In Trinidad, Colorado, in 1908, James R. Howard, a 28-year-old blacksmith, went with his friend Fred Long to a bluff to blast out rock. The two men were working around a cliff, with Long lowering himself over the edge by rope while Howard remained above to prepare the shot.
Then came the explosion.
Fifty-nine sticks of dynamite detonated with terrible force. Long, hanging below the edge of the bluff, knew nothing of what had happened until the blast drove him back to the top. There he found Howard fatally injured, lying among the shattered rock.
The young blacksmith had suffered catastrophic injuries and was covered with small pieces of stone driven into his skin.
Howard lived only a few minutes after his friend reached him, but he was unable to speak. Whatever went wrong in those final moments remained unknown.
Blacksmith Was Blown To Pieces
TRINIDAD, Colorado. — James R. Howard, a blacksmith, was blown up by the explosion of 59 sticks of dynamite in a stone quarry.
With his friend, Fred Long, he had gone to a bluff and was preparing to blast out some rock. Long let himself down over the edge of the cliff with a rope, and heard Howard say that he was going to prepare a shot. He knew nothing further about the accident.
The loud explosion caused him to climb to the top of the cliff, where he found the young man lying on his back, with nearly every bone in his body broken, his eyes blown out and his entire body covered with small pieces of stone stuck into the skin. He lived only a few minutes after Long reached his side, but was unable to say anything about how the explosion occurred.
He was 28 years old and came to Trinidad this month.
Source: The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. February 25, 1908.
