The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1916-04-29
met DEATH IN
TOBIN SHAFT
MANNER OF MANS FALL IS NOT
EXACTLY KNOWN
COAT IS FOUND ON TIMBER
Body Crashed Down on Top of Cage
lust as Men Were About to As
cend Shaft After Work

Frank Mausaja, Polish workman
at the robin mine is dead Ills life
was crushed out when his body struck
the hood on the cage at tie bottom Of
the Tobin mine shaft last Sunday but
just how he entered the SHAFT in not
known.
bid he fan IN? Did he jump IN? Was
he pushed IN? Only one. % far az is
known, can answer those questions
and that persons tongue in hushed by
death Mausaia himself
The body fell upon the hood which
covers the man cage and when Ii was
recovered 1t was found to be in a
horribly mangled condition The head
was smashed to jelly and almost all
OF the bones broken by the fall Of
1000 feet The men who were assem-
bling upon the landing heard the
noise of the impact on the top of the
cage and were thereby lead 10 make
IAN investigation
Thinks il Suicide
II was thought at first that the man
had in some way fallen into the shaft
but the evidence all went TO show that
the doors protecting the mouth of the
shaft must have been opened, either
by the victim himself or by some other
person after they had been closed by
the workman employed underground
that day I'm repair work. The fact that
these doors were closed lead most OF
those present 60 suspect a suicide and
when later on. the mans coat was
found upon the trestle near the shaft,
the suicide theory seemed to be
strengthened
Evidently the man went upon the
trestle and took OF his coat and jump
ed into the shaft from that height or
else he was wandering around on the
trcstlc and fell At any rate he was
not working there at the time.
Say Liquor Did II
a coroner's inquest was held on
Tuesday with Coroner Dawson pre-
siding An effort was made to find
out how the man came 10 enter the
shaft but the inquiry was not very
successful
The testimony showed that the
dead man and a number of compan-
ions had been celebrating Easter
Sunday by drinking up all the booze
they came across Not finding enough
ct it al the robin location they Sc
cured a team aud drove to Alpha
from which place they returned early
in the afternoon. They went to the
old Columbia location and started 10
visit from house 20 house. II was on
this round of visits that Frank sep
arated from his companions. A per
iod OF three hours elapsed from the
time he was last seen with them 10
the time his manfled body was found
ON top OF tie cage.
The coat I'm question was found on
pile OF lumber close 10 the shaft
aud not on the trestle as AZ FIRST
reported Gene Imbert was watching
the crushcr that day aud lust about
the time that the man went down the
halt he spys that lie SAW flash Of
something white m Tic shaft IIe
couldn't say II II was man. board
or what it was but bis curiosity was
So aroused that he went "a The engine
house and reported the anair 10 tile
engineer The cnglneer reported that
he had received bell signal and ask
ed lmbcrt Ii be should start 10 lin
the cage but Imbort advised against
IL unless another signal was given
hubert then returned aud waited az
the sfafi and III = short time tie men
came up the ladder way and report
cd that man had fallen down the
shaft
Tie dead man had been IN CRY tai
Falls but a short time coming here
from the west side.