The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-10-01
A Terrible Predicament.


Yesterday forenoon, about ii o'clock,
Sam. Jones, brother of Senator j. 7.
Jones, and superintendent of the Crown
Point mine, in company with George
Williams, station tender, and Mr.. Chase,
underground foreman, had narrow es-
cape from death while ascending the
main shaft of the Savage mine. The
three men got on the cage at the 300
feet level, which is the bottom of the
perpendicular shaft. They had with
them some specimens of rock, which they
laid upon the cage, and lanterns which
they carried in their hands. They placed
themselves in the cage, and taking hold
of the bell-rope, struck three bells, (which,
being interpreted, MEANS Hoist, with
men," Obedient to the signal struck on
the bell above, the engineer began hoist
ing the cage. All went well until the
cage had ascended about four hundred
feet, when it suddenly jumped out of the
guides and was loose in the shaft. 1t was
dashed from side to side with such
violence that the lanterns were Knocked
ont of the hands of the men, their spec
linens were thrown from the cage, and
they must all have been shaken of but
for the peculiar construction of the cage,
which has cross-bars at each end and
which may be grasped. Up they went
banging from side to side, Mr.. Chase try
ing all the time to seize the bell-rope and
sound the signal for stopping the cage.
This rope is i'm a corner of the shaft, but
when Mr.. Chase did occasionally get hold
of it, he was unable to make the signal,
owing to the rapid and irregular manner
| in which they were ascending.
Thus they were dragged up the shaft
! for distance of three hundred feet, ex-
pecting every moment that the cage
would catch on some projection in the
shaft, the cable be broken, and the cage
and themselves be precipitated to the
bottom of the shaft, which would have
been instant death. Finding they could
not signal the surface by means of the
bell-rope, they began yelling, "Stop the
cage! Stop the cage!" in the vain hope
that they might be heard above. All
their yelling was of no avail, however,
as not a whisper was heard on the sur
face. The banging about of the cage
caused the heavy iron cable to be swayed
violently, and this was at last observed
by the carman at the surface, who called
the attention of the engineer to it, and
had him stop hoisting, it being. apparent
that something was wrong. BY means
of the ladders man from the surface
climbed down the shaft, and ascertain
ing the situation of the men on the cage,
returned and had cage sent down an
other compartment to their relief. The
three men were kept suspended on the
cage for over an hour before they finally
got out of their perlous position. Even
after the cage had stopped they were not
safe. They feared every moment that
some of the men at the bottom of the
shaft would ring the bell and start them
either up or down the shaft. To prevent
this, one of the men got hold of the bell.
rope, and, winding it two or three times
round his hand, thus held it till the
relief cage reached them. When they
finally reached the surface it is said that
all three of the men looked like the last
run of shad. They were drenched with
water and covered with mud. Chase
had cut in his head, and Sam. Jone:
had his left shoulder badly bruised from
being jammed against the cross-bars O
the cage. Sam. says single, unexpected
jar in q cage sufficiently frightens al
most any man, but ito be dragged ant
banged to and fro for distance of thre,
hundred feet is simply terrific.