The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-07-22
Flaine Men Have Variety OF
Experiences in Boston
Consolidated.
ALTERING FACE OF NATURE
GREAT WORK UNDER WAY AT
PROPERTY.

- A>C9NOh tOilSOi-CdIeQ mines at
Bingham and then so for a tramp
around the hills with Lafayette
Hanchett. general manager of the New
house interests, and Louis A. Gates,
General superintendent. The muscles
VIII not be in evidence until the next
morning, butthey1l all be there then
and they'll al ache And still they
speak OF the Boston Consolidated as
the tehderfcot mine" on the altogetn-
ef erroneous theory that it is easy to
so through.
In the party that visited the mine
last Week Were Mr.. Hanchett. Mr.
Gates and the Harper br5thers, John
and \. 4, from Portland, Maine. The
HarDers are stockholders in the mine
NThey had never been in a mining camp
ar metal mine, so tie experience was
entirely new to them. The Boston was
entered through the Work tunnel This
tunnel is reached BY means of a wood
tram that is operated on well, 10 put il
mildly, Il Is per cent grade. That is
To say. il goes practically straight up
along the TounJ2in side. The individual
that can ride Up in tA1t tram car with
OUT tremor has no business in min
Ing camp. He could make more money
looping the gap in q circus CT diving
from a platform 90 feet high into a
tank of WAFER two feet wide.
The Harper brothers didn't care for it,
which IS somewhat strange, in view of
AIr. Hanehett's explanation that, be
cause of the danger of the trip, the
miners were not permitted to use the
tram in getting to and from the mine.
The Work tunnel runs about three
quarters Of a mile into the mountain
and before JohE Harper had gone halt
TIE distance he bumped his head
against ope of the cross timbers.
RaTters in the Mine.
"Goshalmighty Mr.. Ranchett." he
said, the Tafters in this mine are
mighty low" And,Mr. Hanchett didn't
even offer to have them raised.
hr. Gates led the party to a point
aQpro%ima tely half q mile from the en-
trance and then started a "trip down
ward on laideTs. He said the ladder
trip was only $50 feet long and he ought
TO know, but any outsider in the party
win cheerfully testify that there were
SEQ feet of ladders after Gates said there
were only forty feet more. Ore was In
sight al thc way according to the ex-
perts. Probably it was, but the day
light looked mighty good when it be-
came visible again. At least one mem
Der Of the party couldn't help think
ing about what might happen if the
mountain caved in. A nine by ten tim
Der doesn't look much bigger than a
toothpick when one is haunted by such
thoughts.
It's queer what a man will do Just
because somebody else is willing to do
it. Having escaped from the mine once
in safety a man alone would have
thanked Providence for the miracle and
gone on his way rejoicing. On this oc-
casiOn, just because the others were
willing, everybody went on a wild cleo
trio tram ride up the Armstrong tun-
mel Gates was the motorman. He
said afterward he didn't dare to run
fast because he was afraid car might
jump the track. He said it seriously.
too. but if he really thought he ran
slowly this depOnent will desire 10 view
one of his fast runs from a grandstand
seat in an adjoining county.
After lunch it was thought there
might be two hours of rest, but who
ever thought it has one more think
coming. Mr.. Hanchett and Mr. Gates
are not constructed afte, that fashion.
They wanted US to see what was going
on way up there near the blue sky of
heaven. The sun is hot in Carr Fork
about 1850 p. m. on a July day. If
there were any shade the thermometer
would have to be about eleven feet tall
to record the temperature in it. Still,
everybody else vas going, so why not?
There is some comfort in being pros
trated by the heat if the other men,
bers of the party are also Frustrated.
The climb was something like 500 feet
IT wasn't exactly straight up but it
was near enough to that until we
reached the railroad the Boston Con-
solidated is building around the hills
to the mountain of copper-bearing por-
phyry it is going to juggle into divi-
dends. Gates is entitled TO a lot of
credit for that railroad He directed
the surveys when the snow was ten
feet deep and much of TIE construction
has been pushed forward under the
most adverse circumstances. The road
is stuck on a narrow shelf in the hill
sides, a shelf that was eaten out by the
steam shovel We were shortly to see
And any time the Boston Consolidated
runs out of Ore-Which may happen
some time n the next century-the
company can make lots of money car
Tying passengers over that road TO view
the scenery
Tearing Off Mountain Top.
Come TO think about it, though, if
those people keep on tearing down the
mountains Colonel Wall built as rap
idly as they have begun tearing them
down. there won't be any scenery left
after few years. Mr.. Hanchett said
they would tear off a million tons of
surface ground by the first of Novem-
Der Of this year ana something like
twenty millions tons before they get
through. That's some ground. if any
body telephones for information. And
there is dumping room for every ounce
of il. and more than as much more. if
necessary.
It was a hot walk around to the
= steam shovel. but the sight was worth
the trouble Imagine a machine operat-
ed by three men that has capacity for
handling fOrty-tWO tons of ground
every minute The normal bite" how
ever. is about three and One-half tons,
but at six bites a minute the machine
tears out quite a chunk of scenery in
the course Of a day. Even with fire.
ouent stops for laying. new tracks on
which to run the shovel with exasper-
ating delays occurring every little while,
r-fhe steam shovel is disposing of $500
! ions of rock and soil in every ten-hour
shift Within a few weeks it is hoped
ktbat another shovel Of similar capacity
will be installed, and then the dirt will
really fly.