Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-05-05
THE EVENING NEWS,
TERRIBLE CATAsTRoHE

FIVE MEN NLLEp.-LaS; evening a few min.
utes before six O'Clock, frightful accident oc-
CURED az the new reservoir in process of excava-
ton For the construction of the reservoir a
large spot Is being exeavated and graded in the
side o; the hill near the Bullion works Marshal
Arnold had force OF twenty-seveu men at work
under the superintendent of Officer Householder
They had breasted into the hill until the bank on
the upper side was about fifteen feet high Into
this bank cuts had been made separating it into
three sections The ground had been foaud ex,
ceedinEly hard and difficult to cave down, and
the system pursued was TO undermine il TO an
sVtcat and then drive steel bar into the surface
above TO the depth OF several feet, attaching a
rope TO the bar, and by the united strength of
several men prrins off the section. Householder
bal TWO men employed at sach n bar at the south
So. ion, and the men below had left tina; portion
o; the work. whilS doing 81. the middle section,
which had no connection with the south section.
;r!,, buryjnS eight Of the workmen. The sur
Njvors immediately set 10 work vigorously 10
ex'ricato their companions AMI the alarm being
given, Cse force Of other citizens Were s1on on
lA~ ground and at work. ThoS. Ryan Jno Robert
..nd Peter Ford were taken GU; dead. Michael
Hcnrehan amt Nicholas Murphy were alive when
taken out. bat hopecSsly crushed, aud died soon
afterwards. James Gardner. 2. Fitzgerald and
WA. Quinn were slightly injured; no boues bro.
ken IN inquest was held up"a the bodies this
i.,er1i"E BY Coroner Tucker. Officer House.
holder. DrS Hereford and Hall, Judge Robinson,
Lawrence McGina. Daniel Shehan Martin Mahon
s.ad Patrick Ke-win. were sworn as to the circuu.
stances attending the disaster. The testimony is
consistent and establishes very fully that he
casua. y resulted from striking IN unusual and
yrrachrrcus stratum Of damp sandy soil. totally
unexpected in that locality. None Of the work
ulcu o. those having SUPERVISE. Of tEc sNcara.
tca. h.,I aay apprehension OF the bank falling.
The SOL vs. oG 50 difficult n character 10 eNca'
v4;r. that its failing OF its own weight was not
dreamed CT and had it not been for the unlocked.
i,v stratum OF treaeherous soil. it eould not pos
s:bly have occurred. No attempt had been as yet
made TO d:slodGe the section that tell. The work
Iaen had beea talking about il few moments be-
fore. and expected to break il down in the morn
Ing with the bars, in the usual manner. None Of
the witnesses appear TO have had any particular
acquaintance with any oithe deceased or to know
anything about them. The oaly one OF the I'M
fortunate men iha, we can learn any particulars
concerning is Michael Heurehaa. He was an
freshman by birth, and had recently arrived in
the Territory from DanverS, Mass, where his
family, consisting OF wife aud two children now
reside The accident casts = gloom over the
community. Fatal accidents are common here,
bal are usually ,raccable directly TO culpable
csrr,e<saess. This one, however. seems to have
been one which no ordinary foresight or precau.
zion could have prevented.
The jury found verdict in accordance with
the facts As above stated fully acquitting those
In charge. or the worklnen Of any charge Of care
lsssneSS