KILLED IN THE SHAFT. / Distressing Accident at the Montana Consolidated.

# Transcription — The Anaconda Standard, 1890-04-29, p.5 **Source**: The Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana), Tuesday 29 April 1890, p.5. **Status**: Complete. **Method**: Cleaned from OCR against the page image. Some surnames in the juror list may be misread (e.g. "Hooglehoah" — possibly "Hooglehouse" or similar). --- **KILLED IN THE SHAFT.** *Distressing Accident at the Montana Consolidated.* *While Descending in the Cage Patrick Murphy is Killed and Several Other Workmen Injured.* By the Standard's Special Wire. BUTTE, April 28. — One of those peculiarly sad and fatal accidents which are continually occurring in large mining camps took place this afternoon at the Montana Consolidated. By this accident Patrick Murphy lost his life, and seven children, the oldest one about 10 years of age, were left orphans; their mother having died about a year ago. When the whistle blew at 1 o'clock notifying the men that the dinner hour was over, those working under ground began to descend. About the last to go down the shaft were Patrick Murphy, William Gray, Peter Leyden, Charlie Colston and John Combs, the latter, station tender. Murphy was employed on the 300-foot level and at about 11 o'clock had gone to the surface to get out some timbers which he intended to put in during the afternoon. In addition to the timbers, he also got out a quantity of lagging poles. According to the rules of the company, Combs, the station tender, had the poles together and loaded them on to the lower deck of the west cage together with a number of timbers. The five men then got on the upper deck and also took a few pieces of timbers and a bundle of poles with them. They gave the signal to be lowered to the 300-foot level and began to descend. When the indicator showed that the cage had reached the 300-foot level the cable began to slack and the engineer stopped the engine and told Pat Sullivan, the brakeman, to notify Superintendent Lacid that the cage had got jammed in the shaft. Mr. Lacid ordered the east cage to be raised and he and Sullivan descended to investigate. When they reached the 300 level they found the cage caught and resting in a confused mass of poles, a few feet below the station. The men were all still on the cage, but it took only a glance to show that some of them were badly injured. Leyden was the first to be taken off and lifted on to the floor of the station. He complained of intense internal pains and about the right arm which he said, he thought was broken. Murphy was then taken off and was found to be alive, but he died within a few moments after being laid on the floor of the station. The other three were also taken off and as soon as possible all were raised to the surface. It was found that Gray had received a severe scalp wound and that Leyden's right arm was broken, as was also his cellar bone. Dr. Trembley was summoned to look after the wounded and discovered that in addition to the injuries already mentioned two of Leyden's ribs had also been broken. The injured men were taken to their homes and cared for. Colston escaped with a badly bruised toe and Combs was almost uninjured, his right arm being slightly bruised and the skin torn. Coroner Beals was notified and held an inquest on Murphy. Joseph Lacid, John Combs, Jacob Oliver, John Range, Patrick Sullivan and W. J. Cole were sworn as witnesses. From their testimony, the cause of the accident was learned to be about as follows: As is customary the poles which were being taken down were tied together with a stout rope which passed around the center of the bundle. The bundle was then placed on end on the cage. In going down, one of the poles is supposed to have worked loose from the bundle and slipped downward allowing one end to catch between the wall plate and the side of the cage, wrenching the rope in two. This loosened the balance of the poles which then fell apart and as they slipped the lower ends were caught similarly to the first one, some of them being forced upwards and against the men above them, while others spread outward and stopped the cages. This explanation is the only one that could be given and is undoubtedly correct in view of the location of the injuries that caused Murphy his death, the lower part of his abdomen being crushed to a jelly. Mr. Lacid, Mr. Cole and one or two others who saw the poles tied together and the cage loaded, testified that the same cage had been examined as usual and to all appearances no better loaded or more securely tied bundle of poles had ever been lowered into the mine. Combs has been station tender for several years and is known as a careful and competent man, who pays strict attention to orders. During the inquest the jurors and coroner questioned the witnesses closely with a view of ascertaining all the facts and laying the blame, if any existed, where it belonged. They found, however, that the accident was wholly unavoidable and returned a verdict in accordance and exonerated the company from all blame. The jurors, were G. M. Lyons, J. D. Thoroughman, H. Hooglehoah, F. B. Harper, J. H. Blake and J. E. Bordeau. As already stated, Murphy was a widower with seven children, the oldest of whom, a boy 10 years old is employed as a tool carrier in the same mine in which his father was killed. The deceased was a member of the miner's union, under whose direction the funeral will take place.