The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-29
A DEADLY MISSED HOLE
A Terrible Accident at the Dia-
mond Mine.
COST TWO MINERS LIVES
They Never Knew What HIT Tben,-Tha
Victims Were Fright,ully Dis
figured and Horribly
Mangled

;
which cost two unfortunate miners
their hVes' The victims were Angus
mcleod and Anton Pas enda, who were
working partners. They never crew
what hit them.
Inc scene of the accident was Tire
breast of the west drift on the !. -0C-
foot level. About 20 feet aron he :, nst
cross-cut leads off to he south ON
FRIDAY night a round of floles vas
| blasted in the breast of the d,itt.
While the place was being cleaned up
by the shovelers the miners PIT in a
round of holes in the cross-clt. .rhere
was, therefore, nothing done at the
breast of the drift between Friday end
the time Mcleod and Pasenda went to
work at the breast Saturday night.
The men who fired the round at the
breast of the drift Friday counted the
holes as they went off, as in the cus-
tom to ascertain If they a., went off
The round consisted of seven holes, and
as the men counted only they cen
cluded one hole had missed and report
ed to the timekeeper, who in turn no.
tilted Shift Boss T. H. Collins, and
when Mcleod and Pasenda were sent
into the breast Saturday night to put
IN round they were told by Shift Boss
Collins of the supposed missed hole and
to look out for it.
The men went to work and had put
IN SIX holes and We're in the act of
drilling the seventh when the accident
occurred. Matt Donahue, a carman
who was running out the dirt from the
last blast In the cross-cut, was in the
act or turning car on the turn sheet
at the junction of the drift with the
cross-cut, as stated, 20 feet or so from
where the men We're working, when an
explosion occurred which knocked him
down. He was not injured, however,
ana he ran out and gave the alarm.
AS soon as 1t was possible to go in with
safety several Workmen went in and a
few feet from the breast they found the
two unfortunate fellows lying on the
ground dead. McLeods head and his
right hand We're blown entirely off and
his body much mangled Pasenda's
head was terribly disfigured and
crushed, but he had received less of the
force of the blast than his companion.
The bodies We're removed to the surface
and Coroner Julien and Deputy Mine
Inspector Frank Hunter were notified
After the coroner's inspection of the
bodies had been made they were re-
moved to Duggan's undertaking rooms
1t was first supposed the cause OF the
accident was due to the men having
accidentally drilled into the hole which
was; reported as missed, but Inspector
hunter after making careful. exam
NATION, reached a different conclusion.
Mr.. Hunter found, chat the men had
put in six holes and had started in to
drill the last one, which was the bot
tom or lifting hole. From the fact that
the hole was only in a few inches when
powder was encountered, Mr.. Hunter
thinks the hole could hardly have
missed entirely, for the reason that if it
had the fuse and face of the hole must
have been in evidence, and in such an
event the men could scarcely have
failed to have discovered It, 1t was ap-
parent they did not discover the sup
posed missed hole, for they were both
experienced miners and would not have
taken the chance of being killed by
drilling so close that there would be
danger of drilling into it. Mr. Hunter
thinks, therefore, that when the round
was fired Friday night the next hole
to the lifting hole carried away the
forward portion of this hole and with
1T the fuse and cap, leaving uneXplod-
ed powder in the bottom of the hole.
As it is frequent occurrence for two
holes to go off so close together as to
make one report, it is Mr.. Hunters
opinion that this theory of the supposed
missed hole is correct and that Mcleod
and Pasenda not finding any evidences
of missed hole, concluded that the
fact that the men who We're in Friday
night only counted six shots was ex-
planned by two holes having gone off
together and for this reason thought
there was no danger Mr. Hunters
theory is borne out by the fact that the
blast which killed the two men only
broke about a barrelful of ground,
whereas had the hole been a missed one
with full charge of powder in it, it
would have broken two or three cars
full OF ground at the least The fact
that the men received the force of the
blast about their heads and the upper
portion of their bodies is accounted for !
by the fact that in putting in the bot
tom hole they would necessarily be |
bending down, in which position they |
would naturally catch the blast about |
the mead and upper portion of the body. |
Angus Mcleod was 30 years of age |
and native of Scotland. He came here |
eight or nine years ago from Superior, |
Wis, where he formerly served as a !
foreman. He had worked in the Dia-
mond about three years. He was single |
and lived at 2S6 East Granite street |
He was very Industrious and saving |
and was generally liked among his ac-
quaintances. Among his effects Coro-
ner Julien found certificate of de- |
posit on Hoge, Brownlee & Co. for
S715 and a bank book on the State Saw
ngs. bank showing he had 1868 on de-
posit there. He has no relatives here,
but letters We're found showing he has
A brother, Hugh Mcleod, living at Fort
Scotland, and from remarks
his friends have heard him make, it is
believed his father and mother are liv- |
ng and reside there also.
Pasenda was an italian and was born
1t Turin, Italy. He was q years of
age and had been in America 10 years.
He had lived here eight years. He was
He has two cousins, James
'asenda and Charles Rossu, living |
lere, but beyond this nothing is known
If his relatives. He left no effects.
Coroner Julien will hold an inquest
It Duggan's undertaking rooms this