The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-03-11
'TWASA HOLY TERROR
Sheridan People Have Their Fill of
Cold and Nasty Weather.
AFFAIRS OF THE COUNTY
An Important Bridge Proposition
Details of the Powder Explo-
sion. In Which MCGUIRE and
Cooley We're Killed.

Special Correspondence of the STANDARD.
Sheridan, March s.-The weather Of
the past week has been what one may
well call a holy terror. One week ago
a sudden change came which sent the
mercury in the thermometer down so
notches lower than ii was on the pre-
ceding day, and that in less than II
hours. Sunday morning the register
was 10 degrees below zero; on Tues
day 1T had fallen to 16 degrees below
and on Wednesday IL degrees below
was the record. Since then the weather
has moderated considerably, and now,
though still cold, IL is as fine as can
be desired at this season of the year.
The county commissioners have been
in session this week. and, as usual at
the March sitting of the board, the
term has been a busy one. The matter
most deeply concerning the people of
Madison county, and especially those
of the western part of it, which the
commissioners had to consider, was the
building of a new bridge over the JEFF
ferson river, in the vicinity of the new
Parrot smelter at Gaylord. For sew
eral weeks past, petitions have been
circulated throughout the county, ask
ing that this work be done, and these
petitions have received the signatures
of the taxpayers who represent fully
four-fifths of the assessable wealth of
the county. Ex-Representative Pat
Carney was the prime mover in the
enterprise, and bright and early on
Wednesday morning he was before the
board with his array of names, and
asked favorable consideration of the
petition. 1t was thought that there
would be opposition from the Madison
valley side of the county, as that sec
ton has some bridge building to do it
self, but fears of this sort were allayed
when Capt. Tom Farrell who is prob
ably as deeply interested in building a
bridge over the Madison as any citi-
zen over the range, announced that, in
view of the much greater Importance
attaching to the building of the Gay
lord bridge, the people of his neighbor-
hood would waive their rights in the
matter. and heartily second the action
asked for by Jefferson, Ruby and Bea-
verhead citizens. So the board took
hold of the business in good earnest,
and on motion 1t was decided to grant
the petition and build the bridge. Tues
day, March II. has been set by the
board as the day on which the commits
sioners will meet at Fish Creek, whence
they will go down the river and select
site for the proposed structure. They
have invited the commissioners of JEFF
ferson county to be with them on that
day, and cooperate with them in the
work of selection, as the eastern APP
proach to the bridge will be in that
county. 1t is understood, though that
the entire expense of construction will
be borne by Madison county.
That the building of the bridge will
be a great boon to the citizens of Madi-
son goes without saying. 1t will short
en- and make more easy the travel be-
tween here and Butte and Anaconda;
bring our people in closer connection
with present railroad facilities; enlarge
the markets for our produce and stock:
give the miners on the east side of the
jefferson river easy transportation to
the big smelter, which, but for this
bridge, would be almost as hard of &C
cess as are the reduction works of
Butte. Besides all this, it will insure
the building of the smelter town in
Madison county. as Mr.. Carney has il
from the managers of that concern that
unless the bridge were built, the
chances were strongly in favor of es-
tablishing the town of Gaylord on the
other side of the river, | e., in jefferson
county. However this may be-wheth-
err the smelter people were running a
bluff or not-there is much exultation
among the settlers of this region over
the fact that the bridge is to be built.
and the county commissioners will
have a full Endorsement of their action
everywhere from Fish Creek to Red
Rock and away up to old Badly.
A terrible accident occurred last Fri
day evening at one of the prospects at |
the head of Ramshorn gulch. by which |
two men, Matt MCGUIRE and James |
Cooley, were hurled into eternity by |
an unexpected explosion of giant pow |
der. The prospect whereat the acct |
dent occurred is one of a group which |
was taken up under lease and bond, |
last season, by NJ. ]. Dugan and others |
of Butte, and is situated near the top |
of one of the highest peaks in the |
~ r. N
range, on the ridge between the waters |
of Ramshorn and Mill creeks. The |
manner of the fatality was this: On /
Friday evening, about o'clock, Nc |
CURE and his partner, John Glitzker,
were preparing to quit work, and were /
going to put in some shots before leav-
ing. The powder was up in the shaft /
house and Mcclure went up to get /
some with which TO do the blasting.
1t was frozen, and he and Cooley, who
was employed as windla ssman on the /
mine were sitting together in the shaft /
house. warming the stun. when, by /
some means. il exploded. blowing Nc
CURE down the shaft and killing Coo
ley on the spot Glitzker. who was at |
the bottom of the shaft waiting for
the powder hearing the explosion.
started to ascend. but for a time was
unable TO make his way up through the 1
smoke. When il had cleared away suf- 1
hciently for him To come up, he started 4
again. and on the way was Mortified 10 /
find the dead body Of Mcclure, who 1
had faleln about 40 feet down the shaft.
and had lodged in some OF the timber
ing. He could do nothing with him,
and kept on to the surface, where a
more sickening sight met his gaze. on
the floor OF the house lay the terribly 4
mutilated body Of Cooley with his left
hand blown of just above the wrist.
his right arm blown Of at the shoulder /
and his head and the upper part OF his
body shattered into a shapeless mass.
GLtzker's position here was a most