Samuel M. Fowler, 41, miner, helped to save John Wechselberger, 22, cage tender, from suffocation, Bonanza, Colorado, August 14, 1923. Wechselberger fell into an ore chute in a mine and slid 80 feet down its steeply sloping sides to a mass of damp ore. Just as he fell, ore was being removed from the bottom of the chute, and he was buried with the exception of his head and one arm. About 75 tons of ore was lodged funnel shaped above him in offsets of the hopper of the chute. Fowler was lowered into the chute on a rope, and he shoveled the ore away from Wechselberger’s head but made little headway against the ore as it continued to close around Wechselberger. Another man was lowered into the chute to assist Fowler, and after vain efforts were made to free Wechselberger, it was decided to open the chute at the bottom and draw the ore away from Wechselberger. Fowler, who felt sick from his experience in the chute, was drawn out on a rope, and another man took his place. A rope was tied to Wechselberger’s arm. Wechselberger was completely buried when the ore started to move, but the ore sank 10 feet in the chute, and the two men pulled Wechselberger from the ore. He was then drawn out on a rope. Wechselberger’s leg was broken in his fall. The other men were not injured. Fowler had been in the chute a half-hour. 23751-2041
23751 – 2041
23751-2041