Original subtitles

I'm tellin' ya, Benett,

the mud will never hold those timbers,

you've got to have concrete!

Will you stop doggin' me, Yank.

I know what I'm doin'.

And I know this drift.

The water pressure's building up at the 800 foot level.

Can you imagine what it's like down here at 2,100 feet?

Exactly, that's why I wanna finish up

and get the men out of there today.

Another day's delay pouring concrete

would be dangerous.

The angle of the decline is greater

on this side of the drift.

The force of that water would make soup of that mud

and push it right out.

You know, the bulkheads have always held up with mud.

That does it, Mr. Benett.

Fine, let's get goin'.

I haven't had me breakfast yet.

Benett, listen to me!

No, you listen to me!

Somewhere along the line you get the notion

you're some sort of mining expert.

Well, you're not!

You're the crew chief and that's all!

I'm the foreman here, me!

You? You rockheaded old jackass!

Ah, get out of here!

You bet I'll get outta here.

I don't wanna be here when that bulkhead goes

and drown like a rat!

Well, what are ya gawkin' at?

Get goin'!

Howdy, folks, I'm the Old Ranger.

In the early days of mining,

two important virtues were necessary to a man:

imagination and courage.

In 1882, in Nevada,

John Yank Van Duzen and Andrew Peasley

proved they had both

when one helped the other to enter the...

Look, Benett, for the love of Pete,

will you listen to reason?

I've heard all I want to hear.

What do you wanna do,

endanger the lives of every man down there?

I know the safety rules.

I've been workin' the mines for near 30 years.

I've risked me own life for my men many a time

and I'll do it again if I have to.

Well, you may have to, you old rockhead

if that bulkhead goes.

Maybe you don't like it here Mr. Van Duzen,

maybe you'd like to quit.

Maybe I would.

As of now!

Well, they're at it again, the fourth time this month.

Well, let's see now, where was I?

Oh, yes.

So the widow says, "My, my, Mr. Peddick,

and all the time I thought you was a foreign gent!"

What's the matter Danny boy?

Look at him, he's red as a cherry!

Oh, Danny, if you're gonna be a real miner,

you gotta toughen up those calf ears of yours.

Ain't much to do down in that black hole

but swing a pick, tell widow stories.

Which reminds me, did you ever hear the story

about that widow that had the cow?

Shh!

Mornin', fellas.

Mornin', ma'am.

Isn't Yank here yet?

Oh well...

Yes, he was just here, but uh...

but he left. Oh.

But I thought he was on the mornin' shift.

He was, ma'am, but you see...

Yank quit, Ms. Benett.

Again?

Well, your pa and him,

they had another fierce argument.

This time, Yank looked mad enough to stay quit.

Do you know where he went?

He went over that way, Ms. Benett.

Probably over to Peasley's,

they're very good friends, you know?

Thanks.

Yes, ma'am.

Alright fellas. Time to go to work now.

Danny!

Danny! Danny!

You forgot your extra socks.

Thanks, ma.

You didn't have to come all the way out here.

A couple of hours in that damp hole down there

and your socks will get soakin' wet!

You know, your father died

because of the dampness all the time down there.

I know, ma.

You put those dry ones on later, you hear?

Sure, ma.

Come on, Danny boy!

I'm sorry Mr. Peasley, but I've told you before,

the company requires a pipe fitter

to have a certificate.

Now I'd like to put you on,

but I didn't make the rules, you know?

But I'm a good pipe fitter, Mr. Benett.

Ask Yank Van Duzen!

You ask him, he quit today.

Oh.

Oh, that man Peasley,

he just doesn't understand that pipe fitting in a mine

is different than being a... a fixer-upper like he is.

Have you caulked up that Number 3 bulkhead

in the west drift?

Oh yes, sir, Mr. Boyle, first thing this morning.

As a matter of fact, we put in a double bulkhead.

Good.

That water pressure's building up down there.

We don't wanna take any chances.

You better have Van Duzen

make a check every hour on the hour of that Number 3.

Oh, uh...

Well, Mr. Boyle,

I'll have to assign somebody else to that now.

Why?

Van Duzen's the best man we've got

for ferreting out trouble.

Man's got a nose for it.

Well, he quit this morning, Mr. Boyle.

You two been at it again?

He claimed that we oughta concrete up that bulkhead.

Now that would take three times as long to do.

Besides, mud has always held up before.

I agree with you.

Double bulkhead, that should hold.

Now that's exactly what I told him, Mr. Boyle.

You know, you and Van Duzen have got to call a truce

sooner or later.

What's gonna happen when he marries your daughter?

Oh, me heart rattles in me chest bones

at the thought of it, sir.

Alright, who you gonna send down to keep a watch on Number 3?

The very best man available, Mr. Boyle.

Me!

That's who.

Ursula, for the love of Pete,

why do you always have to do that

when you get your dander up?

Why I ask you, Yank Van Duzen,

do you always have to come to Mr. Peasley's

and build the bottle when your dander is up?

Well, a man's got a right.

A man's got no right

to quit his job just one month

before he's to take on the responsibility of a wife.

I've never seen such stubborn,

hard-nosed men like you and my father.

Like two mad banshees you act, always pickin' at one another

and...

Well, you've got the mick devil in yours.

Now, Yank...

Hello, Andy.

Mr. Peasley.

What's the matter, Benett turn you down again?

The ninth time.

Oh, that narrow-minded old walrus,

why he can't see beyond the end of that big red nose of his.

Now, Yank!

Have a snort, Andy.

You've had enough snorts for the day, Yank Van Duzen.

I'll fix us a cup of coffee.

Thanks, Mr. Peasley, we'd love some.

Come on, Yank.

Who you bossin'?

Now we aren't even married yet.

I think you Benetts were born givin' orders.

How do you know I would like some coffee?

Sure now.

Would you be cari" for some coffee, Mr. Van Duzen?

Well, now I don't know.

Oh, come on!

Oh Fletcher, I want you to make a routine check

on both these pumps today, huh?

Yes sir, Mr. Benett.

Mr. Peasley. Yeah?

What's this?

Oh that's a brainstorm of mine, but I haven't worked it out yet.

That's a cow milker.

It's kind of automatic.

Really?

Yeah.

But don't work.

You know what happened?

I tried it on Mrs. Wilson's Guernsey,

pinched the cow and she kicked me almost

into the next county.

Andy invents things.

I didn't know that.

Oh well, they're just little things.

Oh, here, I'll show ya.

Flour mixer.

Put your milk, flour in there.

Turn this handle.

Why that's wonderful, Mr. Peasley!

You like it?

Yes!

Seems so much simpler than beatin' the flour

with a big spoon.

Oh it's yours as a wedding present.

Why, thank you, Mr. Peasley.

Look, Yank, our first wedding gift.

Thanks, Andy.

You know, all my life

I've fiddled with scraps of metal, pieces of pipe,

all kinds of junk

just hopin' once I'd come up with something worthwhile.

I can't even get a decent job as a pipe fitter.

Guess I'll always be an ordinary handy man like my pa.

You know, he dreamed of inventing something,

just once, important.

And he died fixing a rusty handle on a water pump.

I bet he was a wonderful man.

Yeah, he was.

Oh, coffee oughta be ready, huh?

I don't like the way the heat is rising on this level.

After I inspect the bulkhead, we'd better...

The mud's breakin' up.

The whole bulkhead's comin' apart.

You get up there and you tell Fletcher

to get them water pumps ready.

We'll be needin' 'em!

I'll be warnin' the men!

The bulkhead's turning bad!

Randle, Oscar, get out!

So there I was, standin' slap-dab

in the middle of these two old biddies.

Benett: Get out!

The bulkhead's gone!

Listen. Benett: Get out!

Get out!

Bulkhead's gone!

The bulkhead!

Benett: Get out!

Randle, Oscar, the bulkhead!

Get out!

Come on... Please go!

Come on, let's get outta here!

Wait, it's too late.

Get up at the slope, come on, come on, move!

Get up there!

Come on!

Move!

Please, Yank, talk to dad, he'll put you on again.

Me ask that old crowbait for my job back?

Not on your pretty life, I would...

Alright, Jimmy, keep those air pumps going.

Fletcher, relieve Johnson!

I'll take it, Johnson.

There now, Mrs. Jenkins.

Mrs. Rider.

Oh Ursula, my Danny!

Is that the best you can get out of it, Fletcher?

That's the best.

Boyle, that pump isn't taking the water out fast enough.

If their air pipe gets flooded...

I know, I sent Riker down to check the water level.

Doesn't look good from here.

That water pressure's been building up for a week.

Listen, you know that drift better than anybody.

How far do you think that water's reached?

Well, the crew should be about here in the east drift,

which is 1,500 feet back from the 2,100 foot station.

Yeah.

Now, here's Number 3 bulkhead that gave out.

Well, I'd figure that the water level

should be about here now.

Another hour, should be here.

After that, it's only a matter of minutes

till it reaches the air pipe.

Then they either drown or they suffocate.

Hey, look.

Riker!

Steam's out there!

Can't breathe!

Steam?

That water must have created a steam trap

at the bottom of the drift.

Well, it must be hell down there!

Mr. Boyle! Mr. Boyle!

Take him to the shack! It's the pump!

We're comin'!

I think this left relief valve is froze.

Well, don't be tellin' me about it, go ahead and fix it!

Well, it's gonna take a little time to fix it.

How much time?

Oh, three hours, maybe four.

Three or four hours?

Look, those men will be dead in three or four hours.

Well, I'll do the best I can.

Mr. Boyle. Yeah?

Hey, pumps, any kinda pumps that's my specialty...

By the time they get those pumps repaired,

their air supply might be cut off.

Boyle, you've got to let me try

to get an extension pipe through to 'em.

It'll give us time to work.

No.

But that extension pipe is their only chance!

It would burn out your insides down there and you know it!

You wouldn't stand a chance.

Mr. Boyle, where's my father, I... I can't find him.

He's down there with the men, Ursula.

Benett?

Oh no.

I'm sorry, darling,

I didn't know he was down there either.

But we'll get him out...

somehow.

If I could just figure a way to keep the air cool,

that I breathe down there.

A long hose or something?

Air.

Cool air.

There's a steam trap buildup in that shaft,

it's as hot as fire down there.

Why, you'd sear the lungs of anybody that went in there.

A man would suffocate in a matter of minutes.

But if I could get through with that extension pipe

for their air supply,

we might be able to keep 'em alive long enough

to get this pump working.

But I can't breathe that hot air.

Air, cool air.

Yank, I got an idea.

Well, what is it?

And it'll work.

Come on over to the house.

Mr. Boyle, while Fletcher's taking that apart,

have one of the men cut a new gasket,

it'll save an hour and it'll work.

I don't understand. I'll explain it you later.

Here, you see those two glasses back there?

Take that glass cutter, cut the bottoms out 'em

and smooth off the rough edges.

Ms. Benett, take that piece of leather,

will you please?

And cut me a whole in the center of that, now exactly

and cut it exactly this, 13 inches in diameter.

It's sort of a metal headgear then?

That's right.

And here's how it works.

This will hold about five pounds of ice.

Ice contains some oxygen.

It'll be held in place by this metal screen.

Now.

If you get this on,

and tie these leather straps around your chest,

that'll keep it practically airtight.

As you breathe, the air will come down through here,

passes through the ice,

it'll keep the air you're breathing cool!

You think it'll work?

Well, it should.

But then again, I thought the automatic cow milker

would, too.

Yeah.

Well, we'll try it,

Ursula, you get some ice and bring it to the mine.

Now hurry.

Well, let's just go.

No, absolutely no.

I will not risk the life of another man down there!

Look that pump still isn't working.

And I have got to get that pipe down there to those men.

That is a ridiculous-looking contraption.

Here's the ice, Yank.

Oh, good.

And that ice is supposed to keep your air cool

while you're down there?

That's the way I figure it, Mr. Boyle.

Oh, alright, Van Duzen, go ahead.

And let Peasley get to work on those pumps, will you?

If anybody can fix 'em, he can.

See what you can do.

Let's go, Yank.

Wait.

Take care.

It's gonna work, I know it.

Alright, Andy, help me with this one.

Let's go. Take it easy.

Tie that, will you, Mr. Boyle?

Yeah.

Alright, you're set.

Alright, come on.

It won't break.

Now watch your head.

That's it.

Now if you see you're not gonna make it, turn back!

Good luck, Yank!

The best of luck!

The pump.

Here, give me that wrench.

I'll show you how to fix it.

No wonder!

What's the matter with 'em up there?

Why aren't the pumps working?

In a few minutes, the water will flood the air pipe!

Oh shut up, will you?

You'd only be usin' up what air we have

with your belly achin'.

Danny, give me hand up here, will you?

And you get down under there,

let's see if we can raise this pipe up a bit now.

It's no use, it's too solid.

I think I see something.

What is it?

Here!

Fit that in the air pipe!

Benett: Yank! Yank!

My boy, you're a sight for these hot sore eyes of mine!

How'd you get through, Yank?

That drift's an inferno!

Hold it, men,

I'll explain it all to you later.

Now what is that thing?

Peasley made it for me.

It kept me alive, it's got ice in the top.

Ice!

Ice!

Oh Randle, put it back,

I'm gonna need it to get outta here.

They're gonna wanna know up there

that you're alive and alright, you know they're sufferin', too.

Oh.

Listen!

The pumps are workin' again.

Peasley fixed that, too.

Alright, men, now that they got those pumps workin'

we'll have you outta here in no time.

And the drinks will be on Benett.

Alright, on me!

Somebody give me a hand with this thing.

Yeah.

Alright, they're comin' out!

Oh, thank God!

Get back and give room, get your blankets ready!

Dad!

Dad!

Oh!

Easy now, lass.

You'll be squeezing out

what little breath is left in me.

Danny!

What can I say, Yank?

What you did today, I'll never forget.

Thank Peasley, Mr. Boyle.

I never could've made it without that metal helmet.

Well, you're a first-class pipe fitter, Mr. Peasley.

You've got a job with the Alta Mine Company

any time you want it.

Thank you, sir.

Oh, Mr. Boyle.

Yeah.

I'm quittin' as foreman.

What?

Yank, here, he ought to be foreman.

What are you bleatin' about now, you old walrus?

Well, if I'd had listened to you in the first place,

none of this would've happened.

Well, then why don't you open up those big red ears of yours

and quit being so goldarn stubborn?

Oh-ho,

look who's callin' stubborn!

Yeah, you're stubborn, you rockheaded ornery old mule.

Are you callin' me a mule now?

What are you complainin' about?

It's the mule who oughta be insulted!

Oh, I've got to bust your head wide open.

That'll be the day!

Yeah...

That's just what I was needing, a little water.

Now listen both of ya pig-headed hyenas.

If ya think I'm gonna spend the rest of my life

with you two tongue-lashing each other,

you've got another think comin'.

Now let's be off before you catch a death of cold.

March.

The courage of John Yank Van Duzen

and the imagination of Andrew Peasley,

averted what could've been a mine tragedy.

Years later, Harry Gorham recorded the incident

in his book, My Memories of the Comstock.

But he didn't say who won the argument between

Yank and his father-in-law, Dick Benett.

My guess is, it was Ursula.