Reports of the Inspectors of Mines of the anthracite coal regions of ...

78 Reports op the Inspectors of Mines. [No. 10,
By iMiiie Cars,
During the five pi'eceding 3'ears, this item averaged 14.56 per cent, of
the whole list of accidents, and for this year it equals 2.63 per cent. This
item is just the reverse of that of falls of roof and sides. In the latter,
there has been a yearly increase from 1873 as follows: 1873, 11 ; 1874, 17 ;
1875, 19 ; 1876, 23, and in 1877, 25. But in this case it is quite different
1873, 13; 1874, 9 ; 1875, 5 ; 1876, 4, and in 1877, 1. Hence, only one life
was lost during the year.
Accident No. 9 0. McLeary, a company laborer, attending head of
plane in the Hartford, No. 3, slope, on the 31st day of March, was so seri-
ously injured by being crushed between car and prop, that he soon died of
his wounds.
It appeared that the car as it got over the apex, left the track, and the
headman tiying to either crowd it over to the track or to loosen the rope,
was caught between it and the prop near the head, with the above result.
By Blasting Powder,
There was but one life lost by blasting powder, equal to a percentage of
2.63 of the whole number of lives lost during the year.
During the five preceding years, the average was 2.3 per cent, of the
whole. In 1872, ; 1873, ; 1874, 1 ; 1875, 2 ; 1876, 3, and in 1877, 1.
Accident No. 29.—Lewis Price, a miner working in No. 5 colliery, D.
and H. C. Co., Plymouth, November 19, was so severely injured by explo-
sion of blasting powder, that he died on the 22d. He was, at the time, in
the act of pouring powder out of a keg into a tin can, when a spark from
a lamp on his head flew into the said tin, igniting the whole of the powder
in the tin can and keg, with the above result. This is another victim to
such folly and extreme recklessness in handling blasting powder.
I was in hopes to have been able to break up a large portion of the reck-
lessness with powder, having paid more attention to the matter of safe
handling, and keeping of powder out of the way of passers-by, and every-
thing that I could think of, upon this subject, to add to the safety of the
workmen, than any other single item except in the case of timbering.
Miscellaneous,
There were six lives lost under this head during the j^ear last past, equal
to 15.78 per cent, of the whole number of lives lost. During the five years
preceding, the average was 16.00 per cent. In 1876, fourteen lives were
lost under this head.
The sub-division of the above head into the following items : By
in coal and rock by sundries, will give the folloAving results :
;
blasts
There were three lives lost by blasts and three by sundries, while last
year there were ten lives lost by blasts and four by sundries.