Josiah Seal

ACCIDENT No. 4. – October 18th. By a premature explosion of a blast, John Henry Glanville and Josiah Seal lost their lives in a drift at the 49th level, south of No. 2 shaft, Calumet Branch of the Calumet & Hecla Mine. These men had drilled their usual number of holes in the drift, charged one and blasted them. One of the holes failed to break. After blasting it is customary to go into the drift to see if the holes all broke. Finding one that did not break they took in the water pail and the box with powder and fuse. The trammer at the shaft saw the men go into the drift and heard a report of the blast.

Henry Williams testified at an inquest held before Coroner Fisher, as follows: “When I got to the shaft to get in the cage to go to surface, the trammer told me that the miners in the drift had blasted but had not come out and there was something wrong. I went in the drift and found the two men lying near the foot wall. They were about three feet apart. Do not know how the hole went off. Think they were charging the hole the second time.”

Robert Brown stated: “I heard of the accident when I went to the 49th level. Vertin said something had happened in the drift. I ran in and met Williams coming out. He said both men were dead. Do not know how the hole came to go off. I helped to take the men out and bring them to surface.”

The verdict of the jury is as follows: “We find that John Henry Glanville and Josiah Seal came to their deaths by a premature explosion of a blast, on the 18th day of October, 1901, in a drift at the 49th level, south of No. 2 shaft, Calumet Branch of the Calumet & Hecla Mine.”