Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-11-15
IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE
By Engineer May Have Caused Death
of Rescung Party.

Cherry, Ills, Nov. 14.-Implicit
obedience by Engineer John Cowley
TO orders of his superior may have
caused the death of the rescuing party
which went down into the st. Paul
mine yesterday.
At the coroners inquest, which be-
gan today, Cowley. who is engineer of
the main shaft, testified that he de-
clincd to accede to the demands Of
persons standing at the top of his
shaft that he at once lift the cage
containing the rescuers The reason
he declined, he said, 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 getting in communication
with the engineer by the usual means.
Martin Powers, Dr. Howe and Herbert
Lewis, the last named brother of one
of the rescue party, rushed to Cowley,
so the engineer testified. They de-
manded that the cage be raised i'm
mediately.
CoWley refused, acting under orders
from NOsberg. the witness told the
coroner's jury. For space OF time
which COwley declares was perhaps
10 minutes he would not listen to their
frantic appeals. but finally he referred
tie matter to John Quinby of the top
cage. Quinby hesitated, and as Ma
chiniSt John Chadester entered, Cow
ley asked Chadester what should be
done.
Go ahead and raise it," answered
| Chadester, according to Cowley's
story nobody is alive down there"
Cowley then brought the cage to the
roscue party was either dead or dying
| when they reached the top.
Cowley defended himself on the
stand by saying he had received Nose
hcrg's orders 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 that in raising the cage he
would risk injuring some of the men
below or that he might leave them
without means of escape should he lift
the cage while they were not in 1t.
| Cowley declared that after the final
cage with men in it had been raised.
the cage was let down and raised five
or six times. This was done in the hope
that some of the miners might reach
the shaft He testified he lowered and
raised the cage slowly every time.
One of the jurors asked why Cowley
could not have raised the cage slowly
when Powers, Howe and Lewis APP
pealed.
| Noseberg's orders were again given
as an excuse.
| Previous to the final raising of the
cage bearing the rescue party, Cow
ley said the bell signals had been I'M
usual and disconcerting. He received
one signal of three bells to hoist away
which was followed almost immedl
ately by a four-be signal, meaning
hoist slowly" At a height of or
feet the cage was stopped at a one-bel
signal and started up at another. Their
came six-bell signal. reverse the
FAM and then two bells, Clover
| Cowley lowered the cage in answer
to the signal, the last ever sent from
the doomed members of the rescue
party. The inquest was adjourned af-
ter Cowley. John Raisbeck, engineer
in the afr Shaft, and several relatives
of the dead IN the rescue party had
testified.