The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-11-02
Under TONS Of Stone.
Joyce Is Crushed by the
Falling Of the Rock
Crusher Bin.
The Lifeless Body Dug Out Ten
Minutes After the
Accident.
Fatal Accident in feeder Alley Five
Minute Before the Time for
Quilting Work.

Thomas Joyce, aged b years. employed
pn the HOWE 0trees Improvement, was in
btantiy killed a few minutes before the time
For quitting work yesterday afternoon, by
The bin of she rock crusher with eeven tons
pr stone in it falling on him. The rock
crusher is located in Reeder's alley and on
he north side of the Rulch near the HOWE
street bridge against the hill from which
The stone IL AIKEN. The crusher is fixed
high up On the side of the bank so that the
rock can be shoveled into the hopper. Di-
rectly under the crusher ia a bin OF heavy
timber to receive the broken stone az it
comes from the hopper. This bin is sup
ported from below by timber uprishts, al
lowing space underneath for wagons to
drive and receive n load of broken stone.
1t was exactly Ave minutes to six O'Clock
when Overseer James Norris went to the
Dngine house of the rock crusher to tell En-
gineer d. T. Liddell something. Joyce had
Bust left the engineer, and as it was not
quite time for the men to stop work. he
took a shovel and went to cleaning up some
Of the loose stone that had fallen on the
ground under the bin while loading e
wagon. Suddenly there was a crash and
Norris n Liddell ran out of the engine
room, thinking at first that the belt which
connects with the crushing machine had
broken or slipped. Though it WAS nearly
dark, they perceived at once that some
thing had gone wrong at the bin and went
that way. where they saw what had hap
pened. Remembering that n of the
workmen, Thomas staff, had been working
ing in the bin. Liddell sung out to know If
he was hurt. Staff had gone down with
the bin the full six feet which it
fell, but had escaped with only a
few bruises. The first thing he thought of
was Joyce who, when last seen by him. had
gone to work under the bin. The big bin
was In a mass on the ground. and all that
could be seen of Joyce was his hat and tho
top of his head on the edge of the wreck.
The remainder of the body was coverel up
In a pile of broken timbers and under tons
OF crushed stone. Everybody at once went
20 work to remove the pile of debris. and
IN about ten minutes this was done suffic-
tently to allow the rescuers to remove the
inert and lifeless mass which q short time
before had been q fine. able-bodied man.
Joyce was dead, the life being crushed out
Of him. A heavy timber had fallen across
his neck. Another had cut into his back,
laying bare the shoulder blade. One leg WAS
also broken. Otherwise the body was not
muoh mutilated. The body was lying face
down when reached.
~ " pAo "a soO VIA
showed that one of the uprights had broken
about four feet from the ground, at a point
where a cross piece from the other upright
had been mortised into it. There were at
least seven tons of broken stone in the bin,
and this weight caused the upright to give
way. Joyce was a large man, weighing
nearly 200 pounds, and standing under the
bin his head reached nearly to the bottom
of il When the crash came he had no
show whatever to get out.
Coroner Rockman summoned a jury who
will meet at the court house this morning.
Jovce was an Unmarried man, and SO far as
known had no relatives in this part of the
country. He WAS a miner and had been IN
and around Helena for four or five years.
He had been working on the HOWE street
improvement about twelve days, and at the
crusher only two days. Undertaken Fla
herty took charge of the body.
Gold crowns, bridgework and all dental
operations AT eastern prices. DIR. Skim
min, Sixth and Main. ~
New line Of crockery and china ware just
opened at The Bee Hive, the bargain house OF
helena,