The Anaconda standard., 1896-05-27

: OCthS QuiCh. Inc TWO men were Int
most careful miners in loading holes in
the mine. He never saw them tamp g
hole that was full of water. He could
not tell how long ii would take tc
/ burn six feet of fuse. He would con-
| slider two minutes very quick time foI
six feet of fuse to burn. A foot of fuse
ought to take about a full minute.
John Hennessy of the Lynch block
Bast Park street. shift boss in the
| Ground Squirrel, was at home at the
| time OF the accident. He was not In
the magazine last night. He was In
the place where the fuse was kept.
There was about 800 feet of fuse there.
He did not notice the brand OF the
| fuse. He never timed the fuse He
never heard the men complain of its
being quick or slow. He never had any
trouble with powder.
Tim Reilly of East Park, miner at
the Ground Squirrel, was on the 300 at
the time of the accident. He went down
to the 400 with his partners, Tobin and
Burns, and helped get Connolly out.
Six feet of fuse should take five or six
minutes to burn. He never noticed
any difference in the burning of fuse.
Patrick F. Boland. superintendent of
the Ground Squirrel, had known Nolan
for nearly year and Connolly about
six months. There was no question of
considered them the equal of any in
the state. He was at his home, No
515 East Park street, at the time of the
accident. He went to the breast,
where the accident happened, with Mr..
Miles and then showed Mr.. Miles the
places where the powder and fuse are
kept. Mr.. Miles took a piece of the
fuse and examined IL. The brand Of
fuse was the Western Fuse company.
Atlas powder is used. He had never
tried the fuse. He had been told by
those who had tried it that two feet
OF 1t would take about a minute to
burn. His Instructions to the bosses
were to use all diligence and precau-
tion to keep the men from accident of
all kinds. In handling powder they are
told to be as careful as possible, and
to keep the caps and fuse away from
the powder. There is a two-inch plank
some distance from the magazine with
a notice reading: place your candle
sticks here" That is to keep the men
from carrying the candles to the mag
agine. From the place where this
plank is candles will show a light sufIi-
cient for the men to select their pow
der. In the magazine is another sign
reading. mo smoking allowed" There
are defects in fuse sometimes as we'll
as in other things. Some fuse is faster
than others. Some is faulty and hangs
fire. If there is any fault i'm the fuse,
which he could not tell, it was the
fault of the company that made it.
This is the first accident of any kind
in the mine since ii had been under
his supervision
William Burns of East Quartz street,
a miner at the Ground Squirrel, was
working at the 300 when the accident
occurred. He went to the 400 and help
ed get the men out. He had used a
great deal of the fuse and noticed that
sometimes it was faster than others.
Six feet of fuse takes about four or five
minutes to burn. He used a piece,
about five and a half feet, of fuse ins
one piece last night. 1t took about
four minutes for it to burn, but he did
not time 1t.
Deputy State Mining Inspector john
H. Miles said he went to the mine as
soon as he was notified. He went to
the 400-foot level, and into the cross !
cut. The two bodies were laid out at
the turn sheet. He went to the scene
of the accident with Mr.. Boland and
also visited the places where the pow
der was stored and also the caps and
fuse. The fuse. about $50 feet. and al
most full box of caps were kept about
$50 feet north of the shaft He cut
about seven or eight feet off. He then
went to the powder magazine, which is
He found 130 pounds of powder there.
1t was kept in a good, dry place. He
saw the notices mentioned by Mr. Bo-
land. He considered the place where
the powder was kept safe. This after
noon he tested the fuse. He burned
three feet of 1T and 1t took As seconds
to burn three feet. 1t was the Cali
fornia Western Fuse company's brand
bf Melrose, Cal. He burned three feet
n ba
took a minute and a half. He repeat
I'd both experiments with the two
brands, taking three feet more of each.
Ind the result was the same each time .
The fuse he took from the j. l. C. il
branded triple tape, but is only double
ape. The California tape is warrant
ID TO be triple tape and is so. He con-
'idered the Western Fuse company's 4
use very poor. 1t is about as quick /
lgain as the California company's /
use and is the same as was used at
he time of the accident at the Green
Mountain mine. Standard fuse is
Cbout a half minute to a foot. He
hought there was not time To spit the
i've holes before the first exploded ana
hat caused the accident. He believed
he management of the mine excellent
md Mr.. Boland a very careful man.
lie had noticed that the brands were
llso wrong on the fuse used at the
Green Mountain at the time of the ac-
,ident there. on the outside the fuse
III looks alike.
The jury concluded that it was "un-
Ible to arrive at any positive knowl-
'dge, but are strongly of the opinion
hat the fuse burned more rapidly
han the men supposed IL would and
et off the blasts before they left the
lace. The jury can only render a ver-
lict of accidental death and without
lttaching blame to either management
II employees"
The members of the jury Were Chance
>. Harris, James Wilton, r. Kemp.
'homas Goforth. James Warfield and
|. n. Patterson.
For MAKING sipus