Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-09-12
PIT IS THEIR TOMB
Thirty Men Imprisoned in a Mine
by an inoendiary Fire.
EVERY ONE IS DOUBTLESS DEAD,

Heartrcndiug Scenes at the Mouth of tho
| burning SHAFT Smoke Fills the Drifts
and Makes Rescue Impossible -Dcaa Men
the Victims principally of Their Own Tn
belief OF Danger. y
RorGRroN, Mich, Sept. q--Hugc vol.
umcS ot smoke are still issuing forth from
the mouths Of shafts Nos, /, = and 3, which
shows that the awful fin which started in
the Osceola copper mine shortly before
noon Saturday is Stitlsraging tlcrccly, and
the bodies Of the thirty miners entunhed
arr still lying. somewhere below the sur.
face, without doubt dead, suflocatcd by
smoke and gas. The names of the lost SO
far rs can bo ascertatncd at this writing
are; Captain Richard TNnhath, shift
boss; Richard Biokle, Richard Grrntcll,
William Bryant, Alexander Danicll, John
| Cudlip, Thomas Curtis Robert Johns,
William, Donald, Barney Elmorc, Anton
| Xycezwic2, Mike johnson, Potter Stem.
gard, Frank Lander, Walter Dahl, Joseph
Harrington, Frederick rcardon, Isaac
Harlow, Mike Woke Isaac Mattisou, An.
drew Rossawiok, James Wins. A. Cook,
Samuel Williams and five Poles whose
names are unknown Mt headquarters,
Would Not Believe Their Danger.
Tho fire broke out at the twenty seventh
level of the Osccola copper mine, located
two miles from Calumet. AS Captain
Richard Edwards was making his way to
No. 3 shaft he smclled wood burning, but
some of tho miners working in the levels
there would not believe thur0 was tlro in
the mime as they could not smell any
smoke or hear names cracking. On near,
ing No. shaft Captain Edwards met
Captain Trcnhath and party of mon
who were looking for the fire, and ON
reaching the shaft they found n largo
quantity of logging ON fro. Captain Trcn-
bath and u party of men were left to fight
the fire below, while captain Edwards
went to the surface t. get n hose, but when
he returned he found that tho smoke had
made an up draft instead of down, and
In consequence he had To como back to
the surface rs fast us possible
Word was Immediately sent to the men
which most of thcm succeeded in doing, but
there still rcmain in the dry house thirty
suits of clothes. The scene Mt tho Opcccho
shaft, where many of tho men camc up,
was hcnrtrcnding, 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 mon
from the drifts leading to No. 3shntt above
the twenty seventh level, but they were
unsuccessful.
Rcscucr. Have to Fly for Life.
Captain II. Richards, with gang Of seven
men, went down No. shaft and went
about zoo 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 1t
could have caught In the whole mino and
the only place in the minc where fire Of
any extent could have caught. Many of
the men chat were working several levels
below The twenty seventh, at which point
the fire caught, were seen M 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 Wcarc, II drill boy, went TO tho
bottom of the burning shaft and told tho
miners OF their danger They did not
think IL 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.
tcnscly dense. Michael Harrington took
out some matches to rclight the candles
which had gone out, but the oxygen had
been consumed and the candles would not
burn. Cropping their way In tho 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 signallcd to lower the skip.
BY the sound they knew when It was near
and signallcd for IL Ia stop. Then they
climbed into il and rang for the engineer
to hoist. They reached the surface almost
suffocatcd.
Over 200 Underground.
One old miner over 90 years Of age picked
up young man who was overcome by the
gas and succeeded in carrying HIN from
200 to 300 feet, when he felt his strength
giving out and he had to drop the young
fellow 10 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
precautions. Several miners In their
flight passed n oupof seven or eight men
who had stopped to rest and were smOk.
ing their pipes. They seemed 20 be in no
hurry or think Of danger When told TO
hurry TO the surface they remarked that
they had plenty Of time, and not one Of