The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1922-09-02
STILL TRYING TO
SAVE ENTOMBED MINERS

0hsk kAth VhAOLD hhAAAsS
Jackson. Cal, Aug. 30.-One hun
bred feet of earth this morning sep
arated the rescue party, working in
the underground depths of the Ken
nedy mine. from the entrance to the
45O0-foot level in the Argonaut mine,
the forty-seven men who have been
entombed in the burning mine since
midnight Sunday are trapped.
Rescuers Make Great Roadway
Remarkable Roadway has been
made within the past t~wenty-four
hours in the~work of attempting to
cut through from the Kennedy. Over
500 feet of loose rock have been
cleared away by the rescue party up
to this morning, and with 100 feet
yet to go 1t was expected that the
lower level OF the Argonaut would
be reached some time during the day
or night.
In a statement to newspapermen
this morning. Timekeeper George M.
Downing and Underground Foreman
st. Clair of the Kennedy said that
everything depended on the unknown
character Of the rock ahead. II hard
surfaces are encountered. TIE work
of the rescuers will be delayed.
No Caves In Tunnel
II the same character of loose rock
in which the rescuers have been few
erishly working for the past twenty
four hours lies ahead the Argonaut
will be entered during to-day.
Contrary to expectations, no caves
were found by the workmen. The
old tunnel in which the rescue party
is working was squeezed" to use the
expression of Downing, but the walls
had not caved in.
The rescuers are working in six
hour shifts, sixteen men to a shift,
and are cutting through from the
36OO-foot level OF the Kennedy. This
will tap the 4500-foot or lowest level
of the Argonaut.
One Man I'm Peril Before
practically our only hope" said
Downing, lilies in finding the men in
air pockets in the lower levels formed
by bulkheading the entrance to drifts
to prevent gas fumes from the burn
ing mine from reaching them. II the
men had the strength and the pres
ence of mind to bulkhead themselves
in. they could live for several days
and we may find them alive"
Ernest Miller, n of the entombed
miners, accomplished a similar feat
in Butte, Mont, some years ago when
he saved himself and twenty-five
companions from death through sheer
courage and presence of mind.
How They Were Saved
In the Butte affair, Miller coun-
seled with his comrades and they
bravely set to work. walling them
selves in, blinking the cracks with
mud and effectively cutting off the
gas fumes. On the fourth day res
cuers reached them.
Conditions at the cen of the Ar
gonaut disaster appeared much more
cheerful this morning as the third
day of suspense dawned.
1t is believed the fire in the main
shaft In the Argonaut has been
checked. Gas fumes have ceased to
issue from the Muldoon air shaft and
rescue parties have descended this
shaft hoping to gain entrance to the
main workings of the Argonaut be-
low the point where the flames have
been raging.
Mine Rescue Men at Work
No water is now being poured
down the main shaft. This practice
has been stopped in an effort to clear
the shaft of steam which prevents
the Government rescue workers,
equipped with oxygen helmets, from
descending into the lower levels.
Coyo~ol krndro foot ~ tim HARM O
in the main shaft and entrances to
levels have been cut away up to the
2500-foot level to rob the flames OF
fuel.
Last night a party of workmen de-
scended the Muldoon shaft to the
2400-foot level and plugged a leak
in a door between the Muldoon and
the Argonaut to stop a draft.
Suggestion About Reversing Fan
During a conference last night,
Superintendent B. 1. Hoxie of the
Fremont mine al Amador City, sug-
gested that the fan in the Muldoon
shaft be reversed. Hoxie commended
that II this were done, instead OF
drawing air from the mine the fan
would blow air back down the shaft
forcing the flames downward. This
he said, would have the same effect
as backfiring in fighting a forest fire,
The councillors. while thinking
we'll Of the suggestion, did not adopt
it. 1t was pointed out that 1t would
take six hours to reverse the big fan
and much valuable time would be
lost.
Flames Crept Upward
The situation was countered by
plugging the leaks In connecting
doors between the Muldoon and the
main shaft.
Two years ago when the Argonaui
mine was closed by fire. 1t was found
that the flames crept upward among
the timbering. driving the men out,
There are few people hanging
about the shafts at the Kennedy and
Argonaut mines this morning. Calm
seems to have settled over the fam
lilies of the imprisoned men and the
people of Jackson. For the most
mart thew have gone to their homes