Connecticut western news., 1876-08-25
A FRfGHTFUL SCENE.

Desvsrnte Struggle with Poisonous Gases--.
 Several Person, Killed and n Number In.
 ilred. Shortly after three o'clock in the afternoon, the Bullion mine, near Vir- 1 ginia City, was the scene of a horrible 1 tragedy. A winze is being sunk from tue l, 400 foot level to meet an upraise of the 1,700 foot level. The two have nearly met, and heavier blasts than usual have been exploded for the pur- pose of making the connection. Before giving place to the tbree o'clock shift the men in the winEg set.off heavy blast of black powder. When the men composing the three o'clock shift came down they found heavy masses of smoke rolling up from the winze, and Superin- tendent E. A. Schultz, who was in the drift, told them not to go down until it had cleared away. All hands sat down and waited for the smoke to get out of the wipze. At the expiration of half an hour Miller Hamilton and B. W. Allen begun the descent, considering that the air was sufficiently pure, as black powder only had been used for the blast. They had disappeared but few moments when the men in the drift heard faint shouts coming up the wlnze.
 Superintendent Schultz gave his Ian tern to @ man named Farrell, who, fol lowed by Robert Fort, started down the ladders. They had gone but a short distance when Ford gasped to his com panion that he was gone, and dropped from the ladder helpless. Fortunately he was caught in such manner between the ladder and the wall of the incline that he was held fast. Farrell, feeling his senses leave him, turned and made for the top, which he reached in an ex- hausted condition. About the same time Hamilton made his Appearance in the other compartment and was caught by MT. Schultz, just as he was falling back ward, and dragged out into the drift. heard, and M. D. Kelly bravely volun- teered to go to his aid Taking rope with him he ran rapidly down the steep ladders, which are pitched at an angle of forty-three degrees. He succeeded in attaching the line to Ford's body, but the effort was too much; the fatal gas overcame him, and he rolled down the winze to the bottom, 0 distance of over 200 feet.
 G. F. Kellogg, the foreman, came down the shaft at this juncture, and terrible scene met his gaze. Lying about in various stages of insensibility were six men, among them MT. Schultz, l.. F. J. Wrinkle, of the surveying firm of James < Wrinkle, and the miners who had es- capped from the winze. With the as. sistance of another man who had re- ga ned his consciousness, Mir. Kellogg dragged the insensible ones to the ail pipe. Here MT. Schultz partly recovered and begged Kellogg for Gods sake tc get help, as they were all dying. Mr. Kellogg, hearing the groans of Fold ran to the winze for the purpose of going to his relief. He had descended but { few steps when he felt his head reel, anc returned to surface.
 The foreman now felt that unless ht rade his escape from the drift anC reached the shaft, where he could rins for assistance, all would be lost. Hi head was swimming, and his step as un steady as that of drunken man. H, staggered from side to side and finall, fell. He did not give up the struggle however, but crawled along on his hand and knees. Then his wrists gave out He could scarcely breathe, and lay witl his face to the ground. Yet he mad, one more desperate effort for life, drag ging himself forward upon his elbows In another moment the strength left hi arms. Still he strove to reach the shaft wriggling along snake fashion," as h. expressed it to Nesns reporter. It wa no use. The gas was too much for him but when found aiterward he was lyinI fully 160 feet from the winze-not ba, bit of travel, considering the atmospher and his means of locomotion.
 It soon became known on top that some thing was wrong below, and party at ono went down. By the time they reache the drift the air had become somewha purified. Ford was rescued from tn winze and all hands brought to the SUI face. Messrs. Schultz and Wrinkl were taken off half dead to their home in carriage. The bodies of Kelly an Allen were brought up. The pulse ( the former was still beating when h reached the surface. He had deep GU on the forehead and Allen was cut badl on the temple.
 At half-past five o'clock a charge ( giant powder was exploded in the hol for the purpose of creating chamber receive the black powder. ltis believe that the Assures created by this an former blasts were filled with the gia1 powder gas. When the black powdt was exploded in the afternoon it's sal peter fumes mingled with the sulphur acid gas remaining in the cracks, an there was thus generated the deadly con pound which caused the death of tW men and prostrated so many others.