Thirteen accidents, involving 15 men, were reported to the Bureau of Mines as having

Nature of

occurred in 1898, five men having Accidents been killed and ten more or less during the

year. severely injured. The number of fatalities is in excess of the average; but at least two of the five, though occurring at mining works, were not of a kind peculiar to mining operations, being rather such as might happen in connection with industries of almost any sort. The five deaths were caused by (1) being caught in the revolving shaft of a stamp mill, (2) falling down an unused mine shaft, (3) being run over by a railway train, (4) falling down a shaft while riding in an ore bucket, and (5) falling down the face of a stope a distance of 22 feet. The other accidents were mainly of the usual type, resulting from premature or unexpected explosions, falls of rock, etc., the injuries in some cases being severe, and in others comparatively trifling. Following are particulars of the several casualties:

At Location HW16.

A peculiar mishap occurred on mining location HW16 north of Big Sandy lake

Three men injured by an Explosion.

and east of lake Minnietakie, Rainy River district, on 2nd April, by which Peter Smith had his left hand and the thumb of his right so badly hurt that they had to be amputated, and two other men named James Aitkins and T. Andrews were less seriously hurt. These men were working under the direction of Mr. S. H. Williamson, who had the contract of sinking upon the property. They were employed in one of the shafts, and having broken a drill in a hole they charged the latter with dynamite for the purpose of throwing out the broken steel. This they succeeded in doing without blasting the rock. They then resumed drilling in the same hole, when after working upwards of twenty minutes and dulling one drill an explosion occurred, the force of which took effect upon Smith, who was holding the drill while the others were striking, with the result above stated. Andrews was bruised about the face and breast and Aitkins slightly cut near one eye. Smith was brought down to Dinorwick where his hand and thumb were amputated by Dr. F. A. White of Wabigoon. He was afterwards sent to the hospital at Port Arthur for care and treatment.

injured. chinery of the stamp mill, was a member of the night crew and shortly after beginning work on the evening in question noticed that the main driving belt of the north battery had become disconnected on account of the wearing out of the lacings. He took it off, relaced it and with a lighted candle in his hand jumped down on the ground from the battery-room floor with the intention of replacing the belt on the pulley, the engine and machinery being in full operation. The loose sleeves of his working blouse caught on the shaft and he was quickly drawn down to and whirled around it. His working mate, Joseph C. Foley,

junior, ran to the engine, shut off steam and summoned help. Shortreed was disentangled and removed to Mr. J. E. Everett's house, the regular hospital being temporarily occupied by teamsters engaged in filling a wood

contract.

Dr. D. C. Mackenzie was called and arrived in about an hour and a quarter from Mine Centre. Examination showed that Shortreed's injuries were very severe, consisting of a compound comminuted fracture of the left leg, fracture of the right leg above the knee, and also of the right arm above the elbow. In addition he was hurt internally by the severe compression he had sustained upon the shaft. His wounds, though so serious, were not considered necessarily fatal, but they proved sufficient to end his life in a little over a week's time. There is little room to doubt that Shortreed's own carelessness brought about his death. It is by no means an uncommon thing in factory or mill to throw a driving belt upon a pulley in motion, but there is always danger connected with the practice, and the loose sleeves of the unfortunate workman's jacket were just what was needed to bring about an accident of this particular class, which is always severe and frequently fatal.

Though warned, as is stated, to carry matches for use in such a contingency, he does not appear to have had any at the time, and began walking about, with the result that he fell down No. 1 shaft a distance of about 45 feet. Fortunately beyond a thorough shaking up he sustained no serious injury, and was able to do surface work again about May 1st. A few weeks later he re

sumed his duties in the mine.

At the same mine on 16th July a miner named Joseph Newton while "mucking" in

up became entangled around some timbers about 140 feet from the top and wrenched one of them from its fastenings. It dropped down the shaft and touching the bottom rebounded and struck Newton on the forehead. The shaft had been fitted with permanent timbering for about 140 feet down, and below that point temporary lagging had been put in for the construction of a ladderway. The piece which fell had not been hitched" into the walls of the shaft, but was merely spiked. Newton suffered a slight concussion of the brain, but a few days' treatment in the hospital at Rat Portage restored him to health.

William Montgomery.

At West Silver Mountain Mine. Notification was received from Mr. H. Shear, manager of the West End Mine Syndicate, of the death by drowning of one William Montgomery at that mine on Silver Mountain on 13th May. Inspector Bow was directed by telegraph to make an investigation into the circumstances, which he did, and reported as follows under date of 21st May:

PORT ARTHUR, May 21, 1898. SIR, According to your instructions I visited the West End mine at Silver Mountain, and inquired into the circumstances attending the death of W. N. Montgomery, which occurred on the 13th inst. Evidence upon oath was not taken, as such was not specified in your directions. The details of the accident were described to me respectively by H. Shear, superintendent of the mine, Colon Tonkin, mine captain, Mrs. Montgomery, wife of deceased, and John Hayes, engineer (all of whom were present at the time of the accident), and I beg to submit herewith the following report: The deceased was a man of sixty-one years of He was a miner by business, and had been at Silver Mountain for fourteen years. He had been caretaker at the West End mine for eight months, preceding the recent opening of same. Formerly he was employed at the Crown Point mine. At the time of the accident he was not an employé of the present operators, but his wife had a contract to board the employés, and still fills that position.

age.

The scene of the accident was a tunnel which had been driven north into the hillside. I visited the same and made the following notes: The tunnel is four by seven feet in size and 96 feet long. At the end a winze about six by six feet in size had been sunk 22 feet. There is 14 feet of

water in the latter. Forty-eight feet from the entrance some cross pieces, provided with meat hooks, were placed near the roof. The hooks were at the east side. On the west side at the same point a small table is provided, which stood in a recess in the wall. The winze is 31 feet from the last meat hook. It was not fenced, but the entrance to the tunnel was secured by a door. The tunnel has been abandoned for some years, and was lat ly employed for storing meat.

The facts regarding the accident were as follows: On the 13th inst., at a little past 7 p.m., deceased was carrying a quarter of fresh beef up to the tunnel. Finding it heavy, he laid it down a few hundred feet from the latter place, and cut it in two. He carried one half up the tunnel, leaving a small boy to guard the remainder. The boy waited for about three-quarters of an hour, and thinking something was wrong as deceased did not return, he went down to the boarding house and informed Mrs. Montgomery, wife of deceased. Mrs. Montgomery went up to the tunnel and entering a few feet called, but received no answer. She sent a little girl, whom she had with her, for a lantern. Mr. Hayes, the engineer, returred with a lantern and went in as far as the winze with Mrs. Montgomery. A hat was seen floating on the water in the winze, and it was identified as belonging to the deceased. A grappling hook was made and Capt. Tonkin and Mr. Hayes recovered from the bottom of the winze the body of the deceased, and the beef he had carried in. His watch was stopped at 7.14 p.m. It was about 8.15 p.m. that the hat was found, and the body was recovered shortly after. There was a slight bruise on the forehead, which was doubtless caused by his striking against the side of the winze in the fall.

Nobody can account for the affair. It was known that he went in without his candle, as the latter was found near the entrance of the tunnel. It appears that in the darkness he went past the meat hooks and the table without seeing them, but it is not likely that he was observing very closely where he was going, as in passing a person should see the cross-pieces over head, even at that time of day, and the space for passing is also cramped at that point. Deceased must have known of the winze, and its position, as he had taken Mr. Shear in on a previous occasion. He was known to have been a confirmed drinker, but there was no direct evidence to show that he was under the influence of liquor when he went into the tunnel.

The body was buried at Port Arthur on the 16th inst. Mrs. Montgomery has returned to her duties at the mine.

At Copper Cliff Mine.

One Ernest Lamarshe while at work on a roast heap at Copper Cliff mine June 27,

McKinnon.

Alexander McKinnon, foreman for Mr. D. L. McKinnon, roast yard contractor at the Copper Cliff works, was on Alexander 16th August struck by a "jimmy" ore car, weighing about five tons, on the trestle track of No. 2 smelter. He was knocked down and one wheel passed over his back, breaking two ribs on the left side and injuring one of the muscles of his right arm. McKinnon was dump

ing ore from cars into bins on the trestle track, pushing the cars out of his way as he emptied them. He was in the act of unloading a car when a locomotive which was standing on its crank centres on the same track, having finished taking on water, backed up a little to free its centres preparatory to moving away. In so doing it struck the empty "jimmy" cars and caused them to collide with the one upon which McKinnon was working. The unexpected shock threw him down and brought about the injuries stated above. On 6th September he was reported as being well on the way to recovery. At the Canadian Copper Company's McArthur No. 1 mine on 27th September one of the Company's miners, Thomas Deacon, received some painful injuries by reason of his failure to get away from an impending blast in good time. He was wounded severely about the shoulders, arms, thigh and leg, but no bones were broken. He was taken to the Sudbury hospital and on 6th October was reported as convalescent.

Thomas Deacon.

beneath the wheels, which cut off both his legs, one at the thigh and the other at the knee. The shock resulted in his death shortly afterwards. No inquest was held. While a brakeman on the Canadian Copper Company's train, Harris was employed and paid by the Railway Company.

miner, fatally

hurt.

The eleventh level of the Copper Cliff mine was on 17th December the scene of a casualty which resulted in the death of a miner Jakop Haro, named Jakop Haro or Harri, employed as helper on the machine drill. This man was working on a stope and had just climbed up the ladder from the floor of the level with a couple of drill steels. No one saw the occurrence, but it is believed that Haro missed his footing on reaching the platform or on climbing up the stope, and probably disengaged some loose rock which precipitated him to the floor. At any rate he was found lying at the foot of the ladder very severely hurt, his right arm practically severed between the wrist and the elbow, and with multiple fractures of the left arm and a compound fracture of the right thigh. In addition the unfortunate man sustained extensive scalp wounds, though there was no actual fracture of the scalp. The accident happened late in the afternoon, and after his wounds had been dressed at the mine by Dr. R. B. Struthers, Haro was conveyed to the hospital at Sudbury, where he died the following morning between three and four o'clock. On 22nd December an inquest was held by Coroner A. McMurchy, M.D. of North Bay. The foreman in charge of the work deposed that he considered deceased had acted improperly in going up the stope with two steels unassisted. A rope was fastened in the wall at the top of the stope, the lower end being loose, for the purpose of assisting the men in climbing up or down the loose rock forming the face of the stope. Evidence was taken as to the condition of the mine and especially of the eleventh level, the measures adopted for protecting the miners from falls of rock, etc., whereupon the jury found that Jakop Haro came to his death by accidentally falling from the stope to the bottom of the eleventh level of the Copper Cliff mine, a distance of 22 feet, and that no

blame could attach to the Canadian Copper Compahy, as all necessary precautions appear to have been taken.

At the Sawbill Mine.

On 3rd September an engineer named Gordon, employed at the Sawbill gold mine, was holding a drill while a hole was being bored for an anchor bolt for the bed of the hauling engine, when he passed his arm over the drill and received a flesh wound about three inches up from the wrist. He was sent to Port Arthur for treatment and was able to return to work on the 19th of the month, no permanent injury having been inflicted.

Fatal accident to James Teppet, miner.

At Golden Star Mine.

The Golden Star mine on 28th October was the scene of a fatal accident which befel a miner named James Teppet in consequence of his recklessness and disregard of rules. At midnight he with two other miners undertook to ascend from the bottom of the shaft to the surface by means of the ore bucket instead of by the ladderway. The engineer was not aware that anything but ore was coming up, as it was strictly forbidden the men to use this method of ascent. Teppet was standing on the rim of the bucket which stopped on its way up, and wishing to give the signal to proceed he released his hold, lost his footing and falling to the bottom met an instantaneous death. Inspector Bow was directed to make an investigation of the circumstances and to take evidence upon oath,' and a copy of his report is appended. It affords another proof of the adage that "familiarity breeds contempt." In some occupations the constant presence of danger seems to lead to a foolhardiness and disregard of all precaution, which men in less dangerous callings rarely show.

RAT PORTAGE, February 1, 1899.

beg to report herewith the results of the inquiry into the death of James Teppet, which occurred at the Golden Star mine on October 28 last.

I examined under oath John McHugh, Gordon Clarke and R. A. Kerr, the superintendent. Thomas A. Thomas, who rode up in the bucket with McHugh and deceased at the time of the

accident, having left the employ of the company, I. was not able to obtain his statement; but the evidence secured was sufficiently clear without further investigation. A summary of the evidence obtained is as follows:

John McHugh: I was employed as a miner, working a night shift at the time of the accident. Tom A. Thomas, Albert Johnson, deceased and myself were hand-drilling at the bottom of the shaft, which was about 40 feet below the fourth level; the latter is 300 feet down. About ten minutes to twelve (midnight) we stopped work as usual to ascend to the surface for lunch. Johnson went up the ladderway, which was in a good condition; thirty feet of rope ladder extended from the bottom to a wall-plate, on the foot wall, from which it was hung, and a wooden ladder reached from there to the fourth level. The remaining three of us started up in the bucket, Thomas inside, and deceased and myself standing on the rim, holding the rope. One bell was rung, the signal to hoist. We ascended until about 40 feet above the second level, when the bucket stopped; no signal had been given and we did not know why it stopped. Deceased then let go the rope, turned around and leaning against the division between the hoisting compartment and manway looked through an aperture in same He regained his former position on the bucket, and then turned again towards the manway, letting go the rope. While he was in that position the bucket started, after having stopped for what appeared to me a couple of minutes. I don't know whether the bell rope had been pulled or not; the bucket started unexpectedly, not giving deceased a chance to regain himself, and before anything could be done his feet were raised above his head and he fell down the bucket-way. I rang the bell for the bucket to descend to the second level, where Thomas and I got off and went down the ladderway to the third level. There we found deceased hanging on the trap door, quite dead. He had fallen a distance of about 115 feet. We knew it was against orders to ride in the bucket, but it was commonly done in ascending from the third and fourth levels. A notice had been posted up forbidding same. I had come up in the bucket before a couple of times. There was no reason why we should not have used the ladderway on that occasion instead of the bucket.

Gordon Clarke I was employed in running the hoister at the time of the accident. About ten minutes to twelve I got a signal (1 bell) to hoist, the bucket being at the bottom of the shaft. I brought the bucket up to what I considered would be the second level and stopped. As no work was going on in the first or second levels the bucket was never required to stop there as a rule. and hence there was no mark on the rope to indi

cate when it was at those stations. The bucket stopped about a minute when I got one bell to hoist again. I raised it about 10 feet when ore bell was given to stop, and then four bells to lower. I lowered to the second level and stopped. On learning of the accident the night captain went down, had deceased put in the bucket at the third level; and I brought him to the surface. The men had always been forbidden to ride in the bucket, and a notice was posted up to this effect. But nevertheless they used to get in at the lower levels, ride to the first level, jump off without stopping the bucket and go up the ladderway to the surface, so that they could not be caught. I had never before known them to start from the bottom in the bucket, as the lowest skids were always temporary and loose, and hence not safe for riding purposes. Hence I did not suspect that men were on board. There is no signal to indicate that men are in the bucket.

R. A. Kerr, Superintendent of the mine: "I was awakened about fifteen or twenty minutes after twelve, and told that a man was killed at the mine. I dressed and went up as quickly as I could. When I arrived I found he had been raised to the surface. I inquired how he met with the accident, and was told that he fell off the bucket. As the men were all excited I asked no more questions. I saw that the man was quite Idead, with a large gash in his head. On a previous occasion I had spoken to the mine captain about men riding in the bucket, and told him to warn them against it. Notices were posted up at the surface regarding the matter. Deceased, who was of a reckless disposition, had been warned particularly by the captain a short time before the accident."

Nelse Carlson.

At Location HW 350.

An unusual accident occurred on mining location H W 359 (Lower Manitou lake), the property of Messrs. Barker Bros., on 4th October, by which Nelse Carlson suffered severe bodily injury. Blasting was going on in a shaft about 15 feet deep and the last shot for the day was fired at 5.30 p.m. The miners sought cover as usual, and Carlson deemed himself sufficiently protected about 500 feet from the shaft behind a large tree, on a small eminence overlooking the mine. A piece of rock, however, about 25 pounds in weight struck him five inches below the left thigh joint and broke his leg. It is thought the missile must have glanced from one of the trees on Carlson's left, as it seemed an