Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-12-05
FIRE IN A GREAT MINE.
Disastrous Conhagration in the Calu-
met and Hecla Property.
EIGHT MEN IN THE BLAZING SHAFT.
Flames Break Out While the Night Shift
is In the Pit-Part of the
Force Escape But Others
are Penned In
the Shaft


discovered late last night on the six
teenth level of No. shaft of Calum ct
& Hecla copper mine at Red Jacket.
The flames are spreading and, it will be
necessary to close down the mine and
seal all shafts, to prevent fresh air
reaching the flames.
Seven or eight miners are below the
flames, and cannot be rescued unless by
miracle. Nothing can be done for
their rescue, and the scene about the
mouth of the shaft, where the wives and
families of the imprisoned men are, is
heart-rending.
During the past two years fire has sew
eral times broken out in the mine. At
the time of the last confagration, which
was not subdued for number of weeks,
the company became convinced that the
fire YVES the work of an incendiary. A
heavy reward was offered for the appre-
hension of the fire bugs, but no arrests
were made.
It is believed that the present fire will
be subdued with great difficulty. The
last before this was overcome by cover
ing the openings of the shafts and intro
ducing chemicals.
CALUMET, Mich, Nov. 30.-Fire was
discovered at the eighth level of No.
shaft of the Calumet & Hecla mine this
morning. A large party Of men were
working at the time of the fire, which,
when discovered, had made such rapid
Roadway that the smoke was terribly
dense, and their lives were in great
danger. All made rush for the sur
face, but eight men are missing. That
they are dead is certain. Among them
are two Italians named Joseph Mosolir
and Toney Catawara.
Concerning the origin of the fire di-
verse reports are in circulation. It is
known to have started in the sixth
grand level OIL No. 3 shaft One of the
men who escaped through. No. a shaft,
it is reported, saw the fire in one of the
rollers, and running for water found
that the bell cord was disconnected.
Whether the fire was SO discovered or
not is not known, but it is known that
the bell rope was disconnected. This,
| together with the fact that fhe fire
seemed to start spontaneously and
burn like finder, gives rise to the belief
that it was the work of an incendiary.
At 10 o'clock this morning the fire was
| burning briskly. The other shafts have
been covered with timbers and sealed
with clay The No. shaft, in which
the fire is located, is $500 feet
deep. The fact that the flames are only
| 500 feet down, and are burning rapic ly,
would seem to Indicate that it will be
but short time before the timbers will
| be burned out.
| In conversati on with one of the min
| ing captains, this morning, it was learn
| ed that as the timbers burned out the
shalt would fill in and seal up. It WAS
also his opinion that the flames would
| not spread along any of the levels,
| which run every 100 feet between the
shafts Besides the hosting shaft
main engine shaft runs parallel.
Both are on fire. There were men
working at the twenty-seventh level in
the shaft. The hosting engine was
working, and the main engine running.
It is supposed that the doomed men,
discovering the smoke, started upward
past the sixth level, and were overcome
by the smoke and suffocated.
The entire mine is Of course closed
down, and 1900 men are thrown out of
employment. On November 80, 1887,
the big incendiary fire occurred in No
shaft. which burned until some time
in March. causing suspension of work
in the mine.