The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-05-01
Great Fire and Loss Of Life in the WashOe
Mines
We cony thc fnllowing frnm IA RnL.lln

VIRGINIA. April AT : O'Clock Wednesday
morning, April :, the Crown Point mcn-ij iu
uumber-Wcnt down IL their work. Twenty-Five
OF them are dead. Immediately after the Ken
tuck men began going down the same shaft. The
Crown Point foreman went down iua cage with tie
Keutuek men. and at the 70U-feet level remarked
a smell more than common. lie gave q signal %
lower tie cage - the SOO-icet level. found the
men there who had gone down q few minutes be-
fore ul ~ confusion. The smoke was Increasing
ant Oh" "a a-phyNiuting the laborcr-. lie gave
signal o. hoist and bring up the men. There
WIS great confusion and lu-- Ui time urca>Iuncd
through the men c~rpydiug the cage. The engine
WORKED % the greatest sped in bringing UP the
men DEly twenty-five seconds We're spent IN
bringing them from the lUu-fcct level % the sur
frce. Men climbed up o. the top OF the cage %
come UV. Another man crcIt between the leg
Of those standing. The last men who came up
the shaft alive. except Bickcl. say they heard
men Left behind jump down tie shaft and fall on
thc dump. The cagc went down again and was
brought up after tire signal was given. a. rapidly
~ T-s--Iblc. IL contained George Bickcl. who
wa iusensiblc, bearing the dead body Of bis
brother Richard. whom he had dragged into the
cage, bat could not support him; George never
rcglincl Consciousness, though every remedy was
tried. and died Lust evening.
IL was not known at the Yellow Jacket works
that anything was wrong, until they were in
formed 10y the men from the Crown Point. The
smoke soon became - dense in the hui>;ing works
Of the latter that the engineers could not see the
marks Un the ropes. All the windows and sky
lights had 10 be taken out t. enable tie men in
tbe house 10 live IN the wines and shoots.
Smoke and gns filed the kcntuck 7OO-icet level,
AMI came up that shaft IN a dense volume. No
smoke came up the Yellow Jacket. but - much
gHs WAS ~ the bottom that the men could not
get below the jOO-fcct level for some hours.
No man in the CrowI. Point 1000, 900 or 30
feet levels escaped. some men on the lOOO-iect
level climbed NJ % the gOO-fcct level. One was
fsuf.I HeaH half rsu~ 50. - tho fg.T InNgI
cll-ping the timber. Another reached the 90O1
feet level, aud then CROPPED 800 feet towards tho
Yellow Jacket and died. Another $50 feet would
have carried him To the fresh air coming down
the Yellow Jacket. ;
The men say that soon after discovering thd
fire. and before they reached the 500 station, az,
explosion occurred. This II 20. IL lifted the
cage in the mouth of the shaft two feet. super
intendcHt Jones, Of the Crown Point. says there
was no powder IN the mine. The cause Of the
explosion l. not known. .
IL being supposed that the men on the 1000,
feet level were below the reach OF fire, a message
was sent down the Crown Point shaft, written ON
q cardboard. also a light. candles AMI water. as
the men below would be quite Ignorant of what
had occurred; seeing the falling c;ndcrs, they
might think the shaft afrc. There were con-
tinual caves occurring. The rock was 80 heated
that tire ircmcn could not stand in the drifts,
and the water, two inches deep. boiled on the
floor. Other men, when the fire was subducd.
went by the lower drifts 20 the foot of the Crown
Point shaft and sent up the dead. They found
in different places those who had fallen down the
shafts - much mangled ~ not 10 De recognizable
but by the clothing. Nearly ali showed signs of
great agony. some are much cut and bruised
about the face by striking against jagged rocks or
through running IN the dark. All was done to-
Encourage them and 10 warn them not To- come
NJ. The cage came back az it went down.
There WIS no response and the light was cut.
These men were got ont by Yesterday, dead.
" SOON as it was safe u descent was made by
the Yellow Jacket people. with hose and frcmcn,
who played on the burning timbcrS in the 500
feet level, bat were much incOmmOdcd by the
lights being cxtinguishcd for want of air or by
explosion. The men could not find their way.
Ono man who escaped. hearing - shrek Of some
one falling, grOpcd ON his hands and knees To the
shaft. WEIGH, one Of the searching IIrty, be-
came asphyxiatcl. and being brought To- the sur
face, 1t was some hours before lac Was restored.
The gas at the Crown Point hosting works
was sitting; the engineers wcrr blinded, and the
cage went up to the shcayes. Tie men sent up
10 clear IL tainted. ami others behind them lad 10
drag them away from the fumes.
The scenes were terrible. Many men would
have risked their lives by going down uselessly,
but they were wircly restrained 10y the Superin-
%tcudent, or more lives would have been lost.
Distracted wives begged To- be allowed b. 90 down
on the cage for their husbands. Ladies' even sought
to 20 down the Crown Point and kcntuck shafts
where men could not live 80 seconds below the
surface.
Yesterday morning, by going down the Yellow
Jacket along the 900 level. and up the Crown
Point shaft. the men succeeded in reaching the
SOO-feet level and CROPPED about. At station No.
/, men penetrated in the dark 30 feet into n drift
and found 4 man sitting ON Il log. his head rest
ing ON his hand. Again last evening the gas and
smoke being less dense in the Crown Point shaft,
the foreman aud two others tried To get into the
SOO-icct level from below. and arranged with the
4 rpWu Print Cu0iuegr N hen a -iuTu1l pnme fr,u
below To send the cage To them. IL was done, and
then the signal made To hoist slowly, then To- lower:
then to try again. At last they reached the level
but the lights went out and they could
not 90 six feet from the car. The signal To lower
responded 20 quickly, when they got back
safely to the 9OO-tcct level they sent n written
message up by the empty cage, reporting their
IL the great disappointment Of the
anxious crowd. Shortly afterwards the men
znme 20 the surface by the yellow jacket shaft.
To avoid accident from their losing Consciousness
before the time to signal, it was arranged to lower
whenever they ceased signalling.
At midnight last night, nothing more being
possible until the mine was clear Of the gas, and
here being no smell of burning wood, only
,tcamy yapor. operations were suspended.
At six O'Clock this morning the Crown Point
nd kentuck shafts were clearer than they have
set been: but Immediately after the smoke in
he Crown Point began thickcning and continued
~, the fire having broken out again. At half
eight a black, dense smoke had filled the
IUuSe and was pouring out of every aperture.
The fire WAS evidently worse than ever. Some
cared that the shaft itself would take fire.
superintendent Jones SAYS that 200 feet of the
l. solid rock, with no timber between the
ire and the shaft.
Patrick Buckeyes body was sent to Grass
alley. The remainder were taken charge of 10y
ariOus societies for burial. One large funeral
asscd through Virginia City this morning, under
large Of 100 Of the Miners Union.
Yesterday. hundreds of people followed the va
iOus PROFESSIONS To the churches and cemeteries.
VERY flag in town Is ut halEmast. Most of the
nils have partially resumed work to-day, though
iany men are absent attending funerals. The
'orOncr has summoned three iuries, who have
iewcd the bodies. One will begin taking evil
encc this afternoon. So far, no charge Of negli-
cnce i made against any one.
From the moment of the first alarm until