Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-09-16
SHOCKING ACCIDENT.
Benjamin Styles Crushed in q
Singular and Horrid Way.

kAuk DmDO ~ yDe8cemOn OkBOH
Him. Washes Him to Death and
Brings the Corpse to N Surface
"Details Of she Sickeming Trage'
d~y-Engineer Newman OF IRE
prOachable Character ut His Pos
Did NE " Lose HIS Head at the
Trying Moment
One Of the most terrible and distressing
accidents occurred yesterday morning
about 1890 o'clock that ever took place in
Eureka, resulting in the death Of Benjamin
Styles, . miner Of the Eureka Consolidated
mine, at the 600-foot station Of the new
through town a few minutes after the oc-
currence and the story was told in various
ways; one version Of the affair being that
the immense jumbo tank had been lowered
upon him and had cut his head entirely of
from his shoulders.
THE CORPSE.
The dead body was brought down to
town without delay and placed in charge
Of Undertaken HUI. 1t was in such q
maDsled condition that no one was allowed
to look upon it until it could be put in
order for exhibition INT its parts be ar
ranged SO as to represent the human form
as nearly as possible. As 100 as this
work Of the undertaken had been finished
q great many persons were admitted into
the rear room OF his apartments opening
on Monroe street, to gaze with morbid
q excusable curiosity upon the crushed
remains, covered with white linen cloths
stepped in spirits Of camphor. The head
from the root Of the nose upwards was
crushed into a pulp. The left arm was
nearly severed from the body by Q deep,
wide cash at the shoulder just above the
armpit. The chest bones we're broken and
lay upon the vitals supporting them from
below. Bruises were to be seen all along
the body down to the feet. Owing to the
pressure npon the trunk the entrails had
been forced out and protruded from the
rectum. ~Singulsrly enough, probably,
however, on account of peculiar shaped
teeth and growth Of beard, his features
below the nose were clearly recognizable
by those who had known him in life.
DETAILS OF THE ACCIDENT.
In the new shaft there are three COM
partments, two Of which figure in the mar
rative. The compartments are separated
by partitions Of lumber IL inches in diam
CtCI y III v lcot upoisB - Y Cnib6
space being open and sffording communi-
cationfrom each compartmentto the others.
Styles was at the 600-foot level, where his
work consisted in emptyiDg the water
raised in q 500 gallon tank from the bot
tom OF the shaft, or rather from the sur
face Of the water, standing now about so
feet from the bottom Of the shaft. From
this point the water 30 raised is emptied
into the big pump and thence carried TO
the surface. Yesterday morning about 10
O'Clock John Mckenzie, the man in charge
of the pumping apparatus, went down
into the shaft through the compartment
adjoining the one In which Styles was sta
toned. While Mckenzie was below at the
surface OF the water he gave the signal to
be hauled up. The engineer. Charles New
man, looked towards the mouth Of the
shaft and saw tina. the rope by which the
cage was suspended had veered to one side
Of the reel and was resting upon edge. 1t
was impossible to get it in place, which he
and others tried to do by pulling on it
with their hands. Had the engine been
started it is quite likely the rope, lying as
it was on edge. would have been snapped
in two. Mckenzie meanwhile was deep
below, and likely to be drowned if not
brought up without delay.
JUMbO tOES DOWN.
Newman. the engineer. determined then
to send down Jumbo" a wooden tank
having the capacity to hold 1000 gallons.
This immense, heavy tank was accordingly
lowered through the hoisting compart-
ment-that in which Styles was stationed
600 feet below. Jumbo" went on his
dreadful mission with hardly more noise
than is made by the tread of a cat. Strange
and horrid spectacle When it reached
the level of Mckenzie, who had deserted
his half-submerged cage, and. being an old
sailor, had climbed out on the timbers as
though deserving a sinking ship, jumped
in and found himself In company with the
corpse, the condition Of which has been
described above. He gave the signal to
hoist, and up came the two recent fellow
workmen, the one alive and the other dead.
HOW STYLES WAS KILLED.
The question naturally arises, How did
the corpse get into the Jumbo" tank
OF course, this can never be determined
absolutely; but it seems likely that Styles
was standing near by the wall OF the shaft
on a plank extending across when ''Jum-
bo" descended upon him. His body was
pressed against the wall and carried some
distance, nobody can tell how far, down.
wards, the tank going down faster than
the body, when at last the body rising
above and the pressure being removed fell
over and into the tank. Jumbo" OF
course, shattered the plank on which Styles
had stood. and Mckenzie heard it whiz by
him to the bottom OF the shaft.
B%IoaRAPHIc SKETCH.
The deceased was about SO years Of age,
born in Huron County, Ontario, Canada.
He came to this camp six years ago and
has been q continuous resident OF Eureka
since. He has worked a. carpenter and
timberman in the X. K, Phsnix n Eure-
ka Con. mines. He was Q member Of the
Eureka Masonic Lodge in good standing
and Second Lieutenant Of the Centennial
Guard. He was q good. worthy man,
and to use the words Of Supt. Read, "the
best man at the works." " and Engi-
neer Newman were especially friendly,
and the ~latter's grief over the accident 10
said to have been extreme.
NEwMAN's RESPONSIBILITY.
The most conspicuous person connected
with this melancholy affair is the engineer,
Charles Newman, who was in charge when
the accident occurred. The situation in
which he found himself was very painful
and difficult. II he had known that Styles
was at the 600 station he knew also that
Mckenzie was at the bottom Of the shaft in
danger Of his life. Suppose that he had
known Styles was there, what would he
have done2 Itwould seem that il he acted
at all, and there was only one thing to do,
| lower Jumbo. he would have to take
! chances of killing Styles. On the other
hand, If he did not act speedily Mckenzie
| would drown.
From the testimony adduced before the
No-o,ar yaatardav Wa ahOnlA iudUa that
| Newman was SO excited in his efforts to
save Mckenzie that he forgot Styles entire
ly. He has borne the reputation Of being
q frst-rate man in his position. He has
| worked for the company seven years con-
| tinuously in that capacity and has hardly
| missed q shift. He is a temperate man
| and of the most correct habits. Mr..