The Anaconda standard., 1898-01-06
NEVER SWEAT FIRE OUT
1t Was Not Great Confiagra-
ton" as at First Reported.
MINERS AGAIN AT WORK
Everything is Going Along as Usual
No Facts as to the Origin of the
Fire Obtainable-No Occa-
sion to Excite People.

Inc Hre IN the Never Sweat mine is
out and the mine is running once more
as though nothing had happened. The
fact shows what sort of confidence the
publlc can nave in the utterances of
certain publications. Yesterday morn
ing excitable published under "A scare"
head, a wild account of the Great Mine
Confiagration.' embodying many alarm
ing rumors and conjectures calculated
tn excite the public. but luckily they
were not very widely circulated or the
city might have suffered considera BILE
injury. The fact is the fire amounted
to very little, and was out at O'Clock
Tuesday evening. and there was no oc-
casion TO excite the people. As an evil
dence of the manner in which the story
of the fire was exaggerated. the men
went to work in the Never Sweat and
the Anaconda as usual yesterday morn
ing, and last evening ore was hoisted
with the accustomed regularity
There was no real necessity for TAX
ing the men out of the Never Sweat on
Tuesday except perhaps on the 600. 700
and 500 levels, but they were all taken
out of both the Anaconda and the
Never sweat both as precautionary
measure and to enable the officers TO
pick the men they wanted for the fire
crew as 1t was necessary to have men
that they could depend on in an emer-
gency, for there is always the possibil-
ity that fire in "A mine will spread.
The fire was handled with rare good
judgment and skill by Superintendent
Jack O'Neill and his assistants The
streams turned in from the 600-level
down the ore chute where the fire origi-
mated, soon brought the flames under
control, and by evening they were ene
tirely extinguished. but the water was
Kept running all night to make abso-
luteiy certain not a spark was left
through the night the excellent system
Oh circulation between the Anaconda
ana Never Sweat cleared out all the
smoke, and yesterday no one would
nave known from appearances that
there had been any occasion for excite
ment the day before
During the day Deputy State Mine
inspector Frank Hunter investigated
the fire and found that the Standards
statement of the fact was absolutely
correct. Mr.. Hunter was afforded every
opportunity to make a thorough inves-
tigation, and stated yesterday that he
had no complaint to make against the
mine officials, as had been intimated
From Mr.. Hunters investigation il
seems clear that the fire started
through the carelessness of a workman.
1t started as stated yesterday on the
sill floor of the 700 level From the
Never Sweat shaft, a lateral drift runs
Nof't ~ "a NOilnttlltll with tne cr0SScut
running from the drift 90 or 20 feet back
TO the foot wall of the ledge where n
chute runs up TO the 600. Ii was in the
thlfd or these crosscuts that the fire
started, beginning at the foot of the
chute and pretty nearly burning out
the set. 1t worked up the chute some
What, but not to do any particular dam
age, and it did not spread ON the sill
Hoof beyond the one set of timbers
Inc hre evidently started from a work
man carelessly leaving a candle burn
ing in the crosscut The ledge between
the ooo and 100 has been all stopped out
ana the stope filled in with waste The
workings being in disuse, w T. Moran.
one of the miners employed. was set to
work several days ago to take up the
rails in the series of crosscuts. The day
before the fire he worked in the third
crosscut and one other, and aside from
him no one has been known to have
been in the vicinity of that place ex-
cept the shift boss, John ID. Sullivan,
who was the one to give the alarm. He
passed the crosscut the day Moran
worked in II, after Moran had finished
and says he saw no lights. Moran told
Inspector Hunter that he used two
candles while working In the crosscut,
but said he was positive he did not
leave piece burning. The day after |
Moran worked in the crosscut the two
victims of the fire, J. +. Sullivan and |
M. =. flaneflN, ndd occasion to go |
through the drift. Smelling the gas |
they began to investigate the cause and. |
lt Is supposed, finding that they could |
not get into the crosscut, started for |
the Anaconda crosscut along the later |
al drift to give the alarm. Had they |
gone the other way, towards the Never |
Sweat shaft. they would have been |
saved, as the Never Sweat is down
,ast mine. and the Anaconda dipcast, /
and the gas was naturally drawn that t
way. Soon after they were overcome I
t must have been, Shift Boss John D. |
sullivan, in making his rounds came |
to the third crosscut, going from the
Never Sweat toward the Anaconda, and |
saw the fire. He tried TO go in but
'ould not on account of the gas. and
started To run toward the Anaconda
-oming TO the prostrate form of his
unfortunate namesake. at the fourth
he found he must go the other
way or perish also and turned back
he was so nearly overcome that he did
not have strength TO take the PROSTATE
nan with him. and he barely escaped
with his own life. The alarm was
given. the mines were closed down and
he men taken out. and by closing the
Never Sweat shaft the smoke and gas
we're drawn out the other way. enough
o enable the searching party To take
'ut the bodies of Sullivan and Flaherty
rhe latter was found $50 feet from the
bird crosscut in the direction of the
anaconda.
How the fire started if il was not set
" Moran leaving burning candle in
ne erosscut, no one seems able to offer
n much as conjecture, as the com
ANY employs two men called fire
Jugs whose duty ii is 10 go through
II the workings where men have
worked each day after the changing of
ach shift 10 look for fire Whether
hey visited this particular place is
lot known. but as 1t was their duty 10
10 so it is supposed they did
The inquests viii be held on the bod
as Of sullivan and Flaherty this even