Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-15
BELOW THE SURFACE
Lure THOUSANDS OF FEET IN THE
BOWELS OF THE EARTH.

In the Depths Of the Comstock Lode.
Doings In Great subterranean city
with Hundreds Of Miles Of Streets
where work Never Ceases.
Very different Is the life led by the
miner Of the Comstock lode when on
duty from that of the old California
|gold washer. The scene Of his labors IL
hundreds Of feet beneath the earth in
subterranean regions to which no raw of
sunlight ever penetrates. DR.. Guile
|says of the Comstock miner that when
Ihe descends the great shaft, going down
and still down from 1000 to 5000 feet,
|he leaves behind all the grand upper
world, 80 broadly and beautifully lighted
up by the sun. When landed at his sta
tion from the car (cage) of his vertical
cable road he steps forth into quite a
different world-a world hewn out by
the hand OF man in the realms Of eternal
darkness, which, just beneath the sur
face crust, everywhere enwraps our
planet.
All is not dark and dismal in this arti-
ficial world. On the contrary, the great
stations, the main working drifts and
crosscuts and the large chambers Of all
the principal levels are lighted up with
lamps and candles. In one of our great
mines there is neither day nor night; it
lie always candle light. Absolute pitch
darkness prevails only in some far away
and little frequented drifts in distant
parts Of mine.
When landed at the station of his
level, dinner bucket in hand, the miner
trudges away along a narrow subter-
ranean road to some drift or chamber in
which lies his work. When on duty in
the depths he knows not whether it is
day or night in the world above; whether
It is cold or warm there, calm or tenn
pestuous
The miner of tho Comstock lode may
be said to live and labor in city be-
meath a city. There are streets and
croascuts through which he may travel
miles and miles at points from 1000 to
1900 feet beneath the cities on the sur
face = Virginia and Gold Hill. The
great underground city-in which is suf
fcient lumber to build twenty towns,
each Of 5000 people, has its busy places
~ well as its lonely and silent hooks
nnd sections. At the stations of the
great hosting shafts, where many men
are employed on the several levels, cars
loaded with ore are seen arriving and
departing
IN THE DEPTHS
Great lamps with glaring reflectors
(similart to the headlight of locomotive)
light up the station, which is an under
ground hall large enough for first class
ball room; and the main drifts radiat-
ing from the station to different parts of
the level also have their lights, the line
OF which extends so far away that the
most distant seen seems mere spark or
point or light, like the most distant star
visible in the heavens--a mere pulsing
twinkler.
The station has much the appearance
of the store or lumber room Of some big
factory Of the surface world. Along the
Aoor against the side walls are seen
coils of rope, boxes of candles, tools and
many small lots of various other arti-
cles required on the level. Also in the
station is seen q huge cask Of ice water
water in which several small icebergs
are fioating-and against the side of the
caslk hangs big tin dipper; that is, it
10 hangs when it has moments rest.
but it is almost constantly in the hands
Of some thirsty soul.
At each level generally about 100 feet
down the shaft from the point where
ore is first encountered) there is such q
station as l have described. It is the
center of life on each level, though at
several points on the level there may be
at work in the ore breast considerable
squads of men. From such sections of
the mine at certain times come the
blooms Of blasts, sounding like q distant
Icannonade. When one is in drift in
the vicinity of the spot where one Of the
lbdg dynamite blasts is fred one feels
more than hears it. The conclusion of
the air in the narrow drift painfully
strains the drum Of the ear, and even at
ID distance the sensation is disagreeable.
HIGH TEMPERATURE.
The mines OF the Comstock are now
much better ventilated than before
drifts connected the several main shafts
and wines Of the many levels. Still the
work Of the miner is often in a hot and
sitting atmosphere. Very frequently
his work is at the face of long pros
specting Aift, where the only air he has
TO breathe is the scant supply pumped
down to him through a pipe from the
surface, as though he were a pearl diver
fathoms beneath the sea. The place in
(which he works at times shows a tenn
perature of from 100 to 40 degs., OF
even as high as 100 degs. In such places
he is stripped Of all clothing but a
breech clout (heavy shoes protect his
feet and he wears a cap to keep the sand
from the shaking rock out Of his hair)
Yet perspiration streams from every
pore Of his body. But for the gallons
lon gallons of ice water he swallows be
vvould be baked in his skin like potato
-the very life blood would be dried ir
mis- veins.
Though sweltering and gasping the
rniner must still swing his pick or sledge
must still handle shovel or crowbar fo1
y certain length OF time-till the end Of
his .'pass" (of fifteen to twenty minutes)
when he can pass out Of the drift to thu
)eooling of station and send in his part
her to work his .'pass."
For the dangers a miner must bravf