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THE EVENING NEWS.

Wednesday Evening, . . . June 17, 1868.

HORRIBLE MINING ACCIDENT.--About 7 o'clock last evening--the hour for a change of shifts--Robert Powers, a miner, was killed in the Imperial-Empire shaft. He had been working in the Imperial drift, at the 900-foot level from the shaft, where the air is very close and warm, notwithstanding the arrangements for forcing fresh air down there from the surface. He had drank considerable cold water, and half an hour before coming up complained of not feeling well. Just before getting upon the cage he took another drink of water, and immediately vomited it up. One of his companions remarked to him, "Bob, you're sick." He replied, "Yes, that's so; but I'll be all right when we get to the top." He put on his shirt, threw his coat over his shoulders and got upon the cage, starting up with five others. When within about a hundred feet of the top he complained of being faint and sank down. Those next to him caught hold of his coat, and if it had not been on would have saved him, but it came off his shoulders and the unfortunate miner rolled from the side of the cage, between the sets of timbers, and fell to the bottom of the shaft, a distance of eight hundred feet or more. Mr. Colcord, the Superintendent, got upon the cage, as soon as its arrival at the surface made the news of the accident known, and descending to the sump or well-room at the bottom of the shaft, fished for the body, and after some little trouble succeeded in finding it. When it was brought to the surface a horrible sight was presented, All the clothing was gone with the exception of one leg of the pants, one hand and one foot were torn completely off, and nearly the whole rear portion of the skull torn open so that the brain had all come out. Both legs and arms were also broken. The shaft is timbered with twelve inch square timbers in sets, the hand and foot, and perhaps the head were probably caught between the edge of the timber and the cage. The foot was still hanging by its lacerated and bloody muscles to one of the timbers, but the hand had not been found at last accounts. It probably went to the bottom of the sump. An inquest was held upon the body at noon to-day, and the verdict of the jury was in accordance with the above, it being also elicited by testimony that deceased was a native of Waterford, Ireland, 36 years of age, unmarried, and has no relatives in this state. He has a mother living in Syracuse, New York, brothers in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, also sisters in some of the Western States. He came to this State from Kansas, in 1859, and has been working at the Imperial-Empire shaft since June 1st, having arrived recently from Aurora, Esmeralda county. This is the first fatal accident that has occurred at the new shaft. The testimony agreed that the cage was passing up the shaft only at the usual rate of speed, and nothing was adduced casting the slightest blame on any one.