The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-09-30
TWENTY-ElGHT MEET DEATH.
How Doom Came to the Miners at
Mansfield.
TONS OF WATER AND IRON ORE.
Without Warning the Awful Flood
Came Upon Them and There
Was No Escape.

CRYSTAL FALLS, Mich, Sept. 29.-In
all the history of mining in the upper
peninsula of Michigan there has never
been disaster so awful as that which be-
fell the Mansfield mine last night.
:: The mine is the only producer of Besse-
.mer ore in the district and is located six
miles from here on the Michigamme River,
and the cave buried twenty-eight miners
so hopelessly and completely that even the
sad satisfaction of recovering their bodies
will never be felt by the survivors, and de-
str0yed forever 5000, 900 worth of property.
Who is at fault for the disaster is not quite
clear: Probably ii never will be known,
In fact, for there lives no man who saw
the beginning of it, and those who scaped
70 the surface can only thenrize. 1t is
known that suddenly, almost without
warning 10 the men under the earth, theirs
was a mighty roar of falling water, and
the whole body of the Michigamme came
down upon the hapless men. There were
tons upon tons Of rock in the torrent, chok-
ing the entrances to shafts here and there,
only to be swept away a moment later as
the power of the water increased, and
W whQeVer was before the water and under
ii was lost beyond hope of human help.
1t seems proba BILE, even, that the men
we're not drowned. Their lives were
crushed out suddenly by the tremendous
weight Of the body of matter caving upon
them. Those who escaDed tell awful
stories Of the terrors OF that brief time,
but they cannot tell the story of the men
caught under the flood of the river sud
denly turned from its channel and precipi-
tated into the bowels of the earth. That
isa story that viii never be told this side
of:eternity.
The Mansfield working levels ran direct
" under the Michigamme River and par
allel with it for several hundred feet, the
: first level being thiTty-five feet below the
bottom of the river, and there were five
lower levels running parallel to the first.
the bottom one being 42S feet below the
Surface of the water. Operations in the
five upper levels had been stopped in the
progress of the work, leaving only the
! tiu1befs and pillars of ora 10 bear the
ni$ghty weight OF the floors above. The
accident is supposed to have been caused
:. blythe giving way of the timbers on the
fifth level. allowing those above to fall.
and at last the river came pouring in upon
the fated men.
After the cave the river-bed below the
mine was dry for an hour and forty
minutes.
Forty-eight men descended the shaft
last night. OF these twenty escaped and
twenty-eight perished. and their bodies
will never be recovered. Most of the sur
viyors were at work on the bottom level,
which had not been stopped out and con-
sequently did not cave when the levels
above fell. The men heard the crash of
the cave and started for the ladderway.
All but four on this level reached the
l4dderway before the torrent OF water
pouring down the shaft cut off that avenue
Of escape.
Tony Buletto, a skiptender, was stand
ing with Frank Rocko. the night boss, at
the shaft on the fourth level. They heard
the crash and realized what was coming.
Rocko went into the drift to inform his
men of the danger and did not return.
Buletto came to the surface in the skip
alone.
Andrew Sullivan, another night boss,
was on the sixth level al the time Of the
accident. He called his men to follow
him quickly, and all but four on this level
reached the ladderway in safety. AS they
asceDded, however, they were nearly suf-
focaled, so great: was the air pressure
caused by the water pouring down the
r sha IT,. They were able to breathe only at
each landing place and came to the surface
more dead than alive.
::Mne 10 uspector Roberts says his deputy
. has been employed in the mine and has
! given the work daily attention. BE also
says he visited the mine personally at the
required intervals and saw that thu proper
amount of timber had been placed In
position by the company.
ut is clear demonstration of the fact.
said: he, that the timbering system of
mining cannot be employed in that sort OF
ground. The company had taken all the
necessary precautions in the conduct OF
the work"
: The lost miners are:
- Samuel Peters, married.
James Strong. married.
w. Ii. Pierce, married.
: Frank Booker.
Swan Johnson.
sam johnson.
Mike Harrington.
al Tsrresani.
Frank Johnson.
Sheltimo Zodra.
Pete Turey.
Nieolo Fontani.
Charles Pohl. married.
John Holstoom..
BaX Fnurafi.
John Kirruppa.
John Randall.
John Warner:
Oscar Lundauist.
Chlrle Arcahzelo.
Ant Stfano.
August Celogna.