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1869 Gold Hill, Nevada mine fire disaster....
1869 Gold Hill, Nevada mine fire disaster....
Item # 721538
April 11, 1869
THE NEW YORK HERALD, April 11, 1869
* Gold Hill, Storey County, Nevada
* Comstock Lode - Virginia City
* Yellow Jacket Mine fire disaster
Page 7 has an article headed: "The Disaster In Nevada" and more. (see images)
Complete with 16 pages, nice condition.
background: In April of 1869, a devastating fire erupted in the Yellow Jacket Mine at Gold Hill, Nevada, part of the Comstock Lode. The blaze, likely ignited by a left-burning candle box, quickly spread through the interconnected mine shafts, consuming timber supports and filling the tunnels with toxic smoke and superheated air. Rescue efforts were hampered by extreme heat, poisonous gases, and cave-ins, and despite attempts to ventilate and douse the fire, miners remained trapped. The disaster claimed the lives of at least 35 miners, some of whose bodies were never recovered, making it one of the deadliest mining accidents in Nevada up to that time. Contemporary reports described it as the greatest mining calamity on the Pacific Coast, highlighting the extreme hazards of 19th-century deep mining and prompting greater attention to mine safety, ventilation, and structural precautions in the region.
Category: Post-Civil War
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