The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-08-14
MURDERED IN A MINE.
Three Men Have a Fearful Experience
With an Infuriated Mad Man.

! VIRGINIA CITY, New, August 13.-Full
details have been received of a murderous
| tragedy in one of the principal mines of
the great COmstOck silver lode of Nevada.
On the night of Sunday, July 20, at II
O'Clock, William Nichols, the shift boss;
James Hoban, Patrick, Crowley and James
Shaughnessy, three laborers, were lower
ed to the 200 foot station of the Savage
mine. They landed on a platform placed
across the shaft at that level, and were
| about to set to work to repair the timber
ing of the shaft, when a quarrel arose be-
tween Nichols and Crowley because of a
remark of the former that the shift to
which the four men belonged was not
thought by the foreman to be doing enough
work.
Suddenly Shaughnessy and Hoban, who
had their backs toward the the two angry
men, heard the sound of a heavy blow,
and, looking round, were Mortified to see
Nichols body stretched on the platform,
with blood gushing from terrible wound
in the side of the skull, which had evident
ly been dealt at the hands of Crowley, who
stood above the corpse with an ak in his
grasp.
Shaughnessy and Hoban, fearful of vio-
lence from the murderer, hurriedly board
ed the miners cage swinging in the shaft
above them and gave the signal TO hoist by
ringing three bells. Crowley, however,
had noticed what they We're doing, and
managed to jump into the cage after them
and Immediately rang one bell, the
signal to stop. He then seized
Shaughnessy by the throat and threatened
him bodily injury if he again attempted to
ring the bell to hoist the cage.
Finally Shaughnessy and HOban man.
aged to persuade Crowley to have the cage
hOiSted up to the l,0J0-foOt station. and
here the three remained for fully half an
hour, Crowley still having the bloody ak
with which he had murdered Nichols with
him in the cage. HOban complained
greatly of thirst, and in this manner vain
~ endeavOred TO get Crowley 10 allow
them to hoist the cage TO the 600 level
Suddenly an idea seemed to strike Crow
ley, and, boarding the cage, he
rang it down 50 the 1900 level
again. As soon rs it began descending
lanterns and scrambled up to the 800 level,
which they reached after more than mar
rowly escaping falling down the shaft.
While on the 500 level they heard from
the depths below Crowley hammering
away at something.
Trusting that he was no longer in the
cage, they took q turn Of the bell rope
around a bolt 10 prevent Crowley stopping
them from below and then rang the cage
up to them. OverjOyed at finding ii empty,
they jumped in and finally reached the sur
face
Inc alarm was At once gwen ana James
Grant the foreman of the mine, a police Off
Ger and two muscular miners We're at once
lowered to the ], ,900level Crowley was there
and quietly submitted 10 arrest and was
taken to the surface and later. handCuffed
and taken TO the county Jail.
Nichols body was not on the 1,200 level.
but the searchers found that a plank had
been removed from the platform, indicat-
ing that the corpse had been dumped into
the shaft. The shaft is not in condition
To lower the cage further and q temporary
rope purchase was rigged up. Then the
body Of the murdered man was found 100
feet below on the 1900 level, and was
brought TO the surface.
The blow from the AK IL was found. had
crushed through the eve socket and cut
into the skull cash eight inches long
The skull was also frightfully crushed by
striking on the rocks after il was dumped
into the shaft.
Nichols was born in Cornwall. England
and was ~ years Old. He leaves a wife
and five children. Crowley i a native Of
Ireland and i - years old. He Is unmar-
ried, and his reputation previously has
been that of a great, big whole-Souled
young man, who wouldn't harm anybody
deliberately for anything. He Is giant
in stature-siX feet four inches in height
He had been on a prolonged spree Just be-
fore the night Of the tragedy
AN AGREEMENT REACHED.
WASHINGTON. August lS.-The conferees
on the Indian appropriation bill came TO
an agreement today