1900 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

No. 11. EIGHTH ANTHRACITE DISTRICT. 2r,9
.lames A. Watts, a boss loader, was fatally Injured at Otto colliery
on January 31st. He was assisting the bottom man to throw
the chains oil'. He missed throwing his chain oil', and the ear being
on a curve, was thrown oil' the track by the recoil of the rope. The
engineer began to pull up the slack rope, which pulled the car againsl
a prop, to which the bell wire was attached, knocking it out, which,
in falling, rang the bell and the engineer began to hoist, pulling tinwagon
with one side chain attached up the slope. Watts ran up the
Slope ahead of the car, trying to get to the bell wire to give the
signal to stop, but was caught by the wagon and so severely injured
that he died a! the Pottsville hospital same evening.
Frank Dominick and Anthony Morris, miners, were burned by an
explosion of gas at Silver Creek colliery, on February 12th. Back
from the face a few feet the top slate went up on a heavier pitch,
then came down abruptly, which made a cavity in which some gas
collected. (A pipe had been inn up in this hole to keep the gas out,
but it had been broken, which caused the gas to collect again. The
men fired a shot near the face of the breast and retreated to the
lower heading. The shot fired the gas, which burned both men
while in the heading. Morris died from his burns on February 13th,
and Dominick died on February 17th. On investigating, I found
that the gas had been in this hole, when the men started to work
that morning, and that the fire boss was to blame for allowing the
men to fire shots before the gas had been removed.
Joseph Steickinnis, a gangway laborer, was killed at the Lytic
colliery on February 13th, by falling down the inside slope, a distance
of about 850 feet on dip from 58 to 63 degrees. The colliery
was idle on that day. At noon, he and his partner went up the slope
from the fifth lift, on which they were working, as they had filled all
the cars they had. On the fourth lift they met the fire boss-, who
sent them back, telling them that he would get more cars. They
got inside of the car and went down the slope again. The bottom
men at the fifth lift stopped the car a few feet from the landing,
telling the men to stay in the car until they lowered the gate, which
they had raised to hoist water from the bottom of the slope. In-
I stead, the men climbed over he side of the car, and in doing so,
Steickinnis slipped and fell to the bottom of the slope and was
instantly killed, lie had only been two weeks in the country and
had worked four days at the colliery.
.Matthew Syncavage, a miner, was injured at Lytic colliery on February
14th. lie was working in a breast and was about firing
a shot, which exploded before he got away from it. because he had
shortened the match. He died at the Miners' hospital on February
Kith.