The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1897-06-12
ELEVENTH yEAR-NO. Al.
ACCIDENT AT THE COLUMBIA.
Number Three Shaft House Falls Down, caus.
ina Great Damage and Serious Delay.


Number Three shait House Falls Down. caus,
ing Great Damage and Serious Delay.
AT no time since the cave-in of the
Mansfield mine were the people OF Crys-
tai Falls more surprised than they were
last Sunday, when word was brought To
town that the shaft house at the Colum-
biss mine had !nllcn down. The accident
occurred about one O'Clock Sunday, just
as the worklncn that were trying To
catch up the collar OF the shaft were
returning to work. Coming ns IL did at
the noon hour, no one was injured,
which is the only redeeming feature OF
the catastrophe. The immediate cause
of the accident was the moving of the
timbcrs comprising the nine top sets Of
the shaft. The shaft house was simply
a continuation OF the timber work OF the
shalt, with no outer braces OF any kind,
except the pocket which was behind it.
and which was not effected 10y the cave.
Sitting as it did upon the studdlcs OF the
top set. there was no way Co save the
shalt house when this support was with
drawn. An accident OF some kind had
been expected for some time past, hut
not until Saturday last did circum
stance warrant n suspension of under
ground operations. All OF the men were
ordered out Of the mine Saturday, and
the attention OF the crew turned toward
staying the upper portion Of the shaft.
Saturday night "A portion OF the sup
porting wall moved away from the
south side OF the shalt, rendering all
efforts in that direction futile.
In order that the exact conditions
leading to the accident nny be under
stood, The DIAMOND DRILL has gone
thoroughly into the matter aud finds
the following TO be the facts in the case
When No. 3 shalt was started, the
parties then working the property sup
posed that they were located far enough
back ia the foot wall TO avoid meeting
any deposit oi ore. After sinking 200
feet ia solid rock they came suddenly
into body of ore. Their next surprise
was occasioncd when they broke through
from one OF their Slopes into the new
shaft. The foot wall seems 60 have
made II fold ut this point To the north,
gathering into one body the two fornIa-
tions; the one known as the north Tor
nation, cut by No. shaft, and the
other, the south formation, (tlie main
ore body oI the minc) cut by No.
shaft, which was on the hanging side oI
the ore body, 800 feet southeast Of the
new shaft. Coming So suddenly upon
the new shalt, proper support in the way
Of pillars was not left at this point
The main support to the minc hereto
fore had been "a large pillar about 100 feet
southeast nf No. 3 shalt, and between
this pillar and the shaft were n number
of rooms or Slopes.
The main body OF the ore is found or
the lower levels, below the ground left
as pillar on the second, or 200-foo
level, and last November this pllai
crushed, filling the Slopes between il anC
the shaft. This caused all the grounC
between the backs OF these Slopes an,
the surface, and Immediately along Tn
the south lace Of the shaft to crush il
turn. IL was movement OF thi
crushed ground away from the shai
Sunday last that caused the accident.
All of the shaft below the 200foo
level is in good condition, and espcciall
is this true ~ the last three levels, whcr
pillars 100 feet thick support the shalt
Workmen were set ut work Monda
morning removing the debris, and it
the intentlon OF the operators To rcdccr
the property.