The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-04-05
SCORES OVERCOME
AS They FIGHT FIRE;
Fifth Day of Disastrous Blaze
in the y Homestake
Mine.
A BATTLE WITH GASES
Fifteen Minutes of Effort Is All That
Men Can Endure and Many COL
lapse Before This-First Fire
in Fourteen Years.
A BATTLE WITH GASES

Lead, S. d., April 1.-The fire in.
the Homestake mine is the first in four
teen years, and only the second in the
history of the mine. Considering the
amount of powder constantly in use,
the quantity of pine timbers, and the
thousands of men who pass in and out
of the workings day after day, the
wonder is that these occurrences have
not been more frequent.
This is the fifth day of the fire. and
the great pine timbers many of them;
full of pitch and dry with age, are
smoldering away, while the fire slowly
but surely is eating it's way farther
north. In the workings of the Home :,
stake, underlying the city of Lead,
cities of Lead and Deadwood twice
over, and it was in blasting out some
of these old timbers that the fire is
supposed to have originated. Fighting
fire in a mine is very different from
fighting in the fresh air or even in a
building. In mine, there is not draft
enough to produce good blaze; con-,
sequently quantities of carbon dioXide
gas are generated. The small passa ge-;
ways become filled with gas and
smoke; the lights of the electric lamps
glimmer dimly A man becomes over,
come by the noNious atmosphere and
falls. and unless a friend is at hand
to take him above or to some other
safe place, he is soon gone.
No Fatalities Yet.
Fortunately there have been no fa-
talities in this fire in the greatest gold
mine in the world, although hundreds
of men have been brought to the sur
face limp and unconscious. The dry
room, where The men go to change
clothes when coming up from work,
was made into an imprompta hospital,
and at one time men were laid out ON
the floor, occupying every available
inch. They would lie unconscious for
few moments and then Start up raw
ing, requiring two or three men to
hold them down. Prompt measures,
including plenty of hot coffee, soon
company is ordering hot coffee by the
gallon ard keeping it now constantly
on hand for all the men coming off.
Today conditions are better although
the men are able to work only fifteen
minutes at a time. They then go to a
and where they rest for half an hour
before going back for fifteen minutes
more of combat. At present the work
is confined to building 'brattish, .
which is a long partition running the
length of the drift.
Plan to Reach Flames.
Down one side of this fresh air will
be forced, which WILL in turn, force the
smoke and gas out the other side OF
the partition. The men will follow in
the wake of the fresh air. and hope in
this way to reach the flames. So fan
no one has been within 100 feet OF
them. Three streams of water have
been pouring down the immense oper
cut, $50 feet deep; this cut connects
directly with the 3O0-foot level from
whence the water will find it's way to
the fire near the 600. An immense bulk
head just completed cuts off the work
ings at the south end of the mine, and
makes it possible for men to mine
there, free from danger of the gas and
smoke, which completely fill the north
ern workings.
Some idea of the magnitude of the
workings may be obtained when one
realizes that though miles of them are
ct present practically inaccessible an6
not worked, yet the men are having nc
trouble in taking out sufficient ore tc
keep the thousand stamps dropping
And that means 1000 tons a day.