White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1911-03-12
HORRORS Of THE
BELMONT FIRE
TESTIMONY GIVEN AT THE IN
QUEST OF VICTIMS BRINGS
FORTH STATEMENT THAT THE
LOWER LEVELS WERE HILL.

The following testimony adduced
during the inquest over the remains
Of the Belmont victims a. Tonopah
il Of d very interesting nature. a. il
gives a graphic description Of the
horrors IN the mine after The IRE
broke out and the men sought 70
escape from death:
i do not know whO gave the or
der for the men 70 90 10 the Desert
Queen shaft. The word was passed
down the line and We went Arriy-
ing a. the 1000 level We walked 10
the 1856 Wine. The smoke was 50
thick We couldn't get any further
and We turned back IN the 1000
drift we met s1pt. Fitzgerald. He
told a gang Of five or six 70 patrol
the levels and sent five Or six more
70 two different places 70 take out
powder. He went down the middle
Wine, taking some q the boys with
him and said: IF 7 am not back in
twenty minutes some Of you fellows
come down and look for Us. Then
he called Murphy and Dondero and
took them along for messengers.
Pretty soon some y called from
the middle vein Wine for Us 10 90 I
the new shaft fBelmont) and down
TO the LOO. Nike Hannigan thought
II would be better on the LOO. and
we walked in toward the Wine.
There were quite a number of men
on the LIS level also. At the Wine
on the LOO we found a barrel Of
water standing. Someone called
from below TO throw the water down
or come down. I don't know which.
but Mike Hannigan started down. /
did not reply. Maybe he did not
hear me. Then someone came up
out OF the smoke and gas from be-
low and said for US 10 hurry TO the
surface. Again | called for Mike and
again there Was no response.
The smoke was growing thicker
every minute and We had 70 crawl to
the station. The top deck was filled
and three Of US erawled in on the
bottom deck. Just as We were
waiting for response 70 the hosting
signal, choking and coughing, and
some Of the men swearing and pray
ing, someone came s~hrieking through
the smoke for the cage to wait. The
bars were down and the mans head
hit them. with a s~ickening crash. He
dropped before our eyes and groan-
ed Well, boys. I'm gone; don't
wait
u never cav him again. We were
hauled up 70 the surface and as ]
staggered 10 the platform about the
OF the shaft | shouted that
there were men dying OF the 1000
and LOO and for them 70 send the
down. / do not know whether
not the cage was sem down.
"At the time the lower levels were
hell. You could not recognize your
closest friend a foot away. The
shrieks of fear and the can We're
/ called al often as ! could
that there was lots of room on the
deck, but no one came onto the
cage.
The above Is a portion of the
Of Pohn Peretf. a timber
helper. II Is quoted, as II IS a
practical duplicate of the evidence
Is being secured from the
who were down I'm the Bel
last Thursday and who narrow
Iy escaped death.
John Spencer. an Injured miner,
discharged from the hospital yester-
day, told practically the same story.
He told of how he crawIed TO the
cage and 1t already filled with men
lying PROSTATE and about overcome.
Graphically he recited now he
dragged himself up until he secured
a good grip on the truss piece of
the cage standing on the PROSTATE
bodies OF his fellow workers.
we were nearly up the shaft" he
said, when there was a crash and !
was nearly precipitated into the
shaft as one of the men on whom |
was standing vas dragged from the
age and crushed against the face
of the shaft. In a second an
other went, then two more, and ]
was left hanging by my hands. When
the engineer dropped the cage and
up again | was shaken loose
and fell on my hands and knees on
the bottom of the cage.
There were only two Of US there
when we got to the top"
You say you called for the cage?"
asked the coroner.
Yes. | said: For Gods sake
send down the cage. We are dying
and If you had been there you would
said the same thing, too"