Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-05-17
A FIERY PHENOMENON.
Tho Thrilling Experience Of Two virginis
City Miners

City Miners.
A phenomenal incident occurred on
the $50 level on the Chollar mine. the
particulars of which have been dis
closed by two badly scared miners
who played leading parts IN the sensa
tional underground drama.
George Murray and Tom Bailey
were engaged in running the 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 powder fumes "A chance
10 work oil.
On returning, Murray lowered his
candle in the mass Of debris TO ascer-
tain the result Of the blast when he
lost his candle and portions of his
eyelashes and eyebrows by the sud.
den Ignition of a volume OF gas which
belched forth and roared like a vol
cano.
The situation was appalling. The
flames covered the entire face OF the
drift and were driven back with terri.
lie force TO the upper timbers several
feet from the face.
Murray and Bailey were so awe
struck and s~pellbound that for u few
moments they could do nothing FL
nGlly ore Of them rushed back 10 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 il seemed like
adding fuel 10 the flames. Pieces of
broken glass could be heard jingling
against the top of the drift, as if the
frantic element vas laughing at all
efforts TO check il.
Seeing nothing but a terrible catas-
trophe before them, n Of the miners
was dispatched for the shift boss
while the other stood guard over the
fearful fire at a distance Of twenty
feet-the heat being so intense that IL
was impossible for him 10 get nearer
Re-enforcements shortly arrived
with more hand grenades, which
proved fully us useless as the first.
An excited conference was held,
which resulted in a miner being sent
on top with a Babcock extinguisher,
while another vas instructed TO have
every preparation made for blowing
out timbers and bulkheading against
the flames. ~s--
When the extinguisher arrived on
the scene q stream from the machine
was turned on the face of the drift,
aud in a few moments the fire was
subdued; but whether this result
was brought about by the exhaustion
OF the gas or the efficiency Of the ex.
inguisher is q question.
But probably the strangest part of
the story is yet TO be told. The spread
eagle flame was dazzling in its brill
iancy-more like that Of electric light
than gas light
There was no smoke from il and no
smell, but the miners who fought il
experienced partial blindness and Sc
we're headaches. An examination Of
Tie IL was lOuRll
must surely be badly burned. although
green-revealed the fact that while
b~listering hot, they were not even
scorched, showing that the flames
Rugged the ground above pretty
closely.
Murray and Bailey estimate that
enough gas was consumed in the forty
minutes TO have supplied the whole Of
Virginia City with ightfors six months.
Had such a thing happened in
old ground or anywhere adjacent to
old timber (which exhale gaseous sub
stances), the miners say they could
have accounted for il TO some extent,
but as above stated, both ground and
timbers were new in this case.
No such phenomenon has ever be-
fore been seen or heard of in any Of
the Comstock mines, and the men
who witnessed il are not eager for a
repetition Of their experience. They
have passed over considerable ground
in the anne drift since without any
thing Of the kind having again occur
red, and are 10Y waiting 10 hear some
Of the knowing ones explain the mys-
terry. Virginia City Nev.) Territorial
Enterprise.