Daily inter mountain., 1899-02-21

WAS FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
After Being Injured Weigenstein Sent
aMessage to the Superintendent
Concerning His Work.


stein, the machinist who died Saturday
from injuries received a few days
previously in the shaft of the Moonlight
mine.
DR.. M. G. McNevin testified that Weig-
enstein was brought into the hospital on
the evening of the 18th; he walked, unas-
sisted, to the dressing room of the hos
ptal; witness washed the wound, consid
cred it a very dangerous one and told
Weigensten, who thought he was well
enough to be taken to his home, that he
must remain at the hospital; witness
cleaned the wound and shaved the scalp;
the next morning witness made prepara-
tions for the operation: on a close eN-
animation he found a channel had been
cut in the skull about one and one-half
inches long, half an inch deep and nearly
half an inch in width; the internal plate
of the skull was badly fractured, and the
external fracture pushed the fragments
of the internal plate in: the fracture was
right back of the crown in the center of
the skull. The doctor then proceeded to
describe the principal vessel of the brain.
which he said, was situated between the
two halves of the brain and Immediately
back Of the center of the head and close
to the skull. The vessel was about as
|
plate of the skull was driven into this
, vessel by the blow, the fragments of bone
SO filling the vessel that but little blood
escaped. The only thing the doctor could
I do was to remove the bone fragments and
this he did. The removal of the bone was
| followed by profuse hemmorrhage, and
to stop the hemmorrhage the doctor did
the only practical thing possible-he
plugged up the vessel. Weigenstein was
suffering considerable from the shock to
/ from
awful force of the blow. He was put to
bed. and soon became unconscious, in
which condition he continued almost un-
til his death, the third day after the acci-
dent.
A. P. Wass, the Moonlight ropeman,
who was with Weigenstein when the acci-
dent happened testified that he accom-
panied the deceased to the 13O0-fOOt level
to assist him in taking a measurement
for piping. They went down in the cage
and then went into the pump shaft. They
had been there but short time; Weigen-
stein was seated on piece of timber and
witness stood by him; suddenly Weigen-
stein fell forward, as though he had been
struck by something, and witness heard
a splash in the water and knew something
had fallen; Weigenstein did not lose con-
scousness, and told witness he had been
struck and witness helped him to the cage
and then went to the surface; witness
knew men We're at work above them, and
the men above them knew they were be-
low.
Patrick Mulcahey testified that when
the accident occurred he and two other
men We're at work in the pump shaft.
They were removing clamps in the pipe
between the 900 and 100 levels, and had
just removed a clamp about two sets be-
low the 900 level when they We're called
up by the station man and informed OF
the accident. Two of the men had monkey
wrenches and the third carried a torch;
the monkey Wrenches were taken to the
top with them; what bolts and nuts they
did not put back into the clamp they took
with them to the station, and witness was
positive that no tool or piece of iron had
ben dropped by them into the shaft; wit
ness heard no noise that would have been
made by falling rock Witness could not
explain how the accident occurred.
The testimony of Emil BOutheler, the
| torchbearer, who was with Mulcahey in
the pump shaft, differed in no particular
from that given by Mulcahey except that
he knew Oh but one monkeyWrench in the
party at work on the pipe clamps.
! Edward Renwold, the Moonlight pump
man, testified to having informed Wei
genstein that it was necessary to do some
work on the sinker; witness Offered to do
the work himself but Weigenstein said he
preferred to attend to it, and asked wit
ness to repair a water jet at the 900-foot
! level; witness was attending to the water
| Jet when the accident occurred, and knew
nothing of it until afterwards; witness
was certain Weigenstein knew Of the men
working in the shaft above him; 1t was
| the duty of the men above to use all
caution possible, as someone was likely
to be in the shaft below them at any
time.
| Superintendent William Skryme testi-
! fled that Weigenstein was a Skillful and
careful man. An extra stream of water
had been discovered, and as the sinker
was not able to handle it, witness told
Weigenstein to make the necessary
changes in the pumping apparatus, CIV
ing him full charge of the work. On the
afternoon Of the accident it was about
completed, and Weigenstein told witness
that he would finish it before he went off
shift. While witness was at home he
! received a message from Weigensten,
informing him that he had been hurt,
but that he would remain at the mine in
order to give instructions for the compile
tion of the work. From the wording Of
p