Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-16
WORKED-OUT SILVER MINES.
NoxiOus Gases and Smoldering
Fires in the COmstock Lode.

NoxiOus Gases and Smoldering
Fires in the COmstock Lode.
''Out OF the hole in the old Bonanza
mine in the COmst0ck lode from which
$120,000,000 in ore was taken, was packed
foot of timber for every dollar taken
out" said Howard Storrs. an old Colorado
miner. The timber cost 81, 100000, and
some strange phenomena have been pro-
duced in the dark and distant caverns by
the changes it has undergone. The
timbers were laid in loosely,
probably two-thirds of the space OF the
pits or chambers being occupied by them,
the thousands of cracks and open
ings necessary in the corduroy, as the
timber packing is called, making up the
other third. The top earth, or roof Of the
caverns, has fallen By degrees upon the
conduroF, and, filling all the crevices, has
compressed the pile into one solid mass.
The position of these abandoned levels
may be easily discerned on the surface,
as the crust of the earth has yielded and
sunk into the space formerly filled by the
roof of the caverns. By this great pres
sure on the Jimbers below, sticks twelve
inches through have been crushed to
almost half their original dimensions.
STANDING near some OF these surface
depresslons the visitor will notice a
strong smell OF burning wood in the air,
but will be surprised to see no wood any
where in the vicinity. The smell comes
from the depths OF those tim Der. G ed
cavities where millions OF treasure We're
once stored. The wood has decayed, and
from 1t strong gases have generated.
These gases frequently explode, and are
often heard in other levels where miners
are at work. The explosion sets Ere 20
the wood, and the cavern becomes a
smoldering and smoking furnace, the life
of which will not be spent for years. The
smoke works it's way out upward through
the porous surface of the chamber, but
seems to become invisible on contact with
the air, retaining ana distributing, how
ever, its strong odOr. One of these
smoldering subterranean fires covers a
worked-out space of 1900 feet long and
100 wide. If by any chance draught of
fresh air should reach it, the resulting
burst or flame would be indescribably ter
| rible.
"The gas generated by these decaying
timbers is OF the most deadly character,
and the greatest care must be taken to
| confine it within it's limits and supply the
working levels with the most perfect
ventilation. Air-tight bulkheads, go Teet
thick, cut off the deadly chambers from
| the rest of the levels. Three powerful
| air currents are constantly kept In circu-
lation in the Comstock mines. One OF
these, which is carried down the Ophir
shaft and up the Consolidated Virginia
shaft, goes down to the 3, lOOfoot
level, and takes down 10000 feet Of
| air every minute. The 2,000-foOt
level, reached by the Union shaft,
carries $4,000 feet minute, which goes
up the old Sierra Nevada shaft. Sixteen
thousand feet of air is taken down to the
bottom of the 2,9O0-foot level and up the
Bonner shaft every minute. When these
currents of air go down into the levels
they are pure and dry, but in making the
passage reach temperature OF 100 deg.
and more. Beside keeping the levels free
from the noxious gases, these currents, in
becoming heated, absorb so much of the
moisture of the mines that they Issue
from the upcast shafts in steam and carry
out OF the mines nearly 10000 gallons of
water a day."