Amador ledger., 1906-03-23
A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.
Three Grain Brothers Caught in
Cave and Two of Them Killed.

One of the most terrible accidents
that has happened in gravel mining
occurred near the town of tairplay,
in El Dorado county on Friday
afternoon, resulting in the death of
two young men, named Ivan and
Charles Grain, and the serious injury
of A. j. Grain, all brothers. 1t
seems the three brothers were operat-
ing gravel mine in Ell Dorado
county, just across the Amador line,
above Oleta. They we're operating
by the ground sluicing process, in a
deep open cut. The sides of the cut
slid in on them, without apparent
warning. An immense quantity of
debris shot down from the banks.
carrying the three men several hun
dred feet by the sheer force of the
falling earth. Jack Grain, it appears
was not caught by the full force of the
cave, although carried down a con-
siderable distance. He managed to
extricate himself from the debris,
although severely injured, having
several ribs broken, and otherwise
badly bruised. After liberating him
self, he commenced searching for his
brothers and finally located one
body, and freed the head from
the mass of dirt, but found him
dead. He then started for Falrplay,
mile and half distant, to give the
alarm, walking the entire distant,
severely injured as he was, and
secured assistance. When the news
of the awful disaster reached there,
numbers rushed to the scene, and the
bodies of the victims were rescued
from the debris. Coroner Winchell of
Ell Dorado county was notified and
left for the scene Saturday morning,
to hold an inquest.
The claim they were working is
known as the Hayward gravel mine at
Indian Diggings. At the time of the
cave the hydraulic was not in opera
tion. 1t was customary to loosen a lot
of the bank by blasting. They we're
preparing for this. Charles and Ivan
were engaged in drilling hole with
an augur used in that work, when the
whole bank slipped down upon them.
All the young men were we'll known
in the northern part of this county,
where they have lived nearly all
their lives. Charles Alfred Grain was
81 years of age, Ivan Lester 26 years,
and Andrew Jackson, the survivor,
3S. They we're sons of A. j. Grain,
who died about year ago, and who
for many year had charge of the water
bitches of the Plymouth Consolidated
mines, when that property was in
full blast. After the mine suspended,
he continued to look after the COM
pany's interests in Plymouth.
. 1t seems that another brother Hugh
Grain, who was also accustomed to
work in the mining claim, remained
home on the fatal day in question,
whether from sickness or other
reasons we are unable to say. He
thereby doubtless averted the fate
that befell his unfortunate brothers.
The victims we're swept through the
tail race and down the mountain
slope distance of something like
400 yards. After freeing himself
John, with at least three ribs fractur-
ed and other severe injuries, IN look
ing for his brothers, found one hand
of the younger one, Ivan, protruding
through the mud. He set to work
with his hands, and scooped away
the earth until the head was freed
| from the debris. One report is that
| he failed at this time to find any
trace of the body of the other brother,
and actually crept on hands and knees
to Fairplay to report the affair.
The Bee of the 10Th gives the details
of the disaster as follows:
The three Grain brothers, Charles,
Ivan and John, we're running an open
cut for the purpose of making a face
for tunnel. The banks on each side
of the cut were about twenty feet
| high and composed of decomposed
granite and sand. Before going to
lunch that day the men observed the
apparently unsafe condition of the
banks and conversed about it among
themselves. However, they went
! back after dinner and went to work.
Charles and Ivan Grain we're at the
face of the cut, drilling, and John
started out of the cut to get some
powder. When he got thirty to forty
feet from where the men were drill
ing he was horriHed to see the bank
caving above the men He called to
them, but before they could rise the
heavy mass of earth was upon them,
carrying them into stream of about
five hundred inches of water. The
mass of wet earth and water also
caught John Grain, and the three
men we're carried over a rocky fall
about twelve feet in height. John
had three ribs broken and received
other serious injuries, but he managed
to extricate himself and went to Fair
play, a mile and half distant, to