Douglas, Luther

Picher Oklahoma, June 5.--Plunged headlong to the bottom of the shaft of the South Side Mine of Cardin Oklahoma at 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, Luther Douglas, 26 year old Miami miner, was instantly killed. With a companion, Douglas had been working on a suspended platform near the top of the shaft when the contraption suddenly gave way and he dropped 316 feet to his death. Charles Fields of Miami, who was working with Douglas, miraculously escaped a fate like that of the dead man when he seized a cable as the platform gave way and managed to climb to the surface. The men were using a jack hammer to drill into the wall of the shaft a few feet below the surface preparatory to installation of a pipeline.

When workmen at the bottom of the shaft picked Douglas' body up it was badly mangled. It apparently had struck the sides of the shaft coming down. The accident victim had worked in the Tri-State hard rock lead and zinc mines for several years.

Mr. Douglas is survived by one son, 4 year old Winston Douglas; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Vaughn of Miami, and two sisters, Mrs. Jesse Cantrell of Miami and Mrs. Roy Ellison of Youngston Ohio. Funeral services will be held by the Rev. John Lynn and the Rev. A. P. Cameron at 12:30 Thursday afternoon at the Christian church at Picher. Burial will be in G.A.R. cemetery at Miami under the direction of the Cooper undertaking company of Miami.

Suit for $4,751 damages was filed and allowed with a contest in district court yesterday by Nellie Pierce, administratrix for the estate of Luther Douglas against the Canam Metals corporation. Douglas was killed in an accident at the South Side Mine, a property of the Canam corporation, last June 4. Mr. Douglas' only living heir is a 5 year old son, who will be the sole beneficiary.

Luther Douglas, age 26, died Jun 4, 1929, at Miami. Burial in G.A.R. cemetery at Miami. Father James C. Douglas, born in Indiana.