The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-12-03

| OF centrepieces and doyl:es and the max
| ing Of them, there is no end No matron
can have to many. The Renaissance
| work is the craze OF the hour for these.
| The newest embroidered ones have scoi-
! lop in a fancy leaf design.
| Is WORSE THAN INFERNO
| Aspen. Colo, Dec. 2-Deep down in the
bowles of Smuggler Mountain five hun
dred men have been jepardizing their lives
every day for the last two weeks in hand
to hand struggle against mine fire. The
situation is truly appalling. Drawn and
| muscle, money and science. have failed TO
check the consuming flight OF the flames.
| The men are bravely facing unheard of
| hardships in their battle against the fiery
: element. They are not alone fighung IN
| the interest OF the mine owners-they have
a stronger incentive. They are risk.ng
| their lives to save their homes and the
small investments representing years OF
| saving.
l The horrors Of Dante's Inferno are being
| encountered every day by these hardy
miners When they come ont from those
| burning subterranean passages their minds
are often affected, and they act Ike mad
| men. Only from two to three minutes
i
gases and live.
Timekeepers stand. watch in hand, and
at a distance from the front, and imuer-
atively summond the miners from the inner
tunnels at these short intervals. Even then
| few can go through the ordeal without in
tense suffering. Raw threats infamed
lungs and sightIess eyes are a series OF
disorders entailed by the effort to master
| the fire that burns with such a mysterious
| insistence.
The situation can better be imagined by
picturing sixty miles Of streets burning.
Deadly gases, falling rock, explosions of
dynamite and caving tunnels are to be
| anticipated. Not a man who enters the
shafts ever knows that he VIII see the day.
light again. Poison is diffused in the al
ready vit;ated atmosphere, and to all this
| is added the danger Of drowning. Water
at the rate Of two thousand gallons min
ute is pouring into the workings from each
of half dozen properties. Thin walls of
granite are frequently the only obstacle
between the fire and the adjacent cham
bers. where scores Of men are employed
| in bulkheading the drifts or directing blast
| ing operations to forestall the flames.
Every hour the pressure against these
walls grows. At any moment they might
yield to the enormous weight of water that
they hold back. A crevice even means sud-
den Inclination and the death OF those on
the other side No encouraging cries are
there or exciting scenes to sustain hope
nothing but the darkness of the grave,
save for the grey candle CLEANS that show
the presence Of other workers in the death
trap.
Sixty miles Of streets. none of them over
six feet high and running in devious
| courses through the mountain like cells of
a honeycombi The area represented is four
| to five miles square by a height of 3.ooofeet.
Probably nothing could approximate the
dramatic situation, for it was a living he'll
| into which the men descended. The hre
| is supposed to have started IN the immense
slope of the Smuggler. whence millions of
almost pure silver had been taken out in
vars past. The mines adjoining on Smugg-
| Ter Noun tain that are interested in the
suppression Of the fire are the Moilie G!h-
son, Free Silver and Johnson. They are
all connected. while the mountain is seam
ed with watercourses that assist in des-
seminating the gases. q
The system of attacking the enemy is
! original As the miners advanced to the
vicinity of the immense crib IN the, lSmugg-
L
| blasting down the sides of the tunnels and
piling the rock in an impenetrable wall
overlooking the huge chasm, which belch-
| ed forth hideous volumes of smoke and gas.
Here is where the greatest obstacles had to
| be met and overcome The fire sucked
| the oxygen so fast that the men could not
stand against the sdraught, but were CON-
PEELED to lie prone on the ground and pry
the stones into place in the rough wall.
Behind this crude structure was erected
a brick wall with the face closely cemented
and the whole rendered impervious to air.
| In the other levels the process grew more
difficult as the outlets were narrowed
down, for then the drafts increased to
such velocity that II seemed as though no
| human power could contend with the ire
mendous gales that carried loose rock
along like so much chaf. Patience proved
a victor and with the aid of dynamite the
miners added new barriers until they had
circumscribed the area Of fire to point
where the steam jets could be played on the
upper woodwork.
To simplify matters is was proposed to
blow up the whole interior of the noun
tain and thus destroy the timbering where
the fire was enthroned. This policy de-
manded the unanimous consent of other
mine owners. and therefore fell fat. When
this was rejected all the recources OF the
mining world were summoned. An equip
ment of air helmets was ordered to enable
the men to penetrate the mine with the
steam and water pipes. Each man in the
dangerous tunnels was fitted with these
| protectors similar TO the divers helmet.
throubh which he was supplied with air.
They were close fitting and excluded
noxious gases, while rubber hose connected
with air compressors furnished necessary
oxygen
Water was then poured in for the upper
below The water carried off the gas by
absorption and the steam penetrated the
recesses of woodwork that We're inaccess-
| ible to water and thus gradually smother
ed the embers that with the admission of
more air would have sprung into life again.
In progressing toward the center the men
encountered a new form of gas that
| puzzles the most experienced. The ar Is
| eppently pure and sweet. II does not dis
able those who inhale. II has neither taste.
! color nor smell There is no warning Of
| its presence but the moment a man
| energies from the mine he Is overcome.
The fresh air knocks him Ike bullet
| through the heart II often takes hours 20
| recover consciousness, ard then the victim
awakes Ike a perfect demon He enjoys
| a sort OF masked epilepsy and runs amuck,
the most peaceable desiring TO kin and des-
| troy all within reach. They are reduced
! 10 a stage OF fiendishness that e hides
| crfbable.. ana several men have lost Their
! senses absolutely as the result
Then the lungs grow raw and al tas
| symptoms OF pneumonia intervene With
| these indications at an altitude Of 400 feet