Reports of the Inspectors of Mines of the anthracite and bituminous ...

No. 12.] Sixth Anthracite District. 211
at Silver Brook colliery, on the 3d day of January by falling- down the
slope. He, with some assistants, were taking pumping machinery down
the slope and he took his position on the spreader chain instead of l)eside
the other workmen in the gunboat where he would have been safe In
being lowered, the gunboat came to a point where the angle of the slope
increases from 37 to 45 degrees, and, as a matter of course, the side
hitchings raised so as to become parellel with the slope rails and pitched
Johnson down the slope.
No. 2. John Glump, a gangway laborer, age twenty-eight years, was
killed at Park No. 2 colliery, on the 15th day of January, by a fall of coal.
If the miner for whom he was working had put the timber in place at
the proper time this accident could have been pi-evented.
No. 3. John Olshoskie, a miner, age twenty-six years, was fatally burned
by powder at Ellangowan colliery, on the 12tli of February, and died in
the Miners' hospital on the 22d. This man was filling a cartridge and he
had the powder keg under his arm and his lamp on his head, a spark
from his lamp fell into the keg which exploded and cost him his life.
No. 4. John H. Rice, miner, age twenty-eight years, was fatally burned
by powder, on the 12th of February, at the Ellangowan colliery, and died
in the Miners' hospital, on the 17th. This man did precisely the same
thing as Olshoskie and was working in a different section of the colliery.
The law governing the handling of explosives, page 43, rule 28, under
the head of general rules is as follows: " Whenever a workman shall
open a box containing explosives, or, while in any manner handling the
same, he shall first place his lamp not less than five feet from such ex-
plosive and in such a position that the air-current cannot convey sparks
to it, and a workman shall not approach nearer than five feet to an open
box containing powder, with a lamp, lighted pipe or any other thing
containing fire.
No. 5. Joseph Bogdonwich, laborer, age twenty-four j^ears, was killed
at Oneida No. 3, on the 19tli of February, by falling down the slope. He
came up the slope to help get down a set of gangway timber, and had as-
sisted putting the timber truck over the knuckle. He jumped on the
truck thinking that he could ride down, but the arrangements m ere that
he was to walk down, and instead of getting off the truck in front, he
jumped sidewise on the slope track and over-balanced himself, falling
to the bottom a distance of 250 feet on an angle of 50 degrees.
No. 6. John Kelts, miner, age twenty-eight years, was fatally injured by
what is termed a premature explosion of a blast, at Indian Eidge colliery,
on the 28th of February, and died in the Miners' hospital March 4. Kelts
thinking the squib had missed fire, went back to replace it with another
squib, when it was found that the first squib had not been given enough
time to explode the blast, as the shot went off just as he got near it.
Three lives have been sacrificed this year from this careless practice.