Page 52 to the 1,050-foot level. Dukeshire state s that he was “feeling” the brakes, and the cage was at about the 900-foot level when the rope broke just outside the hoist-room, and the broken end fell back through the wall. He immediately applied the brakes and brought the ascending empty skip to a stop. Dukeshire is very positive that the brakes were not applied before the rope broke. When the hoist was stopped, there was about 25 feet of rope on the foor and about 1 1 laps of rope on the 4th layer of the drum, all of which had recoiled and loosened. There was still a group of miners in the shaft-house. They heard the trail - ing end of the rope thrashing the roof and headframe as it was drawn down the shaft. Three men, E. T ailifer , I,. Bilodeau, and P . Stringer , on the 1,575-foot level station saw the descending cage pass that point. They had gone down with the second cage load. which have been described above, did not work ef fectively in this case. They took hold when the rope broke but they either bounced out or were whipped out by the trailing rope. At the frst contact they cut into the guides for only a foot to a maximum depth of not more than 5/16 of an inch on each side of the guide. The teeth probably flled with wood at this point. The dogs on the east guide then cut out for two sets, and those on the west guide no more than scratched the guide. Hoistman C. Dukeshire began work at about 7.30 a.m. Before commencing to load the 8 o’clock shift, Dukeshire ran the cage, empty , through the shaft and tested the Lilly controls. He then started to lower the day shift, lowering the men to the bottom level frst. T wo cage loads had been low - ered and the third load was descend - ing at 7.55 a.m. when the acci dent oc - curred. The third load had been rung They testifed that the cage passed the 1,575-foot level at faster than normal speed. One man described its speed as fast but not as though it were falling free. One stated there was a tearin g noise caused by the dogs working on the guides. They stated they could not see the trailing rope for dust. T ailifer procee ded on down the man - way of No. 5 shaft to the bottom. He was the frst to arrive at the cage, which was at the foor of the spillage pocket. He states that he heard two of the men moaning. One of them, Ub - ald Legault, was conscious.T ailifer then went up to the 2,575-foot level station and telephoned to Newman again. T ailifer informed the mine su - perintendent that the cage would have to be burned to release the men. The ace tylene burning-equipm ent was therefore dispatched to the bottom by way of No. 3 and No. 5 winzes (inter - nal shafts), and all the rescue men go - ing down from surface travelled this way . The local mine inspector was informed of the accident about 8.10 a.m. He arrived at the mine about 8.45 a.m. and examined the cage rope, which remained on the hoist, and then pro - ceeded under ground to the cage by way of the winzes. T wo doctors waiting at the shaft collar were then calle d down to the bottom as the removal of the frst men from the upper deck was proceeding. Ubald Legaul t, the third man re - moved, the only man alive at this time, was found unconscious and in a dying conditio n. He was brought up the shaft accompanied by a doctor and then taken directly to the hospital, but died before reaching it. The removal of the last man from the upper deck was accomplished about 4 p.m. The removal of the eight men from the lower deck was a much more dif - fcult job than was the removal of the frst eight from the upper deck. The upper deck was not as badly distorted as the lower . Cont’d from pg. 48 Miners punch-in before going underground for shift Third cage load of men pr oved unlucky “The Porcupine Camp” 100 Y ears of Mining Page 50