Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1903-02-07
FIRE IN A REPUBLIC MINE.
FOUR MEN WERE SEVERELY
BURNED.
Climbed a LADDER Through Blaze Of
Burning Gasoline--Atter the Fire
men he-entereo ana were Caught IN
Terrific Expiosion-One Man
blown ~ rect.

| were seven ely burned III a nTe followed
ruIi mine. sam nerr anu Gus Scuagel-
holln nad a naiIoW escape Tor LneIr
liFSs W Climbing up u lauuer Lnfougn
d DIale vi burning sasonAe and reacn-
inS saLety ia ali eAnausIeu CONDITION.
Do1n we've Uauly puIned.
Engineer l.. j. Chamberlain and Eli
lis mcCannon were caught Ny TIE ca
poison Two hours IaLer. McCannou
was DIuWn 40 Ieet through the an, put
llIIacuiUus1y escaped serious injury.
ChamueIlaln saved himself by urop-
ping nat on his lace JUST as the ex-
ploslon occurred. Inc damage TO the
mlhe has not been determined as no
examination was permitted until all
uanset Is past. Inc accidents were OIL
| d most peculiar character.
sam Kerr and Gus Schagerholm
were TO work getting the Old skids OUT
Oh the wines. The missing parts OF
the gasoline hoist had been adjusted,
out the Windlass was still in use for
noisting out of the winze. A five gal
ion can OF gasoline was emptied into
the tank to test the machine when
leakage occurred and the gasoline ran
over the floor of the station and drift
ed down the foOtwall of the winze.
Five minutes after the gasoline had
been poured into the tank the men in
the Winze smelled a strong odor of
gasoline and concluded to make an
exit. They firmly secured some old
skids to the bucket rope and began
climbing the ladder. The Winze is 70
feet deep and they were less than one
half the way up. kerr's candle was
in his candlestick and hung on the
footwall, but Schagerholm5s was in his
hand as he climbed the ladder.
When about 80 feet from the top
the gasoline ignited from his candle,
and in second a streak of fire shot
up and down the winze. In an instant
a voice from the station warned the
men to get down the winze and dip
in the water at the bottom.
Schagerholm rushed down in ohcy-
ance, but Kerr hastily stepped from the
ladder to STILL and passed over to
the opposite e9d Of the shaft, out of
the way of thesRre.
But the gas was filling the winze,
and Kerr concluded to get out He
rushed up the ladder through the
blaze, getting his hands and the lett
side of his face badly burned and Bills
tered. Schagerholm followed and was
| somewhat more blistered from the fire
than Kerr.
Dropped From Exhaustion.
During this time l.. j. Cham berlain,
the engineer, was pouring water down
the winze out of a bucket to protect
the men, and dropped exhausted to the
| door of the drift as the last of the pair
was dragged out.
William M. drummer, the supeFin-
| tendent, stood by the winze and grasp
ed each of the men firmly by the wrist
as they got TO the top of the ladder and
pulled them out of present danger.
| About l o'clock in the afternoon
| Chamberlain and McCannon went back
into the mine to ascertain, if possible,
the condition of things. Both went as
| far as the turnsheet when McCannon
proceeded to the station and took his
coat from where he had left it hanging,
while Chamberlain stepped a few feet
away and sat down under the upraise
McCannon, after securing his coat. was
STOPPING to pick up a pair of shoes.
Explosion.
The gas smelled strong, and Cham
| no, Lot oply
winZe and a momentary crawling of a
small streak of fire. which was fol-
lowed in an instant by a violent ex.
plosion. Chamberlain instinctively
threw himself on his face, which dip.
ped in the drain water, McCannon at
the same moment being blown 40 feet,
passing Chamberlain like a ball out
of cannon. Both men scrambled out
of the drift into the main tunnel, each
With hands slightly scratched and 9TH
er bruises.
McCannon said he thought the en-
alosion occurred through a rope which
hung down the Wine catching fire at
The start Of the accident and smould.
ering until sufficient gas hao gene
rated in the Wine for an explosion.
Statehood Bill.
Washington. Feb. 2.-The omnibus
statehood bin will continue for the
present to hold its place as the I'M
finished business on the senate calen-
dar, but it seems quite probable that
The discussion of the statehood bill
will come up in connection with the
appropriation bills Senator QUAY has
entirely changed his tactics during the