Pittsburgh Dispatch, April 20, 1890
TWO MINE ACCIDENTS
Four Men Terribly Burned by Gas Explosions Caused by Carelessness
SPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH
Scranton, April 19. Two very serious accidents occurred yesterday at Connell's
National Colliery here. The first occurred early in the morning, when Mine Boss
Henry W. Davis and a miner named Jones went into the mines and encountered the
deadly mine gas with naked lamps. An explosion immediately followed, and Davis
and Jones were badly burned about the face and hands. The accident is
attributed to the carelessness of the fire boss. The second accident was of a
similar nature and is attributed to the carelessness of the driver boy in not
closing a door behind him. It resulted in burning two men perhaps more
seriously than the first. John Blackum, a miner of Minooka, was terribly burned
about the head. His hair was completely burned off his head and his face so
badly charred that if be recovers he will be disfigured for life. George
Roberts, another miner, living at Minooka, was close to where Blackum was
injured, and was severely burned about the face and had one eye burned almost
from the socket. The chances are he will lose the sight of both of his eyes.
The Scranton Tribune, January 12, 1897
HIGHWAYMEN
AT WORK
They
held up Louis Batisky of Pittston, Near Lazy Man's Corner in Minooka Yesterday
morning. Louis Batisky
of Pittston, was way-laid by highwaymen in Minooka and robbed early yesterday
morning. He missed the last car Sunday night and was walking home. He reached
what is known as “Lazy Corner" in Minooka about 1 o'clock yesterday
morning when young fellows stopped him and asked for a match. He gave it to
them and resumed his journey, but before he went many feet, one of them grabbed
him from behind and the other struck him repeated blows with a “billy.” He
struggled with all his might to stop them from taking $15 which he carried in
the inside pocket of his vest. They got his watch and snipped the buttons off
his overcoat, coat and vest and tore one of the sleeves from the overcoat searching
for his money. His cries awoke the residents in the vicinity and the robbers
fled for fear of detection. He was brought to John J. Coyne's hotel and washed.
The top of his head was one contused wound
the size of a person's hand, and it is a wonder the blows hadn't fractured his
skull. One of his teeth was loosened from a blow in the mouth. He is about 50
years old and was employed in the carpenter shop of the South Steel mill until recently. He had a flask of whiskey in a pocket of his
overcoat, but was not under the influence of liquor. Batisky bit the finger of
one of his assailants, he says, so that an ugly wound was inflicted. This may
lead to the detection of the highwaymen.
