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The names of the men known to be in the mine are as follows: Trembath, mine boss Richard Bicket Michael Johnson Richard Grenfell Michael Shulte John Matsen William Bryant Francis Lander Alexander Danfell John Cudlip Thomas Curtis Robert Johns Peter Martin Joseph Sahte James Harrington William Donald Barney Elgore Anton Schezweak Peter Stengard Walter Dole ARE CERTAINLY DEAD. The fire started in shaft No. 3, which is used to carry the miners to the surface from the mine, and when the fire broke out all of the men and boys employed in the mine, about 200 in number, made a rush for the shaft in the hope of being taken to the surface. The fire was too rapid for them, however, and the chances of escaping by the shaft were entirely cut off by flames and smoke. The majority of the imprisoned miners made a break for a cross-cut and in this way managed to reach another shaft, from which they were taken to the top. Forty were missing when the roll was called. Within a short time after they had reached the sur- face some smoke began issuing from all the shafts and the escape of the men below was entirely cut off. The men in charge say now there is not the slightest chance for any of the men now in the mine to escape with their lives. If they are not burned, they must have been choked by the dense smoke within a short time after the fire started. There is not the slightest thing that can be done for the men and no effort is being made to extinguish the flames. There is nothing known of how the fire originated. FURTHER PARTICULARS The fire broke out in the twenty-seventh level. The Osceola is a copper mine located two miles from Calumet. As Captain Richard Edwards was making his way to No. 2 shaft he smelled wood burning. On nearing No. 3 shaft Captain Edwards met Captain Trenbert and a party of men who were looking for the fire, and on reaching the shaft they found a large quantity of logging on fire. Word was immediately sent to the men in the mine to come to the sur- face, which many succeeded in doing, but there still remains in the dry house 30 suits of clothes, and it is supposed that number were unable to get out and are entombed 2700 feet below the surface with no possible avenue of escape. Ever since 12:30 o'clock smoke has been pouring out of the mine in huge volumes from No. 3 shaft. The scene at the Oppeiche shaft where many of the men came up, was deeply heartrending, thousands having gathered around the mouth of this shaft, many women and children standing around looking for their husbands and fathers. Besides the men mentioned many more are known to be entombed, but in the excitement it is impossible to obtain their names. They are mostly Austrian trammers. The mouths of the shafts have now been all battened up to stop all drafts, and all hope is now given up of ever rescuing the men alive. This is the greatest loss of life that has ever occurred in the copper country. ------------------------------------------------------------ Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal 9 September 1895 NO HOPE FOR THE MINERS A Score or More Probably Suffo- cated by Smoke and Gas in the Osceola Mine. ----------------- Houghton, Mich., Sept. 9 - The opening at the surface of the burning shaft of the Osceola mine, near Calumet, which took fire Saturday noon, has been rendered air tight by a course of heavy timber covered with closely packed dirt. The next shaft north has been similarly covered, and the smoke from the burning timber in No. 3 shaft and the drifts adjoining is now rolling out in dense volumes from No. 4 shaft, several hundred feet to the south. Owing to the sealing of No. 3 shaft it is impossible to judge whether the fire is gaining or abating. The only pre- cendents from which the probable duration of the fire can be guessed are supplied by the three big fires which have ravaged the Calumet and The Cla (sic) mines. The greatest of these burned for months and was extinguished only by flooding the mine with water. The fire started in the logging or stull timber in the drift of the 27th level within 20 feet of the shaft. At the time the alarm was sounded, over 200 people were underground, and all could have escaped had they used proper precaution. Several miners, in their flight, passed a group of seven or eight men who had stopped to rest and were smoking their pipes. They seemed to be in no hurry or to think of danger. When told to hurry to the surface they remarked that they had plenty of time and not one of them reached the surface. It is thought that between 20 and 30 men are dead in the mine. The Fire Now Under Control Boston, Sept. 9 - A telegram received at the office of the Osceola Mining Company in this city, says the fire in the mine is under control but the mine cannot be got at as yet. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Spokesman Review Spokane, WA 10 September 1895 DEATH STILL THERE Osceola Mine is Full of Poi- sonous Gases and Vapors ------ SHAFTS WILL BE CLOSED ------ Attempts to Bring Out the Bodies of Dead Miners Abandoned for the Present ----------- Houghton, Mich., Sept. 9. - The situation at the Osceola mine remains about the same as on Sunday. Captain Richards and Captain Edwards and two men went down as far as the second level in shaft No. 1 Sunday night to make some repairs to the pump. Everything seemed to be clear there, but after the men had been working for a while they suddenly felt themselves be- ing overcome by the gas and started up. Captains Richards and Edwards with a small gang of men, went down shaft No. 5 this morning and succeeded in getting within 200 feet of No. 4, where they were afraid to go farther, owing to the strong gaseous odors. After this attempt had been made, the men who had relatives and others having friends in the mine went to Captain W. E. Parnell with the request that shaft No. 3 be uncovered. They had no hopes of the men being alive, but they were anxious to recover their bodies. Captain Parnell then called all the miners together and made a long address to them, saying that it would give the fire draft and that there was timber enough in the mine to keep the fire up for weeks and that this action would cause a much longer delay in recovering the bodies. The relatives of the entombed men are becoming more anxious as each hour passes to recover the bodies and would willingly enter the burning mine, which they know would mean death to them. Many frightful sights were to be seen at several of the homes. Mothers with eight and 10 small children clustered about them weeping frantically, their last ray of hope having gone. How the fire originated is still a great mystery. Captain Richards thinks it was the work of incendiaries, while others say it was undoubtedly due to carelessness on the part of miners. ===========================================================================