1889 — Nov 23, St. Lawrence copper mine fire, suffocation Anaconda mine, Butte, MT–    6

— 9  Boston Sunday Globe, MA. “Nine Men Dead. Anaconda…” 11-24-1889, p. 2.

— 6  OMSHR, CDC. All Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present (website). 2-26-2013 update.

Narrative Information

Nov 23:  “Butte, Mont., Nov. 23. – Fire caught this morning in the crosscut on the 500-foot level of the St. Lawrence mine, and the draft is blowing it into the Anaconda workings.^[1] Great volumes of smoke are issuing from the Anaconda shaft. Patrick Murphy, Henry Page, Jerry Sullivan and Tim Kaliher are known to be suffocated in the Anaconda. A man could not live two minutes in any part of the mine.

Nine Have Perished.

“St. Paul, Minn., Nov. 23. – The Pioneer Press has the following particulars of the mine disaster at Butte:

“The flames were discovered by Neil McCabe, a miner working on the 500 foot level, and after an unsuccessful attempt to suppress the apparently small fire with his coat he got help, and the men tried to drown out the flames. They were soon driven out of the mine by heat and smoke, and as the fire occurred at 5 o’clock in the morning, between change of shifts, only a few were down, all of whom got out safely.

“There was a quantity of powder in the lower levels, and, to save the mine from disaster by its explosion, several men volunteered to remove it. A current of air from the St. Lawrence to the Anaconda sucked the workings of the former clear of smoke, while carrying the fire to the Anaconda.

“The Anaconda consists almost entirely of timbers above the 500-foot level up, and the result of the burning of those timbers will be a cave-in of disastrous proportions. Although the presence of a large amount of carbonic acid gas made it very dangerous the men willingly volunteered to take the risk. Two trips were made successfully, but the third was fatal in two cases. Keeler, a brakeman, was overcome on the cage coming up and fell back into the shaft. John Lyons was also overcome and fell on the cage, his head striking the timbers when near the top, and fracturing the skull.  Pat Murphy and Henry Page were overpowered at t e 800-foot level. Other men went down to save them, but had to leave them, having a narrow escape themselves from suffocation.

“The latest report is that there are nine men belonging to the mine unaccounted for, and they are undoubtedly dead by this time.

“Incendiarism or carelessness are the two causes assigned for the fire.

“The Anaconda mines constitute the greatest system of copper mines in tho world, and the capital is estimated at $20,000,000.”  (Boston Sunday Globe, MA. “Nine Men Dead. Anaconda Copper Mines on Fire – Efforts to Save Explosion Result in Death of Miners.” 11-24-1889, p. 2.)

Sources

 

Boston Sunday Globe, MA. “Nine Men Dead. Anaconda Copper Mines on Fire – Efforts to Save Explosion Result in Death of Miners.” 11-24-1889, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=161066022&sterm

 

Office of Mine Safety and Health Research. All Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present. Atlanta, GA:  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed 5-24-2013 at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/content/allminingdisasters.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] The two mines were connected.