The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1889-05-03
A FIERY PHENOMENON.

Two ChOllar Miners Blast into . Fur
mace Of Gas.
A phenomenal incident occurred on the
75O level on the Chollar mine on the night of
st. Patrick's Day, the particulars OF wAicI:
have just been disclosed by two badly scared
miners who played leading parts In the sem
sational underground drama which is de-
scribed by the Territorial Enterprise of Vir-
ginia City.
George Murray and Tom Bailey were on.
gagged In running tho main drift north on
this level-which is in several hundred feet
from the station. in new ground and newly
timbered from one end to the other. They
had fixed everything for the firing of a round
OF holes in the face OF the drift and retired to
the station to eat supper and give the pow
der fumes chance to work of.
On returning, Murray lowered his candle
into the mass Of debris to ascertain the re.
suit of the blast, when he lost his candle and
portions Of his eyelashes and eyebrows by
the sudden Ignition of volume of gas which
belched forth md roared like volcano.
The situation was appalling. The flames
covered the entire face Of the drift and were
driven back with terrific force to the upper
timbers several feet from the face.
Murray and Bailey were so awe-struck
and spell-bound that for few moments they
could do nothing. Finally one of them
rushed back to the station and returned
with his arms full of hand-grenades. These
were thrown with great force and broken at
the face OF the drift, but 1t seemed like add
iney fnol fn fbo of
glass could be heard jingling against the
top of the drift, as if the frantic element was
laughing at all efforts to check it.
Seeing nothing but a terrible catastrophe
before them, one OF the miners was de-
spatohed for the shift-boss while the other
stood guard overthe fearful fire at distance
OF twenty feet--the heat being so intense
that 1t was impossible for him to get nearer.
Reinforcements shortly arrived with more
hand grenades which proved fully as useless
as the first.
Finally the flames were subdued; but
probably the strangest part sof the story 10
yet to be told. The spread-eagle fame was
dazzling in its brilliancy-more like that OF
electric light than gaslight,
There was no smoke from It and no smell,
but the miners who fought 1t experienced
partial blindness and severe headaches. An
examination OF the timbers-which it was
thought must surely be badly burned, al
though green-revealed the fact that, while
blistering hot. they were not even scorched.
showing that the flames hugged the ground
above pretty closely.
Murray and Bailey estimates that enough
gas was consumed in the forty minutes to
have supplied the whole Of Virginia City with
the light for six months.
Had suoh thing happened In old ground
or anywhere adjacent to old timber which
exhale gaseous substances. the miners say
they could have accounted for 1t to some ex-
tent, but. as above stated, both ground and
dmbers were new In this case.
Nosuch phenomenon has ever before been
seen or heard Of in any of the Comstoek
mines. and the men who Witnessed it are not
eager for repetition Of their experience.
They have passed over considerable ground
in the aame drift since without anything Of
the kind having again occurred. and are now
waiting TO hear some Of the knowning ones
explain the mystery