Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-09-10
CRUSHED TO DEATH.
Forty-tive Men Under Tons of Rock at Spo-
kane Falls.

A Spokane Falls dispatch Of the 7th
says Cline only heightens the hor-
rors wrought by the premature explo-
sion of a blast in the Northern Pacific
freight yards here last night. At IL P.
NJ. the men engaged in the task of TAX
ing out the mangled victims were
forced to desist because among the
rocks which were being cleared away
were five other blasts that might be
exploded in the task Of removing the
debris that buried the victims.
Cup to that hour eighteen bodies had
been taken out. OF these the following
Veyeller, Henry Aptell, Charles Veyel-
Ter, Andrew Puelonlilo, F. A. Hahn, Jo-
seph Ray, John Cartlinio, James Nc
Pherson, Roy Pinkney, B. Vitter, J Tai
DO, Henry Jacobini, Henry Aptell, A. w.
Warren, Isaac johnson, Dan Macarthur,
Homer Olsen.
There are yet twenty men IN
accounted for, all of whom are probably
buried beneath the mass of rock. The
men were given no chance for life. 1t
was either instant death or slight injury
There were about 200 pounds of giant
powder in the blast.
"The accident Was caused by some
ones carelessness. The man in charge
Of the blast and three assistants were
blown to atoms. 1t is the custom to
prepare blasts and charge them, and at
the hours Of II O'Clock noon and s
O'Clock, after the men have left work
and gone to place of safety, to shoot
them. In this case, however, it seems
that one blast had been prepared and
the foreman, G.. Mcpherson, was pre-
pairing a second The men had all
finished their work and were put
ting on their coats and picking up
their lunch pals ready to 60 to
their homes after their days work,
when they met a horrible and unex-
pected death. Either the rock was too
hot from the action of the drills or else
tamping exploded the second blast, and
that exploded the first. A man who
was tamping paid the penalty with his
life. A man who stood beside one who
was tamping escaped with slight bruises,
although 10000 cubic feet of rock were
hurled for hundreds of feet in every
direction. Another man who was near
the deadly blast, and who was supposed
to be dead, was seen shortly after the
explosion in half crazed condition,
walking around with his clothing torn
to shreds
''The men were working in cut lev
cling off the ground for the new freight
yards. The cliff of rock on the side Of
the cut which was being removed was
twenty feet high. The blasts are so ar
ranged that the rock is thrown toward
the cut. Not anticipating the blast,
about thirty men were under the cliff
when the blast exploded. A great mass
Of rock and earth raised in the air and
pitched over into the cut, burying
the men beneath its awful weight.
None of them had time to run, but
few escaped in almost a miraculous
manner. Over 100 men, who were at
work in the adjoining cuts. at once hur-
ried to the scene and began, with pick
and shovel, to hunt for the buried
bodies. From all over the huge mass Of
rock groans and sbrieks issued, and the
air was filed with the pitiful appeals of
the wounded and dying. A short half
hour and all was still except Tor the
workingmen with pick in hand, who
with the light of the lanterns worked
late into the night removing the dead
bodies"