The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-30
United Verde'S Smelter Threatened
With Destruction.
EXCITEMENT in JEROME
LITTLE ARIZONA COPPER CAMP
SCENE OF TURMOIL.
Thrilling Deeds Performed in Saving
Company's Property-Heroic Act
in Getting Carload of Giant Pow
der Away From the Fire-Down
Burning Shaft.

Jerome, Ariz., June 29.-Since the fill
ing of the last dispatch Wednesday
night Jerome has been one scene of
wild excitement without interruption
The great copper camp has not expert
enced such turmoil in its weird and
charmed career. The disorder had its
incipiency with the breaking out of fire
in the large reverberatry at the smelter
works of the United Verde Copper COM
pany Tuesday night, and has increased
at a frightful ratio.
The reyerberatory is one of the prin-
cipal buildings of the copper company.
and within easy reach of every other
building belonging to the great plant.
and 1.200 men are employed around the
smelter. This force of men fought the
flames with a desperate cour-
age born of a knowledge of the far
reaching consequences of the desruc
tion of the property.
To the east of the reverbe-atory is
the smelter and the great copper fur
naces. An advance of twenty feet
north are the power house. with 1900
square feet of floor space, covered with
COrliss engines, electric light plants,
etc. valued at $3.50. 900; coke bins. con-
tanning 5000 tons of coke; above. the
treStle works to the United Verde &
Pacific railway, with a train of freight
cars. one of which was loaded with
giant powder. South were the offices
of the company's officials.
Fire Was Master
From it's point of vantage. the fire at
the start proved to be master of the
situation, and in a few minutes con-
sumed the outer walls of the bins con-
tanning the coke, precipitating this
mass of infiammable material into the
flames The great heat generated from
this was something beyond the power
of humans to cope with. and set fire to
the trestlework under the railroad and
the string of cars thereon.
The car loaded with powder was not
thought of until the car next to it was
on fire. y train crew took out on en-
Sine and went through the binding
smoke and over the burning trestle to
the car and pulled it safely out of
harms way, not, however, until the
brakeman who coupled the car to the
engine had his hair singcd. Five min
utes after the carload of powder was
removed. the remaining cars fell on
the fire below
The company's officials Were deter
mined to save the powder house at all
costs To accomplish this. all the water
in the city was shut off and 5000 peo-
pie We're without water in the drieSt
climate in the world. To further ag-
gravate this the river can be seen flow
ing quietly at the foot of the noun
tain. seemingly not quarter of a mile
away, so clear is the atmosphere, but it
is seven miles away.
Tons of Burning Coke
Few complaints were heard, however,
from any of them, and mighty cheer
was given when a break was finally
made in the coke, and il was realized
that there was a good chance to save
the mine and smelter.
While this contest was at its height
tons of live coke fell through the shaft
to the 300-fOot level. and before il
could be told a great volume of smoke
rolled out of the mine Volunteers
were called for to go down and fight
the flames in the bowels of the earth. |
and the response was prompt and
hearty. 1t was with the utmost diff |
Guilty that they made their way through |
the great shaft leading into the mine |
proper. The fumes from the burning |
sulphur was simply impossible for COM |
mon men to cope with. 1t took eight |
hours to get the fire in the mine under |
control