Page 56 blew until the last body was on sur - face. Those who had phones were constant - ly on the Iinc to the mine asking for information. Those who had cars, although there were few of them as W orld W ar II still raged and gasoline and tires were ra - tioned, went to the mine. Many walked the fve miles or less from T immins, Schumacher and South Porcupine to the mine on the Back Road (now Gold Mine Road) and stood near the shaft head. The best source was The Daily Press which held its 1.30 afternoon edition until 3.30 to deliver the latest news. It carrie d the names of 13 men whose bodies had been recovered and of three listed as “believed dead.” The day shift at the other mines in the area ended at 4 p.m. and street sales of The Daily Press soared that day as miners snapped them up. Most had home deli very of the newspaper but they couldn’ t wait until they got home. It also printed most of the facts and while the story remained on the front page for many days, essentially every - thing was known by Monday night. The hoistman knew instantly some - thing was wrong when his motor pulled the broken end of the cable into his view . When the cable disappeared, the min - ers wait ing at the shaft head knew the cage was gone. W ith the cage at the bottom of the sump, rescuers had to go under ground in a skip normally used to bring ore to the surface. Using acetylen e torches, they cut their way into the wreckage and by 10.30 a.m. the frst bodies were brought to the surface. The sump was flled with water and rescue workers had to work by their lamps in the cold and the dark through - out most of Friday . There were eight men in the top half of the cage and e i g h t m o r e i n t h e b o t t o m . The bodies were sent up two at a time in the skip to the same shaft head from where the cage fell. All work at the Paymaster was sus - pended and the men made available to help with the recovery . As information became available, it was passed on to the relatives with personal briefngs or by phone. the mines in the area, Dome, Aunor and the Buf falo Ankerite, being the closest, sent men and apparatus to supplement the Paymaster ’ s equip - ment. District mines inspector E.B. W eir rushed to the scene upon his notifca - tion. After he examined the cable, he said “there was no sign of deterior ation on the outside of the cable. “It had been tested regularly . as they all are.” Everyone involved in the investiga - tion were remarkably open in releas - i n g t h e f a c t s o f t h e t r a g e d y . The cable was recovered and several pieces c u t from it and sent to the laboratories of the Ontario Depart - ment of Mines. Mines Minister Leslie Frost, later pre - mier for many years, promised a full investigation by his department. “W e are going to fnd out what caused this tragedy , if it is humanly possible t o d o s o , ” h e p r o m i s e d . Coroner Frank C. Evans was pres - ent at the mine throughout most of Friday and said he would hold an inquest. Mine manager Charles Cook person - ally directed the operation. The Paymaster ’ s security offcers un - der chief Ja m e s T aylor , T isdale Po - lice Chief Charles M c I n n i s, Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Bert Brancy , several local doctors, a Ro - man Catholic priest, E. Deschene (lat - er joine d by several ministers) , helped identify the dead and comforted the relatives who were on the scene. On T uesday Feb. 6, John F . Cauley , commissioner of the Ontario W ork - men’ s Compensation Board (WCB) arrived in T immins to interview the relatives of the 16. “W e are trying to get all the details ar - ranged immediately so that payments can begin as quickly as possible,” he said. W idows of the victims would receive $100 immedia tely and $45 a month for life, unless they remarried. They would also receive $10 a month for each child until the child reached 16, or 18 if the child was in school. The payments could not exceed two- thirds of the father ’ s income before his death. The WCB also paid funeral costs up to $125 and travel costs for any rela - tive who attended. Cont’d from pg. 52 Families wait in agony for the names of dead miners Mines Minister Leslie Frost, (later premier) ordered investigation. “The Porcupine Camp” 100 Y ears of Mining Page 54