The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-01

and Fire Boss Hill was overcome. Yam
kowski and young Moran picked him
up and carried him back out of the
deadly gas. He was revived by dous-
ing water on his head and again the
wandering was taken uD.
SUGGESTED THE DIP.
Yankowski about this time suggested
that they go down into the dip, where
the hand fan was erected, and which,
because of it being the lowest place in
the vein. would be last for the smoke
to reach. They told him he didn't
know what he was talking about, and
besides, 1t would be impossible to get
the fan down to the roadway, as 1t was
firmly anchored on a ledge of rocks
and held in place by braces made of
inch-thick wrought iron pipe. "A
team of mules couldn't pull it down.
one of them remarked.
At 11.30 o'clock a. m. the smoke which
had been pursuing them in the rear in
ere h;ed in volume. They realized that
1t would not be much longer before 1t
would be upon them. Just about this
time smoke was discovered in front.
They were now in Months heading.
The route up the plane had been dis
cussed and there being now no other
avenue of escape open they resolved
to try it.
1t was possible, they figured, that the
fire was in the Diamond road, between
the slope and the shaft, and that the
smoke was coming out of the slope
end. In that case, they thought, they
could make a dash through the smoke
filled workings around the opening of
| the New Diamond vein, past the angle
| where the slope and Diamond vein
| proper met and then up the plane to
| the Four foot vein above; reaching here
| they could walk over the region of the
| fire and descend by the ladders in the
| perpendicular man-way to the farther
| end of the Diamond road, on the oppo-
site side of the fire, where they be-
| lieved, because of the air current pos
| sibly having been changed, no smoke
| would be found.
A DESPERATE CHANCE.
They knew the plane had some smoke
in it, but thought it was only what
little eddied up there from the general
| current which shot out of the old Dia-
mond road and up the slope.
They took the chance and lost The
smoke was coming down the slope and
into the workings instead of out of
the workings and up the slope. The
plane, which pointed upwards almost
opposite the slope, was filled with the
biggest volume of the smoke, for it
was by this channel that the fans of
the air-shaft was sucking it up to the
surface.
All ignorant of this, they blindly
dashed out of the New Diamond vein
and up the plane. Yanwokski, strange
to say. went up farther than anybody
else. He only was able to go about IS
feet. Like flash it was shown to them
that they We're getting into denser
smoke at every bound and ALL as If by
one impulse, turned and started to re-
trace their steps.
Yankowski says that when he was
rushing back, de one-leg fellow"
meaning Welsh, "he say I'm gone. Say
goodbye to my people, joe" Hill was
down on his knees with his face to-
wards the ground, and when passing
him Yankowski heard him call out:
Say goodbye to my wife and chill
dren, joe" The others were scattered
along at short distances, but they had
evidently collapsed. as none of them
were heard to utter even a moan. Yam
; kowski says that Walsh was stuffing
the tail of his coat into his mouth
when he caught the last glimpse of
him. Thinking this to be a good plan
Yankowski initiated it, but he found il
: impeded his running and he gave il
up.
Just how he got out of the plane he
diesn't know. All he remembers is
that he held his breath and ran az
fast as his rapidly declining strength
: would allow. His head was bursting.
+ he says, and his heart was throbbine
so hard that he could hear it, he i'm.
. agined.
TUMBLED INTO A DITCH.
He got down the plane and some dis
I tance out into the new Diamond work
: ings, how far he doesn't know. He haC
stumbled repeatedly, but each tim,
picked himself up and ran or crawleC
on his hand knees until finally natur,
gave way under the strain and he col
lapsed. Luckily he tumbled into tn,
ditch at the side of the road.
The souse into the water revived hi,
= consciousness for the moment ant
$ with remarkable presence of mind h,
= tore off a piece of his wooden shirt an,
q covering his face with it, ducked hi
head in the water, held it there as Ion,
: as he could, then breathed through tn
hannel; then ducked into the Wate
u again, then came up for breath Thi
operation was continued for about te,
e minutes he thinks. At the end of tha
:. time he felt his strength returning an,
he started back to the "dip," wher
= he wanted his companions to go in tn
first place. By stopping occasional,
, to refresh himself by the process Jus
described, he finally reached the "dip
The smoke grew thinner the farther h
went back and at the dip" he foun,
/ the condition such that he could get
1 fairly good breath through his wooIe,
strainer when he would lie close to tn
ground.
His first move was to get the far
r rms is a machine standing abou
three feet high, with revolving set O
plades about foot in length, worke
) py hand lever. 1t is used to rein
force the air current in new working
: where the system of circulation has no
been wholly perfected
He loosened the iron fastenings-
= which his now dead companion
thought team of mules would nc
budge-with one desperate wrench
Next he secured a miners tool box. |
dimensions about by by 4. tore n
: the lid, placed it on end with IN
back towards the direction from whic
+ the smoke was coming, set the fan 6
that the air was forced toward IN
n box and then got inside. From
o'clock noon until nearly 10 o'clock q
night, when he was rescued, he sat