Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-05-01
PEOPLES PULPIT.
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Ottumwa. April 80, 1!

January % an article, "The Horror of
Lost Creek and Explosions in Gener-
The text is dust explosions, which to
my idea is a fallacy and has nothing
to do with the so-called explosions. l
nave mad some little experience in and
around mines. | have been around
coal mines for THO past, seventy-one
years, sixty years IF that time l have
been a very active miner and ought
to know a little about mines.
We old miners feel very bad about
the loss of life in mines either by ex-
plosions or otherwise.
The article: II have been in dust
explosions and firedamp explosions,
but | feel more alarmed about the
dust explosion question and that min
ers are helpless, etc."
What little / know after working
in and around mines for the past sixty
years and have been in fiery
pits that were full Of in
f1ammable gas and passed
through explosions that piled dust and
everything movable to the roof, but
never did the dust burn, although the
dust was so thick that when men walk
ed along the headways, the dust
would fly to the knees.
The article says: "Our miners laws
provide, etc., but dust the dust explo-
sion question is not SO we'll in hand as
the question of firedamp. Plenty of
good, fresh air, etc. Mine bosses are
supposed have roadways sprinkled to
lay dust. This will guard against ex-
plosions.' The only dust explosions
in mines as far as am acquainted, is
by mules or men putting their feet
down in the dust and causing it to fly
around their feet and legs. / have
tried time and again to explode dry
dust in the mines by Sitting it on my
lamp but could not SO much as make
it burn. Ia
'1n blasting off solid fifty miners
will explode 300 pounds of powder a
day. All this blasting stirs up the dust
in the rooms and entries and the
greatest danger comes right here af-
ter the dust is stirred up by the shot.
If there is a blown-out shot, shot
that is too strong Cor large) and the
powder cannot push the coal out, it
must get out some place consequently
1t blows out the tamping which shoots
out a stream of fire with great force"
Fifty miners-300 pounds of powder
firing very quick, one after the other,
close on the entry will generate quite
an amount of gas (infammable),
which is very dangerous thing to
these shots are all fired in five min
utes, the air travelling in the direction
of the shots, these shots are all warm
and travelling in the same direction
makes the body of smoke very inflam-
mable andveryapt to burn somebody's
whiskers, especially if there is a
blown out shot as the flame comes
some distance from the hole exploded
and comes in contact with the warm
smoke and perhaps there is some
powder kegs with big pick hole in
| top which does not lessen the results
very much. In what little experience
I have had in mines and mining I've
had very few blown out holes, in fact
| I do not remember one but I have had
hundreds which only moved my Goa
out from inches to foot, which left
me to mine the shots down. Now in
| those shots the smoke would remain
| in the crack make by the shot which
| l would fire by putting my lamp into
| the smoke if it was not on fire when
l went up to the face, the reason fol
doing this vast burned the smoke ur
and cleared the air. But perhaps it
did perhaps it did not improve the air
very much but the amount of carbonic
| acid did not amount to enough tC
hurt, as the coal was high, about
feet, so we could stand upright out Of
it. In my few years of mining this is
! the first time l have ever heard that
| blowed out tamping was caused by too
much powder. Tamping in the alb
sence of something else Give seen Goa,
blasted with water for balance, loose
sand, blasting barely may be needed
/ My understanding is when the bias
is not strong enough to move the Goa
or rock which it is intended to do il
to blow the tamping so as there viii
be another show to recharge the hole
Too much powder, as I've shown TOT
little powder. I will try and explain
too much powder: A man look
around his place of work for plac,
to put his shot. He finds what HI
thinks fit place, drills his hole, look!
it over to see what he thinks will b.
enough to put in. well, I think 81:
Charges VIII uO. LII 5OeS Ola Charges
full. Result: coal blown all over TIL
room, all timber knocked out. Well
he had just enough-to cause him hal
. days work to gather coal and set III
timber. That is your good coal miner
He digs or blasts lots Of coal, bu
when it passes over the screens.
went into a room where two mel
were at work. They had lots of Goa
in the room, scattered thirty steps
from face of room, and not one PROF
left standing. They were good Goa
diggers. If a man puts too much pow
der into the hole there is something
more than tamping comes out.
i Take notice of part of article quot
ed: ga shot that is too strong 70
large) and powder cannot push tn
coal out, is quite an element O
strength" Too strong and not powe
enough to do the work required is fin
reasoning to good pittsmen. ! have no
said anything about the way to avoi
Il I>,,& OF 0tb ~