Crawford avalanche., 1895-09-12

Fire broke out in shaft No. = OF the
Osceola copper mine, near Calumet,
Mich, about noon Saturday and of over
200 men at work at the time, forty-two
failed to make their escape and
are believed to have perished. They
had not so much chance as they would
have had In a cavern; for then some nook
or timber-supported arch would have af-
forded refuge. But in the present in
stance smoke and gases have penetrated
every crevice, and it is not thought possi-
BILE any could survive.
Sunday morning a search party con-
sisting of Capt. James Richards, John
Harvey, Richard Coombs, Lewis James,
Jacob Paulson, John Stevens, and James
Parrey went down the No. shaft to the
twenty-fourth level and went into the
drift 800 or 800 feet until they were near
ly overcome by gas and compelled to re-
turn. Capt. Richards came near losing
his life. No bodies were found. Gas is
the principal danger and will stay In the
mine as long as the fire burns.
The head captain and many Of the men
say the fire is the work of an incendiary.
1t started In sagging overwork seventy
feet above the floor, where fire could not
possibly get, as the mines are deep and
dry. The incendiary, it is thought, want
ed to cripple the company, end probably
thought the men would all escape safely.
Numerous stories of hairbreadth es-
capes are told by survivors. Many men
did not realize their danger until too late.
One miner took his working partner by
the hand and begged him to 60 to the sur
face, but he answered, "There is no dan
ger" He is still in the mine. Others
hung to their stronger partners until both
were overcome.
Some of the men working several levels
below the twenty-seventh level, where
the fire caught, were seen as far up as the
eighteenth level, working their way to-
ward the surface. Several of the men
who escaped report having passed others
on the ladders who were unable to pro-
ceed farther on account of their. being
overcome by gas and smoke. A man about
20 years old picked up young man over
come by gas and carried him from 200 to
300 feet toward the surface, when he felt
his strength giving out and he had to drop
the young fellow in order to reach the
surface alive himself.
When the first alarm of fire was sig
nailed to the men there were more than
200 men underground. All could have
reached the surface safely if they had
used proper precaution. Capt. Trenbath
was among those who came up, but he re-
turned again to see that the others got
out safely and is now among the missing.
A group of seven or eight men was no.
ticed resting and smoking their pipes
by several of the miners and were told
to hurry to the surface. Their answer
was that they had plenty of time. They
also are counted among the missing, none
of them having escaped.
Nothing can be done to recover the bod
les until the fire is gotten under control
and the gases get out of the mine. 1t Is
generally thought that the bodies will be
found in the drifts leading to the other
shafts where the men ran trying to lind
n place TO escape the flames.
No. shaft was surrounded all day Sun
day by thousands of people anxious to
see if word or sign would be received from
the miners, but all were doomed to disap-
pointment and went to their homes fear-
ing the worst, having given up all hope.
Most of the men were married and the
scenes around the mine are heartrending
at all times.
The only precedents from which the
probable duration of the fire can be guess
ed are supplied by the three big fires
which have ravaged the Calumet and
Hecla mine. The greatest of these burn
ed for months, and was extinguished only
by flooding the mine with water and car
bonic acid gas. There being less timber
ing in the Osceola, the fire will probably
not spread far from No. 2 shaft, but 1t
may smolder for weeks. There are not
lacking indications that the fire was of
incendiary origin. The smoke was smelled
by some of the miners haif an hour before
the blaze was located. When found the
fire had gained such headway that it
could not be extinguished by the means
Mt hand