Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-21

OF them were supplying the main sleatnplpe
with steam for the engine and carried a
pressure of IS Or so pounds. The fourth
boiler, OF 4O-horse power, which had just
| been added to the Others. was carrying
| about 55 pounds OF steam according to the
gauge, and the valve connecting it with the
| main pipe was shut u few seconds before
| the accident. This is according to the tes-
| timony of Mr.. Pickering, the foreman, who
was at the spot experimenting the work OF
| getting the boiler ready to add it's quota to
| the steam pipe when the gauge showed that
the steam in it had reached the same
| pressure as the others carried. Mr.. Picker
| ing testified to the coroner's jury that the
| water in the boiler was within two inche-
OF the top. Hickman, the pipe-fitter, was on
top when Pickering left, ready to turn on
the valve connecting the boiler with the
main pipe when the gauge showed that the
steam had reached
THE REQUIRED PRESSURE.
Edmonds, the engineer, was on a ladder
leaning against the front Of the boiler adj
~justing the weight on the safety valve. just
as Mr.. Pickering WAS leaving, Edmonds
called out to him, "We'Il have her con-
nected in a few minutes now," and
ten seconds later the explosion occurred
that severed Edmonds' connection with
things terrestrial for ever.
Coroner Amsden was notified at once aud
took the $50 motor for Meaderville ac-
companied by the reporters for the local
press and several people who went down
out of curiosity. When they arrived at
Meaderville, night had fallen and the heavy
fog and smoke that have obscured even the
light OF day for the past week made the OBJ
security the more dense. Almost feeling
THEN way, they passed through the village
and proceeded to the Office of the Boston
and Montana Company in whose property
the explosion occurred. Arrived there
Superintendent Couch was found greatly
depressed by the accident and utterly
AT A LOSS TO ACCOUNT FOR 1T.
'"The boiler was tested last spriug and
had only been in use about a year at the
pump in the mine down in the fat" said
he. "Edmonds was q most careful man
and knew thoroughly what he was about.
He was one of the most experienced engi-
neers l ever knew. It's perfectly awful to
think Of"
He then turned to q clerk toinquire what
insurance the deceased carried. Every pos
sible facility that could be supplied DR..
Amsden for holding the inquest was
readily furnished by Mr.. Crouch and
his assistants, who detailed Foreman
Pickering to accompany the Coroner and
the jury to the scene OF the accident and
procure all the testimony possible.
The Coroner selected his jury from among
those who accompanied him down from
Butte. Three OF the men on the jury hap
pened to be thoroughly familiar with the
machinery Of and around boilers and
were able to direct the inquiry into the
MOST PRACTICAL CHANNEL.
From the warm, well-lighted office OF the
Superintendent, the Coroner and his jury |
accompanied by the ubiquitous re-
porter plunged into the murky dark
ness of the night and followed
Pickering's lead to the place
three OF the dead bodies lay. As
passed a burning ore pile the feied |
odor Of the sulphur exhaled was choking. |
1t presented a weird appearance with the
orange red fire in the centre and lambert
blue flames playing over the still black
OF it. Through dark alleys they |
went, the enormous smokestacks looming
in the air, and the brilliant light
Of the furnaces dispelling the smoke and fog
iuu SueUulnS Tuuuy WttTLuLn dtOuHu.
The foreman led the way to the black
shop where the bodies of Edmonds,
Kraemer and Winters lay on %improvised
covered with pieces of bagging.
t was
A VERT SIGHT
when the Coroner swore in the jury in the
presence of the dead, the grimy surround
ngs of the place barely disclosed by the I'M
steady flicker OF the tin lamps borne by a
ew OF the men. Every man took off his
lat while the jury were sworn to faithfully
investigate the cause Of the death OF the
forms hid under the rough canvas
bags, and no voice was raised above q
Then the pieces OF bagging covering the |
of each man was raised in succession
md the dreadful results of the explosion
ay revealed. Faces bloody and smoke
,lackened; clothes dust-covered and torn;
,itiful defacements OF the human form
Iivine. But everyone whispered: "Never
new what hurt him. and it seemed to
onsole one somehow. They were I'M
loubtedly killed by the conclusion.
SCENE OF THE EXPLOSION.
Then the jury went to see where the Tt
anic force spent its fury at some unknown,
innocent, contempt of the laws of ;
allure. By the Pickering glare of the
il lamps they saw in the dark !
ess a wall of the late boiler house |
gaming to it's fall, Within, bricks, !
cards and beams lying scattered in L
confusion. Nothing but chaos |
S though some demon had wreaked his !
Try there. An enormous smokestack e
ested On the trestle north OF the wrecked
lace, threatening danger to the C3rouer
nd his jury underneath it. This being
they scrambled out of the wreck
nd circumnavigating it, entered the build r
lg further down, where they saw the end n
the boiler that had been blown s"uth. =
1t lay on a pile OF debris, surrounded by I
lore debris, thirty feet from where the ac- n
dent O occurred, and contained the I
oiler pipes all twisted and torn. 1t had t
cen severed almost at the middle and the h
lges OF the separation showed the fearful "
'rce that must have been exerted to rend
apart. The destruction was awful toll
Large rents in the roofI
lowed where pieces of debris had II
cen hurled upwards. The other por- -
Of the boiler had been hurled IL
) far in the opposite d r~ection, ana a
le body OF E%dmonds, who had been stand. q
g on a ladder almost in front of it, had W
zen hurled a distance Of fifty feet through IT
lie side of the bui'"rhouse and landed on -
lie ground an tls q .,r side OF a freight u
II. The boiler house had just been built, y
at was only q light board construction -
ze all the rest in this camp. Superintend- h
1t Couch said there were extra boilers on -
Ind, and as he was informed hat the otheri
pliers were uninjured he WASH hopes that
Ie works would not be closed down by
e accident more than q couple of weeks, p
WONDERFUL ESCAPE. Il
While in among the debris and explain. -
6 to the jury the position of the boilers =
fore the accident, Foreman Pickerine :,
that the last he saw of En- ~
neer Edmonds he was standing on d,
ladder place! ~a.ainIt IT,. f-,nt of H
e boiler that exp!o ted fixing the sqfety it
live, while George Hickman, The pipeft-
r, who was assisting Edmonds ia finish
= the work about the boiler. was standing
l1rediately on top OF it awaiting the sig re
from Edmonds to tnrn on tie valve pr
meeting with the main pipe a. soon an ta
o pressure in the boiler equalled that in W
e other three. While Edmonds wasi
Own into eternity when the explnsion r
Hickman was hurled amorc the =
bris, whence he was picked up by the
'cuers Immediately after the fatal acci-