22 CHARLES HIGGINS 



Point — the effect of the blast was worse. The cage was 

 descending into the Crown Point mine when the rush of foul 

 air that followcMl the collapse of the drift came and at the 

 seven hundred foot level the descending cage struck the cur- 

 rent. The men dropped to the floor of the cage in agony 

 as they breathed the rank fumes but the speed of the car 

 continued until it reached the eight hundred foot level, where 

 it stopped. There, amid a stifling smoke, the workers who 

 had escaped the blast were crying and when the cage appeared 

 there was a mad rush for it. Loaded to its utmost capacity 

 with others fighting for a chance to get on, it was shot up- 

 wards. Without delay it was lowered again and another 

 load was brought up, many of these all but dead from the 

 fumes below. 



In the meantime the alarm had spread around the mouth 

 of the shaft, fire engines began to arrive from Virginia City, 

 steam whistles screeched, and the families of the workers 

 came hurrying from all sides. 



Every possible effort was put forth to aid the men im- 

 prisoned beneath the surface and at noon a piece of paste-* 

 board, bearing the following words, and a lantern, lighted, 

 were attached to the bar of the cage and lowered into the 

 shaft of the Crown Point : 



''We are fast subduing the fire. It is death to attempt 

 to come up from where you are (the 1,000 foot level). We 

 shall get you out soon. The gas in the shaft is deadly. 

 Write a word to us, and send it up on the cage and let us know 

 where you are." 



The cage was held at the one thousand foot level to give 

 anj^one who might see the pasteboard and the lighted lantern 

 time to read and answer the message. Then, after the inter- 

 val of anxious waiting the cage was drawn back to the sur- 

 face. There was no answer to the message. Then the roll 

 of three mines was called and it was found that thirty four 

 miners were dead or missing. 



In spite of the knowledge that some of the minei^s might 

 be alive in the levels it was not until after midnight, following 

 the morning of the fire, that four of the most reckless of the 

 rescuers at work around the shaft, took a desperate chance 



