Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1870-08-26
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES.
Departure

TERRIBLE AND FATAL ACCIDENT At
THE HALE & NoRcRoss MNE.-About
So o'clock, last evening, Thomas
Stanton and David Ryan, working at
the bottom Of the Hale Il Norcross
shaft, were instantly killed by a cage
and car falling upon them. They.
together with John Cochran and Matt.
Sullivan, We're engaged in sinking the
shaft deeper. An empty Tar was being
lowered on the cage, when near the top
of the shaft. the heavy bolt connecting
the brake lever with the friction band
around the brake wheel. broke square
off. The consequence WAS that cage
and car, weighing nearly i ton, imme-
diately descended with frightful velo-
city to the bottom Of the shaft. which
is 200 feet deep, the heavy wire cable
following il just rs fast rs the swiftly
revolving reel would allow. Indeed
the engineers ran out of the way eN-
Meeting every instant to see the reel
and brake wheel fly into fragments.
They say a perfect stream OF sparks
ilewjrom the friction wheel and brake
strap nearly to the ceiling. Fortun-
ately. however. the flying end of the
cable, rs it left the reel and dashed
down the shaft, did very little damage.
The cage and car. in their descent.
passed through two strong platforms
of heavy timbers q foot thick, N Of
them about IS feet from the bottom,
and the other only 10 or II feet above
the heads of the men, passing through
both as though shot from a cannon.
Stanton and Ryan were standing erect,
or nearly so, therefore they We're
both crushed down to instant death.
the bodies of both being considerably
mutilated and broken. Cochran was
bent over, working, and was Knocked
PROSTATE, with his legs underline cage,
but the other unfortunates receiving
the full force Of the falling weight
saved him. aud he escaped with COM
paratiyely light injuries. We were
present Mt noon to-day while Drs.
Weber and Hall were making q SUR
gical examination Of him ut his cabin.
They found the head Of the right thigh
bone fractured. at the hip joint. \
pick, or something Of the sort, had
also evidently been driven several
inches into the fleshy part Of the thigh
ut the under side, but this wound was
not considered serious, Sullivan, the
fourth man. was working beneath an
other compartment Of the shaft, a few
feet distant, therefore was lucky
enough to escape entirely unhurt. The
cable fell, coiled among the debris OF
the broken platforms, upon the a
and cage, therefore 1t was quite 4 job
10 extricate the dead bodies. Both
were eventually removed to Reyes
and another undertaking establishment
on C stIeet. Both of the men killed
were natives of Ireland, and both We're
married men. Thomas Stanton leaves
n wife and two children ut Virginia
City, and David Ryan leaves q wife IN
Gold Hill, but no children. Stanton
was a member Of the Virginia Miners
Union, and Ryan a member OF the
Gold Hill Miners Union. Both were
Young men-Ryan being about % or
10. and Stanton about 50 years. Coro-
ner Symonds will hold an inquest upon
the bodies this evening ut six O'Clock,
and We understand that their funerals
will take place tomorrow. We visited
the scene of the accident this morning
in order to ascertain as nearly rs pos
sible the true cause of it. The bolt
broken was not defective. 1t was two
inches in diameterand showed no flaw,
but simply n square break of good solid
iron. This accident of course develops
the now evident fact that q two-inch
iron bolt was not strong enough, yet
10 one could hardly be blamed for
mismanagement; it was n purely acct
dental circumstance. and one OF those
unforeseen calamities continually oc-
curing in our mines. Two strong
brakes instead of one might be used,
and thus the recurrence OF q similar
accident prevented in the future. Eli
cheering invention certainly can con-
trive ON sort of safeguard to apply
in such emergencies. The cage was
of the safety pattern, but owing to the
tension kept upon the cable the safety
clutches were not free to act. rs they
would have infallibly and eflectually
done in case of the cable breaking.
We append this last remark by reason
of having heard several persons state
this was not n safety cage. 1t was,
and a very good ut that-so strong
that it was but little injured by it
fall.
VINO Has FOUND T?-YeSterday,
in attending the funeral of the lament,
ed n. 4. II. Ball, George Eells wa;
unfortunate enough to lose his badge,
as member of the Choral Society. Thi;
badge is simply n small bar OF silvel
bullion with u blue ribbon attached
and which he had pinned to the lape
of his coat. 1t being the gift of Mr.
Ball, George prizes it far more than !:
intrinsic value. He is willing to lib
orally reward the finder who Will re
turn it to him, or leave 1t ut this office
See notice in II advertising columns
School. TRusrEE.-J. W. Whitcher
superintendent of Public Schools
.vho. by the way. we have heard men
.,;oned as a candidate for reelection
.hos appointed G.. Z. Stevenson, o.
Cold Hin. as School Trustee, IN place
of n. A. II. Ball, deceased.
FIRST WARD CLup.-on Saturday
evening the Republican Club Of TIKI
First Ward, Gold Hill. will meet a
Miners, Union Hall, to adopt a set o
,.., oIoct Officers. and enroll new