Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1876-09-04
FRIGHTFUL MINING ACCIDENT
Eight Hundred Feet Of Cable Falls
Upon A Man and Kills Him--Evi.
.dence at the Coroner's Inquest.

Upon A Man and Kills Him-.-Evi.
dence at the Coroner's Inquest.
The rapid succession of accidents
at the Dayton mine is the subject of
general comment. Within the past
six months no less than five casual
ties have occurred, four of which
have proved fatal. Yet upon sur
veyiag the causes and all the attend
ant circumstances of each there APP
pears no ground for censuring any
body. This is especially the case
with respect to the accident an in
quest into which was held yesterday
We must await the deliberations of a
jury to ascertain whether or not blame
should rest on anyone for the death
of Mr.. Derby. These accidents seem
to be practically unavoidable. They
appear as the almost inevitable re-
suit of mining. As Mr. Hall, for
merly superintendent of the Dayton
and now chief man of the Silver Hill,
testified, the fact thai. the superin-
tendent, foreman and all in superior
places about u mine ride ON the same
cage and are hauled by the same
cable with the miners, should dispel
any superstition of care,essaess on the
part ofthose in charge. We rest con
sideratioas of this Kind To briefly re-
late the circumstances of the killing
of W. +. Wilson. which took place
on Friday evening about twenty five
minutes to seven.
KILLING OF W. F. WILSON.
Wilson WAS shift boss, and at the
hour mentioned was descending into
the shaft. There were four men in
the bottom at work. When the cage
had reached within ten feet or so If
the bottom, Wilson called out t. the
men below to lookout usual signal
when mau is descending. No
sooner had the sound of this warning
died away than those below were
startled with noise as of rocks
falling into the shaft, and presently
Wilson issued subiued cries of dis
tress. The men ut once climbed up
the pump compartment to the cage,
and found Wilson with about eight
hundred feet of heavy wire cable
piled upon him. They extricated
him as speedily as possible, and IN a
half an hour he was on the surface.
1t appears that, to escape the falling
cable, Wilson projected his head be-
tween some timbers that line the
shaft, and received the immense rope
upon his side and legs. He died in
acouple Of hours after the accident.
He had two brothers living here and
a wife and six children in Joe Daviess
county, Illinois. He was member
Of the Masonic fraternity, aud was
much thought OF by all who knew
him. As to further particulars OF
how the accident occurred. the APP
pended evidence taken at the Cor
oner's inquest will throw all the
light that is obtainable:
coRoNER's INQUEST.
G. w. Wilson sworn--Deceased
was my brother; he was native of
Ohio, aud aged fnrty-iise years; he
received injuries in the Dayton mine
which caused his death; l work in
the same mine; was not in or ut the
mine when the accident occurred; |
know nothing about the circum-
stances Of the accident except what
have learned from fellow workmen |;
my brother was ON the surface and
alive when got to the mine; he did
not tell me how he got hurt; It was
twenty-five minutes 10 seven in the
evening when the accident happened;
l should think the cable that broke
and caused my brothers death Was
old aud unsafe.
James showers, foreman of the
Dayton, swurn-l haze heard IL ,esti-
mony Of Wilson with respect u tue