Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1872-05-13
GOLD HILL. u, HoHDLY, NAY Is, 1877
TO UNDERSTAND.


Our sensational exchanges are now
beginning to understand the true causes
Of the terrible calamity Of three years
a,o In tho Gold Hill mines. They find
the old absurd report now resurrected,
that the Yellow Jacket mine was pur-
posely dred In order 70 bear the stock,
has no sort OF tangible foundation In
proof nor anything else, no moro than
has the present blackmalling appllca.
ton OF the foul charge to J. P. Jones.
Hubbsll, It seems gave a statement
duplicating Jones. but demanded tho
nioe little sum Of $4,000 from Sharon
before he would slgu IL, and on refusal.
he went to Jones and trumped up the
story that Sharon had tried to bride
him to make q false statement, EVIL
IDENTIFY with the hope to mako some
thing out Of Jones. Jim O'Donnell
also wanted to make money out Of the
filthy job. and /. now recognized rs the
arch plotter Of the whole affair. The
most sensible mon In this community,
after full Investigation Of the terrible
matter, came to the conclusion at the
time that It was simply the result Of
a. accident only too common In our
mines. We find In the annual report
OF John P. Jones, Superintendent Of
the Crown Point mine, for 1889, the
following account Of tho tire In the
Yellow Jacket mine, including \ long
account Of the fire itself:
Although neither the cause of the
fire nor the exact place IL originated Is
positively known, yet circumstances
seem to indicate that 1t commenced Oh
the track foor Of the Yellow Jacket
mine, near the north boundary line
OF the Kentuck mine.
It IL moro than probable that when
the night shift LEFT the mine at {
o'clock Ia the morning. one Of the re-
firing workmen thouXhtlessly left n
lighted candle sticking In q splintered
and resinous stick OF timber at that
point, and that the timber ignited, and
that tho fire slowly crept along the
track floor toward door In the tunnel
on the line Of the Yellow Jacket
and Kentuck, which was probably
closed, aud checked the draft from the
Yellow Jacket to the Crown Point
and kentuck mines ; that for three
hours, aud until after the Kentuck and
Crown Point day shlfts were lowered
and had got to work, the fire not being
famed by a circulation Of air, sinoul-
dered and burned slowly-when from
some cause, probably the burning of
tho door from It's hinges, the accnmu-
lated, pent up, poisonous smoke and
gsses, suddenly liberated by the draft,
swept like q tornado through the ada
cent mlno1. filling the chambers, TUT
nsls and drifts OF the Crown Point and
kentuck mines, and overwhelming In
destruction the workmon before they
could be raised to tho surface.
In all the arduous labors attendant
upon this great disaster, to which |
have briefly, In detail, referred, wheth-
or In explorations 10 recover the bodies
OF the dead, or In the many efforts
made to ~exslnguish the fre, the Vel
low Jacket Company, through their
efficient Superintendent, and the work.
men under his control, bore an equal
part and It Is but just to state that all
the men. from workmen to foreman,
were willing to do more than they
wore able, and that In no instance did
they shirk their duty or danger.