The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-01-11
RESULT OF THE INQUEST
Benjamin Saner's Death Caused
by One of Those Accidents.
NOBODY HELD TOACCOUNT
Fellow Workmen of the Dead Miner Re-
late ia Detail the Story of the
Fatal Blast in the Penn
sylvania Mine.

Coroner Tremblay held an inquest
yesterday to investigate the accident
which caused the death of Benjamin
Saner in the Pennsylvania mine Satur-
day evening the jury deciding no one
was responsible for the accident From
the evidence 1t was shown mat Saner
and his partner, William McPike. and
John w. Hopkins and John Mutch,
were working in the bottom ST the
shaft sinking. They were just below
the 900-foot level. and the hoist used
in the work of sinking is stationed at
the S00-foot level The men mad just
completed putting in a set of holes, two
of the men working in the east and two
in the west compartment. They be-
gan splitting, and one hole went off be-
fore they had finished. 1t put out the
lights and rang the bell TO hoist, and
three of the men succeeded III getting
aboard. As they did SO, and before
the cage had assembled more than 10
feet, another blast rang stop bell,
aud the cage WAS slowed down for an
Instant. This served to enable Mulch,
who lay PROSTATE on the floor OF the
cage with his legs hanging off, to make
himself safe, else he must have been
killed or manned. The engineer, realiz
ms AilG SAihtiAiiilt A'ih i4At NaSaI III ~
the soo-foot level saving the three min
ers. 1t is not known whether Saner
was killed by the first blast or failed to
lind the cage in the dark and was left
10 his fate, as there was no evidence
bearing on that point
Walter parkin helped take the dead
man cut OF the shaft lie works III the
shaft but was not on duty wnen the ac-
cident happened lie had worked in
"a u s.s.t
enced no trouble With the fuse used,
Of which about seven feet Is generally
used for each hole. 1t WAS not uncom-
mon for the shots to ring the bell.
William McPike testified that he was
working in the shaft with deceased
with two others. They were splitting
holes, and one shot went off, putting
out the lights. At that time deceased
stood beside the witness. but after the
lights went out he did not know what
happened. He himself felt around and
found the cage and crawled in. He
asked Il all We're In, AID rang the bell
to be taken away upon receiving an
affirmative answer. In getting TO the
SEQ foot level deceased WAS missing.
The only reason he couiu give Tor the
accident was that time flies faster when
men are doing anything they must do
quickly, and he supposed they stayed
longer than they supposed. The cage
started with the explosion of the first
shot and stopped after going n few
feet and siackened up. then went ahead
again. he supposed from the second
explosion ringing the bell.
John ". Hopkins Was another of the
men working in the shart. lie stated
that the holes We're put in as usual.
and when they started To spit one hole
went before they had finished. He
thought the last time was to be ae-
counted for by the fact that one or two
fuses had 10 be cut a second time. and
one had 10 he cut three times.
John Mulch said IL was about 10
o'clock when the men in the shaft. OF
whom he was one. We're reaGy 10 spit,
There we're Is holes to h. fired and
from the character eli some Of them IL
took a little longer than usual He
barely got III The cage when II started,
and had IL not stopped before reaching
tse wall plates ne would have been in
tured or killed, as his legs were hang
He off the edge nj the cage. and the
stop gave him time to get himself up
on the cage. The witness thought if il
had not been Tor the water Wetttug the
fuse there would have been no trouble
and the seven feet 81 fuse used would
have been ample. Ii was not AN UNI