The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-09-13
PIT is THEIR TOMB
Thirty Men Imprisoned in Mine
by an Incendiary Fire.
EVERY ONE is DOUBTLESS DEAD.

Burning shaft-Smoke Fills the Drifts
and Makes Rescue Impossible-DeadM Men
the Victims Principally of Their Own IN
belief of Danger.
HoUGHToN, Mich, Sept. 9.-Huge vol
umes of smoke are still issuing forth from
the mouths of shafts Nos. /, 2 and g. which
shows that the awful fire which started in
the Osceola copper mine shortly before
noon Saturday is still raging flercely, and
the bodies of the thirty miners entombed
are still lying somewhere below the sur
face, without a doubt dead, suffocated by
smoke and gas. The names of the lost SO
far as can be ascertained at this writing
are: Captain Richard Trenbath, shift
boss; Richard Bickle, Richard Grenfell,
William Bryant, Alexander Daniel, John
Cudlip, Thomas Curtis, Robert Johns,
William Donald, Barney Gilmore, Anton
Zycezwicz, Mike johnson, Peter STEM
gard, Frank Lander, Walter Dahl, Joseph
Harrington, Frederick Peardon, Isaac
Harlow, Mike Woke, Isaac Mattison, An
drew Rossawick, James Wins, M. Cook,
Samuel Williams and five Poles whose
names are unknown at headquarters.
Would Not Believe Their Danger.
The fire broke out at the twenty seventh
level of the Osceola copper mine, located
two miles from Calumet. AS Captain
Richard Edwards was making his way to
No. 8 shaft he smelled wood burning, but
some of the miners working in the levels
there would not believe there was fire in
the mine, as they could not smell any
smoke or hear names cracking. On near
ing No. shaft Captain Edwards met
Captain Trenbath and party of men
who were looking for the fire, and on
reaching the shaft they found large
quantity of logging on fire. Captain Tren-
bath and party of men were left to fight
the fire below, while Captain Edwards
went to the surface to get hose, but when
he returned he found that the smoke had
made an up draft instead of down, and
in consequence he had to come back to
the surface as fast as possible.
Word was Immediately sent to the men
in the mine for all to come to the surface,
which most of them succeeded in doing, but
there still remain in the dry house thirty
suits of clothes The scene at the Opeeche
shaft, where many of the men came up,
was heartrending, thousands having gath
cred around the mouth of this shaft, many
women and children standing around
looking for their husbands and fathers.
Searching parties were sent down in Nos.
and shafts to try and reach the men
from the drifts leading to No. 3shaft above
the twenty seventh level, but they were
unsuccessful.
Rescuers Have to Fly for Life.
Captain p. Richards, with a gang of seven
men, went down No. shaft and went
about 700 feet toward No. shaft when
they had to turn and flee for their lives on
account of the smoke and gas. Some Of
these men were very nearly overcome, only
reaching the surface in time to save their
lives. 1t is learned that the place where
the fire caught was the worst place it
could have caught in the whole mine, and
the only place in the mine where fire of
any extent could have caught. Many of
the men that were working several levels
below the twenty-seventh, at which point
the fire caught, were seen as far up as the
eighteenth level working their way up.
Several of the men who escaped claim to
have passed others on the ladders, who
were unable to proceed further ON account
of being overcome with smoke and gas.
Charles Weare, drill boy, went to the
bottom of the burning shaft and told tho
miners of their danger They did not
think it was SO bad, and some of them
came up the ladders to the seventeenth
level, where they thought they would have
time to eat lunch. They were there only
three minutes when the smoke became in
tensely dense. Michael Harrington took
out some matches to relight the candles
which had gone out, but the oxygen had
been consumed and the candles would not
burn. Cropping their way in the dark
they went up about 200 feet more, when
they lost hope, but one of the miners,
crawling on hands and knees, reached the
bell wire and signalled to lower the skip
BY the sound they knew when it was near
and signalled for it to stop. Then they
climbed into it and rang for the engineer
to hoist. They reached the surface almost
suffocated.
Over goo Underground.
One old miner over 60years of age picked
up young man who was overcome by the
gas and succeeded in carrying him from
200 to 300 feet, when he felt his strength
giving out and he had to drop the young
fellow to reach surface barely alive him
self AT the time the alarm was sounded
over 200 men We're underground, and all
could have escaped had they used proper
flight passed 81 group of seven or eight men
who had stopped 70 rest ana were smok-
ing their pipes. They seemed to be in no
hurry or u:ink Of danger. When told to
hurry to the surface they remarked that
they had plenty OF time, and not one of
them reached the surface.
The skips. were kept running up and
down all dag Saturday in order to give
any of the cntoinbcd miners chance to
to escape, IL they could reach the skip
alive, but none came up. Another attempt
will be made TO reach the men, There
is no danger Of the bodies being burnt, as
it Is generally thought that the men es-
capped from the burning shaft to some of
the drifts leading TO other shafts, and were
overcome 10y gas and smoke before they
could reach place Of safety.
This being the case the bodies will be
recovered as soon as the fire is gotten I'M
der control and the gases leave the mine.
All hope has been given up by the officials