Frank Richardson and William Huitt, both of Bonne Terre, were instantly killed in an explosion which occurred in St. Joseph Lead Company shaft No. 1 at Bonne Terre Monday afternoon. There were no witnesses to the accident and the exact cause may never be known. The general supposition is that they went back on a "missed hole" or that the fuse was too short.
The bodies of the men were found by Mine Foreman D. F. Ball. Mr. Ball on quitting work noticed that the checking out cards of Richardson and Huitt had not been taken from the rack as is customary for the men to do when leaving work. Upon investigation he found that none of the other men had seen them come out. He went back to look for them and found their bodies about five or six feet apart, badly mangled and covered with fragments of rock.
Both young men were married and leave families of dependent children.