New Britain herald., 1922-08-29
DESPAIR OF SAVING EN70MbED GOLD MEN Frantic Efforts of Rescuers Ap-
 pear to Be in Vain
 BIRDS PROVE FUTILIYY
Canaries, Sent Into Shaft, Are Killed by Fumes and Lack of Air, Showing There is Little Chance That Men Are Still Alive

Jackson, Cal, Aug. 29. = Canary birds told the rescue workers the fu tiltty of attempting further descents into the shaft of the ArgonaYt mine where flames have ragged since mid night Sunday from the 5000 foot level upward. The birds gave theil lives in warning of the danger of the descent. The tests showed that the but that farther was perilous.
 Relatives Still Hope
 Held in the grim grip of despair as hour follows hour in their vigil, fami- lies and fellow workers of the AS gold miners imprisoned since midnight Sunday nearly a mile below the earths surface in the Argonaut mine today ciung stubbornly to the shred of hope that their husbands, fathers and buddies still live, although the most optimistic hope was to reach the men within IS hours.
 Shadow of Death Impends
 Dawn today found that tense group still waiting. The pink tints of sun- rise touched into gentle colors, serene rolling landscape typical of the Sierra foothills and the region of the mother lode. But the shadow of death hung over those who worked and those who waited
 From the mouth of the pit. from which these men have helped to take fortunes in gold at an average of a million dollars a year. came no token of hope. From it came no sign of the hell of flame and smoke and poisoned air that ragged between the imprisoned miners on the levels be- low 1000 feet and the workers who vainly struggled to reach them.
 Tracks Melted Away
 During the night men attempting in mine "skips" to ride down through the flaming levels were dragged back to the surface, their faces blackened. They came to gasp for fresh air and to tell of the hopelessness of the trip below. The tracks on which the "skips' run were warped and dis torted with the heat, in some places even melted away.
 But Slim Chance
 Flames which started yesterday morning at the 5000 foot level today  level A half mile below the earths surface, working frantically with drills and picks to break through a concrete barrier which long has sealed the shaft of the Argonaut from the shaft of neighboring mine. the Kennedy, other miners sought to make a possible channel of escape for their trapped com rades. It was a slim hope.
 One miner at the mouth of the pit, his face showing Lale beneath the pallor of years under ground, spoke with the knowledge of a worker from the mine drifts when he said:
 The boys can't get through that wall in a month.
 Doing All Possible.
 Superintendent Virilio Gabaril said | everything humanly possible was be- ing done toward the rescue of the en- tombed men. He said that workers expected to establish communication with the miners. if any still are alive, within IS hours Until their bodies are brought out the hope that come of the 48 still live will endure.
 A portion of the main shaft be- low the 2,700 foot level had caved in, and workmen could remain at the 2 400 foot level to fight the flames ,nly a few minutes at a time. The trapped men are believed to be on the 800 foot level and lower levels.
 A considerable establishment for Ire fighting and rescue work has been ct up at the 2,400 foot level. Tele- phone lines thither were repaired and ,ther arrangements were made.
 May Be Suffocated.