The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-10
WENT DOWN A NOTCH
Miraculous Escape Of a Number of
MachiniStS at the Alice
THE BOTTOM DROPPED OUT
Old Workings Cave In and the
Floor. Machinery and Men Tum-
BILE into a Cavern About IL
Feet Deep-No Fatalities.

A strange accident which was attend
ed by a miraculous escape from death
or serious injury occurred at the Alice
mine in Walkerville about IL o'clock
yesterday forenoon. The escapes were
among the very narrowest that have
ever been heard of in n district where
close calls are of almost daily occur
renee. and the visitor to the scene of
the accident finds IL almost impossible
TO realize that the workmen involved
in II came out unhurt. Through a
cave-in in some old workings east OF
the shaft the floor suddenly dropped
out of the machine shop and the men
and machinery were dumped into the
middle of a hole 40 feet in diameter
and 10 or II feet deep in the center.
Strange to say, the men escaped with
out so much as a scratch. greatly TO the
relief of their horror compan-
ions, who expected TO see them crushed
TO pieces by the heavy pieces of ma
chinery. which went tumbling down on
top of each other.
The carpenter shop and machine shop
occupied a building just east of the
shaft house and was connected with IL.
The machine shop was farthest east
and was about so feet from the shaft.
The oldest workings in the Alice,
which were operated between Is and IL
years ago. when the p:g property was
in its infancy, are directly under this
building. That part of the mine was
very rich and the ground was worked
very extensively. 1t has been impossi-
bic to reach the old workings for sew
eral years. and although hundreds OF
tons of waste have been dumped into
them to prevent just such an accident
as the one which occurred yesterday,
the ground could not be made perfect
ly firm and secure. There have been
ri h.a
last three or four years, as the old tim
bers rotted out and gave way. but none
of them approached the one of yester-
day in serious possibilities.
little more than two years ago
one corner OF the machine shop
dropped down a little through the
ground giving away underneath and
after that efforts 20 secure the ground
were redoubled by Captain Hall, who
was then superintendent of the Alice.
Since Superintendent Buzzo has had
charge of the property he has used up
hundreds of tons of waste in filling
UP the old workings and used every
means to prevent another cave.
AT a few minutes after IL O'Clock yes
terday a cave, which extended clear
to the surface, occurred in the old
workings at the 100-foot level and d.
rectly under the machine shop. There
were nine men in the building at the
time, but four of them We're in the
carpenter shop and did not go down in
the wreck. The other five men and the
drills, lathes and other heavy pieces of
machinery were precipitated to the bot
tom of a 10-foot hole in the middle of
the cave. Their companions expected
TO see them crushed to pieces but when
the clouds of dust cleared away they
were all seen clambering out OF the
wreckage uninjured. One OF them had
sustained a slight bruise on the shin,
but he was the only one hurt in any
way. Neither the machinery nor the
building was damaged to any great
extent.
Superintendent Buzzo regards the ac-
cident as one of the most fortunate he
has ever witnessed. While he does not
believe there Is the slightest danger Of
another cave he will have the ma
chine shop removed 20 a vacant build
ing farther away from the hoist. The
slightly damaged building will be re-
paired and occupied by the carpenter
shop alone.
The shaft was not damaged in any
way, as the ground had been secured
for so feet all around It,