The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-04-29
IN The SHAFT
Distressing Accident at the Montana
Consolidated.
While Descending In the Cage
Patrick Murphy 10 Killed and
Several Other Workmen
/, Injured.


BUTTE April .-One of those peculiarly
sad and fatal accidents which are con-
~tinually occurring In large mining camps,
took place this afternoon ut the Noun.
tain Consolidated. By this accident
Patrick Murphy lost his life, and eve
children, the oldest one about Is years of
age. were left orphans, their mother hav-
ing died about a e a ago.
When the whistle blew at I o'clock
notifying the men that the dinner hour
was over, those working under ground
began to descend. About the last to go
down the shaft were Patrick Muir
den, Charlie Colston and John
Comba, the latter, station ten
der. Murphy was employed on the 200.
foot level and at about ii O'Clock had
gone to the surface TO get out some tim
bers which he intended to put in during
he ALSO got out a quantity OF Tagging
poles. According to the rules OF the
company, Comba, the station tender, tied
the poles together and loaded them OH To
the lower deck Of the west cage together
with a number of timbers. The five men
then got on the upper deck and also took
n few pieces of timbers and a bundle of
poles with them. They gave the signal
TO De lowered to the 300-foot
and began to descend. When
the lnulcator snoweu tnat the cage llau
reached the 2O-foot level the cable be-
gan to slack and the engineer stopped
the engine and told Pat Sullivan, the
brakeman, to notify Superintendent
Lacid that the cage had got jammed i'm
the shaft. Mr.. Lacid ordered the east
cage to be raised and he and &I de de.
reached the 200 level they found the cage
caught and resting In a confused mass of
poles, a few feet below the station The
men were all still on the cage, but IL took
only a glance to show that some of them
first to be taken off and lifted
on to the floor of the station. He COM
planned of intense internal pains and about
III right arm which he said, he thought
was broken. Murphy was then taken oil
and was found to be alive, but he died
within a few moments after being laid ON
the floor of the station. The other three
were also taken OIL ant as soon as posi-
BILE all were raised to the surface. II was
found that Gray had received n severe
scalp wound and that Leyden's right arm
was broken, as was also his collar bone.
DIR. Tremblay was m to look
after the wounded and discovered that i'm
addition to the injuries already mentioned
two of Leyden's ribs had also been broken.
The injured men were taken to their
homes and cared for. Colston escaped
with a badly bruised toe and Comba was
III utltIiJuIeus HE Elkh arm DtlIik
slightly bruised and the skin torn.
Coroner Beal was notified and held an
inquest on Murphy. Joseph Lacid, John
Comba, Jacob Oliver, John Range, Pat
rick Sullivan and w. j. Cole were sworn
as witnesses. From their testimony, the
cause of the accident was learned to be
about as follows: As is customary
the poles which were being taken down
were tied together with a stout rope which
passed around the center of the bundle.
The bundle was then placed on end on
the Gag In going down, one of the
poles is supposed to have worked loose
from the bundle and slipped downward
allowing one end TO catch between the
wall plate and the side of the cage,
wrcnching the rope i'm two. This loosened
the balance of the poles which then fell
apart and as they slipped the lower ends
were caught similarly to the first
one, some of them being forced
upwards and against the men above
them, while Others spread out and stopped
the This explanation is the only
one that could be given and is undoubt-
edly correct i'm view of the location OF the
injuries that caused Murphy his death,
the lower part of his abdomen being
crushed TO a Jelly. Mr.. Lacid, Mr.. Cole
and one or two others who saw the poles
tied together and the cage loaded, testi-
fled thai the same care had been exercised
as usual and to all appearances no
better loaded or more securely tied
bundle of poles had ever been lowered
into the mine. Comba has been station
tender for several years and is known as
a careful and competent man, who pays
strict attention to orders. During the in
quest the jurors and coroner questioned
the Witnesses closely with a view of ascer-
tanning all the facts and laying the
blame, IL any existed, where il belonged.
They found, however, that the accident
was wholly unavoidable and returned n
verdict in accordance and exonerated the
company from all blame The jurors,
were G. NJ. Lyons, j. ID. T~horoughman,
II. Roudebush, +. b. Harper, J. II. Blake
and j. X. Bordeaux.
As already stated, Murphy was a
widower with seven children. the eldest
of whom, n boy ID years old is EN-.
ployed as IA tool carrier in the same mine
in which his father was killed. The de.
ceased was n member of the miners
union, under whose direction the funeral
will take place,