The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-17

down, finding two dead men and two still
living, the latter father and son named
Limpaa. The Limpaas had retreated to
the end of a drift, as far as possible from
the flames, when they found escape to
surface cut off and by opening the stop
cock of an air pipe had managed 10 not
only signal those on the surface of their
being still alive, but secured air to sustain
life. The air, compressed to a pressure
of seventy pounds to the inch, drove out
the foul gases coming from the flames,
but the father died a week later of pneu-
monia, caused by breathing the intensely
cold compressed air for two days and
nights. The younger man speedily recov-
cred and is still working in the same
mine where he had such a narrow escape
from death.
Seven years ago an engineer at the Red
Jacket shaft of the Calumet and Hecla
mine overwound his rope on the drum and
pulled the cage into the sheave-wheel at
the Sop of the shaft house The steel ca
bic parted and the cage dropped $500 feet
to the bottom of the shaft. The engineer
became insane over his fatal mistake for
ten men were dropped in the cage and
their bodies were masses of pulp when re-
covered.
There are miraculous escapes as we'll as
terrible accidents in the mines. Many
years ago there was a unique character
chronic grumbler, named Ryan, employ
ed at the Lake Superior mine, Ishpeming.
One afternoon while expatiating on the
dement's of the mines mana cement. Ryan
walked into an open shift 100 feet in
depth. A rescuing party was sent down
at once to bring up the remains, but was
met midway on the ladder by Ryan, who
had fallen TO the bottom without breaking
bone and was climbing to the surface
with a fresh grievance against his en-
ployers. Peter Mustrom, Finnish miner
employed at No. shaft of the Calumet
and Hecla, fell go feet down the shaft
on Feb "a, 1896. Although brought to day
light with many broken bones and badly
bruised, Mustrom completely recovered
within a few months and resumed work
at the place where he so narrowly escap-
ed death.
On Aug. u, 1896, the engine house Of
the Poulin mine, Montana caught fire
Six miners were in the single shaft, 1,1O0
feet below surface. Charles MCGEE, the
engineer, stood at his post with firemen
playing water on him from a hose, and
safely raised six men. Despite the pro-
lection afforded by the water with which
he was deluged, MCGEE had his clothing
badly scorched and his hair, beard and
eyebrows were entirely singed off.
In the spring of 1897 a deep exploring
shaft was being sunk near Rossland, Brit
ish Columbia. Two men at the winch were
lowering a bucket in which were two other
miners when the handle slipped from their
grasp and the bucket shot downward. Jim
Hemsworth one of the men at the hoist,
thrust his bare arm between the cogs of
the winch, without moments hesita-
ton. The flesh was fearfully ground and
torn and the bone crushed, but the men in
the bucket were saved. When his COM
panlon at the winch spoke to him of his
arm, Hemsworth said, oh dam the
arm-the boys are SAFE Perhaps the re-
cording angel blotted out the record of
that Oath with tear.
On May 5, 1897, John Thomas, a 16-
year old boy, was running a pony hoist
ing engine nearly half mile Underground
in the Tamarack mine. Ten feet from his
engine was a wooden box in which the
miners stored their powder, caps and
fuse. A miner opened the box and found
it in flames. With a companion he ran for
life, calling TO Thomas to follow. There
was two other miners at the bottom of a
sixty-foot Wine, whose only hope of es-
cape was with the lad The boy called
to the men, hoisted them safelp, standing
at his engine ten feet from the burning
dynamite powerful enough to sink the
largest warship afloat. All three escaped
barely in time. the burning dynamite ex-
ploding with fearful violence few seconds
after they had left the spot