The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1893-07-06

rleu Dy DdVl5. Iney also censured Inside
Foreman James Heaton for negligence in not
having a competent man examine that
portion of the mines.
Below we give detailed report of the
evidence submitted to the Jury. Twelve
witnesses were examined, the first
being inside foreman James Heaton who
tes flied; "On the 10th of June | went up
the Buck Mountain plane and after going
around l met Jake (the deceased and told
him when he could have time l would like
him TO go into and take either one of
breasts 10, 20, 81 or % which had the biggest
pitch and put running chute in it. He
said he would. According to his own words
he went there and made an examination of
the place. On Tuesday, Goth, he went there
again and took with him William Duga and
that was the time there was an explosion of
gas there. That part of the mine has
generally been pretty free from gas. / was
on &c fourth lift that morning and was
told about the explosion. / afterwards saw
Jake on the surface, in the lamp house. He
told me that the gas had fired. l asked him
if he didn't have sense enough not to go into
the place without safety lamp"
In answer to a question, "What was Davis
employed at the time the accident occurred?o
Mr.. Heaton answered, "0n the goth of last
March Jake Davis commenced working at
No. 4. He and three or four men were
cleaning up the roads. That part of the mine
had been idle from July, 1891. l went up
one morning when they were working at a
fall of slate and l said, Jake, they tell me
you made good chief of police in Shenan-
doah and that being the case will put you in
charge of these men. l will give you some
thing less than these men are getting The
latter remark was said as joke"
In answer to "Was he not fire bossPv Mr..
Heaton answered, "No, sir; he was not All he
had to do as far as fire bossing was concerned
was to examine the place he was going to
work in himself In walking in that morn
ing he went in breast No. 2l which had not
been working since 1891. Three men were
working in breasts 20 and 33. In order to
get to these breasts men had to pass the one
in which Davis was burned along the gang
way"
"Did the lre boss used to examine these
placesP"
Il was fire boss This place was being
opened up again. We never had gas in the
places since the day we opened them up. 1t
was in the third lift, Buck Mountain plane.
In the last two weeks in May 1 came up in
this part of the workings. Jake was working
in No. 10, outside; l told him to get hi, lamp
and go along in from 10 to % and we went
through them. / said l wanted him to drive
a hole out of the breast into the panel, some
thirty feet. I said will send man around
to drive it. There never was lamp full OF
gas there before. When Jake and me came
out of No. % we went along the upper
gangwsy and into No. 10 and down to the
lower gangway. Jake told me he was up
No. 21 the day before the accident and there
was no gas there. Sometimes we found a
little gas in that place, but very seldom
Davis and me travelled that place repeatedly
and never found any gas there"
"YOu had no regular fire boss?"
81 was acting myself, as we were only
opening these two places, but after we would
get few more opened we would have put
fire boss there. l told the men to examine
the places every morning before going in.
The men who worked in the places would ex.
anime them. AT the same time Jake had
charge of them in my absence"
SIS it not customary that the fire boss 90
through these places every morning."
Had we known there was gas in these
places there would have been fire boss
there. These breasts had been abandoned
since July 1891; the fire boss would 60 there
occasionally. The distance from the lower
gangway to the face of the breast was about
loo feet. / was not in there that morning.
In continuing his testimony Mr.. Heaton
said he had learned that Dugal had said To
Davis when they entered the breast, "Why
not take lamp, Jake2" and Jake said. 81 was
here yesterday and there was no gas"
At this point Mr.. Heaton changed the yer.
sion of the cause of the explosion which has
been before the public by saying, 'I think II
was Mr.. Davis who set the gas off. am sure
of it. Davis had been up there ON the 10Th
of the month and why he went up there that
time couldn't say. The Polish man told him
to take the safety lamp as their orders are
not to go into any part of these workings
without a safety lamp. l didn't see Davis
that morning / was there the day before
and telling him about it and l didn't think
would have to see him again, an intelligent
man like him. One man of every two had