The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-06
CHANGES IN MINERS. METHODS.
Mining Has Made Rapid Progress in
the Last HALF Century.


From the Helena independent.
Few mining men in Montana are better
known than is William HALL of Butte. who
was for long time tbs superintendent Of
the Alice Mine, but is now operating in
British Columbia. Mr.. Han is an Eng
lishman and practical miner. lie began
in the mines of the old country when he
was small boy, and that was something
less than a half century ago. So there
is little about vein of ore that h. does
not know, and there are only few things
about the work of developing and treat
ing the ore that others can give him point
ers on. Among his old-time associates lie
IS still Familiarity known as "Bill' An.
There is no profession i'm the world that
has made the rapid progress in the last
halt century that mining has" he said
the other day, being at that time on his
way home from an expedition to British
Columbia, and referring 10 an ObserVat ton
that came naturally in a discussion Of
mining matters in a general way. 81 can
remember the time when there was 10
such thing as a steel dfill or steel-taced
hammer. Safety fuse wasn't known when
! was youngster why, mo- one would
nave believed you If you had predicted
the half of them.
when the steel drills came out we look
ed upon them with reverence that
amounted to awe. The iron drills that
had been used up 10 that time were dull
things, and the. hammers were of the
same metal, so that when miner struck
the uflll with the hammer IL gave out a
dull, heavy sound. like the falling Of lead
on lead. The steel rung out as clear as
a beli, and II was real music TO our ears.
Ihere was q time when I'VE made Ii a
rule TO carry out q piece of cloth to ,av
the drills on when they We're not in use
Dut that FEELING gradually wore off and in
time We came to throwing them around
just Ike any other tool BUT Al was NOT
all at once
Then came the safety fuse. 1t was a
MoHuefIul stride, we thought, and we were
not prepared to believe that science would
ever 90 step further. We carried bits
OF rags IN our pockets to wrap around II
Wheh we put ii in a hole. But in the
course or time we learned that 1t, too
was made to be useful, and that IL would
stand as much tamping as squib
nat Is a squib? In the olden times
we ran long needle made Of Norway
IRON down the hole when we tanned in
the charge. Then the needle was drawn
out, and in the hole was inserted a squib
IL was made by splitting a straw and
charging II with powder, with bit of
greasy rag on the end. The straw was
creased well and the tallow was worked
into the powder so that il was one Of
the most inflamnable things mat Won
could imagine. The miner would light the
end and run. When the fire came to the
SOUP there was flash and the explosion
came.
1t may surprise you to learn that 1 have
blasted many h hole with quicklime IL
is done by putting IN first a bit OF the lime
ana then squirt of water, then another
bit OF lime and another squirt OF water.
The whole was tamped down solid as
quickly as II could be done, and in time,
as the lime Stacked. the rock was rent
asunder. 1t was slew work, as work goes
now, but il was considered pretty good
in those days.
In my boyhood days the miners of the
old country used TO think they were do
ing well If they sunk seventy-five feet of
development shaft in year. Now they do
more than that in this country in a month
I q ut,
shaft 100 feet deep in twenty-seVen days.
There was no such mining in England half
century ago. Aud the improvements
up with the movement of the world. /
have only spoken OF few of those that
seem to show the strongest contrasts"