The Lehi banner. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1891-1917, 1906-01-18
in A KILN.TOP

hNNlNG MS heaVy fOur-hOfhe wagon
IL up on the stage beside the open kiln
top, Harry Sanders stopped his horses
and twined his reins round the whip
stock Standing IN its case m the right
OF the seat. Then he pulled on bis
-'hern grabs" and began to pitch his
load OF limerick, piece by piece, into
the grsnite-lined pit that yawned below
him. vomiting forth ceaseless tide Of
smoke and heat.
Underneath. in the body Of the kiln,
were 20 or 30 tons OF limerick In every
stage Of burning. from the Thoroughly
calcined Jumps at tho bottom. which
needed only she Yelling out and cocling
on to prepare them for packing in the
casks. TO the fragments last I. sown IN
at the top. erusted with coal scot. Hut
not yet heated enough 10 show any sigi.s
of crumhing. From this mass. through
which the arches sent a steady food OF
streaming fame. spun out by the forced
draft, rose a mingled column OF car
bonic acid gas and coal sroke, deadly
combination for the human lungs.
"If a man ever falls into che Of those
tops, he's donel" burner had once re-
marked, and no one who lad SEED the
smoking PTS In full blast would be lie
ly to question the truth OF the sssefi Ion.
II was Monday morning. and the rock
in the kiln had settled considerable dis
lance. The top was something over az
feet in diameter. From this p.int the
body OF the furnace gradually c'ntraLt-
ed, until just above the arches IL meas
ured barely eight feet across. Up IN
within two O, three yards Of the surface
Il was lined with nre-brick, but Tor the
remainder Of the distance blocks Of So
called FIRE granite were employed.
The workmen below never Intention
ally put on fresh coal when cart was
being unloaded above: but sometimes
they could not avoid doing so. and then
the driver was subjected to very un-
pleasant smoking.
On this morning Sanders was unfos-
tunate. He had not thrown on dozen
pieces when he heard the scraping OF
shovels. and in few seconds, curling
I'M through every crevice in therongh
nit bottom. came the sooty vapor. Thick
err Il grew, eddylng and whirllng round
him in choking clouds But the team
must be unloaded, and he could not stop.
The faster he worked the sooner he
would be through.
With dropped heads the horses stood
patiently, waiting for the signal to
start. They were used TO the smoke. and.
indeed. we're so far forward that they did
not get nearly so much as their driver
He was completely hidden by II. Aspec-
tator a short distance away could not
have told whether or not he was still on
the top G. ais load.
Sanders worked rapidly. tossing thu
Jumps one after another into the kiln
top. The wagon was perhaps qua 'er
unloaded when his left toe caught =
der an especially i.rge piece Of rock. an :
he stumbled forward. Then shagment
under his other foot gave way. an he
pitched over the wheel into the mouth
OF the kiln. As he fell. re caught un-
ayailingly a. the whip-stock. round
which the reins were twisted. Il yield
ed and the place where he had stood was
vacant. SO blackly did the smoke roll
over the wagon that a man ten feet on
could not have seen him fall.
Almost before the driver had time to
realize what had occurred, he found h M
self spraying in loose, helpless heap
upon the rocks he had Just thrown in.
They we're not yet heated through. but
their sharp corners cut and bruised him
severely.
Instantly the deadly peril OF his s'tua-
ton dawned upon him. and he sprang to
his feet, bent upon getting out at once.
Warm. black and sitting. the smcas
wrapped him about like a shroud. q
began to cough and choke. An ordinary
man would have succumbed immediate
ly In that fearful atmosphere. but San
ders had become 30 s"custoia.d To
breathing coal smoke that he did not
yield readily TO the fumes. re was 'er-
fectiy aware that his life could be meas
ured by very few scores OF seconds an
less he extricated himself a. once from
this fiery pit Two quick steps brought
him TO the front wall He pushed his
hands up along the hot granite blocks.
and found that he could reach well over
the highest layer. moments grasp
upon some Arm projection. the quick
thrust OF a boot-toe into crack In the
lining. and he would be out Of his diem
ma In jiffy!
Even in the midst of his peril he was
inclined 20 congratulate himself that the
rock in the kiln was no lower. for had
the distance to fall been greater he
might have broken some bone. the heat
would have been more intense, and the
depth would have made II impossible for
him to get his hands over the top OF the
granite.
He was on the point Of lifting his toe
20 thrust 1t into some crevice in the
wall when beneath his feet there came &
rumbling. a sinking, The drivers heart
almost stood still with terror. for he
knew too well the meaning OF the sound
The kiln was settlingl Down s;unped
the rock with suddenness tina, a.. ,os;
threw him off Ills balance, The heated
mass Inside the furnace sank barely tive
feet, but when the motion ceased this
tips OF Sanders fingers rested ON th'
Joint between the first and second layers
OF granite. lie conld no longer touch tbs
a