The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1913-11-22
.BUlLWHACKER PLANT BURNED
Miners Rescued From Perilous
Situation, Shaft House De-
stroyed and Main Shaft
Damaged

miles west of Eureka, about 1920
Tuesday morning, burned the shaft
house, gallows frame, and a horse
used to operate the whim, the animal
being tied in the shaft house. One
side of the blacksmith shop was also
burned.
Johnny Kitchen saw the fire from
his home on Ruby Hill and at once
notified |. H. Rogers, keeper in
charge of the Richmond : Eureka
plant. Mr.. Rogers telephoned the SEN
TINEL office, requesting that the news
of the fire be made known in Eureka,
as it was thought several men were
below in the mine and might need as
sistance. This was done.
Granville Fletcher took a horse
and buggy, and with l.. w. Hope and
Ed Whitmore, made a record rur
from Eureka out to the Bullwhacker,
reaching there shortly before the
men from Ruby Hill arrived. They
found the shaft house all on fire and
one side of the blacksmith shoT
just catching. They made a rush
for the shop, and once inside began
searching for powder. They found
80 sticks of giant in a dry goods box
and carried it to a place of safety.
BY this time men from Ruby Hill
and other help arrived, but there was
not a man in the crowd who knew
the underground workings of the
Bullwhacker mine, and as the build
ing over the shaft was all on fire there
seemed no way of communicating
with the three men in the mine---
John and Will Evans and China Louie,
who are working this property under
lease.
A man was sent on horseback to
Ruby Hill for Dick Harris, who
had worked in the Bullwhacker, and
upon his arrival it was learned that
the three men were probably on the
$50 foot level. He said they could
be reached through a small man-way
back of the blacksmith shop, but this
only extended down about l20 feet
to a Wine, and a 80 or 60 foot rope
would be necessary to reach the men.
Granville Fletcher went over to the
Holly mine and soon returned with a
rope, and with Dick Harris leading,
Hope, Whitmore and Fletcher started
down the man-way. When they
reached the Wine they called down
and were soon in communication
with the three men on the $50 foot
level. The rope was sent down and
the men below were not long in
reaching their rescuers in the man.
way and accompanying them to the
surface.
In a talk with a SENTINEL repre-
sentative John Evans said on reach
ing the mine that morning they were
all cold and built a fire in the stove in
the shaft house, and there was some
fire in the stove when they went into
the mine about 9 a. m. Holes in the
roof of the building were patched
with pieces of sacks, and he believes
a spark lodged in this sacking and
started the fire.
He a Y the fire must have been
burning an hour or more before they
smelt the smoke and learned the
mine was on fire. They were all a
little ratified at first, for there was
considerable smoke in the main shaft,
but they decided they could escape
by going down the main shaft on
the ladders to the 450 foot level
where a 600 foot connection leads
into the Silver west mn
John and Will Evans started down,
but China Louie decided to wait ana
see how they made it. They only
got down about so feet when the
smoke became so dense that they had
to come back to the $50. By this time
the ladders and cribbing in the man
shaft above them had commenced 10
burn, and they realized that their
situation was serious.
A hasty calculation of the different
ladders on the 1870 level showed that
by patching and splicing they could
obtain enough to reach up the %
foot Wine to the manway' and tney
figured they could do this WORK IN
81 10 korrs-if the $50 level did