The Irish standard., 1896-08-29
FARlB'lAuLT, MINI.
Offers Unsurpassed! -fdcn,tnYes
to YOUNG LADIES de-
string az academic
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great pipes Or tunnels. out OF winch
have been cut the silver and lead. They
are driven by electricity. They are driv-
en- this way and that, so that they form a
labyrinth like the avenues in the cat
aconibs Of Rome. You could lose your
self in this mine. 1t connects with the
great Henrietta mine, and. you might
wander about from tunnel to tunnel with
out finding your way to the shaft.
The mine is q wet mine, and It takes
an enormous amount OF money to wall
it with ttrnbers Many such mines con-
cain forests OF great logs, and it is es-
,ssmated that there is more than 81 ,ooO,-
900 worth of lumber and timber used in
the mines Of Leadville alone. Each OF
these tunnels is rooted and walled with
pine logs, and the slopes and caves, cut
away from the tunnenls in order to get
the silver out have to be almost filled
with timbers for fear their sides may
cave in. No one who has not gone
through a great mine can appreciate the
amount of water which flows into it. II
the bottom of the Maid Of Erin streams
of ice cold water flow through the tun-
neis like so many mountain brooks,
Overhead are pipes for steam and for
compressed air to run the drills. There
is a railroad track in each tunnel and
boards upon which you can walk to keep
out of the stream The water is taken
out of the mine by enormous steam
pumps Nine hundred feet below the sur
face of the ground l found al immense
engine room, large part of the ma
chinery OF which consisted Of pumps,
running day and night. They carry out
Of the mine 900 gallons of water min
ute, Or $4,000 gallons an hour. II they
were stopped tor two or three hours the
mine would be filed, and it would cost
fortune to open it again. AS you go
upward to the other levels you find other
pumps, and you are somewhat surprised
to learn that a good mine is now man
aged on the same business principles
as q great manufacturing establishment.
All expenses are cut down to the lowest
notch ard capitalists watch the money
they put into mines just as they do their
investments in other business.
They do not hesitate to spend a great
deal to bring about results. I visited a
tunnel the other day which was being
driven into the side Of a mountain, in or
der to strike the gold veins which are
supposed 10 be there. ..
Eevry foot of the tunnel would cost
at least $50, and It was to be more than
a mile in length The company expect
ed to spend more than 100000 in MAX
ing the tunnel, and they were drilling
through the rock by steam, forcing the
drills into the granite by means OF COM
pressed air. In company with one OF the
men l entered the tunnel. We each car
ried a candle, but we had to shield it with
our hands, for the water came down. in
re tho IF "a trr or,H
was carried off in drain or box-like
ditch which ran under the track. The
men who were working in. the tunnel
their rubber boots reached to their
thighs. We waded along the track for d
distance Of nearly half a mile before we
came to the end Of the excavation Here
the men were blasting down the rock by
means of dynamite. Each man had a
candle held in curious wire frame and
stuck into the rock by his side. Each
man had hold of drill attached to
pipe, through which the compressed air
came, and turned it around and around
with almost inconceivable speed. The
men held their drills against the rocks,
and as they did so the sparks flew from
the stone, and atom by atom the drills
bored the great holes into which the dyn-
amite candles were to be placed. Be
fore coming into the tunnel I had visited
the dynamite warehouse. 1t was merely
a closet filled with what looked like can
dies. Zach candle was as big around as
a broom handle and about ten inches
long, and each contained enough dyna-
mite. was told, to blow down any city
house. The drills were of about the same
diameter as the candles, and after the
holes were made by them, the candles
We're inserted and pounded in: I no.
ticed that the pounding was very gentle.
A too hard blow might set off the nitro
glycerine and blow the men to atoms.
A gentle tap. however, will not hurt,
and the dynamite candles are driven into
the holes, a fuse is connected with them
and the remainder of the hole is closed
with earth fitting in about the fuse and
being carefully pounded or pressed
against the candle. All of the holes are
flied at the same time and then con-
nected by electricity. Now the men leave
the mine. The engineer in the boiler
room half mile away, raises a lever and
the sparks OF electricity fly and mo-
ment later hundreds of tons OF rock fall
to the ground ready to be carried off in
great steel cars and dumped down the
sides Of the mountains. Nearly all min
ing Is now done by blasting. There is
little digging with the pick except to take
out the rock which has been blasted
down, and every manner of labor saving
appliances that will cut down expenses or
increase the output is used. ~
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