Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland

321 Pages·2010·1.79 MB·English

by  Jeff Biggers

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RECKONING
AT
EAGLE CREEK
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ALSO BY JEFF BIGGERS
In the Sierra Madre
The United States ofAppalachia:
How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence,
Culture, and Enlightenment to America
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RECKONING
AT
EAGLE CREEK
◊ ◊ ◊
The Secret Legacy of
Coal in the Heartland
J E F F B I G G E R S
New York
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Copyright © 2010by Jeff Biggers
Published by Nation Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group
116East 16th Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10003
Nation Books is a co-publishing venture of the Nation Institute and the Perseus
Books Group.
The names of some individuals in the book have been changed to protect their
privacy.
All maps courtesy of the author. Lyrics on page 183: “Black Waters” ©1967,
1971. Reprinted with permission from Jean Ritchie Geordie Music Publishing
Co. ASCAP.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission ex-
cept in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For
information, address the Perseus Books Group, 387 Park Avenue South, New
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DESIGNEDBY JEFFWILLIAMS
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Biggers, Jeff, 1963-
Reckoning at Eagle Creek : the secret legacy of coal in the heartland / Jeff
Biggers.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-56858-421-8 (alk. paper)
1. Coal mines and mining—Illinois—Eagle Creek Region—History. 2. Coal
mines and mining—Social aspects—Illinois Eagle Creek Region—History.
3. Shawnee National Forest Region (Ill.)—History. 4. Mountain life—Illinois—
Eagle Creek Region—History. I. Title.
TN799.6.I3B54 2010
2009032686
10987654321
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To
Cora Bell and Bob Followell, Frankie and Henry Stilley,
and all those who lived on Eagle Creek;
Richard and Jerretta Followell,
keepers of our family trees;
Gary DeNeal,
poet errant of the Shawnee Hills; and
in memory of Shera Biggers Thompson,
who reminded me of the importance of family heritage.
◊ ◊ ◊
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CONTENTS
Prologue: In Coal Blood.............................................................................................xi
INTRODUCTION
1
Mr. President, Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal........................
CHAPTER ONE
4.5Hours: The Choices We Made........................................................13
CHAPTER TWO
In the Name of the Shawnee:
Removing the Earth’s Liver..................................................................41
CHAPTER THREE
Black Diamonds, Black Lives:
The Entangled Roots of Slavery and Coal.........................................91
CHAPTER FOUR
Who Killed the Miners? The Anatomy of Denial..........................131
CHAPTER FIVE
Black Waters, Black Waters: The Murder of Little Egypt...........183
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viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER SIX
The Short Swift Time of Clean Coal on Earth:
Dirty Coal Has Left the Building......................................................221
Epilogue: The Last Eagle Creekers....................................................261
Coalfield and Climate Change Resources and Organizations........267
Bibliography.................................................................................................................269
Acknowledgments......................................................................................................285
Index.................................................................................................................................289
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They who are strong have claimed an earthly peace
Gathering their strength in this treasured hour
When the winds hush, the muted waters cease
And fog with misty wings has raised a tower
Of silence as a harbor for the stars;
When hills have cleft the sky with brooding peaks
Thrust in the purple bowl, raised solemn bars
Against all utterance, he who then speaks
Shall in this mighty breathlessness be heard.
They shall be heard, the weary and the spent
The broken at the wheel, the fledgling bird
Each grievous thought, each yearning here unspent
Shall have its reckoning when the hills confide.
They shall find strength where peace and time abide.
—JAMES STILL, “Reckoning”