Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1880-07-17

an. wisue.acs aud the vcrdics
OF the Jury.
At 8 o'clock last evening Coroner
Brodek held an inquest as to the death
Of VIM. S. Pollard and the cause OF the
Yellow Jacket accident night before last.
Captain T. G. Taylor. Superintendent.
testified: The shalt Of the mine has
three compartments; the north is a
pumping compartment. the center one
. working compartment in which q skip
runs and IL where this accident hap.
pened, and the south a working com.
partment with q cage. At IL o'clock
last night l was called up and told the
skip wal inverted in the shaft near No.
z bob-about 2i00 feet down-and that
they were afraid that VIM. Pollard bad
been thrown from 1t. The machinery
was In good condition; is always kept
so; the accident was no doubt occa.
stoned by the breakags OF No. z bob.
There is q bonnet on the skip now and
Pollard could not ride on the crossbar
IL he had been riding on the crossbar.
there would have been some chance Tor
him to have been saved. As 1t was,
when the skip upset he was thrown out.
The bonnet il to protect men from
things falling in the shaft. The skip
hung in the shaft outside the guides.
James Kelly testified: Work ut the
Yellow Jacket; there were i've Of us
working at the time OF the accident
Felix Boyle. Phil MeDevitt, Mike Nc.
| Cormick and Tom Kelley; were working
in q drift from the south compartment
ut the bottom OF the shaft; when We
went TO work nothing was out OF the
way; tho cage ran smoothly; AZ We fin.
ished loading the skip some splinters
came down the shaft and We remarked
among ourselves that they were blasting
on the 1900; but even that would not
keep deceased from going up; be gave
three bells, aud just then something
hit the bonnet Of the skip. and / 70.
marked for him to get under the bonnet,
and be said: That's where I ann just
then the skip went up; 1t was not more
than two or three minutes. as / should
Judge, before q lot OF rock and debris OF
all kinds came down the shaft, and we
ran back into the drift; did not know
what had happened; l thought some-
thing Of the pump gave way; in q few
minutes looked into the center shat and
saw somebody's clothes hanging on a
wall plate; Phil MoDevitt pulled them
in, and l saw they were Pollard's; picked
them up; came to the conclusion that
there was an accident at the shaft; didnt
know what; it was four or five minutes
between the signal to hoist aud the
falling Of the debris; did not think any.
thing wrong when the splintors fell;
thought blasts at the 1900 had knocked
OF the tagging; deceased had been work.
ing 10 the mine at least twenty months;
have often seen chips. shavings and
splinters fall when nothing was wrong;
| Pollard has laid Off some since he has
been working at the Jacket; had been on
q week or ten days when the accident
occurred.
Walter Cobb testified: Am undertaken
in Gold Hill and took charge Of Pollard's
remains; deceased was aged - years. 10
months and s days /; was born in Cali.
forpia ; he died Of injuries received at
the Jacket shaft last night.
7. II. Kelley testified Was working
at the Yellow Jacket shaft at the time Of
the accident ; was south OF the south
compartment OF the bottom /; nothing
was wrong with the machinery when
deceased got on the skip that 1 could
see; noticed after coming out from where
I wal working that four or Eve slivsrs Of
wood from m to ak inches long came
down and struck on the bonnet OF the
skip. / remarked that the boys at the
1900 had blasted and bursted Q tagging;
then wen, back aud helped fill q wheel.
barrow, which flushed our spell inside,
and came out into the south 'compart.
ment Of the shaft; sat down for probably
two minutes, and some heavy body struck
some C1l2 timbers about nine feet over
my head ; / then ran into the face Of the
drift ~ fast as I could and considerable
rock fell into the shaft: the remark was
made that something had "gone up" In
the shaft. O.. given away-and the
probability was that Billy had "gone
mi. g.. got killed.
Philip McDeavitt testified Was work.
ing in the Yellow Jacket at the time Of
the accident I; have heard the testimony
OF the two preceding witnesses; can tell
nothing more; can only c%orroboratc
their testimony.
On ross-eIamination by q juror. this
witness testified that the deceased could
have got of the skip after ringing the
bells to hoist; it is not safe, but We do II
often; / have frequently done 1t; we take
our chances; I should not have got of
on account OF tho falling Of slivers.
Daniel Mcpherson testified /: Was
going on shift at the time OF this acct.
dent; started down the south compart.
ment M usual at changing OF shifts;
went down to the 5000 station; Frank
Hammond. shiftboss, told Williams and
me TO stay there to see IL we could find
deceased; they would 60 up the shaft
with the cage and IL We found him to
ring six bells for the cage; could not see
anything on the 5000 and went to the
bottom-into the sump-found deceased
III tuc niudio souPoass
in about five or six feet OF water; brought
him out and put him on the center piece,
and went to the 5000 level and rang six
bells for the cage; the other men came
| down on the z and we went TO the
top with the body. IL deceased had
been standing on the crosshead OF the
skip he would have been. in my opin.
ion. safer; men rode there before the
bonnet was put on the skip; now they
cannot ride there; I think 1t safer, how
ever. to have the bonnet on; II protects
persons in the skip from things falling
down the shaft. Have been mining .
years. and ~, years on this lode; can.
not think Of anything which could have
been provided by the company which
would have prevented this accident.
j. II. Williams testified: Was with
Mcpherson in the search for the body OF
deceased; have heard his testimony;
have nothing to add thereto; can cor.
roborate it.