The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-26
HARD FIGHT FOR A NINE.
ASPEN MINERS RIsK THEIR LIVES
TO SAFE THE SMU0GLER.

and BEGAN TO Ray wages Again fire
Threatssea Is Total Dcstrnction EIEht
nays OF Heroic Work Takes n Out OF Danger
DENVER, Nov. 2A.-No ship fro In midocean
could cause greater alarm or demand more
heroic efforts than have boon witnessed in tho
mining camp Of Aspen In the last seven days,
a. the miners attempted to extinguish q fire IN
the deep workings OF tho great smugglcr Mine,
on 6mugRler Mountain. Tho destruction OF
that mine virtually meant the ruin OF the entire
camp and the throwing out OF employment ut
the beginning of winter Of a most industrious
GLASS OF intelligent workmcn.
Aspcn IL n remarkable mining camp. Its ores
carry nothing but silver, and It's activity do
ponds solely upon tho price OF the white metal.
From its very beginning Aspen has been do
veloped under tho most trying conditions. 1t
was established in tho dead OF winter. when
prospectors risked death in the snow to cross
the range. breaking trails over dangerous
passes, and living in green log cabins while do.
ing assessment work upon locations made when
the snow lay from ak to twenty feet deep on
mountain slopes and in dark and gloomy
gulches.
One Of the greatest obstacles to be overcome
in the development of the camp was the flood
Of water encountered in the deepening OF the
shafts on the steep mountains that encompass
the town site. when Aspen mines were pro-
aAkh nuo ohNo ohN bAo ti"AA U NhiuO Va
silver was above the dollar mark, the respective
arrangements did not hesitate to undertake to
solve the water problem, though It meant an
enormous expenditure of money. The manu-
f~acturers Of pumps were called upon to supply
machines of greater capacity than had ever
been known, and tho development Of monster
pumps was had only through many costly ex-
periments. For many years tho greatest
pumps known to tho mechanical world
yvara lnNataH in anAn Az thn p,ina ANN
the water problem became more difficult.
The great Cowenhoven tunnel was driven into
Smuggler Mountain for q distance of more than
two miles to afford a drainage system and
transportation for the mines above. whose
shafts must eventually reach to the depth to
which the Cowenhoven tunnel has pierced the
mountain. A drainage shaft was sunk on
ground adjoining the Mollie Gibson. known as
the Free Coinage shaft. equipped with ma
chinery to lift hoists from a final depth of
5000 feet, and in this shaft pumps OF the
greatest possible capacity are TO be placed for
the purpos of assisting in the work OF fighting
the great water flow of the mountain.
All this work required years of effort and tho
expenditure of much wealth and energy. When
the Cowenhoven tunnel was completed and soon
after the Free Coinage drainage shaft had been
started. the panic came. Silver fell in price un.
til the expense of mining the ore exceeded the
cost of operating the pumps and working the
properties at great depth, Then the miners
companies furnishing power and operating tho
pumps, and to accept what profits remained
freight charges had been met. One the low. !
grade ores a l50-ton concentrator was kept i
busy day and night in the smuggler.
The fire in the Snuggler was discovered early
on the morning OF the 14th. At that time
Smuggler mountain. mines gave employment
history of the district were conditions more
settled and the outlook more favorable. A con.
Cowenhoven tunnel, which viii in time be four
miles long; the Free Coinage shaft is now below
and the great array Of monster DT pumps sne %S %orEins:
together keep the mines comparatively clear OF
water. The railroads have reduced freight
treatme t charges; the miners themselves, by
means Of the leasing system, take part of the
OF concentrating tho low-grade ores has proven
=. When, therefore. everything seemed flourish.
ing and the outlook most encouraging for a
busy winter, the residents, Of Aspen were sud
grafton in one Of the most important m nDan Of
the district. Unless the fire could be extin-
foul gases Ssa' Would f SS AIDED ID sh'' Re iaiaiRxe What at
rushed to the scene, and volunteers without
number were ready to undertake the most dam
threatened the very life OF the camp.
The workmen in the several drifts and levels
began to inhale an obnoxious gas shortly after
midn1ght on sunday morning, the l4th. and a
Three hours later the IRE was located in a large
cribbing Of timber which extends from the
:; siR a;thI 70 tho oh nth levels Of the smu,ggler; and
the immense ore chute was dug out. AS
timbers were placed, in The excavation Ttfaa
to support the walls and form a irm foundation
from which to carry on the mining of the ore
chute. Debris was thrown into this cribbinx as
progress was made. md after the ore chute
mad remained Tor years, while the NINA yyna
subsequently deepened and explorations went
on In other directions; Whether this old timber.
soaked, blackened mass was set afre by spon-
taneous combustion cannot be determined.
The alarm was sounded, Manager Hallett was
efforts began to cxtinguish the fire. 1t was a
where the, fire was burning, Before daylight
tho gas had increased SO rapidly that the miners
70 the surface Ia The miners %Ts in mf the M Nc ias G aRi )
undertook to build a bulkhead in the tunnel
abandoned their work when the gas increased
IN density, Several men were overcome by the
tSS@ esm apaing i to the tns M SIaS% G IsTa ISair ooi Finally ally
climbed to the surface. With The pumps stopped !
II would have been a question OF but a few
and practically ruined.
In this emergency Alex Carstens. the master
mechanic Of the sm9ggler. descended the Free
drift to the Mollie, and, reaching the pumping !
dertaking encouraged the men, and they re-
turned to the mine and soon had the bulkhead
completed. and work was resumed in that mine.
Manager Hallett made several trips down the
smngRler shaft, but the smoke and fumes were
10 dense that the men could not stay long and
attempts to bulkhead the drifts leading 10 tho
c%ribbing at different lev Is had to be abandoned.
In this Undertaking TWENTY-FIVE men were over.
come by the gas and had to be lifted to the sur
face, some of them recovering consciousness only
after, an hours hard work under the direction OF
physicians.
The next attempt that day. was descend into
the Free Coinage shaft, cross into the Smuggler
was burning, and from that point try / fight
the confagration. Manager Hallett, Master
Mechanic C%%SEstens. and a cageman undertook
the seventh level, 100 feet above the bottom OF
the %cribbing, into the mass through u connecting
drift, but they had to be quick about 1t on ac.
count of the foul gas, As it was, Carstens
cage by, the other, two, AS they reached the
SHAFT Hallett iell exhausted just as tho
SsSeman sueGumbed. TOO, but his hand was
promptly obeyed. The signal was to drop the
cage, and the three exhausted men were low
cred below he level of the fire. n distance OF 200
feet TO the pumping station, where the pump
ma ~ aLAI