Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-01-29
THE DEATH IN THE SHAFT.
An Investigation Of VIM. Miners Ter.
rible Fate.

An investigation Of VIM. Miners Ter.
rible Fate.
4 cORoNERS JURY EXAMINING GwrTHEssRs-AccoUNTs
OF THR TRAGEDY, AS GIVEN BIZ TIE sUPKRINTKND-
HNT AND OTHER KYE-wITNESsES
MessrS Frederick Schneider, VIM. Calow, Fred.
w. Brandenburg, F. A. Beanchler, Leonard E. VII
naIns and Geo. B. Lancaster, the jury fmpannelled
yesterday by Coroner Patterson in the case OF VIM.
Miner the man killed by the caving III OF the Cham
plain-avenue shaft Saturday night, met at the
fourth precinct police station at IL O'Clock this
morning TO take testimony.
TESTIMONY OF THK sUFKRINTENDENT
William Noe, the superintendent OF the work at
the shaft, was the first witness examined. He said
the blast was fired about twenty minutes to six,
and the accident occurred few minutes before
SIX After the blast men went down to clear
away the rubbish, and sent up one bucket Of stone
Witness was not at the shaft at the time, but was
On the opposite side OF the ravine, $50 yards away
from the shaft. Witness did not know whether the
Dlast displaced the timbers Nothing was said, so
who went down The witness heard the material
in the shaft falling and ran to the top He heard
the men hallooing In the bottom OF the shaft and
One OF the men had pushed his way out from un-
derneath the rubbish without any assistance, and
ne put the rope through the hole where the Others
Gould get hold OF it. In reply to juror the wit
ness said that they could not use the bucket 1t
could not go through the hole. Three other men
got out Dy means OF the rope.
MINERS HORRIBLE FATK
Miner was left In the corner pinned down so he
could not get out The witness Immediately called
for some one to 60 down with him In the bucket to
assist this man, who was In the shaft. There was
one man OF the night shaft, which was just coming
ness saw that they could not get at the man, and
their lives were In danger, so he shouted to the en-
gineer to haul up the bucket. Returning to the
top witness got brace for the purpose OF proppng
up the place so there would be no further danger
The man who had gone down with him first was
willing to return, but his wife came and took him
away. There was then such excited crowd
about the shaft that there was great danger for
any man to go down. Witness telephoned to the
between and 9o'clock the help came After witness
came out OF the shaft until the help arrived nothing
was done, for there was no one to do anything but
the witness That was about three hours. When
the miners arrived from Boundary shaft five of
them went down and hOiSted out three buckets Of
material from where they knew Miner was,
because they could hear him speaking. Then the
miners said they would not risk their lives there
unless the SHAFT was braced SO they could work
witness thought, about four five feet Of material
over the buried ruan. Miner talked until between
they heard Linn say to low down the bucket to
him" All witness could see when he went down into
the shaft after the accident stone. All through
the night the man spoke about the water, and told
those outside when the water reached him. The
pump was timed and worked well all night. After
the miners returned from the shaft men went to
work bracing the shaft, and 1t took an hour and a
half to put In the bracing. The miners had before
that been at work in the Shaft about half an hour
Of putting In the brac1ng was finished. After the
bracing was put in the work OF excavation was
resumed and went steadily on till the man was
found, excepting the Interruptions incident to
changing shifts. The body was reached about 3
O'Clock Sunday afternoon. The water was then not
over the foot valve OF the pump
NOT DROWNED.
"Did the man die OF hurt, or was he drowned?"
asked Juror Brandenburg.
1.-THE man was never drowned" said the witness
81 will state to the jury, said the coroner sthat
DR.. Hartigan, who made the post mOrtem, Will en-
tighten the jury on that subject"
One OF the Jurors asked II an outsider had not
volunteered to go down with two men at the first
and rescue the man In half an hour, but was re-
fused. -.
The witness said no one had volunteered except
the one colored man who went down with him
The space was so small that Y they had had more
men they could not have been used.
Another OF the jurors said that the man who said
he volunteered said also that he heard the cries OF
the man buried seventy5nve feet in the ground
possible.
TESTIMONY OF LIEUT.. sYMoNa
Lieut.. 7. w. Symons, q. S. engineer corps, who
has been general superintendent OF the working
operations on the aqueduct extension, was the
next witness examined. He exhibited small
specimen OF the rock through which the shaft was
sunk zone can see, )" he said, show hard the rock
is" He submitted also the daily report OF the in
Spector for that shaft, covering last Saturdays
operations. This showed that the engine had been
prepared and work resumed that day. The depth
OF the shait was reported to be % feet Two holes
and filled each with 1S pounds OF Atlantic giant
powder: The witness displayed diagram OF the
shaft showing that after the blast was fired the
rock loosened on one side so as to let the bracng
timbers fall out, and they fell over one corner where
Miner lay; then the rock fell upon it. There was
n flor fba 1opfr
the shaft from the overhanging rock, which was
likely to fall.
SIT WAS DANGEROUS PLACE TO COZ
said the lieutenant. 81 would go down there to
see 1t, but would not have asked any man to work
there as it was after the accident The shaft. he
said, was wen built; in fact he had never seen any
work OF that kind better DONE
"Do you," asked the coroner, 'sregard that as an
accident that may occur under the best OF precau-
t1ons?"
81 do" said the witness "Indeed don't think
any one can tell what seams rocks Will have, or
what effect explosives will have the rock eX-
actly. think such accidents are liable to occur
under the most careful management"
"DO you know" asked the coroner of the Juror
who had spoken OF the outsider who had yOlun-
teered TO save the man in half an hour, "who the
man waS?"
"There he Is now, standing Out there"
The coroner looked out OF the window in the d.
rection Indicated, and said: I" know that man He
is the son-in-law OF the man who was killed, and
was at the shaft at all for some time after the
accident occurred"
STORY OF ONE OF THE LABoRERs WHO WAS IN THE
SHAFT.
John Parom, colored, one OF the laborers who was
In the shaft when the accident occurred, was next
examined and gave an account Of the accident.
Pieces of rock began falling down into the shaft for
fifteen minutes before the men thought there was
danger and stopped work After the "cave" wit
ness legs were covered up entirely One OF Miners
legs was across the witness breast Witness had
to lift 1t on. They saw little hole where the tim
ber and stone did not come together, and witness
crawled out and called for rope. He wasn't able
to help Miner, and was looking out to save himself
The witness said he was so frightened that he
did not notice how things looked In the shaft No
one, he said, went down after the blast to ex-
anime the timberS, but the gang OF men were sent
down right away to clear away the rubbish.
DEATH cACSED By CONGESTION.
DR.. j. F. Hartigan, who made the post-mortem
examination, said he found q couple OF scalp
wounds, probably made By stones All the cham
bers of the heart filled with cOagulated blood
and the lungs were also engorged showing that the
blood In them had clotted The witness opinion
was that there was such pressure on the lower
extremities as to stop circulation. He died from
congestion OF the heart and lungs The usual eyi-
dences OF drowning were absent There was no
water In any portion OF the organs
- NO INSPECTIONS MADE.
Thomas Ireton one Of the foreman at the shaft said
there was rule about having the shaft inspected
before the men went down to work. He thought it