The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-05-05

The most disastrous accident Whicf
has attended railroad construction il
western Montana during the past two
years, occurred yesterday afternoon al
Winston Brothers railroad camp a,
Tyler's ranch, about one mile east OF
Nimrod, when a concealed charge OF
dynamite was ACCIDENTALLY exploded
by contact with the teeth of a steam
shovel, instantly killing five men and
explosion the steam shovel and sta
explosion thes team shovel and sta
tionary engine were totally wrecked
The accident happened at 2:20 p. m
The dead are:
Theodore Olson, Simon Mack, Mes
tor Hildo, Charles Anderson and Joe
Zwilling.
The seriously injured are: Carl
Seaburg, Nick Ksun and Sam VOL
wick.
Several members of the pit crew
were more or less injured and sew
eral miraculously escaped death, but
none were seriously hurt. All the in
jured were brought to Missoula and
placed in St. Patrick's hospital for
care. The dead are being held at the
railroad camp to await an inquest by
the coroner's jury, which will be held
today.
According to the statement made
yesterday by Superintendent D. b.
Lockwood, the charge was placed IN
the hill several weeks ago and was
supposed to have been exploded stimuli
taneously with two others placed at
the same time. The working outfit
was removed to an eastern portion of
the hill, and had been in operation
there for some time, being returned
only a few days ago to the position
where the accident occurred yester-
day.
Bodies Mutitated.
All of the bodies were more or less
mutilated and in some instances are
unrecognizable masses of torn flesh
and broken bones. The lower portion
of the body of Zwilling, cranesman on
the shovel, has not been recovered,
and it is believed that the members
were blown into the river 100 feet
away, and carried down the stream.
Some of the dead are minus arms,
hands or feet. Olson, the drillman,
bears less marks of the terrible shock
than do the others, but, the whole
rear portion of his head has been
torn away. Mack, Hildo and Ander-
son were pitmen, and their bodies
were badly burned by the explosion.
Carl Seaburg, the engineer of the
crane, was injured seriously about the
shoulder and face, and it is believed
that he has lost the sight of one eye
entirely. Ksun and WolWick were
badly hurt by flying rocks, but are
not in serious danger.
Brakeman G. G. Roehn was injured
about the body and remained at the
camp last night and will probably
come to Missoula today. The escape
of Roehn from instant death was mi
raculous He was assisting in spot
ting several cars near the crane and
was standing within a few feet of the
spot where the charge was fired. He
was thrown to the ground. Before he
could arise the boom Of the crane
fell with terrific force Immediately
at his side Though badly dazed,
Roehn was not seriously injured, and
was able to walk to nearby cabin.
Carl Seaburg, the engineer on the
crane, stuck to his engine after the
explosion and made attempts to Sc
cure the valves and safety devices to
prevent the engine from exploding, q,
the same time declaring that he was
all right.
Instantly Killed.
Immediately at the side of Olson,
the drilEnian, was another drillman,
who was only stunned when the ex-
plosion occurred, while Olson was
killed instantly.
All about the wrecked crane is
scene of almost indiscribable confu-
sion. The great steel boom, at the end
of which the immense shovel is
operated, is now wrenched and
twisted mass of steel, and the once
powerful crane arm is now nothing
more than a ponderous piece OF scrap
iron. The dipper itself is shattered
and twisted into a contorted bundle
of sheet steel, with portions scattered
all about the scene of the disaster
Shortly after the accident an old man
who occupies a cabin across the river
from the spot where the shovel has
been operating. dug one of the great
teeth belonging to the steam shovel
out of the ground in front of his
abode. The piece of steel, measuring
about two feet long and about four
inches square, had been hurled a dis
tance of 500 or 600 feet and buried
nearly two and one-half feet in the
ground on the other side of the river.
Pieces of clothing and particles of
flesh and bone are to be found every
where about the scene of the explo-
sion, and on the main track of the
railroad heavy steel rails have been
bent into almost inconceivable shapes
by the force of the blast and the
weight of material hurled against
them.
Those in charge of the work declare
the greater force of the discharge
took an outward course and that little
rock in the hill was loosened, thereby
demonstrating that the charge in the
hidden hole was not a particularly
heavy one. 1t is thought that not