The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-21

tered the drifts the smouldering wood
was famed TO flame and new heads
of the hydra fire Knocked the men who
thought they had destroyed the mon
Ser.
The fight was prolonged hour after
hour in desperation because no one
would suggest closing the mouths of
the shafts and filling the mines with
steam while even the fainteSt hope re-
manned that any one stu lived to be
rescued. 1t was only when this hopS
was utterly lost, at noon On the 9th OF
of April, that the shafts were closed
and for seventy-twO hours steam was
FORCED from the boilers of the 6O1srlng
works into the mines. Then a stream
OF water was thrown down the Crown
Point shaft in order to purify the air 4.
as much as possible, and after several ,
Attempts small parties of miners sue Z
ceeded in exploring some of the levels
and brought up the bodies of three
more victims. But it was found that
the smouldering fire burst out again
when fresh air was let into the mine. =
So the superintendent determined tA,S
shut up the shafts again and inject
steam as before.
Senator Jones' Brave Deed.
In order to carry steam into the
700-fOot level, where the fire sti1I
burned stubbornly. pipe connections
We're made with the utmost daring
and difficulty. Then it remained onIy
to cut off the passage of the steam
into the lower levels by driving an
iron plate through the main conduit
tube. Jones would not order any one
to take the risk of completing this
work, for the mine was mOmentarily
growing more deadly. SO he sent all
his helpers to the surface and re-
manned in the fearful pit with "A
young miner named Nagle, who vol-t-
unteered to stay with him.
The atmosphere was so foul that a
bunch of nine lighted candles gave
scarcely the light of one. Nagle was
soon dazed and breathing painfully,
but the superintendent, a man of un-
usual chest compass. suffered little.
though he was conscious of an in
creasing intoxication. The blows OF
his sledge hammer fell wide Of the
mark, striking the plate unevenly, YET
he was so expert miner that he
could ordinarily cleave a fly on the
wall with his pick. Still the work was
nearly completed when the faint flame
went out, leaving the men in utter
darkness. Maggie. half delirious,
jumped upon the cage at the instant
and Jones had scarcely time to follow
before the unnerved miner jerked tAs
signal rope violently, and the cage
dragged up through the warped tins-
bers of the shaft at a, terrific speed.
The men in it expected to hear tbs
strained c2Die snap mOmentaf1ly, ana
half way up Maggie fell fainting
against his companion. Jones held
him tightly until the shaft mOuth was
reached. Then he dropped the insen-4
sible body on the floor of the cage and
staggered out, drunk as never before
nor. since" to use his own vivid words
in telling the story.
He had made a. wonderfully plucky
and skillful fight. but it was many q.
long day before the stubborn fire was
finally extinguished. Steam was
pumped in for weeks. and even after
the mines were partially reopened &c
was necessary to close them up again
as the entrance Of air revived the
smouldering flames The damage
caused by the fire was never fully re-
paired Some of the closed galleries
were never reopened and a, numebr Of
bodies. If not consumed in the fur
mace, remain at this day in the crypts
where the miners were entOmbed by
the fallen roofs of the galleries