Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-01-19
PERlLs OF NINE WORKERS.
Tales OF Hair breadth Escapes and Fatal Ac
cidents in the Mines.

| OF all the callings that men follow,
| mining is recognized in all countries as
the most dangerous. With all the
| safeguards that can be provided by
stringent laws,rgid inspection and the
| utmost care on the part of those in
| charge. many men are killed. while in
| the newer mining fields, which lack
| these precautions, the loss of life is
| many times greater. Within the 10
| years since the state law has provided
| for mine inspection. over 600 miners
| have been killed in Michigan alone.
| Add to this the loss of life in the coal
/ fields of Pennsylvania, Ohio. Indiana
| and Illinois. the fatalities in the south
| crn iron and coal fields. the men killed
| in the iron mines of Wisconsin and
| Minnesota and the accidental deaths
| in the coal. iron, copper. lead, silver
and gold mines of the II western min
/ ing states, and it is safe to assume that
within the past decade many regi-
ments of stalwart workmen have been
killed in the performance of their
every day duties about American
mines.
The dangers that threaten the miner
ufC anu iVpuIN CtCi iiai NiSA-
lance to even partially avoid. In the
coal mines there are two dangerous
gases. choke damp. which suffOcates.
and fire-damp. which explodes with
fearful violence and causes terrible
| loss of life. In the iron and copper
mines, with which this article more
especially deals, these two gases are
absent and the ventilation is usually
of the best but even so.men are some
times suffocated by the dangerous
gases generated from the dynamite
used in blasting down the ore. The
miners are often manned or killed out
right. through premature explosions or
other accidents coming through the
use of high explosives. Missed holes"
are fruitful sources of accident. In
these. where the charge of dynamite
has failed to explode. for any reason,
the removal of the dynamite and the
"tamping" of sand placed over it in
the drill-hole, is "A dangerous though
necessary operation. Miners have
had steel drills driven through their
bodies by such explosions. while
others. holding the drill which rested
on the dynamite, have had both hands
torn off at the wrists, so sudden and
so terrible is the power of the deadly
giant powder. The sticks of dynamite
a quarter in diameter and eight inches
or so in length. wrapped in whjtev-
are cylindrical, an inch to an inch and
brown oiled paper. To fire these a
copper cap and fuse are inserted in one
END of the package. These copper
caps, barely an inch in length and a
quarter of an inch in diameter. each
hold single drop of illuminate Of mer-
curry, which is exploded by the fire
from the fuse and in turn fires the
dynamite. A woman at Republic.
Mich. picked up one of these cans n
lew weeks ago. at a mine which had
been idle 10 years and ATTEMPTED to
pick the dirt out of it with hat-pin.
1t exploded and the power of the single
drop Of illuminate of mercury tore Off
her thumb and three fingers-yet
many miners carry these caps about
IN their pockets. loose-perhaps a
handful of them. each capable of
manning or killing the strongest man. /
The greatest danger threatening tho
iron or copper miner is the fall Of
ground as the men term the cavinp
of ore or rocks into the mine Millions
or dollars are spent annually bv the I,
Michigan mines in timbering their nm.
dcrground openings, yet with all nre- !