Miss-Hole

Bill Whelan

2024 04 06

Reported the St John’s Daily News on Monday the 2^nd of March of 1908.

Late in the afternoon of the preceding Saturday, the last day of February, the man in charge of blasting at the mine set several dynamite charges, in holes drilled beneath the surface, at different positions in the pit. He fired these charges together. Then six men set about clearing up the iron ore.

The men did not know that one of the charges had not fired. This was a miss-hole. Then Martin Bulger struck the dynamite with his pickaxe.  He and Jordan Deer were killed instantly. Two others died later.   Another two were injured severely. Martin Bulger left a wife in Portugal Cove, Jordan Deer a wife and children in Carbonear.

Several miners left Bell Island on Sunday and went to St John’s to secure the services of a city doctor and two nurses. Whether this action indicated a lack of confidence in the company’s doctors is not clear. The News did not offer an opinion on that question, although the paper did say that the company doctors were quick to attend the scene of the accident and did what they could.

In another accident near that time, the foreman of the Nova Scotia Company’s machine shop was caught and mangled by the machinery. He left a wife and 6 children. Another man was ground to pieces as he stood in a tram-car.

 In all, seven men had died in accidents in the preceding five weeks. Nine men had been injured. One man lost an eye, another an arm.   The St John’s Free Press reported that these accidents all occurred on Saturdays between 5 and 6 in the evening.   

The Bell Island mines shut in 1966. Call it three generations, near enough, from the beginning in 1895. Historians tell us that most mines do not last three generations. 

 ends

 395 words

5JanDN  Bell Island very busy--conditions--VERY BUSY THERE --500 MEN REQUIRED--$1.35 PER DAY W/O GRUB. FEE OF 20 CENTS  FOR LODGING CHARGED BY COMPANY.  Nova Scotia  Steel and Coal Co has 50 fine dwelling houses and 160 shacks . The latter are small but warm - for four men. At present 600 men including foremen.1907