The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-09-10
A VAST GOLD NINE.
EXTENDS TWO THOUSAND FEET
INFO THE EARTH.
tnder the City of RaIiarar-one Hun
ared Thousand Persons Live over
the >nsterrn Pa.saxr<-Fur-
ntshes Living for the Pepala
ton.

baiiarat is the greatest roi< mining city
= tle world, ard its monster claim. ".lhe
baad- Barton and AieIon councils IL
the greatest gold n1ins extart L has oeea
NofAec Tor millions IS a. pros asia ana
~plaAI -iltsy inexhagsEsale now az ever IL
contains Itss miles % tunnels. al lying M
Or TIE city o. Ballarat. which has over
1880 inha h5tants The subsoss % tina cify-
: completely haueyceznoes5 Win 1nsss
passages. and a large Per cent. Of TIE IN
hee1laats work in the mine me reovle
Of SailaTat practically I've over series OF
H&"nlng tunnels. ghe roofs % which might
q e leefed . collapse az any moment,
n1t "alch nevertheless are held up BY PHI
lars OF rock. which were left when the cav
ems Nere constructed.
Two Thousand Feet Into the Earth.
I1e entrances 20 the mines ara outside
q me CITY proper, sEG or the way 10 them
one comes upoa Old. silent sueterranean
passages and shafls long since disalsed and
Algn plies OF barren sand and rubbish living
around everywhere Ike irr gular dunes:
al or which strongly hint OF tha dead
ropes and wasted fortunes turned into
taesc yalueless workings In tn mad DAYS
hehino the early els. In fact the country
around Ballarat Is IN many respects an al
mos barren field. yet al OF these nils and
nats were once deHSely wooded The
miners cleared them and then turned over
every zach Of the dirt in quest OF geld. One
can stlA see traces Of the miners shovel
and PICK all over the Dig section OF sub
urban Eallarat. There il not A foot Of val
ley or virgin soil for mil around the city.
kFery inch has been prodded and turned
y the miners. Beneath Il al run tie
wines. ehutes and drives Of a number &C
bls claims and one Inadvertently treaSs
wltn a hight step from the instructive fear
q uamping too hard and breaking
through the crust
TIE Band. Barton and Albion mine has
yielded over $40 eo9.0so worth of gold Its
lowest drive extends 100 fee into the
earth. The entrance Is through a shaft ex-
tending down and infersec1ing the various
levels or drives. The flrsi level Is so feet
down, the second go feet below the sur
face and so on al l00 feet apart until the
lowest level IS reached. The blasting goes
on al the time IN each level but the great
distance between levels makes IL almost
impossible for disaster TO occur through
too much Of the rock becoming disengaged.
An Underground city.
A visitor TO this mine Is provided with
suit or ditchiGg clothes IN The assay office
near the entrance. The suit Is made OF
ticking cloth or canvas and docs much TO
rid one Of too great an air Of salf-respect.
All communication in the mine is carried
raised from level 10 level Visitors ara
sent down 10 the lowest level and then al
loved 70 walk up the inclined planes which
connect the tunnels with each other.
Trucks aud small cars with headlights
fash around In the darkness. and thous-
ands Of workmen come and go with a
surety which shows a long familiarity with
their surroundings In fact, il IS an under
ground city ia itself. with almost as great
population as many second-class towns
Ia the United States The lode or ledge OF
rock In which the gold ore IS found Is
fiat and extends through the earth at an
angle Of twenty-five degrees The levels
iEtersect this ledge of earth al the various
distances. Workmen blast out the rcck
and follow along in the direction OF the
ledge. working upward In an oblique d.
rection. As the rock * blasted & Is allowed
10 drop 10 the level below. In many cases
long oblique shafts or drives are construct
ed. and the ore is allowed 20 drop through
these until II finally rests In the bottom OF
the mine directly under the vertical shaft.
through which il is hauled up to the sur
face.