Mine gets air train, man blows self up & chasing Mr. Bruin

Reprint of this story from the September 9, 1904 issue of The Grand Encampment Herald brought to you courtesy of Grandma’s Cabin, Encampment, Wyoming. Preserving History - Serving the Community.

Locomotive at

the Ferris Haggarty

One of the greatest money savers inaugurated in the recent improvements at the Ferris-Haggarty mine is the locomotive. It is a Porter air type that traverses the tunnel level over a length of 1,300 feet. The locomotive pulls a train of ten two-ton cars, landing the ore in the ore bin where it is dumped onto the grizzlies. The locomotive has laid off twenty of the twenty-four trammers, making the cost of tramming the ore very small in comparison to the expense under the old method. The locomotive will handle all the ore that can possibly be mined from the tunnel.

Work will shortly be resumed in the winze at the Ferris-Haggarty. The winze was started last winter and sunk sixty feet, it will now be continued down with the pitch of the vein, and crosscuts and drifts will be run to explore the ground beneath the tunnel level.

Frightfully Injured

Alfred Tamblin Lingered Too Long in Firing Round of Shots

Alfred Tamblin, a miner employed in driving the Norvell tunnel on the south for, miraculously escaped instant death Monday afternoon while firing a round of five shots. While escaping without being literally blown to pieces, Mr. Tamblin suffered frightful injuries that will cripple him for life and may eventually result in his death.

Tamblin had split the fuse and lighted the five, one of which failed to burn. Turning again to the tardy fuse, he tried to light it, one of the shots going off as he stood thus exposed to danger.

Tamblin tried to run but was hit by two other shots, and when found he was laying in the tunnel a bleeding mass of human flesh.

Rev. J.S. Norvell hastened to town and secured Dr. R.J. Mapes and Dr. J.J. Monahan, who attended the attended unfortunate man. The physicians found that the right are was shattered from shoulder to wrist, the flesh alone preventing the arm from being torn completely asunder, and with the complications fractures there is little hope of saving the arm. The physicians believe that amputation will be necessary.

Tamblin also suffered a very severe scalp wound, his knee joint was badly injured, and his body was peppered with pieces rock.

At last report the young man was doing as well as could be expected but he is in a desperate condition.

Saw A Big Black Bear

One day last week, John Wombaker, who is working for Al Anderson, saw a big black bear on the hill east of the Bashore ranch. He came down the hill to the house and there met Anderson, and the two started in pursuit of the bear with rifles. They traced Mr. Bruin for several miles through the sage brush and finally gave up the trail in the north fork canyon, the bear having gone on toward Green Mountain.

Other parties have since been out looking for him. The presence of a bear so close to the city is a rare occurrence and as the fact has become known some alarm is felt as to the security of picnic parties in the immediate hills. However, no kidnap cases are reported thus far.