ACCIDENT AT THE TOOKEY MINE.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1883, 5 August 1874, Page 3

ACCIDENT AT THE TOOKEY MINE.

An accident occurred between five and sis o'clock last evening to a man named Francis Garner, a contractor working in the Tookey mine. It appears that Garner and his mate were parties in a contract for driving at the 350-feet level. They had drilled a shot hole, which was in a horizontal position jast on a level with a person's face as he stood upright. The powder was placed in the hole, and Garner folded the paper wad to push the powder home to the bottom of the hole. I'o do this they had a wooden rod, but this having been broken a short time before Garner made use thought, lessly enough, of an iron stemming rod, which they employed for the purpose of finishing up the tamping. They had a copper-mounted rod for stemming the first portion of the tamping, but he did not use this -probably the other came first to hand. Meanwhile Graham, his mate, observing that the powder was in the hole, stooped down to break up some tamping stuff, when suddenly flame burst out, and Garner was thrown backwards over him. He observed that Garner was burnt, and at once gave the alarm. They were raised to the surface, and Garner was taken to the Hospital. He was much burnt about the arms and face, especially about the eyes, and it is questionable whether his sighc will be saved. His eyes were not visible last evening, nor could he see anything when brought to the Hospital. Garner is a man about 38 years of age, a thoroughly practical miner. For the last five years he has been contractor for driving and sinking in the Tookey and other mines, and he is a man in whom the manager and others had the fullest confidence. In this instance no blame can be attributed to any one. When the men first took up the contract it was on the understanding that they should provide their own tools, but the company's carpenter made a wooden tamping-rod, and gave it to them, and the manager saw that they were provided with a copper-shod tamping-bar or stem-ming-rod.