Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-15
MANS OBEDIENCE BRINGS DEATH
Engineer John CoyvIey Followed
ORDER, KnIlnR neacue Party.

MANS OBEDIENCE BRINGS DEATH
Engineer John CovvIey Followed
Orders, killing Rescue Party,
CHERRY, M.. Nov. H-ImpTcit obedi-
ence by Engineer John Cowley to orders
Of his superior may have caused the death
OF the rescuing party which went down into
the 81. Paul mine yesterday afternoon.
Al the c~oroner's inquest. which began to-
day. Cowiey. who Is engineer OF the main
shaft. testified that he declined to- accedo
to the demand OF the persons standing at
the top Of his shaft that he at once lift
the cage containing the resCuers. The
reason he declined. he. stated, was because
he had been told by the third vein boss,
Alexander Nosberg, TO move the cage only
IN answer to the regular bell code.
When the rescue party had been at the
bottom Of the shaft some time without get
ting in communication with the engineer
by the usual means, Martin Powers. DR..
Howe and Herbert Lewis. the latter a
brother OF one Of the rescue party. rushed
10 Cowiey, so the engineer testified. They
demanded that the cage be raised imme-
dlately. Cowley refused, acting under
orders from Nosberg, the witness told the
coroner's jury. For a space OF time, which
Cowiey declares TO have been perhaps ten
minutes, he would not listen to their fran
tic appeals, but finally he referred the mat.
ter to John Qulnby Of the top cage. Quinby
hesitated and as Machinist Chadestcr en-
tered, Cowley asked Chadester what should
be done.
"Go ahead and raise it, answered Cha
iester, according 70 Cowley's testimony;
nobody Is alive down there
Cowley then brought the cage to the top,
but every one of the men in the rescue
party was either dead or dying when they
reached the top,
Cowiey defended himself on the stand by
saying he had received Nosberg's order to
await the bell signal before moving the
cage and that the three men who demanded
that the cage be. raised had no authority
to tell what to do.
According to Cowley, he feared in raising
tho cage he would risk injuring some oil
the men below and that he might leave
them without means Of escape If he lifted
the cage while they we're not in il.
Cowley declared that after the final cage
with men I'm II had been raised the Gags
was let down and raised five or six times
with the chances that some Of the miners
might reach the shaft. He testified h6
lowered and raised it slowly every time
One OF the jurors asked why Cowley could
not have raised the cage slowly Wher
Powers, Howe and Lewis appealed. Nos.
berg's orders again were given as ar
excuse.
Previous to che final raising Of the cage
bearing the rescue party, Cowley said the
bell signals had been unusual and discon-
certed. He received one signal Of three
bells to hoist away, which was followed
almost immediately by a four-bell signal
Needing hoist slowly" At a height OF
eight or nine feet the cage was stopped al
q one-bell signal and started up at another
when came a six-bell signal, reverse the
fan and then two bells, Tower"
Cowley lowered the cage in answer &c
the signal. the last ever sent from thS
doomed members Of the rescue party.
The jury adjourned after Cowley, Johr
Raisbeck, engineer in the air shaft, and
several relatives of the dead In the rescue
party had testified.
The urymen will meet again tomorrow
and more testimony concerning Cowley's
refusal to lift the cage will be heard.
The inquest Is being conducted by DIR.
A. H. Malm Of Princeton, the coroner, and
by L.. M. Eckert OF Princeton, the Bureau
county state attorney. The jurors are
Peter Delphip, marshal; Timothy MELON
aid, farmer; J. C.. Thompson, lumber mer-
chant; John Stenstrum, barber; Joseph
Neideleher, stock buyer, and w. l. Kendall
deputy coroner. 7