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Show I'. MEN TRAPPED IN BUTTE MINE j One Hundred and Fifty Men Dead and No Hope for 200 More. FIRE STARTS FROM LAMP j Miners in Upper Levels Escape and Form Rescue Parties Widespread Call. BUTTE, Mont., June 9. With thirtv- I flvo known dead and 167 men missing1 ', as the result of a fire which broke out m the Speculator copper mine last A night, Butte wrestled today with the ..JagSi worst mining disaster in its history. Mi- The Are broke out in the lower levels I of the mine late last night, startirfg from a broken power cable that car-lied car-lied electricity to the underground pumps. Lower levels of the mine quickly filled with sraoko and gas. There were 415 men on the night shift. Of these 213 escaped through levels connecting with other mines. The gas spread to the Diamond mine and took a further toll of life in that property. Helmet men, mine rescue crews and safety first squads from all the mines in Butte undertook to penetrate pene-trate the gas-filled workings of the Speculator, the Diamond and High Ore mines, in the hope of finding the larger body of miners for whom hope of rescue res-cue was not given up today. Officials said that if the 1G7 missing miners are not found to have made their way to the High Ore mine workings, they are doomed. Early Morning Report. BUTTE. Mont , June 9. On'o hundred hun-dred and fifty men are reported dead and no hope is held out for the recovery recov-ery of 200 others trapped underground by a fire in the Speculator mine, near here, earl- today. Out of 425 men in the mine at the time the fire broke out, more than two-thirds are unaccounted j.w for. Twelve bodies have been recov- 1k ered. Jk The fire, which started on the 2400- H foot level, communicated quickly to is other levels, cutting off all escape from Ja men on lower levels. Dense smoke, 1 afl ' which poured from the shaft in great M clouds, retarded rescue work. Miners m ' from adjoining properties, ordered up ; gi from underground as a precaution, !ta ' went to work as rescuing gangs, aid- M ing national guardsmen who had been 53j called to the scene. Because of the a smoke and the danger they were able ' to do littlo until the arrival of safety 4j first cars from Red Lodge and Colo- i ' rado Springs, which were ordered ..J upon the outbreak of the fire. Warning of their danger came in s time to permit men on the upper levels i j to escape. They immediately formed S " rescue partio3 and attempted to go J j ) down the shaft to the men on lower j i levels, who are, it is thought en- id , tombed. Their efforts were fruitless $ , and littlo could be done until the ar- 1 rival of the bureau of mines safety 1 first cars, which carry gas and smoke I .L proof helmets. fj JUL 213 Men Accounted For. One hour after the outbreak of the fire, L. D. Frink, superintendent; M. D. Connors, foreman; N. D. Brawley, general manager of the Granite shaft, owned by the North Butte company, declared they could account for 213 out of 415 men who were in the shaft when the fire started. , John Coffemetten and John Boyce, who were the first two men to bo Jaken from the shaft alive, told a thrilling tale of sustaining their Hvbb by cutting tie air hose and sucking the air by turns until the rescueparty , arrived. They were on the 700-foot level at the outbreak of the fire. According to miners who escaped from the shaft the fire started from i flames of a carbide lamp. The men were ordered to report to the timekeeper time-keeper as they emerged from the mine; 211 men had so reported, soon after the rescue work started, out of the 415 who -went down in the night shift. Saw 48 Men Perish, Two men who were working on the 700-foot levol reported that forty-eight bad perished on tho level where they worked, thoy alone being saved. I All ambulances in Butte and all phy- Jl Bicians In the city were summoned to Jj the scene. I The Speculator is a tramway mine (tnd runs through Granite mountain. Men equipped with safety first helmets lo withstand the effects of smoke and fumes enterod the Speculator shaft first, but were compelled to retire soon after. Rescue Care Called. PITTSBURG, June 9. Rescue car No. 5, which has been at Billings, Mont., has been called to the scone, as has car No. 7, which is in Colorado. The mining interests at Butte are credited with having one of the best roscuo organizations in te country nd it, with, the assistance of the trained crews from the federal cars, ire relied upon to hurry tho work of escue at the mine. A statement by officials of the North Butte company Issued just before noon today gives thirty-siv known dead as I result of the Speculator mine fire, 2, 167 missing and 212 known to have IjLe teen saved. The list of-missing now """"" t "" ' It includes only such men as are believed yet to be in tho.mine. |