The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-12-29


Shaft No. 5 Of the Delaware and Lackawanna
Railroad tunnel is about midway between Ho.
1,oken and Jersey City. It has the reputation
~ being worked with criminal carelessnels,
and the accident of yesterday morning was the
result of blunder A party OF night work
men were going down the shaft at | A. M. a
bucket had already been lowered twice, tax.
ing down four men each time. ana severa
more stood around the aperture awaiting theii
turn. The iron bucket, which was abou'
three feet in diameter, was attached to WIG
cope by hook.
The bucket-handle was smooth, wen worn'
and without any ring into which ths noch
could be passed, while the guard olielna.y a.,
tached to the hook had been broAen On az.
not replaced. There was thus notnihS W pre-
vent the bucket from slipping over the nook.
The mouth of the shaft was very narrow, 30
vnucI, 81 that. when the bucket was lowered,
tbe men standing upon its edges had 70 Dend
.tbe;r bodies in ward to avoid striking the Sides
-Irhe platform upon which the men stand above
fhe shaft being raised about IL feet from the
.cr-o7Dd. is exposed to the wind and cold, and
she men are usually anxious to get down INTO
Che shaft, where the temperature is warmer.
Yesterday morning the usual friendly COM
,etition to be first down was shown, ana when
She bucket came up for the second time three
a1lcn seized the rope and stopped on the edge:
They were James Burns, Daniel Murphy and
Martin Sullivan. John Berger was on the
point of stepping on also when man behind
dim complained that he had crushed MS
finger, and Berger turned rOnnd to look at IT.
Bernard Kirley at once took his place, and
che engineer began to lower the bucket
The bucket had not moved inches down.
ward when one of its bolts, as far as could be
ascertained, caught in the WOODWORK ABOVE
i,,sf
TO allow the rope to become slack; the nook
syunp aside, and in q moment the bucket
dropped like stone, the four men following
it to the bottom.
The workmen who had previously been
lowered were tunnelling about $50 feet from
the bottom Of the shaft when they heard the
,,rash and saw the shower of sparks made by
the iron bucket striking the rocks below. A
second afterward the dull thud OF the falling
bodies was heard. Two of the men ap-
a,roached with u light, and, seeing the motion
and ran away Other men went to the bot
tom of the shaft, and the rope having been
lyy this time drawn up and sent down again
with a second bucket, Sullivan, who still
breathed, was placed in it; but before he was
i,r ,ught to the surface he was dead. All the
rest were killed instantly.
The feeling against the contractors, Messrs.
Welsh 4 McAndrews, was SO strong that Of
Ulcers were placed on the spot to preserve or.
der All yesterday groups Of men complained
of the carelessness and apparent disregard for
human life that had caused the calamity; mol
was this feeling allayed when, later in the
day, Mr. Welsh came to the shaft and scolded
she foreman for delaying the work by allow
ing the men to come up. The men say they
are obliged to work in shaft No. at the perl
of their lives; that the wire rope used to
lower them down is always old stuff that hal
been condemned for other uses: and thai
since last July not single new rope has been
used. When one becomes SO badly worn thai
il really cannot be used any longer, it is re
placed by one not much better.
This accident, which occurred through thu
absence of the guard on the hook. they say
was predicted long since, but the contractors
treated all complaints with Indifference
while working in the shaft, they are con
sstantly threatened with terrible danger tn
roof is very bad, and nothing will induce Mr.
McAndrews to have proper props provided
The consequence is that it is no uncommon
Thing for ton or more Of earth to fall in.
It may be remembered that not long since
patched and WORKOUT boiler burst on the sam
works and one Of the contractors, on learn
ing that q man had been killed and below
blown to pieces remarked that the below
cost him $50 Another boiler is in use witt
eight fues already burst, and the whole appa
matus is in promising condition for an ex
y,lOsion