The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-15
AN UNDERGROUND BAR.
Seven Hundred Feet Underground
Was This Mans Liquor Business.
From the Minneapolis Tribune.

From the Minneapolis Tribune.
A newspaper man of this city who has
been up in the iron mining country for
some time, reports the capture of "blnd
pig by deputy sheriff of st. Louis coun-
ty in the Chantler mine, $50 feet beneath
the surface of the earth. The Chantler is
one of the numerous mines in the Yer
million range, or hard ore belt, in the
northern part of the country and ninety
miles from Duluth. The miners that work
on the range and in the different mines are
mostly Hungarians or Finlanders. They
are very fond of alcohol, and when under
its influence are quarrelsome. They all
carry knives with blades about four inches
in length and wooden handles, which they
make themselves. These knives worn in
belt, are drawn on the slightest provo
cation.
Several of the miners were arrested for
fighting in the mines and sent down to Du-
luth for trial, and every one of them, when
taken from the mines, was drunk. The men
who went down the shaft to work in the
morning. perfectly sober would come up at
the end of their shift gloriously drunk.
The managers Of the mine and the au-
thoritieS were at loss to account for II
until one of the miners who was seriously
cut in one of the fights, told about
miner who sold liquor to- the other men
while they were supposed TO be at work
4NOliCt was sent TO the Snefl1 OF Ct. IOulS
county and deputy was ordered to IN
VeStigate it.
On arriving at Ely the official was taken
to the very lowest shaft where the in
former had told him he would find the
blind pig. This was over 700 feet under
ground. The man who was said to sell
the liquor was called by the foreman ana
asked about it. He could not speak Eng
lish, and another miner was called TO
act as interpreter. When Mosjeckja, for
that was his name, was made to under.
stand what was wanted, and that one OF
the men present was an officer sent 10
arrest him, he wilted at once and took
the party into shaft that had not been
worked for some time, and showed them
his bar, which consisted of a board one
end resting on a. pile of ore and the other
hand at the time of the arrest consisted OF
four quart bottles of raw alcohol three
quart bottles of very bad whiskey, anu
three powder cans full of beer. He was
very much alarmed at the prospect Oh
going to JAIL and claimed that he did not
know 1T was against the law This maue
no dinerence, however, and he was taAe9I
to Duluth and bound over to the gram
jury. His name was Orna Mosjeck1a anu
before he was taken from the mine no
admitted that he had been selling hquoI
to the men for nearly two months, anu
said that he made on an average OF ABOUT
$50 day from the sale of alcohol aIo Re,
There are numerous galleries or sna III
in the mine. and they are worked py III
When a man wished to get drink Hs
would slip away from his gang, wnlJ i,
was an easy thing to do, as the ohig
light furnished comes from the lamps ~
the mems caps. Mosieckia worked by
himself around the bottom of the !, man an
shaft, and so was able to AVOID lii'ei
ference on the part of the roremen. ~.
At the hearing in Duluth his bones We, -
fixed at $3.50, but as he was unable "
furnish them, he was sent to the jan ~
await trial.