trip of which he was the driver; that he was coming out with a load and was sitting on his car, when he saw a chunk of coal in front of his car, and got off, while the car was in motion, to remove it, and in doing so slipped and fell under the loaded car, the latter passing upon him, inflicting injuries from which he died on Thursday, May 24, 1883. Said accident happened in mine number one, Consolidation Coal Company's mine at Muchakinock, on Thursday, May 22, 1883; and we further find no one to blame for the accident. J. C. WILLIAMS, J. C. BARRINGER, Coroner, Mahaska county, Iowa. MOSES STRAUDER. Jurors. The jurors, upon their oaths, do say that the said Moses Strauder came to his death by sticking his head into a shaft constructed for the passage of a cage, operated by steam; that at the same instant the cage passed down, and caught Moses Strauder's head between the side of the shaft and cage, and dragging his body into the same, and killing him instantly. We further find, that said accident happened about 6 o'clock P. M., on Friday, June 15, 1883, at mine No. 2, Excelsior Coal Company's mine at Excelsior, Mahaska county, Iowa, and that no one was to blame for the accident. ད J. C. BARRINGER, Coroner, Mahaska county, Iowa. The accidents reported above are 2 from explosions of powder, 9 from falls of roof, 3 by being caught between mine cars, 4 by premature blasts, 2 by falling down shafts, and 3 by being caught by the cage. Accidents from falls of roof are in excess of those of any other cause, and are mainly under control of the miners, and a coroner's jury almost always considers a fatal accident from falls of roof or coal unavoidable; but my experience in visiting the mines and examining them in regard to their safety, has forced me to the conclusion that about nine-tenths of the accidents happening in and around the mines, if properly traced to the cause, would prove to be carelessness. We often hear the remark from miners, “I know my roof is bad, and I intend to prop it as soon as I get my coal loaded"; and perhaps before he gets his coal loaded, there is a fall of roof, and he is badly hurt, or perhaps killed. I have often found rooms in a very dangerous condition, and when I would call the attention of the miner to its condition, the pitt boss would say, "I have told this man three or four times to prop this room." Now I claim that a statement of this kind, from a mining boss, is an acknowledgement of a neglect of his duty; because, if the miner failed to prop his room after being told the first time, then it was the duty of the pitt boss to see that it was done, and that immediately. I take the position that, to a certain extent, the mining boss is responsible for a great many of the fatal accidents about mines. A mining boss is not employed to do the work, but to see that it is done, and if he neglects to perform this duty, he certainly is responsible for any accident that may occur from such failure; and a boss who neglects his duty in regard to the timbering in a mine, fails to understand the responsibility of his position, is not a suitable person to have so many lives under his care, and should be discharged. In occupations that are regarded as more than ordinarily dangerous, such as coal mining, the very fact of the danger should, it would seem, serve to make workmen more cautious. But what is the truth? How much verification of the theory do we find in the practice of those who follow this occupation? Very often the men who exercise the least care are the men who are old miners. And it seems that the more a man is compelled to face dangers, the less he heeds them, and seems to rely more on his judgment than on timbers for the support of the roof of his working-place. Some advocate the enactment of laws for the punishment, by imprisonment, or infliction of severe penalties, of those who through carelessness cause loss of life and destruction of property. That is all right so far as it is applicable. But so far as fatal accidents around mines are concerned, the parties who are guilty of the criminal carelessness, are the parties who have suffered. As long as there are mines, there will be fatal mine accidents; but their number can be lessened by mining bosses taking the same interest in the timbering, and in the general security of the mines, as he is compelled to do in regard to the width of the rooms, and roadways, and the direction they are to be driven. LABORS OF THE INSPECTOR. I commenced the work of inspecting the mines of the State in July, 1881, and have been busily engaged ever since in visiting mines. to see that the law was being obeyed, when not otherwise employed in office work. And I am glad to be able to say that all the mines in the State, at the present time, comply with the present mining law in every respect, with the exception of ventilation. There has been a great improvement in the ventilation of the mines in the last two years, but still there are some mines that are very poorly ventilated, and cannot be remedied until section ten of the present mining law is amended. SUMMARY OF WORK DONE. VAN BUREN COUNTY. This county lies in the scutheast corner of the Iowa coal field; although the coal measures extend east into Lee county some distance, the measures are almost entirely barren of coal, while Van Buren county has at least three fourths of the superficial area underlaid by deposits belonging to the coal formation, but a workable coal seam will not be found to extend over more than one half of the territory so underlaid. There are two seams of coal, ranging from two to four feet in thickness. The Des Moines river runs diagonally through the county, from northwest to southeast, and has cut its channel through the coal measures, leaving them exposed in the bluffs on either side, with the exception of one or two places, where a small depression in the lime rock in which a basin of coal has formed, and is still remaining exposed in the river bed. There are several large creeks emptying into the river on either side, that have also cut their channels through the coal measures, and leave the concretionary limestone exposed in their beds, and in fact, the concretionary limestone is exposed in almost every water-course in the county, and outcrops in the bluffs of the Des Moines river, on one or, both sides, almost throughout the entire county. The drift formation of this county presents about the same features as those of other counties, with an average thickness of about sixty feet, while the coal measures will not exceed a thickness of one hundred and thirty feet, and a drill hole two hundred feet in depth will test the coal in any portion of the county, as the lower seam of coal rests directly upon the concretionary limestone, with only from three to six feet of clay and shale between. But owing to the fact that all the water-courses in the county are well supplied with timber, there has never been much development of coal, even for local consumption; and the position of the county in the coal field is such that coal can be mined further north and west cheaper, and have the advantage in transportation; and for this reason the coal of the county has never been extensively developed. The mines that are in operation are to supply the local demand, and are only operated in the winter season, and employ about fifty men. JEFFERSON COUNTY. This county has about three fourths of its superficial area underlaid with the coal measures, and about one third of the territory so underlaid bears a seam of coal thick enough to work with profit. The most important mining town is Perlee, which is located seven miles north of Fairfield, on the Southwestern Branch of the C., R. I. & P. Railroad, on Walnut creek. One of the mines at this place (the Washington county mine) has been wrought out and abandoned, and at present there is only one mine in operation-that of the Jefferson county mine. This mine has sunk a new air shaft since my last report, put in a furnace, and now has a good current of air traveling through the mine, and are using a single rope, with steam power, to haul the coal to the bottom of the shaft. There have been numerous mines opened in different localities in the county, but none of the coal deposits have proven very extensive. Those at Coalport, about ten miles east of Fairfield, and those at Perlee, have been the most extensive yet developed, but undoubtedly there are others just as good. Skunk river enters the county at the northeast corner and runs south along the east line to about the middle of the county, and then passes out in a southeast direction into Henry county. Walnut creek starts in Blackhawk township, running east through Penn and Walnut townships, while Cedar creek enters the county from the west near the middle, passing out near the southeast corner of the county. And on either of the above named creeks and their tributaries, coal is likely to be found in pockets thick enough to be worked with profit, while a large portion of the high lands, on the divide between the creeks, are barren of coal, or so thinned out as to be too thin to work with profit. And the same can be said of the creeks in other portions of the county. The geological formation of the county shows a drift deposit of about seventy-five feet, while the coal measures are about one hundred and fifty feet; and as the coal lays near the limestone, a drill hole would test the coal any place in the county at three hundred feet. WAPELLO COUNTY. The Des Moines river runs diagonally through this county, entering at the northwest corner, and passing out the south-east corner, and has cut its channel through the coal measures, leaving them exposed in the bluffs at either side of the stream. And the same can be said of the creeks emptying into the Des Moines river in this county. In following the creeks from where they empty into the river, the coal measures are exposed for a distance of from six to ten miles from the river before the coal is hidden from view by the overlying stratas and the drift deposits. The county is considered, by some, to be well supplied with coal, but while there are three seams of coal ranging from a few inches to six feet in thickness, like Jefferson county, there is not much uniformity in the thickness, although some very fine deposits of coal, belonging to the second seam, have been developed. The upper seam is sometimes found at a thickness of two and a half feet, and the second seam, the only one of any importance in the county, reaches a thickness, in some localities, of seven feet. While the lower seam, in my opinion, is of no importance, as it is too thin to work with profit in any locality in the county, and, from a careful estimate, I am forced to the conclusion that fully three fourths of Wapello county is barren of coal thick enough fo work with profit. On the west side of the river, on Bear creek, the coal is mined at several places, while on the east side of the river, in the vicinity of Kirkville, the C., B. & Q. Railroad Company have opened mines, and have mined and shipped great quantities of coal in the last two years; they have built a railroad to connect the |