The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-05-19
AWFUL DEATH.
Ten Miners Fall Over Three Thou
sand Feet Down a Shaft.
CALUMET AND HECLA HORROR.
The Cage Ascends Too High and Break.
Up Against the Roof, Then Falling
the Bottom of the Aw-
full Abyss.

HoUGHToN, Mich, May 15.-Ten tim
Der men were dashed to pieces in the
Red Jacket perpendicular shaft of the
Calumet and Hecla mine at noon yester-
day. The miners were coming up in
the cage to dinner and the engineer
hoisted the cage against the timbers OF
the shaft. The coupling pin broke and
the men and cage were dashed down
ward over 5000 feet to the bottom.
The names of the killed are:
Allen Cameron, son of Capt Cameron,
in charge.
James Cooking, single, supporting
widowed mother
Joseph Pope. leaves a wife and one
child. The wife was at the mouth OF
the shaft with his dinner and saw the
terrible fall of her husband and his
comrades
John Rodgers, leaves wife and sew
eral children.
John Hicks. single. aged "a.
Andrew Edno. aged 40. married.
Robert Wuopia, leaves a wife and
three children.
Michael LeavittO, widower.
James Trevni, leaves wife and three
children.
Con 5. Sullivan, single. aged 40.
Thousands of people were around the
shaft all day. No inquest has been
held as yet
The men were aboard skip used in
hosting rock. and when the load of
human freight reached the surface the
engineer did not stop in time, but went
to the top of the derrick, when it broke
lose and went back with crash to the
bottom of the shaft.
There was no way of reaching the bot
tom nor getting the dead men out ex-
cept by going through another shaft
half mile away, so it was nearly three
hours before the true state of affairs
could be ascertained. and it will be
toward morning before the bodies can
be brought to the surface. IL is neees-
sary to hoist the men $50 feet by ropes
to reach the level of the next shaft,
then carried nearly half mile through
the drifts and then hoisted by the man
car.
The miners were coming up to dinner
and the engineer thought he had 75O
feet further to hoist the cage. and
pulled them up against the roof of the
shaft, crushing some of them. The
cOupling-pin broke and the cage and its
load of human freight fell to the bot
tom of the shaft, a distance of over
5000 feet.
Never in the history of copper mining
has so serious an accident occurred.
Sunday work in the mines is only done
in the line of repairs TO machinery and
timbering up the walls of the shaft to
admit miners to drill and blast week
days The ten men killed yesterday
went down in the morning to timber
and had worked all forenoon.
When noon came they stepped into
the skip to be hoisted $3.50 feet to the
surface to get their dinner. The time
in being hoisted is only minute by the
powerful engines used.
Ernest Tullin, a very reliable en-
gineer, says his indicator showed 40
feet more to hoist. 1t must have failed
to respond. Yhe cage went crashing
against the roof of the shaft house.
There was crashing of timbers. Some
thing must give way. The coupling
pin to the wire ca bic broke and some of
the miners must have been crushed.
Then the bucket fell with lightning
velocity over 5000 feet to the bottom of
the shaft.
The wife of Joseph Pope spoke tohim
lovingly. but was crazed when she saw
tine cage dart upward and then fall out
of sight.