Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-11-16
TWAS SIMPLY AWFUL,
rive Men Instantly Killed by
Premature Explosion
Of a Blast.
A Sixth Loses Both Eyes
Narrow Escape Of
Still Another.

| From Thursdays Daily.
The particulars of q terrible accident in
which five men were hurled into eternity
T without an instant OF warning, by the pre-.
mature explosion OF a powder blast, last
Tuesday, were learned last night through
| Coroner D. G. Warner Of Boulder. The TX.
/ plosion occurred in q rock cut on the Butte
& Gallatiu railway, o in process OF con,
structiou, at a point about fifteen mics
from the city. The terrible details, as
cleaned from the coroner, who had just re-
turned from the scene Of the accident, are
substantially as follows:
Dan Touhey, the wsll-known contractor,
had a number OF men engaged in blasting
through a heavy rock-cut at the point in
question. Tuesday evening about $50
O'Clock the men had completed drilling q
hole twenty feet deep in the rock, and plac-
ing a quantity of giant pc Sder in the hole.
discharged the blast. The explosion
"sprung'' or loosened the rock, and with.
out waiting a reasonable length of time
for burning fuse Dr. sparks that might linger
in che crack to become extinguislied, the
into the opening, expecting to explode it
and shatter the immense rock SO that the
fragments could be removed the following
morning. The powder had been placed and
the men were in the act of tamping loose
rock and earth about the charge, when
without apparent cause, it exploded with
awful force. Four men, John Dell, A. w.
Larson, Thomas O'Lear. and Ham Ross,
the latter an Italian, working in the cut,
were crushed and instantly killed by an i'm
mense quantity OF stones being hurled
upon them, while Cor. Sullivan, the fore
man, who had been in the employ of Mr..
Touhey, for many years, was blown into
the air and thrown q distance Of 200 feet
from the cut. The five men named were
instantly killed, while another laborer,
whose name Coroner Warner could not re.
call, had his eyes blown out in addition to
receiving other injuries about the breast
and head. He vas conveyed to the
hospital, where he still lies in a ]precarious
condition. -.
The fearful defamation caused by the ex-
plosion attracted attention from other
workmen employed in the vicinity, who
to the scene only to find the five
dead men buried in the debris. Con-
tractor Touhey, who had left the
cut only a few moments preceding
the disaster at once gave orders,
and in five minutes a hundred willing men
exerting their brawny strength in re-
the earth and stone in q forlorn
hope that some OF the unfortunate might
be found and rescued alive. Their expecta- |
tio,ls were doomed to disappointment, |
as, upon removing the bodies life |
found extinct. The bodies were car |
RED to an old CABIN near by, and laid out, |
q messenger dispatched to Boulder for
The coroner |
The injured man was conveyed to the
amp hospital and q physician summoned
o attend him.
The train from Butte having departed
rom Boulder before Coroner Warner re.
Information of the accident, he was
Until yesterday morning. He arrived at
he cut yesterday forenoon, held the in
luest, and returned to the city
asst evening. A full Investigation
# the causes leading to the
xplosion satisfied the jury that the con-
was in no way responsible for the
accident, and a verdict was
endered accordingly.
Contractor Touhey narrowly escaped the
ate that overlook his foreman and other
mployes. A few minutes prior to the ex-
losion he had visited the cut and given
ome directions about the work. Being
alled to another part Of the cut, lie left,
fter giving instructit MS to the foreman,
nd hardly passed beyond danger When the !
1args exploded. His theory OF the acct ,
e"t is that an ignited fragment Of fuse in
Iploding the frse charge, came in contact 1
it'll the second charge and set it off pre-. 8
aturely. He can account fot it on no i
theory. = v
The bodies of Sullivan. Dell, Larson, v
'Leary and Ross will arrive at Sherman's v
ldertaking rooms this morning and be t
terri d during the afternoon. b