Newspapers: Gleanings from The Shamokin Herald, Northumberland Co File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Sue Marcus USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. SHAMOKIN HERALD Friday, June 15, 1893 DEAD IN AN AIR HOLE Kiehl Found With a Bullet In His Neck Was He Foully Dealt With Great Excitement in Ashland Over the Mysterious Affair The Boy Went into the Mountain With Samuel Bubble and When the Latter Returned He Said He Did Not Know Where Kiehl Was With his body in the first stages of decomposition and a bullet hole in his neck, ten year old Samuel KIEHL of Ashland was found dead in an air hole on Tank mountain near Centralia, at noon Monday by his uncle, Charles KIEHL, and a body of Ashland searchers. The finding of the dead boy has created the greatest kind of excitement and many rumors are afloat as to the cause of the tragic affair. Numerous ones say that he met death accidentally while others say that the boy has been murdered. This evening Coroner MERKLE of Schuylkill county holds to inquest and try to get at the bottom of the mystery. Saturday morning KIEHL and a companion, Samuel BUBBLE, two years his senior, left Ashland to play in the woods. Towards evening the latter returned and partook of his evening meal without displaying emotions of any kind. He was called upon by members of the KIEHL family late in the evening and was asked as to the whereabouts of Samuel. "I do not know, " replied the boy, whose large blue eyes grew somewhat anxious as he met the steady, inquiring look of the questioner; "has anything happened to him?" He was informed that Samuel had not returned home and could not be found anywhere in town. BUBBLE reported that he did not know where his friend was and that when he left him in the woods the latter said he was not quite ready to return home. BUBBLE spoke so earnestly and with such apparent sincerity as to fully persuade his questioners that he was telling the truth. They left and the boy went to bed. The distracted parents grew more afraid as the hours fled bringing no tidings of their son. Most of the night was spent in looking for him and most everybody in town asked each other whether the boy had been found. At daybreak the missing one had not turned up and bodies of men went into the surrounding mountains, KIEHL's uncle leading a number into the Tank mountain. Every nook and corner was searched when an air-hole was encountered. Mr. KIEHL was about passing this when his attention was attracted to a peculiarly shaped object at the bottom. He [illegible word] sharply into the chasm and felt convinced that the object was nothing less than a human being. Notifying his companions the man descended and to his horror discovered his nephew dead with a revolver lying a few feet away. The ground was carefully examined but no evidence of a struggle was observed. The corpse was taken to the distracted parents' home and young BUBBLE notified. He seemed shocked on learning of the finding. The police called on him and after rigid examination were partly satisfied by the boy claiming entire ignorance of all complicity. SHE LEFT HIM The Faithless Woman Took a Big Roll of Bills Along Charles YALOVISH is chasing at a lively gait between Shamokin and Mt, Carmel for his wife and lover and if the irate husband encounters them, there will certainly be clouds of hair flying in the air. Charley lives in Mt. Carmel. He married Miss Sarah YELLOWSKI on the 25th of February and at the time there was talk about the heartless manner in which he [illegible word] Victoria BIAJISKY, a former sweetheart. It is said he kept his marriage a secret for two weeks and then asked Victoria to release him as he had been married. The girl raised a big fuss but friends finally persuaded her to stop worrying. Charley's wife heard of the affair and upbraided him. They quarreled and the wife commenced receiving the attention of a former admirer. The latter pressed his suit so hard that last evening she decamped with him taking $275 of YALOVISH's hard-earned money. DOWN TO HIS DEATH Jesse Watkins Killed at the Cameron Colliery Coal Started in a Chute Before he Was Aware of It the Lumps Caught Him A Short Swift Ride and Then a Monstrous Mass of Shining Coal Enveloped the Young Man Entirely. ---Finding of the Remains Jesse WATKINS was instantly killed by a rush of coal at the Cameron colliery Tuesday evening. He was aged eighteen years and a son of Alexander WATKINS, a Reading railroad engineer, living at 122 North Pearl street. Deceased was employed as a started in the East drift. He was a bright, competent young man and was well liked at the working. He went to work in high spirits in the morning and was laughing and chatting with the miners up to noon when the work grew more pressing. He parted from everybody and after three o'clock was lost sight of by the men who did not for a time pay any attention to this fact, as a starter's duties are such as to be isolated for hours at a time. About 4:30 one of the miners wanted to see WATKINS and commenced making inquiries. No one knew anything about him. John THOMAS appeared. He is one of the bosses, and learning that WATKINS was missing, he commenced making an investigation. The chute was examined and found jammed with coal. The boss grew fearful lest the young man had been caught by a sudden rush and called Patrick CURRY, Michael O'BRIEN, George THOMAS and others. A string of wagons were run in the gangway and then the men started to empty the chute. They worked hard and fast and the fears of THOMAS were infused into them regarding the fact that the missing young man was under the coal. The sixth wagon had been partly loaded when one of the men gave a violent start and clutching the nearest person to him, pointed to the head of a human being just peeping out of the shining lumps of coal. "It's poor Jesse," murmured the miner who first discovered the sight. With all possible haste the limbs were picked off the motionless, dust begrimed form, and in a few minutes the body lay full exposed. The face was cleared of dirt and dust, and then the features of young WATKINS were revealed. He was dead, badly mangled and his race [sic] bearing an expression of deep agony. The corpse was taken to the surface and after being placed in an ambulance, was conveyed home, where a grief stricken household awaited it. The terrible ending of young WATKINS is supposed to have been caused by him climbing onto the chute as a brattice post gave way. This started the coal, carrying the young man down a pitch of seventy degrees. A sad feature of the affair is that the distracted mother and her eldest son, Harry, had made every arrangement to leave for the World's fair next Monday, which trip the dead boy looked forward to with much pleasure as he wanted his mother and brother to enjoy the grand spectacle to the fullest extent. DECOMPOSED BODY It Floated About the Pipes of Lewisburg's Water Supply Monday morning the body of a woman badly decomposed, was found in the river at Lewisburg. It was floating near the inlet of the standpipe, from which the town is supplied with water. As the line of this county extends to the west side of the Union county authorities immediately sent word to the Northumberland County Commissioners top come and take the body away. it was suggested by a bystander that the body might be that of the Montgomery station woman who jumped from the bridge at that place about four months ago, and whose body was never recovered, and so it proved, as the woman's husband was at once telegraphed to and he came down at once and identified the body. A SUDDEN DEMISE Mrs. Bertolette Fell To The Floor and Expired Mrs. B. E. BERTOLETTE of Mahanoy Plane died at 12:15 Wednesday. She was the wife of the Superintendent of the Shamokin and Williamsport division of the Reading railroad with headquarters in Shamokin. Mr. BERTOLETTE left home early this morning, his wife wishing him an affectionate adieu. She seemed in perfect health and told the happy husband to be back as soon as possible. Shortly before dinner she grew faint and while moving about the house suddenly fell to the floor and at the stated time expired. A message was at once flashed to Philadelphia to which place Mr. BERTOLETTE had gone. He returned on the first train north. Mrs. BERTOLETTE was a kind-hearted, amiable lady of middle age and frequently visited Shamokin. Howard BERTOLETTE of this place is a nephew. MYSTERY EXPLAINED How the Greek Store Conflagration Was Started What One of the Clerks Said He Placed a Lighted Candle on the Barrel in the Cellar As a Result the Tallow Burned Slowly and Shortly Before Mr. Pickering Passed By the Store the Top of the Barrel Had Ignited The mystery surrounding the Greek store fire on Shamokin street has been cleared away by the story of one of the clerks. It will be remembered that early on the morning of June 9th Professor George PICKERING, while returning home from a dance in Marr's ball, discovered smoke issuing from the cellar of the store. He aroused Mr. JOSEPH, the carpet manufacturer, and with the assistance of Night Watchman SPADE, they broke into the smoking room. A barrel was found in a blaze, some of the wood being what they thought, saturated with oil. Close to the barrel were a number of pieces of wood. The men worked hard and after a fierce battle conquered the blaze and saved the town from what might have been a disastrous conflagration. During the day Chief Burgess SMINK made an investigation and from stories of the manager of the store and others, was convinced that unknown parties had attempted incendiarism. No clues were obtained leading to the identity of the friends [sic] and the matter was dropped. K. T. JOHN of Mt. Carmel, hearing of the affair, finally determined to come here and try to find out just how the blaze started. He was particularly interested inasmuch as he owned the building and does not have such a big insurance as companies are unwilling to take much risk owing to the building being old and of frame, and situated among a number of other old buildings of like make. Mr. JOHN interviewed the manager of the store and was told the same story given Burgess SMINK. The owner of the building not being quite satisfied pursued his examinations more closely and finally was informed by one of the clerks that he had been in the cellar the previous evening, and while adjusting store boxes had placed a lighted candle on the barrel and after completing his duties was suddenly called upstairs. He forgot to take the candle with him, and finding a lot of work to do in the main store room, did not go down in the cellar any more. When the fire occurred he grew afraid and thought it wise to say nothing about how he had placed the candle where he did. HORRIBLE ENDING Clarence Henry's Terrible Death at the Cameron He Worked in the Deep Slope Two Wagons Were Being Hoisted up the Incline En Route the Rear One Jumped Off and Descended With Frightful Rapidity - Henry Heard it Come and Tried to Escape, but in Vain Clarence HENRY was struck and killed at the Cameron colliery Wednesday about half past nine, by a wagon becoming unlocked and running down the Deep slope. Young HENRY went to work as usual and was put to shoveling coal from between the pulleys at the bottom of the slope. Webster WINGATE, whose place he took after having been put to driving the mules, the regular driver being away, and it requiring an experienced hand to do the work. The work went on swimmingly until the fated hour. Two wagons were hoisted up the slope at once, and as they neared the top of the slope, the hind wagon jumped the track and became unlocked and started down the slope, which is quite steep. HENRY evidently did not hear or see the wagon, or at least not in time to get out of the way, and it struck him on the left side of the head crushing the skull flat, and bulging out an eye, and knocking him forty feet away, the wagon following and stopping directly on the body of the unfortunate man. No one saw the accident happen. The bottom boss had stepped into the safety hole when the wagons went up and heard the one when it came down. He called to HENRY and hearing no answer suspected he was hurt. He called several other men and went to where the wagon lay in splinters. There they found the young man badly mangled. His legs and arms were broken beside his skull being crushed, making his features almost unrecognizable. When they reached him life was almost extinct, only the spasmodic twitching of the eyes denoting that life remained. He died before they were able to pick him up. He was carried into the breaker, and the ambulance sent for. As soon as it reached the colliery he was put aboard, and taken to his house on Dewart street. The priest was sent for, and after performing the rites over the dead, the undertaker, John CAMPTON, was sent for to make it presentable by fixing up the cuts and filling the hole in the head. Young HENRY was nineteen years old, and seemed to be a very fine young man. He has only worked at the colliery for four months, and his duties before today have been throwing chain at the bottom of the slope. ALMOST A FIRE The Blaze Was Quickly Extinguished Wednesday William HAYES was filling a cigar lighter in his store, corner of Orange and Independence streets, when the blaze communicated with a quart bottlefull of kerosene he held in his hand. Like a flash the oil formed into a young volcano and shot up to the ceiling. Before the woodwork became fairly ignited a number of inmates got to work extinguishing it. A lot of wet sawdust was thrown on the flames subduing them instantly. THE GAME DIDN'T WORK A Mt. Carmel Merchant Thwarts a Skillful Thief's Designs J. BURNSTEIN, who has been engaged as advertising agent for Main's circus was discharged from that institution Wednesday and ere departing from Mt. Carmel endeavored to fleece some of the business men out of their good hard cash. He entered Abe MORRIS' clothing store, and having formed an acquaintance with the athletic proprietor of the O.P.O., on a previous visit the latter entered into an advertising contract with him never suspecting that he had lost his credentials. After agreeing upon a price the scheming "ad" man offered a reduction from the proposed terms provided Mr. MORRIS would pay his bill in advance. This the clothing man agreed to and BURNSTEIN triumphantly departed. Before he had a chance to escape from town, however, his supposed dupe heard of his connection with Walter L. MAIN being severed, and with Officers HERB and WALTERS, started on his track. They captured him at the P & R station, and he readily restored his ill-gotten goods to the rightful owner and upon paying the costs involved was mercifully allowed to go his way in peace. BOLD HIGHWAYMAN! A Foot Pad Holds Up a Prominent Surgeon Doctor Bomboy's Adventure He Was Driving to His Home at Turbutville, This County Had His Pockets Picked By a Stranger Who Halted His Horses and Jumped Into His Carriage - $100 in His Inside Pocket Which Was Not Taken Dr. BOMBOY, a veterinary surgeon of Turbutville, 70 years of age, was robbed on the highway Wednesday about 8 o'clock. He was driving leisurely along toward his home when his horse was stopped and a stranger climbed into his buggy and coolly asked him for his money. The doctor was taken unawares and started to comply with the stranger's demands to the extent of handing him ten dollars which he had in his trousers' pockets. This did not satisfy the stranger, who evidently was aware of the fact that there was more money on the person of the aged doctor and he proceeded to search him. Snugly resting in a wallet in his inside pocket was over $100 in bills which the thief had nearly reached in the progress of his search, when the horse, which had grown restless during the strange proceeding, gave a quick start forward, throwing the highwayman out. The doctor was quick to see his position, and whipping up the animal hurriedly got out of harm's way and with the bulk of his money still in his possession. He described his assailant as a dark complected man of medium height, but in the growing gloom of the twilight, the deepness of which was much augmented by a grove of tall trees, the [illegible] which he was driving, he was unable to get such a view of the man as would make it possible that he could recognize him again. The comparatively small amount of money which the highwayman obtained, however, makes the doctor feel that he had a fortunate escape and he is rather congratulating himself than otherwise. TREVORTON TIPS People Coming and Going - Exciting Game of Base Ball Simon DUNKLEBERGER, one of our representative citizens, spent Sunday at Hunter. People are complaining of the pestering potato bugs. Richard EDWARDS has made vast improvements to his restaurant.. J. F. OGDEN of your city did the plumbing and made a very satisfactory job. C. E. VAN GILDER is among the proud fathers, etc., a boy. Miss Lizzie DUNKLEBERGER, one of our esteemable young ladies, was entertained by Herndon friends yesterday. Benjamin MACHAMER is suffering from a severely injured leg. Alfred SCHRADER, who has been sick [illegible] unto death, is slowly recovering. D. V. REITZ, whose [illegible] were injured by flying wheel, is again attending to his duties. [Rest of column illegible] RUNAWAY WAGONS! Exciting Time at Hickory Ridge Colliery One of the Side Hooks Broke Another One Parted Immediately Afterwards This Caused the Rope to Fly Up the Steep Incline and the Loaded Wagons to Dash Back With Lightening Rapidity The Hickory Ridge slope was the scene of an exciting accident at 4:00 Wednesday afternoon by two wagons running wild down the slope no one, fortunately, being injured. Two wagons are hoisted at one time and during the day the slope had been working smoothly. The bosses were felicitating themselves on being able to turn in a flattering report to Superintendant WILLIAMS when at the above time, just as the wagons were nearing the top, the side hook on the first wagon snapped. The wagon swerved and the jerk caused the hook on the other side to break, after which the wagon started down the incline with frightful rapidity. The top men shrieked and warned the bottom men to fly for their lives, but the roar drowned out their voices. The wind caused by the rushing wagons preceded them and when it fanned the faces of the bottom men they knew that something wrong had occurred and at once leaped for the safety hole. They were not a second too soon, the runaways landing at the point where they had stood with great force causing a general mash up, splinters flying in all directions and clouds of dust momentarily blinding the eyes of driver boys a distance in the tunnel. During the descent of the wagons numerous props were knocked out and the passageway was blocked for awhile so that the men on the outside did not know [illegible] time whether anyone had been killed or injured. Finally an entrance was effected and the true facts gleaned. A gang of men was put to work cleaning up the debris so that work could be resumed this morning. MOVEMENTS OF PEOPLE Arrival and Departures From the Coal Metropolis Abraham HESHUER [or HEEBNER] of Port Carbon, spent last evening inn town and was awarded the contract to furnish the hand [illegible] which the Herald will give to the most popular society. Wm. H. HECKMAN will play short stop for the Shenandoah club when the local team is not playing. Lew RAUCK, the genial shoe salesman of Lewisburg, spent last evening in town. Miss Belle ANDERSON and Agnes GROSS of Mt. Carmel were entertained by town friends. John DAVIS, George HARPER, A. M. KLECKNEY, Katie AROMSKY and brother, John, and John McG----- have returned from Mt. Airy for the summer vacation. They are mutes and getting along finely with their studies. Superintendent W. H. HARPEL went to Philadelphia this morning and as a consequence there was no [illegible] of the teacher's class today. Jacob BLOOM of Danville spent this morning in town. [Rest of column illegible]