Speculator Mine disaster

The Butte, Montana copper mines were at full wartime production to support the US in World War I. Miners had been seeking improved working conditions, as they were at high risk.

When a foreman with a carbide lamp tried to inspect the damage, he accidentally ignited the oil-soaked cloth insulation on the cable.

[3][4] Several days after the Speculator disaster, miners began to walk off the job at copper mines all over the city in protest of the poor working conditions.

Around this time, Frank Little, an American labor leader and member of the Industrial Workers of the World, arrived in Butte to support the miners.

[3] The disaster was memorialized in the song "Rox in the Box" on the album The King is Dead (2011) by The Decemberists, an indie rock band.

It has also been memorialized in the song "The Miners" by independent Celtic recording artists The Elders and is featured on their album Story Road (2014).