Butte, MT Speculator Mine Explosion, Jun 1917 third article

Cheated Death.
John C Correyment and John Boyce, who were the first two men taken from the shaft alive, told how they cheated death by cutting the air hose and sucking the air by turns until the rescue party arrived. They were on the 700 foot level at the outbreak of the fire.

The Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck, ND 9 Jun 1917

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Tool Boy Is Hero.
Twenty-five men rescued alive from the 2,400 foot level of the Speculator mine, owe their lives to the heroism and resourcefulness of Manus Duggan, a 20 year-old nipper or tool boy. Young Duggan, displaying rare presence of mind, showed his older fellow-workers how to bulkhead themselves from the dangerous gas and preserve their lived until their rescue. There were twenty-nine members of the party and twenty-five of them are alive, the twenty-sixth man, J. H. McADAMS, dying despite the efforts to resuscitate him. The fate of young Duggan is not known, but it is believed that he has perished.
Nyrja Johnson was the first man to reach the surface.
“We owe our lives to Manus Duggan,” Johnson told the crowd at the timekeeper’s office. “He was the one who directed the work. None of us would be here it if had not been for him.”
A drink of brandy was urged upon Johnson, who at first refused it because of company rules, but finally took it upon the suggestion of a physician.
J. H. McADAMS, who was brought to the surface with Johnson and the others, died within an hour.

Duggan Is Missing
At 6 o’clock, Duggan had not been found and it is feared that he perished.
Among the bodies identified today was one which his friends sad was that of Josiah James. When the men were hoisted from the shaft this afternoon, James was among them and he walked to his home, his presence being the cause for rejoicing in the household, which was already mourning him as dead.
“Nothing to drink but copper water for thirty-six hours,” said Gilbert Cobb, one the rescued. “I’m not hungry, only thirsty. I feel as I would like to drink a barrel of fresh water.”
“This is a hell of a mine; now we’ve lost two shifts,” said one of the rescued as he puffed a cigaret (sic) and went to the dry house to change his clothing.
“No, I’ve been walking home for years and I’ll walk now,” he continued, when he was offered the use of a half dozen automobiles to carry him.

The Lincoln Daily Star, Lincoln, NE 11 Jun 1917
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Transcribed by Jenni Lanham.