1898 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

148 REPORT OP THE BUREAU OF MINES. Oft. Doc.to keep the belt from jiiinping oil' the puUey cut hit^ both legs off, oneabout the knee and the other at the ankle. The unfortunate manlived about a half hour after the accident.This accident was due to the foolhardiness of the victim himself,was a difficult task to replace the belt on the smalleras he knew itpulley with the machinery in motion.Joseph lr^ymon Yori, a miner, was fatally injured bj' a fall of bonycoal; he was working in the east Fifth lift gangway, Primrose vein,along with Contractor Hannibal Eossi, and he was coming away fromthe face of gangway when a piece of the top bony bench, which liesbetween the vein and top rock, fell striking Yori on the back betweenthe shoulders and neck, knocking him down on a shai]) lumpof coal. The piece that fell was H inches thick, 20 inches wide and30 inches long; this in itself was not sufficient to cause the injury, but in the fall Yori struck the sharp piece of coal against thelower portion of his abdomen, causing internal injury; he died 24luturs later at the hospital. An examination of the place, togetherV. "th the testimony of the witnesses, showed that the victim hadneglected taking the usual ])recaution of sounding the roof; hadha done so, the accident Avould not have accurred, for he could havereadily detected the loose piece and taken it down. This is anotherexample of the carelessness of miners.Stephen Lowass, a timberman, employed repairing the No. 9, westgangway, (Jowan colliery. He, with several other men, were changingpoles at a i)oint on the gangway where it was proposed to makeroom for the tunnel. Foreman ^Morgans was with them until theyhad placed six poles and considered it safe. Before leaving, he toldLowass to be careful and not to pick down too much coal, but toput up a prop as soon as he had I'oom. They had put one more poleand Lowass was picking room for the eighth pole, when he was cautionedby his helper, Jos^^ph Denu'l, that it was working, to whichhe re]>lied that he had done such work before and ''that he shouldjust clean the road." Shortly after a slip of coal fell, killing Lowassinstantly.lie was alone resi)onsible for the accident having refused to takeheed to the warning given.Patrick Mahan, a miner, was fatally injured at the Spring MountainNo. 4 colliery. He was barring after a shot in the four foot benchof the Wharton vein, and while he was endeavoring to undercut thetop bench, a jtiece of bony coal dividing the top and bottom bench ofthe vein, 10 inches thick and of a two foot triangular sha]»e, fell, strikinghim on the back of the neck and head, crushing his skull, alsoinllicting a lacerated wound on the head and neck. He died wliilelie was being removed to the bottom of the slope.James Boden, a hitcher, employed at the bottom of No. 4 sloi)e.