Craig, Buck

BULLETIN: The body of Buck Craig, who was buried in a drift of the hard rock lead and zinc mine, the M. & S. Mine yesterday afternoon, was taken from the shaft by rescue workers at 1 o'clock this morning. The body was badly crushed. Buck Craig, 22 years old, 1705 Grand avenue, was killed and Harry Long, 34, 1710 Indiana avenue, was trapped when a drift in which they were working at the M. & S. Mine, four miles east of Joplin Missouri on Twentieth street, caved in at 3 pm yesterday afternoon, burying them under a mass of dirt and large timbers. Craig was killed almost instantly, but Long escaped death by being felled by a blow from a large timber, which knocked him to the ground near a tub that supported the weight of the falling mass.

Long was taken from the ground at 8:30 pm last night, but at midnight, Craig had not been released and probabilities were that several more hours would be required to free his body. Mine officials stated late last night that it is probable the entire drift will cave in, bringing the surface of the ground with it. Miners were working rapidly lining the drift with heavy timbers to prevent such a mishap. A crew of more than twenty-five miners were working to prevent another cave-in and to free Craig's body. At a late hour rescuers gave up hope of releasing the body by removing the timbers and began work pigging under the mass of twisted timbers and rock where the body is pinned.

Craig and Long were working 100 feet underground when the cave-in came. It was started by a huge limestone slab, which fell through the roof of the drift, breaking away about twenty-five feet of timbering. One large drift, about eight feet high and more than ten feet wide, leaves the main shaft, running almost due east about 100 feet. Then the drift divides, one part running southeast and the other, northeast. In the southeast drift, in which Craig and Long were working a lateral was being started about twenty-five feet east of the dividing point of the main drift.

The large boulder fell at the fork in the main drift, tearing away the timbers back to the new drift in the southeast branch. Craig and Long were finishing their day's work when the mishap occurred. They had shoveled fifty-four cans of ore during the day and were getting ready to send up the fifty-fifth and last can. Instead of taking the dirt from the southeast drift they went to the new one.

While they were shoveling dirt, they heard a deafening roar. Craig started to run down the southeast drift, but was caught by the falling timbers. Long was hit on the head by a timber and thrown beside the tub. The timbers fell across the top of the can, but none of them rested heavily enough on Long to crush him. Long was knocked unconscious and was unable to move for forty-five minutes. When he regained consciousness, rescue work was in progress and he shouted to his companions that he was all right and that the air was not defective. He told them that Craig had ceased groaning within a few minutes after he [Long] had regained consciousness. Long was buried in a pile of dirt, but while rescue workers were digging for him, he freed himself from the debris and, with one hand, began to saw away the timbers that held him. He could not make much progress, however.

Long was freed at 8:10, but he stayed in the ground twenty minutes longer, desiring to assist in freeing Craig. He was induced by his companions to go to the top to his wife and five children. When it was learned that Long was freed, two miners passed through a crowd of more than 200 persons, shouting that "Long is alive and is coming to the top." Shouts of "Praise God" and cheers went up from the spectators. Prayers previously has been said for the men.

Long was able to walk...and children, who were waiting for him beside an ambulance of the Hurbut undertaking company. The miner was taken to his home. He had little to say and apparently had not recovered from the shock. He smiled faintly and looked at his small boys through weary eyes, filled with tears, when they asked him if "pap was scared"and scores of other questions.

Craig was not married. His mother and sister were at the scene early last night, but left soon after, too stricken with grief to remain. Craig's parents are Mr. and Mrs. William Craig. He also is survived by two sisters. Mrs. Marie Johnson and Miss Eva Craig.

Milo Squires is superintendent of the mine. Squires and Frank Fenix, state mine inspector, were superintending the rescue work last night. R. Johnson, ground boss, also was directing the work.