The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1893-10-06
IN A MINE

Twenfy-ttght Men Los" Their Lives.
Will. Eighteen O:i,ers HAD - Narrow
Escape Criminal Carciessne-. Rr.ppn-
~ihie for the Awful Catastrophe The
Iiodics ieyond Recovery.
CRYSTAL FALLS. Mich. sept. ga
With a terrific rush the waters II the
Michigamee river broke through il, he'd
weakened 10y mining. into the Mans
field mine. between . and 10 o'clock
last night. drowning twcnty-eight men
who were ut work directly under The
cayc-in. There were forty-six men in
the mine when the accident occurred,
but eighteen of whom escaped.
None of the bodies have been recov-
cred, and il is believed it will he r.ces-
sary to divert the channel of the river
before they can he secured.
The news was slow in reaching the
outside world. The nearest telegraph
Office is Mt Crystal Falls. six miles
away. and though "a railroad track
runs into the Mansfield mine camp. it
was only used To haul out ore and to
bring IL supplies. A courier carried
the news TO Crystal Falls late last
night. but not until this morning was
il sent abroad.
1t is believed to have been the worst
Superior iron region.
When the night shift went on duty il
was noticed that more water was com
ing into the mine than usual. but no
alarm was felt by those at the pumps,
as they managed to keep the drifts
free.
The miners pursued their work rs on
every night when they starte in to
pass the twelve hours under ground
earning bread for their families.
Suddenly. a few minutes after Q
o'clock, there was "A loud report and an
overpowering rush of water. AMI the
men felt themselves overwhelmed by
an avalanche Of ore and water. SO
fast came the flood thai il j. doubtful
whether the men on the upper levels
had time to drop their tools and run
for their lives to the old shaft. Had
any of them reached the pcrpcndicu-
lar opening, however. it would have
ayailed them nothing. for this shaft,
known AS ''Old No. L." collapsed as
500 as the water reached il and un-
dermined its base.
This occurred at precisely $3.50, and
it was then known to those In charge
OF the mine that the men in the upper
level had been trapped and drowned
like rats by an accident which had
long been expected. Had there
been time the men nigh. have
descended by some means TO the
Iatsap tn...1E a~ .-.m -.
No .. but the in-rushing lool came
too fast. and il is thought hat most
OF them met death within f,e minutes
after the break occurred.
The men at work in the i,wer levels
Were warned in time to escape. 4 few
minutes after . o'clock the heard an
ominous roar. and at once susp.cting
the cause. dropped their picks and fled
for their lives. The water. pursuing
in RAINING from one levv. to another.
was already ankle deep in the lower
Levels when the men rcacacd the shaft,
and we're drawn up frora what seemed
certGin death.
Ji,e news u the disaster sped On
swift wings throughout the little ham
let. and a wild cry Of alarm was voiced
by the iDha bitants as they rushed from !.
their homes and gathered about the !
shaft just as the last one of eighteen
men was brought To the surface alive.
When the cause Of the acc:dcn. was
explained to the anxious inguirers a
cry Of horror went up as thev. realized
that the long expected and much
dreaded accident had taken place at
last. and brought with it the results
so long feared by the wives and moth
crs.
There was a call for volunteers,
which was at once answered. to de-
scend the only available shaft and sue
cor, II possible. any man who might
possibly be found alive. But the cour.
age and strong intent of the hardy
miners was of no avail. rs the waters
had already reached the lower levels,
and the angry roar which greeted the
rescuers as they pcered over
n the dark channel ut once pre-
all hope of rescue. and the
twenty-eight men were given mp.
All night the water poured into its
w. IL HOt until y clpck
this morning did il resume its natural
course after having cffcctually filed
every cavity of the great mine.
The death of these twcnty-eight men
the end Of the Mansfield mine,
niles the river can be forced to
another channel. the bodies can
not be secured. nor can this rich de-.
post of iron ore he worked again.
The Mansfield mine is situated on
the banks of the Michigamce river,
bout six miles east If Crystal Falls.
the county seal Of Iron county, and
has been worked between three and
four years and has shipped about CO.,
DOO tons Of bcssemer ore. The depres-
sion in the iron trade has closed prac-
all the mines in the Crystal
district. and the Mansfield was
almost the only one from which any
Ore was being raised. the fine quality
" its product enabling il to keep on
working. The ore lenses dipped rap
dly beneath the stream. and for more
han wv wears the chief workings
been directly under the bed Of