Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-25
BAD AIR THE CAUSE
Smithley Tainted and Fell
Against Center Piece
ANDDEATHW WAS THE RESULT
Story of the High Ore Accident as
Narrated by the Witnesses Be-
fore the Coroner's Jury.
ANDDEATH WAS THE RESULT

Coroner Jullien's inquiry into the death
Of Homer c.. Smithley, who was killed
in the High Ore shaft last Thursday,
was held last night in the undertaking
rooms of E. H. Sherman, and resulted in
a verdict to the effect that the deceased
came to his death by having his head
crushed in the shaft of the mine, the re-
suit of the deceased having been over
come with gas.
d. A. Murray was on the cage when
the accident happened. He stood oppo-
site Smithley, and as the Gag assembled
felt him bend over. Witness reached
out to keep him from falling; as he did
so Smithley pitched forward, his head
striking every center piece between the
compartment shaft and pump shaft until
the cage stopped; deceased seemed all
right when the cage started up; the cage
had probably assembled 20 feet when
witness saw Smithley fall. Witness
thought that possibly the deceased had
been breathing gas before getting into
the age, and sickened when the cage
started up; there was always some gas
IN the mine, not enough to cause it to be
considered a bad place to work; several
blasts had been fired in the drift Thurs
day morning, but the gas was not es-
pecially bad: when Smithley fell witness
attempted to signal for the cage to stop;
succeeded in stopping it near the 300
level; Foreman Ferns came down in the
cage in the east compartment in reply
to the danger signal. The body was then
taken to the surface.
Would doors on the cage have pre-
vented the accident?" asked Mine In
spector Hunter.
Witness replied that they might or
might not.
A. N. Weigenstein, a brother of the
man who was fatally injured in the
Moonlight a few days ago, was the next
witness; he was running a car in the
same shaft in which Smithley was work.
ing; the gas was a little worse after the
blasting than usual, and witness was
somewhat affected by it; witness spoke to
his partner about the gas, but did not
say anything to the foreman about it;
the men We're not required to go in
within half an hour after the blasts
were fired; deceased told witness in the
drift that the gas made his head ache.
The testimony of NJ. j. Powers was
much the same as that of Murray; wit
ness noticed considerable gas in the
drift, but it was not worse than usual;
he did not consider it bad enough to
neCesSitate a cessation of work.; did not
think any one would be injured by 1t;
Smithley told him about being affected
by the gas, but did not think his condi-
ton made it dangerous for him to go on
the cage. The men frequently went to
work without breakfast, an dit was COM
mon for them to get weak about noon.
Thomas O'Neill, who was also on the
cage at the time of the accident, did not
experience any inconvenience from the
gas.
Joseph Hurley testified that he stood
Immediately behind Smithley on the
cage; when Smithley's head struck the
center piece he tried to hold him up and
pull him out of the way, but could not do
so. The testimony of j. A. Tremble and
Jnh, 7 WV 1,r,o n hT,,t fhn 90 mo nc. tho
given by Hurley.
William Rule, the engineer, testified
that the speed of the cage, when the ac-
cident occurred, was only ordinary.
Fred Mcdonald, station tender at the
1900 level, saw the bell rope in motion
and heard the men on the cage yell; he
rang the stop bell; did not hear Smithley
complain of being sick from the gas
when he got on the cage.
Charles Ferns, the mine foreman, tes-
tilted that when he was notified that
something had happened, he went down
to the 900, put four of the men on the
cage of the east compartment, and, with
three others, took the body of Smithley
to the surface. Saw deceased in the 1900
level about 8 o'clock; he made no COM
plant about bad air; witness did not
consider the air in the drift bad; witness
described the air pipes, and said the men
were allowed to use their own judgment
as to how long they should remain out
after blasting.
Deputy State Mining Inspector Frank
Hunter investigated the causes of the
accident Immediately after its occur
renee; he was of the opinion that de-
ceased had inhaled gas and sickened
from it when he got on the cage. He
was also of the opinion that had the Gag
been fitted with safety gates Smithley
would not have been killed. He also
thought it was peculiar that the gas
should affect the deceased after he got
good air, and because of this circum-
stance thought the deceased might have
been troubled with weakness of the