 7, 1892,
the deadliest ever in the state, I was interested. What I find troubling is the lack of
documentation on the subject. The
information on History.com is identical to the story on
cencorshipinamerica.wordpress.com.
The Osage Coal & Mining Company’s No. 11 mine in Krebs,
just east of McAlester, had been constructed on Native American land. That meant the company was exempt from
federal government laws and regulations.
The owners of the mines were more concerned with the bottom line
(Corporate America) than safety, which is what led to the disaster. Due to high turnover rate, most of the workers had very little training, even when the tasks were dangerous such as handling explosives. An inexperienced worker accidentally set off a stash of explosives, burning or burying 100 miners in the blast.
On January 14, 1892, an article in the Ohio Democrat posted a report made on Jan 9 said the cage that hoisted men to the surface was blown 50 feet into the air and flames shot out of the shaft 100 feet.
The single line item at onthisday.com, states that blacks trying to rescue the white survivors were driven away with guns. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to confirm or refute the claim. Is someone trying to hide something? Hmm...
I’m also curious about placing the blame on an inexperienced
worker. Blame it on the new guy! Anyone near the blast who could
have seen this worker would have been killed by the blast or the cave-in.
Gonna have to check this one out in more detail.
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