The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-06-12

Patrick Lynn, a young man about 21
years of age, was almost instantally
killed at $50 yesterday afternoon at the
Pine Brook shaft by falling a distance
Of 2e5 feet. John Reap and David
Jones. young men, who were sitting at
the foot of the shaft waiting for car
riage to lift them to the surface, heard
a peculiar noise in the shaft, which
gradually increased in volume until 1t
semed to them that car was falling.
They rushed backward a short distance
to be sure of their own safety and then
heard a thud that was anything but
like the crash of a car would make.
they hastened to the sump and there
found the body of man lying Imply
over a beam.
He was lifted up and found to be
gasping family for breath. A great
Jagged wound in his forehead was
bleeding. The two young men got a
stretcher but before Lynn could be
placed on 1t he breathed his last. The
engineer was at once apprised of what
had happened and the body was raised
to the surface and placed in the engine
room, where it was identified as that
of Patrick Lynn, who worked in the
mine about a year ago and who had
been lettering about the shaft a good
part of the afternoon.
HIS FATHER NOTIFIED.
The father of the young man, John
Lynn, boards on Hickory street and
he was apprised of the death Of his
son. He arrived at the shaft at $50
but did not have the remains removed.
He did not know that he could take
them to his boarding house and did not
know where else they could be housed.
Soon afterwards the remains were TAX
en- to Cusick's undertaking establish
ment on Washington avenue where the
father called several times during the
night and asked to be allowed to re-
move them to his boarding place. he
having made arrangements to have the
| burial occur from that place. 1t was
| deemed best, however, to allow the
| body to remain at the undertaking es-
tablishment until Coroner Longstreet
holds an inquest this morning.
1t is probable that it will never be
known just how the young man got
into the shaft but the circumstances
surrounding his death point to self
| destruction. He was perfectly famil-
lar with the shaft and it's surroundings
and the opening to the shaft is we'll
| lighted, so that it would have been
| difficult for him to have stumbled into
the opening even had the gates leading
to the shaft been open. Henry Stacht,
! the gate man, AYERS that the gates
| were not only closed but also locked
on the side from which Lynn got into
| the shaft.
| MUST HAVE CRAWLED UNDER.
1t was the west side of the shaft
| down which Lynn dropped his 295 feet
to death and he approached it from the
north. The gate was locked and he evil
IDENTIFY did not climb over 1t for the
dust and fine particles of culm on the
top rail were not disturbed in the
slightest after the accident. The bot
tom of the gate is about two feet from
the ground, and Lynn could easily
have crawled under it, although il
would have been equally as easy tc
climb over for the gate is not high.
For some time Lynn has not worked
and yesterday afternoon when he
made bis appearance about the shaft
he was dressed partially in working
attire as if he was in search of employ.
ment. About 5 o'clock he went to the
WASH mouse WneTe several miners W6Tt
cleaning up prior to going home, and
asked them If they had any food ir
their pals.
Henry Stochl after locking the gates
at the head of the shaft, saw Lynn
sitting on a beam near the door of thu
engine house, and a few minutes late
Engineer Fred Davis saw the youns
man come into the engine room.
ASKED FOR A DRINK.
He asked where he could get drinl
of water and was given the necessar!
information by the engineer. Less thai
five minutes afterwards he was in
formed that there was dead body a
the foot to be taken up, and when
was brought to the surface he recog
nized the features as those of tn
young man who had spoken to him
few minutes before.
Nearly every bone in Lynn's bod
was broken. He had not had any reg
ular place of abode for some time.