Matthew D. Robson, 24, laborer, saved Samuel Slater, miner, and others from suffocation, Pana, Illinois, October 23, 1907. Robson ran about 1.25 miles, from the foot of a shaft to the end of the west entry of a coal mine, others having refused to accompany him, and warned 15 men and boys of a fire which was raging at the top of the 700-foot shaft. The fan had been stopped, the cages had been burned from their cables, and sparks and brands were dropping down the shaft. He hurried back toward the shaft, which had to be passed for escape to be possible, accompanied by the men and boys. When near the shaft, they encountered dense smoke and considerable heat, but they finally reached, and passed, the shaft, getting into the east entry, and to safety. 2344-364
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