Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1869-04-07
THE DISASTER THIS MORNING.

mas never uuhS ucIOtes aoout
o'clock this morning, the miners in
the Kentuck, Crown Point and the
Yellow Jacket. who had been laboring
all night, came upon the surface, and
those who were to go to work in their
places were lowered, and they had just
been distributed to their different levels
and drifts, aud commenced their work,
when m alarm was given that a fire
had broken out in the mines somewhere,
the place was not definitely known, but
it was believed to have originated at
the 500 foot level, hear the junction of
the line Of the Yellow Jacket and the
Kentuck mines-there being connecting
drifts between these two and the Grown
Point for veutilating purposes. The
brakesmeu and the engineers in the
different hosting works were soon
made acquainted with the awful situa-
ton Of affairs by the continual tapping
Of bells from the levels below, and the
hosting up Of half stihed men on the
cages. We heard of the FIRE within
half an hour after the alarm was given
At the hosting works, although no
public fire alarm had been sounded /;
and we repaired to the Yellow Jacket
hosting works, but all Of their
workmen had been hoisted up
except four, and at the Kentuck and
at the Crown Point shafts tho smoke
was so dense and sitting that it was AL
most impossible for the men connected
with the engines, the brakes, the cages
and the cars to remain ut their posts.
The dense black smoke which came up
the shafts was 80 full of cnrbonie acid
gas hat it was almost impossible to
breathe in the hosting works. But the
almost continual tapping Of the bells
from below showed, indeed, toe plainly
the awful confederation and distress
WulCu SAiSNCu III buS W aSPbus ~ a.
mines, and the men in the hosting
works stood bravely ut their posts, and
many of the miners were saved by being
promptly raised to the surface. AT the
Yellow Jacket, we found Gen. Winters
promptly on hand, and giving orders to
that best of all iremon in Gold Hill,
Bill Lee, to get down Liberty Engine
aud hose carriage and the other hose
carriages, with all the hose iu Gold Hill,
so AS to enter the mine and %extinguish
the fire, il possible. The whistle Of the
Yellow Jacket gave the fire alarm,
which was soou followed by the other
whistle, of mills and miaes, and the FIRE
department was out in full force, and
with their fifteen hundred feet Of FIRE
hose, attached to our fire plugs, with
an immense force of water, tho shaft Of
the Yellow Jacket was entered by
several brave fremen. The engine
which forced fresh air down into tho
mine was also kept in active operation,
so as to save the lives Of snch of the
miners ~ were known TO DO down
below yet, and to aid, if possible,
others who were yet in the Crown
Point and Kentuck. Superintendent
jones, Of the Crown Point and Ken
tuck, was also promptly on hand when
the alarm was first given, and he and
Hank Smith, Foreman, and all o n
nected with the mines on the surface,
rendered all the assistance possible to
save life aud property.
BY ten o'clock, several Of the Vir-
ginia City fire companies came down
and offered their assistance, and were
promptly get to work in dcluging the
| shaft of the Kentuck. At o there
were ut least n thousand people con-
gregated atthe different hosting works,
men, women and children, who came
from every direction in Gold Hill and
Virginia City, and even from Silver
| City-and the excitement was intense
as the dead bodies of the unfortunates
we're brought up at the different shafts,
and were viewed by the excited spec.
tators. The appearances Of tho dead
bodies indicated that they were smoth'
cred, as their faces had II ruddy hue.
At one o'clock, only six bodies were
brought to the surface. The roll-call
at the different mines shows that there
are twenty-three missing ~(including
those recovered) in the Crown Point,
seven in the Kentuck, and four in the
Yellow Jacket-all Of whose names
will be found in our local columns.
As there have been a great many tel.
cgrsphic dispatches passing between
Gold Hill and San Francisco all day,
we presume that the excitement must
be iuteuse ut the Bay-as it certainly is
here.
p. S.-Fur several hours previous to
our going to press g p. ny the fire.
men were down in the s0O.foOt level,
200 feet south Of the main Yellow
Jacket shaft, and throwing an immense
stream of water on the burning timbers,
and with good effect, but rs the fire is
believed to extend over into the Ken
tuck, some considerable distance from
where the iiremen are nj work, it is
probable that they will remain ut work
all night, aud perhaps tomorrow. At
all events, ever if the fire is extin-
guishcd, it will be impossible to re-
move thirty dead men in the Grown
Point AMI the Kentuck for II day or
two yet, rs the air and gas in the mines
is such rs to preclud" the possibility of
living men vcnturiug down to where
the remains sire.