18 Thursday, January 2, 1997 Pahrump Valley Gazette
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Portland, OR Pahrump
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Nevada then and now
New Year's mine rescue
by Phillip I. Earl
Nevada Historical Society
Nevada Historical Society Photograph: Silver City, Nevada, scene of a herioc rescue, New
Year's Eve, 1938.
Nevada Historical Society Photograph
Saturday, December 31, 1938 dawned cold and blustery in western Nevada, in Reno,
the citizens went about their preparations for ushering in the new year, but the people
of Silver City spent the day pacing to and fro at the mouth of the south Comstock Mine
and maintaining a silent vigil. The previous day, AI Peterson, a thirty-five-year-old
miner, had become trapped in a
stope between the 300 and 400-
foot level of the mine when a hang-
ing wall gave way behind him and
filled the drift with several tons of
rock and dirt. The cave-in took place
about 1 la.m., but Peterson was not
missed until lunchtime because he
was working alone. A crew has-
tened to the scene immediately and
those men familiar with the old mine
determined that they would have to
remove some sixty feet of waste ore
to get to the stope and partially
retimber the drift. Several men who
had previously worked the stope
figured that Peterson was still alive
and mine crews from Virginia City,
Gold Hill and Dayton were on the
scene in a matter of minutes.
Once mining engineers Leland
Armstrong, Ernest Harker and Wil-
liam Montgomery decided that a
125 foot drift upward from the 400
foot level would be the safest means
of effecting a rescue, two crews of
six miners each set to work with
drills, shovels, mine jacks and timbering. Peterson had neither food nor water and the
men on the rescue crew were concerned about a lack of oxygen if he were to remain
trapped longer than thirty-six hours.
Peterson's wife and three-year-old daughter, Ethel, had meanwhile joined those on
the surface and several Silver City housewives brought hot food for the men working
underground. Word of the drama reached Reno, Carson City and Virginia City later in
the afternoon, putting a damper on plans for parties and other New Years festivities.
The rescue crews were soon reporting progress after removing one hundred cars of
muck so they could start the upward drift. One miner described their efforts as being
similar to, "a bunch of ants trying to climb up inside a funnel of sand" but they persisted.
Matt Murphy, Nevada inspector of
Mines, had meanwhile taken over the
rescue operations By 9a.m. the next
day, December 31, the crews had
reached the stope and punched through,
but Peterson refused to come out, fear-
ing another collapse of the tunnel. A
moment later, the drift gave way and
the crew spent the next fifteen hours
digging, setting their jacks and
retimbering.
A strange quiet had settled over the
streets of Reno, many New Year's cel-
ebrants sitting in the clubs nursing their
drinks and awaiting news from the
Comstock. Just before midnignt, a res-
cue crew opened another tunnel and
Peterson came through. Weakened by
his ordeal, he was placed on a stretcher
and hoisted to the surface at four min-
utes past the hour. As the other miners
cheered and women wept, he hugged
his wife and daughter, assuring them
that he was "feeling fine." A few min-
utes later, his wife said to the other
miners "We Ere grateful to the men who
worked so hard and so long in that
dangerous ground to rescue my husband. Their work made our New Year's celebration
a happy one." Returning home a few minutes later, Peterson asked for a drink of
whiskey, but he got a cup of hot chocolate instead.
Word of his rescue had meanwhile been telephoned to Reno and a cheer went up on
the streets and in the bars. Barkeeps served a round of free drinks and parties continuing
long into the night kicked off.
