Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917 PDF
Preview Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917
*# % «•*.*» «(& FIRE BRIMSTONE The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917 MICHAEL PUNKE m$ ' J k^PfS — L he worst hard-rock mining disaster in American history began just before midnight on f,ine 8, 1917. Sparked by a tragic accident more than two thousand feet below ground, a fire in the Granite Mountain shaft spewed flames, smoke, and poisonous gas through a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Within an hour, more than four hundred men s would be locked in a battle to survive. Within three days, one hundred and sixty-three of them would be dead. Amazingly, two groups of miners o saw their only hope as self-entombment &>..>< a.•'--« blockading themselves in the depths to escape; the gas,hopingthat rescuerscould reach them in time. As the miners fought below ground, their fami- lies waited in anguish above, united in the prayer CI that their sons, fathers, and husbands might make home. it Whilethe disaster is compelling in its own rjght, Fire and Brimstone also tells a far broader story. Butte, Montana, on the eve of the disaster was a volatile jumble of antiwar protest, an abusive corporate master, seething labor unrest, divisive ethnic tension, and radicalism both left and right. It was a powder keg lacking only a spark, and. the mine fire would ignite strikes, murder, ethnic and political witch hunts,occupation by federal troops, and ultimately a battle over presidential power. Critically acclaimed author Michael Punke masterfully weaves the events of 1917 into a nar- rative both remarkable for its historical sense and striking in its contemporar Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 http://www.archive.org/details/firebrimstonenorOOpunk Fire and Brimstone Fire and Brimstone The North Butte Mining Disaster 1917 of Michael Punke ^Ihyperioni New York Copyright©2006MichaelPunke Sourcefordiagramonpagexii: BureauofMines,"LessonsfromtheGraniteMountain ShaftFire,Butte," 1922. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedor reproducedinanymannerwhatsoeverwithoutthe writtenpermissionofthePublisher.Printedinthe UnitedStatesofAmerica.Forinformationaddress Hyperion,77West66thStreet,NewYork, NewYork10023-6298. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Punke,Michael. Fireandbrimstone:theNorthButteminingdisaster of1917/MichaelPunke.- 1sted. p. cm. Includesindex. ISBN 1-4013-0155-X 1. Minefires—Montana—Butte. 2. GraniteMountain SpeculatorMineDisaster,Mont., 1917. 3. Copper minesandmining—Accidents—Montana—Butte. 4. NorthButteMiningCompany. I. Title. TN315.P862006 363.1l'9622343'0978668-dc22 2005052579 Hyperionbooksareavailableforspecialpromotionsand premiums.FordetailscontactMichaelRentas,Assistant Director,InventoryOperations,Hyperion,77West 66thStreet, 12thfloor,NewYork,NewYork10023, orcall212-456-0133 FIRSTEDITION 13579 8642 10
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