Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1922-07-31

ASSAY OFFICE, OIL Building
AND HOSE HOUSE DISAPPEAR IN
THE BOWELS OF MOTHER EARTH

The greatest cave-in in the history
of mining in southern Nevada &C.
currrd last evening at 645 O'Clock
at the Mizpah property on Mount
Oldie. and as a result the assay Of,
flee. an oil building and a hose house
disappeared as if by magic The
caymm occurred from the surface
2nl left a hole fully one hu9dre.
feet in circumference, and to depth
G. goo feet
That no one was injured seems
miraculous, but the only danger to
life would have been to men in the
assay office, or to someone that may
have been sent to the oil house for
supplies, and people who might have
been passing over the ground in
question:
The cave was not unexpected by
.h. management; in fact it had
been anticipated for a number of
years, but it was not believed the
assay office and oil building would
Disappear Luckily no one was in
either building Chas Locker. head
chemist having left the building at
4.3o o'clock, while he sent his as.
sis,aut Austin Wardle home at . %
o'clock
People residing on Mizpah hill
bad heard the rumbling throughout
the day and many were of the opln-
ion that the district was being Wis.
tied with an earthquake one WON.
an had written a letter during the
day to relatives, informing them of
the tremors that were taking place
here, never for an instant believing
,hat the shocks were due to the
monster slopes beginning to move.
The cave dropped to the 300 level.
and considerable distance from
the Mizpah shaft, and did not in
any manner affect the shaft. The
cage VAS sent down a short time
later and the shaft had not moved
The particle Of an inch.
The natural stope," as it was
termed. had not been visited by a
miner in eight years, but was de-
'eIoped through a crosscut and on
an average of 100 tons of ore had
oeen pulled daily from the ground
Tor several years.
The siding of the railroad track
r mans tntack, but the tracks for a
distance ~ 'ully 100 feet. hanging
" mldair No trains had been run
over the tracks in long period by
reason Of tie anticipated cave
mas. Locker, the assayer, had
leN the rumbling throughout the
uy and noticed the building shaking.
ne could not keep articles in place
u" MS desk so great was the move
u,ent' aud at go told Austin War.
u'7 ne had better go home. He re,
"''ued hre until 4:SO when he de.
'ed IF would be advisable to vacate
,"' building himself and lust a
% more than two hours later the
cave occurred.
"Aeh the buildings disappeared
s,, ro'e was a great cloud of dust that
,,'9u 'he air for hundreds of feet
""' people from many directions re-
".1ed that something out Of the or.
e'nary had occurred and within a
-" minutes several hundred people
"o'e at the scene of the catastrophe
l"e ground in the immediate vicinity
was "as roped off to prevent anyone en-
'e''ug danPo,ous territory, while
ticeable., IL"
ne damag IS estimated at $4,000
~ l. A Frazier through the loss Of
.De assay office and oil building. I'm.
leu'ate consrnction of new build.
,a s9 VIII be started, the assay office
ture. 0 p'"0i S'' u''
no cave will not result in the
'pehsion of operations, or the
T>~< "~-S-o-S-S So-SAAAAA